Location Flashcards
Basic Spanish
Use of Estar v. Haber
Both the verbs estar and haber can be used to indicate the presence of a person or thing. However, they are seldom interchangeable.
The difference is that haber, typically in the form of hay in the present tense or había for the past, is used to indicate the mere existence of the person or thing.
Estar, on the other hand, is used to indicate the location of the person or thing.
As a general rule, estar is used when a specific person or thing is referred to (but a third-person form of haber can be used when the word is used more generically). Estar is used with:
- a noun preceded by a definite article (the word el, la, los or las, meaning “the”),
- a demonstrative adjective (a word such as ese or esta, meaning “that” or “this,” respectively) or
- a possessive adjective (such as mi or tu, meaning “my” or “your,” respectively).
With nouns that can’t have a location, haber must be used:
- No había problema. (There was no problem.)
- Hay riesgo inmediato. (There’s an immediate risk.)
away from me
lejos de mi
downhill
cuesta abajo
encounter ; rendezvous ; meet (n.)
encuentro
from the U.S.
de los Estados Unidos
here
aqui
in Spain
en España
in the car
en el coche
inside
dentro
near the bank
cerca del banco
next to the apples
al lado de las manzanas
on the left/right
a la izquierda/derecha
on the sidewalk
en la acera
opposite the market
enfrente del Mercado
outside the café
fuera del café
distant, far, remote
My aunt and uncle live in a farm far from the city.
alejado
Mis tíos viven en una granja alejada de la ciudad.
