Spanish phrase of the week

¿Estás listo?

Are you ready?

B1, intermediateYou can get by in most everyday and travel situations, follow the main points when people speak clearly about familiar things, and talk about your experiences and plans.

How to use it

With estar, listo means ready. With ser, it means clever. So estoy listo is “I’m ready”, but soy listo is “I’m clever”, which might raise an eyebrow.

The usual rule of thumb: estar for states that can change, ser for what someone or something is like. Being ready is a state; being clever is a quality.

Remember to match the ending: listo for a man, lista for a woman, listos or listas for a group.

Examples

  • ¿Estás lista? Nos vamos en cinco minutos.

    Are you ready? We're leaving in five minutes.

  • Tu hijo es muy listo.

    Your son is very clever.

  • La comida está lista.

    Lunch is ready.

Good to know

Listo isn't the only one. Estar aburrido is to be bored, ser aburrido to be boring. Estar malo is to be ill, ser malo to be bad.

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