When a Spanish speaker asks you "Cómo estás?" he/she is asking the equivalent of "How are you doing?" The infinitive ESTAR means TO BE. However, Spanish divides the use of the verb TO BE into at least a dozen categories. Therefore, it is very important to memorize these uses. Overall, the verb ESTAR is used to depict CONDITION and LOCATION. It is important to note that CONDITION is not a personality trait. Conditions are states of being and should not be interpreted as part of someone's personality makeup. Location simply informs the listener as to where something is placed, or located. The verb ESTAR conjugates in the following manner: 1st sg: Yo ESTOY 2nd sg: Tú ESTÁS 3rd sg: él, ella, Usted ESTÁ 1st pl. nosotros ESTAMOS 2nd pl: vosotros ESTÁIS 3rd pl: ellos, ellas, ustedes ESTÁN To best understand how or when to recognize whether to use the verb ESTAR, knowledge of vocabulary is very important, as it will help determine whether the sentences describes a condition or a location. If there are words in the exercise that are unfamiliar to you, please consult a good dictionary. In the practice exercise, select the appropriate form of ESTAR that applies to the subject pronoun (Yo, tú, ella, etc.) ESTOY ESTÁS ESTÁ ESTAMOS ESTÁIS ESTÁN