Spanish Grammar: Verbs
Conjugation
In Spanish, verbs are conjugated to show mood, tense, person, and number. Most verbs are conjugated after a regular pattern. Verbs that do not follow the pattern are said to be irregular and must be committed to memory. Even these irregular verbs are not irregular in all tenses.
The infinitive is the key word that is used to form all conjugations and tenses. The present indicative tense is formed by dropping the infinitive endings -ar, -er, and -ir, and to the remainder, which is the stem, attaching the proper endings.
The Present (el presente)
The present indicative tense in Spanish means that the time spoken of is present and indicates or points out a thing as material or existing. It may be used to make a statement or to ask a question, either affirmatively or negatively.
| hablo | I speak |
| hablas | you speak |
| habla | he/she/it speaks |
| hablamos | we speak |
| habláis | you (all) speak |
| hablan | they speak |
RULES OF CONJUGATION:
First conjugation: From the infinitive of all regular AR verbs, of which hablar is an example, the -ar ending is dropped, and to the remainder habl-, which is the stem, are attached the following endings: -o, -as, -a, -amos, -áis, -an.
HABLAR (to speak)
| yo | hablo | nosotros/as | hablamos |
| tú | hablas | vosotros/as | habláis |
| él, ella, Ud. | habla | ellos, ellas, Uds. | hablan |
Second conjugation: From the infinitive of all regular ER verbs, of which comer is an example, the -er ending is dropped and to the remainder, com, which is the stem, are attached the following endings: -o, -es, -e, -emos, -éis, -en.
COMER (to eat)
| yo | como | nosotros/as | comemos |
| tú | comes | vosotros/as | coméis |
| él, ella, Ud. | come | ellos, ellas, Uds. | comen |
Third conjugation: From the infinitive of all regular IR verbs, of which vivir is an example, the -ir ending is dropped and to the remainder, viv, which is the stem, are attached the following endings: -o, -es, -e, -imos, -ís, -en.
VIVIR (to live)
| yo | vivo | nosotros/as | vivimos |
| tú | vives | vosotros/as | vivís |
| él, ella, Ud. | vive | ellos, ellas, Uds. | viven |
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Uses of the present tense
(a) The present expresses, as in English, an action which is going on at the present time. Note that the Spanish present may be rendered in three ways in English.
Juan come.
John eats.
He does eat.
He is eating.
Ella baila.
She dances.
She does dance.
She is dancing.
(b) The present is frequently used to express an action which is to take place in the near future.
Mañana voy al campo.
Tomorrow I am going to the country.
Viene al instante.
He is coming immediately.
(c) The present is used to express an action or condition that began in the past and is continuing at the present. This construction is generally expressed as follows: hace + length of time + que + verb in present tense.
Hace diez minutos que estoy aquí.
I have been here for ten minutes.
Hace años que es profesor.
He has been a teacher for years.
Hace mucho tiempo que vivimos aquí.
We have been living here for a long time.
NOTE: The preposition for in the above examples is not expressed in Spanish.
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The IMPERFECT (el imperfecto)
In Spanish there are two past indicative tenses; the preterite indicative and the imperfect indicative. They are not used interchangeably. The latter is an added tense not found in English grammar.
| hablaba | I was speaking |
| hablabas | you were speaking |
| hablaba | you/he/she/it was speaking |
| hablábamos | we were speaking |
| hablabais | you (all) were speaking |
| hablaban | they were speaking |
RULES OF CONJUGATION:
The past imperfect tense is the easiest to form and the most regular of all tenses in Spanish.
First conjugation: From the infinitive of all regular AR verbs, of which hablar is an example, the -ar ending is dropped, and to the remainder habl, which is the stem, are attached the following endings: -aba, -abas, -aba, -ábamos, -abais, -aban.
HABLAR (to speak)
| yo | hablaba | nosotros/as | hablábamos |
| tú | hablabas | vosotros/as | hablabais |
| él, ella, Ud. | hablaba | ellos, ellas, Uds. | hablaban |
Second conjugation: From the infinitive of all regular ER verbs, of which comer is an example, the -er ending is dropped and to the remainder, com, which is the stem, are attached the following endings: -ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían.
