A1 · ser, estar, ter and há
estar — being what passes
estar a plus the infinitive is your -ing form, built out of a preposition.
At a glance
- Remember
- What passes takes estar.
- Form
- eu estouI am, right now
- Signal words
- estou
- estás
- está
- estamos
- estão
- Trap
- Wrong:Estou comer agora, ligo depois.Right:Estou a comer agora, ligo depois.
Your turn
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The form
How the forms are built
Each row gives the meaning first, then the form in Portuguese. The colours show what changes from one form to the next.
stem (regular) person ending
| I am, right now | eu estou |
| you are | tu estás |
| he is, she is, you are | ele / ela / você está |
| we are | nós estamos |
| you are, plural and formal | vós estais |
| they are, you are (plural) | eles / elas / vocês estão |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
What passes takes estar.
Estou cansado hoje.I am tired today.
Where a person is takes estar.
Estamos no café.We are at the café.
estar a plus the infinitive is the progressive.
Está a chover.It is raining.
A building is located with ficar.
A estação fica perto daqui.The station is near here.
Example sentences
Estou em casa.I am at home.
A loja está fechada ao domingo.The shop is closed on Sundays.
Estamos a trabalhar.We are working.
O café está frio.The coffee is cold.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
The a in estou a comer is not a preposition you can reason your way to — it is part of the form, and nothing in « I am eating » suggests that anything belongs between the two words. Leaving it out gives estou comer, which is not Portuguese on either side of the Atlantic. Putting an -ndo there instead gives estou comendo, which is correct in Brazil, understood everywhere, and unusual in Portugal.
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
estou, estás, está, estamos, estais, estão. Every form starts with est-, which makes them a good deal easier than the forms of ser.
Estar covers everything that can change: tired, ill, pleased, open, closed, cold, ready — and where somebody is. The difference is not a matter of correctness: ele é doente is « he is an unwell person » and ele está doente is « he is ill », this week.
The progressive is estar a plus the infinitive: estou a comer is « I am eating ». English builds it out of a participle and Portuguese out of a preposition and an infinitive, so there is nothing here to map letter for letter. Brazil uses the gerund instead: estou comendo.
A building or a town stands somewhere permanently and still takes ficar: a estação fica perto. Está perto works too and sounds more provisional.
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The verbs on this page, in every form: estar · ficar · trabalhar