Estar (to be) · Preterite
By TutorLily Editorial Team · Last updated
Estar in the Spanish preterite (pretérito indefinido) is: yo estuve, tú estuviste, él/ella/usted estuvo, nosotros/as estuvimos, vosotros/as estuvisteis, ellos/ellas/ustedes estuvieron. The preterite of estar describes how someone or something was at a specific completed past moment. It uses the irregular stem 'estuv-' with the standard preterite endings of irregular verbs.
| To Be | Estar |
|---|---|
| I was | yo estuve |
| you were | tú estuviste |
| he/she was | él/ella/usted estuvo |
| we were | nosotros/as estuvimos |
| you were | vosotros/as estuvisteis |
| they were | ellos/ellas/ustedes estuvieron |
Estar (to be) in context
Sentences that use estar in the preterite. Tap each to hear it.
I was in Paris last week.
Where were you last night?
My friend was sick for three days.
We were very happy with the gift.
You were great at the concert.
The guests stayed until late.
Working with the preterite
The preterite describes a finished past action with a clear boundary — "ayer comí pizza" (yesterday I ate pizza). The key contrast is with the imperfect, which describes ongoing or repeated past actions without a defined endpoint. If you can substitute "used to" or "was doing" in English, you usually want the imperfect; if the action is one-and-done, you want the preterite. The irregular preterites (fui, hice, dije, tuve, vine, supe) are the highest-frequency in Spanish — front-load them.
Frequently asked questions
How do you conjugate estar in the preterite?
When should I use 'estuve' instead of 'estaba'?
Why is estar irregular in the preterite when it looks regular in other tenses?
Practice Estar (To Be) in real conversations
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