COMER (to eat)
| yo | comía | nosotros/as | comíamos |
| tú | comías | vosotros/as | comíais |
| él, ella, Ud. | comía | ellos, ellas, Uds. | comían |
Third conjugation: From the infinitive of all regular IR verbs, of which vivir is an example, the -ir ending is dropped and to the remainder, viv, which is the stem, are attached the following endings: -ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían.
VIVIR (to live)
| yo | vivía | nosotros/as | vivíamos |
| tú | vivías | vosotros/as | vivíais |
| él, ella, Ud. | vivía | ellos, ellas, Uds. | vivían |
There are only three verbs in Spanish which are irregular in the past imperfect tense. They are: ser, ir, and ver. The endings of all three are regular.
See: |
ser | (to be) |
See: |
ir | (to go) |
See: |
ver | (to see) |
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Uses of the Imperfect tense
The imperfect indicative tense is used:
To express customary or habitual past action. This corresponds to the English "used" followed by an infinitive.
Yo comía allí cada día.
I used to eat there every day.
Él ganaba mucho dinero en México.
He used to earn a lot of money in Mexico.
To express an interrupted past action. In this case the interrupted action, that which was going on, is placed in the imperfect indicative, and the interrupting action, that which did the interrupting, is put in the preterite indicative. The imperfect action is generally expressed by the progressive imperfect (imperfect of estar plus the present participle of the main verb).
Yo estaba estudiando cuando Carlos entró.
I was studying when Carlos entered.
Yo manejaba el carro cuando vimos a los niños.
I was driving the car when we saw the children.
To express two or more actions occurring together. All of
these actions will be put in the imperfect and either the
simple imperfect or the progressive imperfect may be used.
(Notice that the translation in these cases is "was" or
"were" plus the present participle in English.)
Yo estaba trabajando (trabajaba), y ella estaba leyendo (leía).
I was working, and she was reading.
Enrique estaba jugando (jugaba) con su hijo, y su esposa estaba preparando (preparaba) la comida.
Enrique was playing with his son and his wife was preparing dinner.
To form the Past Progressive Tense. The imperfect tense of the verb estar is used before the present participle of a verb to show progressive action in past time. This action may also be expressed by the imperfect tense of the main verb.
Ella estaba trabajando allí.
She was working there.
Juan estaba viviendo solo.
Juan was living alone.
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Verbs to Avoid
Avoid using ir, venir, salir, and other verbs of motion in the progressive tenses. The verbs ir, andar, continuar, and seguir are also used with the present participle to express an even stronger progressive meaning. Of the four verbs, ir and andar are more commonly used.
Lo arrestaron porque andaba tomando.
They arrested him because he was walking about drinking.
Ellos iban caminando por el camino.
They were walking along the road.
Ella seguía cantando.
She kept on singing.
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Requirement of The Imperfect TENSE WITH CERTAIN VERBS
The imperfect tense expresses an action of indefinitely prolonged duration: Whatever the person was doing, used to do, or customarily did are the usual translations. Use the imperfect indicative tense to state whatever the person or persons (1) was or were, (2) had (possession), (3) knew, (4) wanted, (5) intended, (6) needed, or (7) owed.
Él no tenía dinero.
He didn't have any money.
No sabíamos eso.
We didn't know that.
No queríamos ir porque no teníamos dinero.
We didn't want to go because we didn't have any money.
¿Cuándo pensaba Ud. estudiar?
When did you intend to study?
Yo sabía que él era mexicano.
I knew that he was Mexican.
Él no me necesitaba.
He did not need me.
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preterite or simple past (el pretÉrito)
The simple past tense or so-called preterite (el pretérito) in Spanish is used to express any simple event or action in the past. It thus corresponds to the simple past tense in English. Such action, however, must be a completed past action.
| hablé | I spoke |
| hablaste | you spoke |
| habló | he/she/it spoke |
| hablamos | we spoke |
| hablasteis | you (all) spoke |
| hablaron | they spoke |
RULES OF CONJUGATION:
First conjugation: From the infinitive of all regular AR verbs, of which hablar is an example, the -ar ending is dropped, and to the remainder habl, which is the stem, are attached the following endings: -é, -aste, -ó, -amos, -asteis, -aron.
