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Use the Verb Estar in Portuguese with confidence

Use the Verb Estar in Portuguese with confidence

posted on November 16, 2016

Portuguese lesson on when to use the verb Estar in Portuguese

I know how confusing it can be to use the verb Ser and the verb Estar in Portuguese correctly when you come from a language that doesn’t distinguish between the two verbs. That’s the case of English, for example. Both Ser and Estar translate as the verb To Be. However in Portuguese we have two verbs and they are not interchangeable.

This Portuguese lesson shows you when to use the verb Estar. I will show you:

  • The simple present conjugation of the verb Estar
  • The two main situations in which we use Estar instead of Ser
  • 10 useful expressions with the verb Estar
  • A tip to speak Portuguese like a Brazilian
  • Practice exercises with Ser and Estar

To learn when to use the verb Ser, visit this other lesson.

Present tense conjugation of the Verb Estar

In this lesson I will use the simple present tense of Estar. Here’s the conjugation:

Eu estou

Você está

Ele/Ela está

Nós estamos

Vocês estão

Eles/Elas estão

When to use the verb Estar in Portuguese

1. Temporary characteristics and emotions

We use the verb Estar to express conditions, characteristics or states that are transitory or not permanent, such as how you feel at a certain moment.

One way to see if you need Estar instead of Ser is to translate the verb to “is feeling”, instead of simply “is”. If using the verb “to feel” makes sense, then you need Estar in Portuguese. For example:

  • A Ana está triste porque o André terminou com ela. = Ana is feeling sad because André broke up with her.

This will not apply to every situation, of course (see example 2 below), but will help you in many instances.

Here are examples using the verb Estar to describe temporary characteristics, conditions or emotions:

  1. Oi, tudo bem? Como estão as coisas? = Hi, how are you? How are things?
  2. Tiago está muito cansado hoje. = Tiago is very tired today.
  3. Você está linda com esse vestido! = You look great in this dress!
  4. Joana está muito feliz porque recebeu uma promoção no trabalho. = Joana is feeling very happy because she got a promotion at work.

2. Location

We use the verb Estar to talk about the location of people, animals, and objects, that is, the location of things that move or can be moved.

Examples:

  1. Maria está em casa. = Maria is at home.
  2. Lorena está na praia. = Lorena is at the beach.
  3. Onde está a chave do carro? = Where is the car key?

Check out my lesson on four different ways to ask “where is” in Portuguese to learn when to use Ser and when to use Ficar to express location.

Contrasting Ser and Estar

Which sentence is correct below, the one with the verb Ser or the one with the verb Estar?

  1. Juliana é feliz. (verb Ser)
  2. Juliana está feliz. (verb Estar)

Both are correct. They express different ideas.

In the first sentence, with the verb Ser, I mean that Juliana is a happy person in general. That’s just who she is.

In the second sentence, with the verb Estar, I mean that she is happy at the moment. Maybe she’s got good news, or maybe she is enjoying a beautiful, sunny day. The fact is that she is feeling happy at the moment.

Useful Expressions with the Verb Estar

All you need to do to customize the expressions below to your needs is conjugate the verb Estar according to the subject of your sentence. The expressions marked in bold below remain the same.

  1. Estou com fome. = I’m hungry.
  2. Todos estão com fome. = Everyone is hungry.
  3. Helena está com sede. = Helena is thirsty.
  4. Estou com frio. = I feel cold.
  5. Estou com calor. = I feel hot.
  6. Márcio está com sono. = Márcio is sleepy.
  7. Nós estamos com pressa. = We are in a hurry.
  8. Mariana não está com medo. = Mariana is not scared.
  9. Ela está com ciúme do namorado. = She is feelings jealous of her boyfriend.
  10. Ele está com inveja de você. = He is feeling envious of you.

Street smart tip to speak like a Brazilian

In spoken Brazilian Portuguese and in informal written Portuguese, we rarely pronounce the full word for the verb Estar. We usually drop the first syllable – “es”.

Here are examples:

  1. Tô muito feliz hoje. = I’m feeling very happy today.
  2. Tá tudo bem com você? = Is everything all right with you?
  3. Quem tá com fome? = Who is hungry?

