B2 · The passive · about 4 minutes
estar + participle: the result
English says «was closed» for both; Spanish makes you choose.
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“New to me”: the explanation first, then practice. “Test myself”: 2 short questions – get at least two right and you go straight to the harder exercises.
Words you will need2
They appear in this topic’s examples and exercises and are new at this point on the learning path.
- la policíathe police
- juntonext to; together
Understand
Rememberser is what happened, estar is how it stands — and «got» points at ser.
- Signal words
- está
- están
- estaba
- estaban
The form
How the forms are built
Each row gives the meaning first, then the form in Spanish. The colours show what changes from one form to the next.
stem (regular) tense marker auxiliary verb
| event | La tienda fue cerrada por la policía. |
| result | La tienda está cerrada. |
| agreement | Las ventanas están abiertas. |
| common cases | está roto, está cansado, está sentado |
| past | estaba cerrado cuando llegamos |
| never with por | está cerrada, sin agente |
| I am tired | (yo) estoy cansado |
| you are tired (tú) | (tú) estás cansado |
| he is tired / you are tired (usted) | (él, usted) está cansado |
| we are tired | (nosotros) estamos cansados |
| you are tired (vosotros) | (vosotros) estáis cansados |
| they are tired / you are tired (ustedes) | (ellos, ustedes) están cansados |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
estar plus participle names the state afterwards.
El museo está cerrado los lunes.The museum is closed on Mondays.
The participle agrees like an adjective.
Las cartas ya están escritas.The letters are written already.
No doer is ever named here.
La ventana está rota.The window is broken.
ser names the event instead — the doer can follow with por.
La puerta fue abierta por la policía.The door was opened by the police.
Example sentences
Todo está preparado para la fiesta.Everything is ready for the party.
Los platos están lavados.The dishes are washed.
La calle estaba cortada por las obras.The street was closed off because of the roadworks.
7 more example sentences
Estoy sentado junto a la ventana.I am sitting by the window.
La comida ya está hecha.The food is ready.
Las tiendas están cerradas hasta las cinco.The shops are shut until five.
El informe está terminado.The report is finished.
Estaba muy cansada después del viaje.She was very tired after the journey.
Los billetes están reservados.The tickets are booked.
El coche está aparcado en la esquina.The car is parked on the corner.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
«Is closed» has «is» in it, so out comes ser: La tienda es cerrada. That sentence means the shop is being closed, by somebody, right now. For the state it is está — and the test is whether «got» would fit: «the shop gets closed on Sundays» is a different claim from «the shop is closed on Sundays».
Quick check
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The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
serplus participle names the eventestarplus participle the state it leaves behind La puerta fue cerrada a las ocho — somebody closed it at eight. La puerta está cerrada — it is shut now, and who shut it does not come into it.
«The door was closed» is both of those sentences at once, and English decides by context or not at all. There is one place where English does mark it: *«get»*. «The door got closed» is unmistakably the event, «the door was closed» drifts towards the state. Where you could say «got», Spanish wants fue; where you could not, it wants está.
A participle after estar is grammatically an adjective and agrees like one: Las ventanas están abiertas. That also means no por phrase can follow it — a state has no doer.
The verbs on this page, in every form: estar · cerrar · preparar · sentarse