Lesson 1.3

The verb ‘estar’ means ‘to be’ and is one of the most important and commonly used verbs in Spanish. It is an irregular verb. It is used when talking about temporary conditions, location and ongoing actions and expressing things like emotions, health, and physical states.

Present indicative forms of estar.

Subject	Form	Subject	Form
Yo	Estoy	Nosotros	Estamos
Tú	Estás	Vosotros	Estáis
Usted	Está	Ustedes	Están
Él	Está	Ellos	Están
Ella	Está	Ellas	Están

Uses of ‘Estar’

Location

To describe where you or someone or something is located:

• Yo estoy en clase. (I am in class)
• CNM está en Albuquerque. (CNM is in Albuquerque)
• El teléfono está en la mesa. (The telephone is on the table)

Temporary States

To describe emotions, health, and temporary physical conditions:

• ¿Cómo estás? (How are you?)
• Yo estoy bien (I am well)
• Ella está sorprendida (She is surprised)

Ongoing actions

To describe what you or others are doing

• Yo estoy estudiando. (I am studying)
• Nosotros estamos hablando. (We are talking)

For now, the uses that will be focused on in this chapter will be temporary physical conditions. In later chapters the other uses of ‘Estar’ will be explored.

Actividades

Numbers

Numbers are essential in daily communication. From telling the time to saying how many people or things there are in any given situation.

Numbers 1–30 in Spanish.

Numbers 1–5	Numbers 6–10	Numbers 11–15	Numbers 16–20	Numbers 21–25	Numbers 26–30
1 – uno 2 – dos 3 – tres 4 – cuatro 5 – cinco	6 – seis 7 – siete 8 – ocho 9 – nueve 10 – diez	11 – once 12 – doce 13 – trece 14 – catorce 15 – quince	16 – dieciséis 17 – diecisiete 18 – dieciocho 19 – diecinueve 20 – veinte	21 – veintiuno 22 – veintidós 23 – veintitrés 24 – veinticuatro 25 – veinticinco	26 – veintiséis 27 – veintisiete 28 – veintiocho 29 – veintinueve 30 – treinta

 

When counting, ‘uno’ is used, but when describing one male object ‘un’ is used. For example ‘un gato’ or ‘veintiun gatos’

When describing a female object, ‘una’ is used. For example ‘una silla’ or ‘veintiuna sillas’

Hay un profesor en la clase y veintidós estudiantes. (There is one professor and twenty-two students)

Frequently, when communicating with numbers, ‘hay’ is used to describe quantity.

Hay (There is/There are) – Is used when you want to give a quantity. It means both ‘There is’ and ‘There are’.

 

Actividades

Telling Time

Telling time in Spanish is a bit different than in English when using the numbers 1–30. Once the basic structure is understood, it becomes easier. Below is a visual of how to structure the telling of time in Spanish using the numbers 1–30.

Please note that from the beginning of the hour until ‘media’ the word ‘y’ (and) will be used. Then from ‘veintinueve’ until the end of the hour, the word ‘menos’ (minus) will be used to describe the minutes.

Also note that instead of ‘quince’ the word ‘cuarto’ will be used and instead of ‘treinta’ the word ‘media’ will be used for telling time.

The questions that are most useful when telling time are: ¿Qué hora es? (What time is it?) and ¿A qué hora es? (At what time is it?).

When answering the question: ‘¿Qué hora es?’, the verb ‘ser’ will be used. The verb ‘ser’ will agree with ‘hora’ or ‘horas’ even though those words are implicit and never spoken.

Use ‘Es la’ only when mentioning anything related to 1 o’clock.

Use ‘Son las’ for everything else 2–12.

Whole hours in Spanish.

English	Spanish
3:00	Son las tres
8:00	Son las ocho
1:00	Es la una
12:00	Son las doce

When adding minutes past the hour, please note that from the beginning of the hour until ‘media’ the word ‘y’ (and) will be used.

Minutes after the hour (y).

English	Spanish
5:25	Son las cinco y veinticinco
8:15	Son las ocho y cuarto
1:30	Es la una y media
10:10	Son las diez y diez

When adding minutes before the hour, please note that any minutes past ‘media’ until the end of the hour, the word ‘menos’ (minus) will be used.

Minutes before the hour (menos).

English	Spanish
4:31	Son las cinco menos veintinueve
8:40	Son las nueve menos veinte
12:50	Es la una menos diez
9:45	Son las diez menos cuarto

Ejemplos con de la mañana, de la tarde, de la noche.

English	Spanish
12:15 pm	Son las doce y cuarto de la tarde
12:30 am	Son las doce y media de la mañana
7:35 pm	Son las ocho menos veinticinco de la tarde
9:45 pm	Son las diez menos cuarto de la noche

Answering ¿A qué hora es?

At what time is…	It’s at…
¿A qué hora es la clase de español? At what time is the class of Spanish?	La clase de español es a la una y media de la tarde. Es a la una y media de la tarde.
¿A qué hora es la fiesta de Daniela? At what time is the party of Daniela?	La fiesta de Daniela es a las ocho y media de la noche. Es a las ocho y media de la noche.
¿A qué hora es el programa de televisión? At what time is the television show?	El programa de televisión es a las seis y media.

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Cultura: New Mexico and Hispanic Culture in the United States

New Mexico is an important state for Hispanic history in the United States. It was part of Mexico until the 1800s. In fact, along with New Mexico, Texas, Utah, Arizona, California, and Nevada were also fully included into Mexico’s territory before 1821. Texas didn’t become a state until 1845 which would only make it a state for 180 years out of the 249 years that the United States became a country. In many cases, political borders divided cultures, communities, and families that had been there for many hundreds of years. This is why New Mexico, just as the other states mentioned above, have such a rich Hispanic history. In the case of New Mexico just as the other states, many people speak Spanish. However, New Mexico is the only state where Spanish is used alongside English in state government functions. Because of New Mexico’s continued connection to Spanish, the traditions, the architecture, and the food demonstrate a mix of Indigenous, Mexican and Spanish cultures.