Practice Exercises

There’s no secret to speaking any language fluently and with ease. What you need is lots of practice.

To get even better results, book a lesson to practice with us. We offer Brazilian Portuguese lessons via video meetings. It’s a simple, convenient, and highly effective way to learn Portuguese.

Fill in the blanks using the verbs Ser or Estar in the present tense. The answers are at the end of the post.

1.

Sueli e Ana _________ boas amigas. Sueli _________ americana e Ana _________ da Argentina. Neste momento elas _____________ no escritório. Elas não _____________ de férias.

2.

Antônio _________ meu amigo. Ele _________ do Brasil, mas agora __________ nos Estados Unidos. Antônio _________ dançarino. Ele _________ muito talentoso.

3.

Meu carro _________ azul. Ele não _________ novo, mas também não _______ velho. Agora ele não _________ na garagem. Ele _________ na rua e ____________ sujo.

4.

EDU: Oi João, tudo bem? Onde você _________? _________ em casa?

JOÃO: Não, _________  no trabalho. Por quê?

5.

Otávio _________ um homem muito ocupado. Ele __________ brasileiro. Agora ele ______________ no aeroporto e _____________ preocupado com seu trabalho. Ele _____________ cansado e por isso _____________ um pouco nervoso.

6. Olá! Meu nome __________ José. Eu __________ brasileiro. Você também _________ brasileiro?

7. Paloma _______ cantora. Ela _______ talentosa.

8. Com licença. Como _________ seu nome? Eu ______________ Manoel.

9. Seu Antônio e Dona Cláudia ___________ casados há 25 anos. Eles ____________ em casa agora.

10. Glória _________ professora. Ela ___________ na escola agora.

11. Hoje ______________ ensolarado e ___________ quente.

12. O dia _____________ lindo hoje.

13. Hoje _____________ chovendo. ______________ muito frio.

Practice Exercise Answer Key

1.

Sueli e Ana são boas amigas. Sueli é americana e Ana é da Argentina. Neste momento elas estão no escritório. Elas não estão de férias.

Antônio é meu amigo. Ele é do Brasil, mas agora está nos Estados Unidos. Antônio é dançarino. Ele é muito talentoso.

3.

Meu carro é azul. Ele não é novo, mas também não é velho. Agora ele não está na garagem. Ele está na rua e está sujo.

4.

EDU: Oi João, tudo bem? Onde você está? Está em casa?

JOÃO: Não, estou no trabalho. Por quê?

5.

Otávio é um homem muito ocupado. Ele é brasileiro. Agora ele está no aeroporto e está preocupado com seu trabalho. Ele está cansado e por isso está um pouco nervoso.

6. Olá! Meu nome é José. Eu sou brasileiro. Você também é brasileiro?

7. Paloma é cantora. Ela é talentosa.

8. Com licença. Como é seu nome? Eu sou Manoel.

9. Seu Antônio e Dona Cláudia são casados há 25 anos. Eles estão em casa agora.

10. Glória é professora. Ela está na escola agora.

11. Hoje está ensolarado e está quente.

12.O dia está lindo hoje.

13. Hoje está chovendo. Está muito frio.

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About Luciana Lage

Luciana Lage founded Street Smart Brazil drawing on her passion for Brazilian Portuguese language and culture. Luciana has also taught Portuguese at University of California, Berkeley, and currently teaches at the University of San Francisco.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Philip

    November 28, 2016 at 2:04 pm

    Oi Luciana,

    Parace que nos dois exemplos abaixo do título “Contrasting Ser and Estar”, está faltando o adjectivo ‘feliz’.

    Reply
    • Luciana Lage

      November 28, 2016 at 2:42 pm

      How weird. I’ve fixed it. Thank you so much for bringing this to my attention.

      Reply
      • Philip

        November 29, 2016 at 12:44 am

        Não há de que. Parece que eu também errei e escrevi “parace” em vez de “parece” ! : – )

        Reply
        • Luciana Lage

          November 29, 2016 at 1:56 pm

          Eu nem tinha notado 🙂

          Reply

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