HABLAR (to speak)
| yo | hablé | nosotros/as | hablamos |
| tú | hablaste | vosotros/as | hablasteis |
| él, ella, Ud. | habló | ellos, ellas, Uds. | hablaron |
Second conjugation: From the infinitive of all regular ER verbs, of which comer is an example, the -er ending is dropped and to the remainder, com, which is the stem, are attached the following endings: -í, -iste, -ió, -imos, -isteis, -ieron.
COMER (to eat)
| yo | comí | nosotros/as | comimos |
| tú | comiste | vosotros/as | comisteis |
| él, ella, Ud. | comió | ellos, ellas, Uds. | comieron |
Third conjugation: From the infinitive of all regular IR verbs, of which vivir is an example, the -ir ending is dropped and to the remainder, viv, which is the stem, are attached the following endings: -í, -iste, -ió, -imos, -isteis, -ieron.
VIVIR (to live)
| yo | viví | nosotros/as | vivimos |
| tú | viviste | vosotros/as | vivisteis |
| él, ella, Ud. | vivió | ellos, ellas, Uds. | vivieron |
All regular verbs in the preterite tense bear a written accent over the last vowel in the first and third person singular. The preterite is used anytime a definite past action is expressed. A specific time does not have to be mentioned.
¿Cuántos documentos vendió Ud.?
How many documents did you sell?
¿(En) dónde compró Ud. eso?
Where did you buy that?
Yo hablé con él ayer.
I talked to him yesterday.
There are seventeen verbs (plus all of their derivatives) that are irregular in the preterite indicative tense. It is an easy tense to learn in that fourteen of these verbs, although possessing irregular stems, take the same irregular preterite endings as follows: e, iste, o, imos, isteis, ieron.
NOTICE: These endings carry no written accents. In these fourteen verbs, those ending in j drop the i of the -ieron ending: condujeron, dijeron, trajeron. In the third person singular, of hacer the c changes to z to retain the original soft c sound.
| Infinitive | Irregular | -e | -iste | -o | -imos | -isteis | -ieron |
| stem | |||||||
| hacer | hic- | hice |
hiciste |
hizo |
hicimos |
hicisteis |
hicieron |
| estar | estuv- | estuve |
estuviste |
estuvo |
estuvimos |
estuvisteis |
estuvieron |
| haber | hub- | hube |
hubiste |
hubo |
hubimos |
hubisteis |
hubieron |
| andar | anduv- | anduve |
anduviste |
anduvo |
anduvimos |
anduvisteis |
anduvieron |
| poder | pud- | pude |
pudiste |
pudo |
pudimos |
pudisteis |
pudieron |
| poner | pus- | puse |
pusiste |
puso |
pusimos |
pusisteis |
pusieron |
| tener | tuv- | tuve |
tuviste |
tuvo |
tuvimos |
tuvisteis |
tuvieron |
| venir | vin- | vine |
viniste |
vino |
vinimos |
vinisteis |
vinieron |
| querer | quis- | quise |
quisiste |
quiso |
quisimos |
quisisteis |
quisieron |
| saber | sup- | supe |
supiste |
supo |
supimos |
supisteis |
supieron |
| traer | traj- | traje |
trajiste |
trajo |
trajimos |
trajisteis |
trajeron |
| decir | dij- | dije |
dijiste |
dijo |
dijimos |
dijisteis |
dijeron |
| conducir | conduj- | conduje |
condujiste |
condujo |
condujimos |
condujisteis |
condujeron |
| caber | cup- | cupe |
cupiste |
cupo |
cupimos |
cupisteis |
cupieron |
Ser and ir are conjugated alike in the preterite indicative tense.
| SER | (to be) |
IR | (to go) |
| fui | fui | ||
| fuiste | fuiste | ||
| fue | fue | ||
| fuimos | fuimos | ||
| fuisteis | fuisteis | ||
| fueron | fueron |
Dar is conjugated like a regular er verb in the preterite tense but without the written accents: di, diste, dio, dimos, dieron.
