Estar Spanish Conjugations: The Ultimate Guide

Estar in the Past Subjunctive

The past subjunctive (also called the imperfect subjunctive) is used to express hypothetical situations, wishes, doubts, emotions, or uncertainty in the past. It often appears in “if” clauses, polite requests, and reported speech.

To form the past subjunctive of estar, take the third-person plural (ellos/ellas/ustedes) form of estar in the preterite tense (estuvieron) and drop the “-ron”, then add the past subjunctive endings.

Conjugation Table: Estar in the Past Subjunctive

Note: Both -ra and -se endings are correct and used interchangeably, though the -ra form (estuviera) is more common in modern spoken Spanish.

Examples:

• Ojalá estuviera en la playa ahora mismo.
  (I wish I were at the beach right now.)
• Si estuvieras aquí, podríamos ver la película juntos.
  (If you were here, we could watch the movie together.)
• Esperaba que él estuviera feliz con la noticia.
  (I hoped that he was happy with the news.)
• Querían que estuviéramos listos antes de las 8.
  (They wanted us to be ready before 8.)

Tips for Using Estar in the Past Subjunctive

• Use it after expressions of doubt, wishes, or emotions in the past:
  Example: Me sorprendió que estuvieras tan callado en la reunión.
  (It surprised me that you were so quiet in the meeting.)

• Use it in “if” (si) clauses to describe hypothetical situations:
  Example: Si estuvieras más organizado, terminarías antes.
  (If you were more organized, you would finish earlier.)

• Combine it with conditional tense for “if… then” statements:
  Example: Si yo estuviera en tu lugar, hablaría con el jefe.
  (If I were in your place, I would talk to the boss.)

• Use it for polite requests with verbs like “querer” or “gustar”:
  Example: Me gustaría que estuvieras aquí.
  (I would like for you to be here.)

Mastering the past subjunctive of estar helps you express hypothetical thoughts, emotions, and polite requests in past situations—an essential skill for fluent Spanish conversations!