The Verb Estar + Prepositions of Place

The verb estar is used to express the position of something, but with prepositions of place, it is used to express location.

Reviewing Verb Estar

Rule 1. The verb estar is one of the main verbs to pick up when starting to learn Spanish. Its conjugation is as follows:

Rule 2. Among other multiple uses, the verb estar is used to express position.

For this reason, it makes sense to use it with prepositions of place to locate something or someone in a certain space.

How to Use the Verb Estar to Express Location?

Rule 3. When accompanied by prepositions of place, the verb estar will help you say where something or someone is. This function is very useful, especially when giving directions, meeting someone, or giving instructions.

Prepositions of Place

Rule 4. The most common prepositions of place in Spanish are the following:

Rule 5. Telling the location of something in Spanish is quite simple: you only have to conjugate the verb estar, add the preposition of place, the preposition de, and the place itself:

Rule 6. To create the negative form, just add a no before the verb estar:

Remember about The Definite Article

Rule 7. When telling the location with this construction, the place is always accompanied by a definite article (el, la, los, las).

The Preposition De - Contraction

Rule 8. Another key element in this construction is the preposition de. Please note that since the place must be accompanied by a definite article, the contraction del (de+el) will appear when you use a masculine singular definite article.