Any verb of the second and third conjugation whose stem ends in a vowel changes the unaccented i between vowels to y as an unaccented i may not appear between vowels in Spanish:
LEER - (to read)
| leí | leímos |
| leíste | leísteis |
| leyó | leyeron |
CAER - (to fall)
| caí | caímos |
| caíste | caísteis |
| cayó | cayeron |
OÍR - (to hear)
| oí | oímos |
| oíste | oísteis |
| oyó | oyeron |
CREER - (to believe)
| creí | creímos |
| creíste | creísteis |
| creyó | creyeron |
Many verbs appear to be irregular in the preterite, but are only orthographically -i.e, undergo is a change in the spelling. The change in spelling is made in order to retain the sound of the final consonant of the stem of the verb. Infinitives ending in car change the c to qu before e in the first person singular in order to retain the k sound. Infinitives ending in gar change the g to gu in the first person singular in order to retain the hard g sound.
brincar - (to jump) |
brinqué |
buscar - (to look for) |
busqué |
tocar - (to touch) |
toqué |
sacar - (to take out) |
saqué |
llegar - (to arrive) |
llegué |
pagar - (to pay) |
pagué |
rogar - (to beg) |
rogué |
pegar - (to hit) |
pegué |
Radical changing verbs of the third classifications make certain changes in the stem of the verb in the preterite tense. The o of the stem changes to u in the third persons singular and plural. The e of the stem changes to i in the third persons singular and plural.
MENTIR - (to lie)
| mentí | mentimos |
| mentiste | mentisteis |
| mintió | mintieron |
DORMIR - (to sleep)
| dormí | dormimos |
| dormiste | dormisteis |
| durmió | durmieron |
The following verbs undergo the same changes mentioned above in the preterite tense:
consentir - (to consent)
divertir - (to amuse)
medir - (to measure)
morir - (to die)
pedir - (to ask for)
preferir - (to prefer)
referir - (to refer)
repetir - (to repeat)
seguir - (to follow)
sentir - (to feel)
servir - (to serve)
vestir - (to dress)
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DIFFERENT meanings IN THE PRETERITE TENSE
Certain verbs have entirely different meanings when they are used in the preterite tense.
Saber in the preterite tense means did find out, or found out.
¿Cómo supo Ud. eso? Yo supe porque él me dijo.
How did you find that out?
I found out because he told me.
No querer in the preterite tense means would not. (It should be used only with negative sentences indicating refusal.)
El cónsul no quiso darme una visa.
The consul would not give me a visa.
Ellos no quisieron hacerlo.
They would not do it.
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Uses of the preterite tense
The preterite is used to express a single or a definitely completed action in the past. It frequently indicates something which happened to interrupt another past action or condition already in progress (expressed by the imperfect). The preterite is rendered in English by the auxiliary did, or by the past tense of the verb in question.
Ayer fui al cine.
I went to the movies yesterday.
Él no habló con Pedro.
He did not speak to Peter.
Comían cuando llegué.
They were eating when I arrived.
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The Future (el futuro)
| hablaré | I will speak |
| hablarás | you will speak |
| hablará | he/she/it will speak |
| hablaremos | we will speak |
| hablaréis | you (all) will speak |
| hablarán | they will speak |
RULES OF CONJUGATION:
All verbs have regular endings in the future tense, but a few common verbs have irregular stems.
First conjugation: The future tense of all regular verbs is formed by adding -é, -ás, -á, -emos, -éis, -án to the infinitive.
Notice that all of these endings except -emos have a written accent.
HABLAR (to speak)
| yo | hablaré | nosotros | hablaremos |
| tú | hablarás | vosotros | hablaréis |
| él, ella, Ud. | hablará | ellos, ellas, Uds. | hablarán |
Second conjugation: The future tense of all regular verbs is formed by adding -é, -ás, -á, -emos, -éis, -án to the infinitive.
Notice that all of these endings except -emos have a written accent.
COMER (to eat)
| yo | comeré | nosotros | comeremos |
| tú | comerás | vosotros | comeréis |
| él, ella, Ud. | comerá | ellos, ellas, Uds. | comerán |
Third conjugation: The future tense of all regular verbs is formed by adding -é, -ás, -á, -emos, -éis, -án to the infinitive.
Notice that all of these endings except -emos have a written accent.
