Idioms with Estar Flashcards
to be on the verge of…
estar a punto de (to be on the verge of). Estaba a punto de llamarte. (I was just about to call you.)
it’s seen (ie, obvious)
estar visto (to be obvious). Estaba visto que no era particularmente una buena opción. (It was obvious that it wasn’t particularly a good option.)
came to be
llegar a estar (to become). ¿Cómo llegaste a estar delgada tan rápido? (How did you become thin so quickly?)
to be broke $$
estar sin un cobre O estar sin un duro (to be broke). Recuerdo una época que yo estaba sin un duro. (I remember a time when I was flat broke.)
to be ready to jump at an opportunity
estar a la que salta (to be ready to take advantage or make the best of a situation). Durante la Guerra Fría, tantos rusos como americanos estaban a la que salta por averiguar qué hacía el otro. (During the Cold War, as many Russians as Americans were ready to jump at the chance to figure out what the other side was doing.)
it goes mouth to mouth (ie, to hear through the grapevine)
andar de boca en boca
Example: Anda de boca en boca que el marido de Paola es un mujeriego. “I heard through the grape vine that Paolo’s husband is a skirt chaser.”
to be in a good mood
estar de buen ánimo (to be in a good mood). Mariano explicó que ayer su padre estuvo de buen ánimo. (Mariano explained that yesterday his father was in a good mood.)
to be about to
estar para + infinitive to be about to Ella ya está para salir. She is about to leave. !!!(not "estar por" - that's to be in favor of something)!!!
to be in style
estar a la moda (to be in style): Los pantalones de campana no están de moda. (Bell-bottom pants aren’t in style.)
it is to be seen (ie, we’ll see)
estar por ver (to remain to be seen). Y está por ver la respuesta del Gobierno de España. (The response of the Spanish government remains to be seen.)
to be in good condition / good shape (NB 2 answers. One for things and one for people)
estar en condiciones
to be in good shape
La biblioteca finalmente está en condiciones para recibir muchos estudiantes.
The library is finally in shape to receive many students.
estar en forma
to be in good shape
Roberto es muy guapo y está en forma.
Roberto is very handsome and he is in good shape.
go from bad to worse
ir de mal en peor
Example: La situación en ese país va de mal en peor. “The situation in that country is getting worse and worse”.
to be lost / in limbo
estar en el limbo
to be lost
Me sentía en el limbo después de escuchar la noticia.
I felt lost after hearing the news.
to be sick in the…part of the body like stomach/guts/legs, etc.
estar mal de (un órgano del cuerpo) (to have a bad body part). Roger estaba mal de la espalda y no podía jugar con toda su capacidad. (Roger had a bad back and couldn’t play to full capacity.)
to be up to date on events. (2 answers)
estar al corriente o al día (to be up to date or current). No estoy al corriente en mis pagos. (I’m not up to date with my payments.)
estar al día (to be informed). Quiero estar al día con todo lo que pueda con mi bebé. (I want to know about everything that can happen with my baby.)
to be in the arms of morfeo (ie, sleeping)
estar en brazos de Morfeo
to be sleeping
La nena está ahorita en brazos de Morfeo.
The little girl is now sleeping.
to be at the limit of your patience
estar al límite (to be at one’s limit in patience). En estos momentos estoy al límite, y me hace daño ver como mi novio se autodestruye. (These days I am at my limit, and it pains me to see how my boyfriend is self-destructing.)
to be excessive or too much or over the top
estar de más (to be excessive). La seguridad nunca está de más durante la presencia del presidente. (There is never too much security during the presence of the president.)
estar de sobra
to be in excess
Los jugos que trajeron están de sobra.
The juice they brought is in excess.
What’s going on here? (Where are we?!?!) I can’t believe it!
¿Dónde estamos? ¡No lo puedo creer!
to have your head in the moon or head in the clouds(ie, to be daydreaming)
estar en la luna
to have one’s head in the clouds
Raquel vino tarde y por eso está en la luna.
Rachel came late and that is why she has her head in the clouds.
estar en las nubes
to daydream
Pedro está enamorado y parece que está en las nubes.
Pedro is in love and it seems like he is daydreaming.
to be passing through
estar de paso
to be passing through
No se moleste en tomar mi saco, solamente estoy de paso.
Don’t bother on getting my jacket, I am just passing through.
to be involved with everything
estar en todo
to have a finger in everything
Gabriela siempre quiere estar en todo y no hace nada bien.
Gabriela always wants to have a finger in everything and she does nothing well.
to be in the dark / ignorant of things
estar a oscuras (to be ignorant or in the dark). Estoy a oscuras en estos temas. (I am in the dark about these subjects.)
to be soaked by rain
estar calado
to be soaked to the skin
Nos regresamos corriendo bajo la lluvia y estamos calados.
We came back running under the rain and we are soaked to the skin.
