To stay /tu steɪ/ significa quedarse, permanecer o mantenerse. Usamos este verbo cuando una persona o cosa continúa en un lugar, en una condición o en una situación.
Un uso muy común es hablar de permanecer en un lugar:
- Stay home — Quedarse en casa.
- Stay at a hotel — Hospedarse/quedarse en un hotel.
- Stay with my family — Quedarse con mi familia.
También usamos stay + adjetivo para expresar la idea de mantenerse en una condición. Por ejemplo, stay hydrated significa mantenerse hidratado:
- Drink water to stay hydrated — “Toma agua para mantenerte hidratado”.
Otros ejemplos con esta estructura son: stay calm (mantener la calma), stay healthy (mantenerse saludable), stay focused (mantenerse enfocado) y stay awake (mantenerse despierto).
Stay y live /lɪv/ no significan exactamente lo mismo. Live normalmente habla del lugar donde una persona vive de forma habitual. Stay puede hablar de quedarse por un tiempo limitado: "I live in Dallas, but I am staying in Houston this week".
Stay es un verbo regular: stay → stayed → stayed. La forma de tercera persona stays se pronuncia /steɪz/, con sonido final /z/. El pasado y el participio stayed se pronuncian /steɪd/, con sonido final /d/. El gerundio staying se pronuncia /ˈsteɪ.ɪŋ/.
Simple Tense
Simple Present Tense
| Pers. | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1ª | I stay | We stay |
| 2ª | You stay | You stay |
| 3ª | He/She/It stays | They stay |
Stay: /steɪ/, stays: /steɪz/
Simple Past Tense
| Pers. | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1ª | I stayed | We stayed |
| 2ª | You stayed | You stayed |
| 3ª | He/She/It stayed | They stayed |
Stayed: /steɪd/
Simple Future Tense
| Pers. | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1ª | I will stay | We will stay |
| 2ª | You will stay | You will stay |
| 3ª | He/She/It will stay | They will stay |
Will stay: /wɪl steɪ/
Continuous Tense
Present Continuous Tense
| Pers. | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1ª | I am staying | We are staying |
| 2ª | You are staying | You are staying |
| 3ª | He/She/It is staying | They are staying |
Staying: /ˈsteɪ.ɪŋ/
Past Continuous Tense
| Pers. | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1ª | I was staying | We were staying |
| 2ª | You were staying | You were staying |
| 3ª | He/She/It was staying | They were staying |
Was staying: /wəz ˈsteɪ.ɪŋ/, Were staying: /wɜr ˈsteɪ.ɪŋ/
Future Continuous Tense
| Pers. | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1ª | I will be staying | We will be staying |
| 2ª | You will be staying | You will be staying |
| 3ª | He/She/It will be staying | They will be staying |
Will be staying: /wɪl bi ˈsteɪ.ɪŋ/
Perfect Tense
Present Perfect Tense
| Pers. | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1ª | I have stayed | We have stayed |
| 2ª | You have stayed | You have stayed |
| 3ª | He/She/It has stayed | They have stayed |
Have stayed: /hæv steɪd/, Has stayed: /hæz steɪd/
Past Perfect Tense
| Pers. | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1ª | I had stayed | We had stayed |
| 2ª | You had stayed | You had stayed |
| 3ª | He/She/It had stayed | They had stayed |
Had stayed: /hæd steɪd/
Future Perfect Tense
| Pers. | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1ª | I will have stayed | We will have stayed |
| 2ª | You will have stayed | You will have stayed |
| 3ª | He/She/It will have stayed | They will have stayed |
Will have stayed: /wɪl hæv steɪd/