VIVIR (to live)
| yo | viviré | nosotros | viviremos |
| tú | vivirás | vosotros | viviréis |
| él, ella, Ud. | vivirá | ellos, ellas, Uds. | vivirán |
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IRREGULAR VERBS OF THE FUTURE INDICATIVE TENSE
The twelve verbs listed below are the basic irregular verbs of the future indicative tense.
In five, the vowel of the infinitive ending is deleted:
| CABER | cabré, cabrás, cabrá, cabremos, cabréis, cabrán |
| HABER | habré, habrás, habrá, habremos, habréis, habrán |
| PODER | podré, podrás, podrá, podremos, podréis, podrán |
| QUERER | querré, querrás, querrá, querremos, querréis, querrán |
| SABER | sabré, sabrás, sabrá, sabremos, sabréis, sabrán |
In five, the vowel of the infinitive ending is changed to d before attaching the regular endings:
| PONER | pondré, pondrás, pondrá, pondremos, pondréis, pondrán |
| SALIR | saldré, saldrás, saldrá, saldremos, saldréis, saldrán |
| TENER | tendré, tendrás, tendrá, tendremos, tendréis, tendrán |
| VALER | valdré, valdrás, valdrá, valdremos, valdréis, valdrán |
| VENIR | vendré, vendrás, vendrá, vendremos, vendréis, vendrán |
In two, decir and hacer, the letters ec and ce, respectively, are deleted from the infinitive:
| DECIR | diré, dirás, dirá, diremos, diréis, dirán |
| HACER | haré, harás, hará, haremos, haréis, harán |
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Uses of the future tense
The future expresses an action or state which is to take place in the future. It is rendered in English by shall in the first person, and by will in the second and third persons.
Le/Lo veré.
I shall see him.
Me dispensarán.
They will excuse me.
The future is often used to express probability, conjecture or wonderment in the present time. This construction is called the future of probability.
Será rico.
He must be (probably is) rich.
¿Qué hora será?
I wonder what time it is.
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The conditional MOOD (El Modo Condicional)
The conditional indicative tense is generally translated by would*.
*The native speaker will generally say I will go to his house. Remember that when would not expresses a refusal, it is still translated by the preterite tense of querer.
| hablaría | I would speak |
| hablaríass | you would speak |
| hablaría | he/she/it would speak |
| hablaríamos | we would speak |
| hablaríais | you (all) would speak |
| hablarían | they would speak |
RULES OF CONJUGATION:
First conjugation: The conditional of all regular verbs is formed by adding –ía, –ías, –ía, –íamos, –íais, –ían to the infinitive.
HABLAR (to speak)
| yo | hablaría | nosotros | hablaríamos |
| tú | hablarías | vosotros | hablaríais |
| él, ella, Ud. | hablaría | ellos, ellas, Uds. | hablarían |
Second conjugation: The conditional tense of all regular verbs is formed by adding –ía, –ías, –ía, –íamos, –íais, –ían to the infinitive.
COMER (to eat)
| yo | comería | nosotros | comeríamos |
| tú | comerías | vosotros | comeríais |
| él, ella, Ud. | comería | ellos, ellas, Uds. | comerían |
Third conjugation: The conditional of all regular verbs is formed by adding –ía, –ías, –ía, –íamos, –íais, –ían to the infinitive.
VIVIR (to live)
| yo | viviría | nosotros | viviríamos |
| tú | vivirías | vosotros | viviríais |
| él, ella, Ud. | viviría | ellos, ellas, Uds. | vivirían |
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Irregular Verbs of the Conditional Tense
The same twelve verbs that are irregular in the future tense are also irregular in the conditional indicative tense. The irregular stem for the future tense is the same stem used for the conditional tense. The endings are the same for both regular and irregular verbs.
In five, the vowel of the infinitive ending is deleted:
| CABER | cabría, cabrías, cabría, cabríamos, cabríais, cabrían |
| HABER | habría, habrías, habría, habríamos, habríais, habrían |
| PODER | podría, podrías, podría, podríamos, podríais, podrían |
| QUERER | querría, querrías, querría, querríamos, querríais, querrían |
| SABER | sabría, sabrías, sabría, sabríamos, sabríais, sabrían |
In five, the vowel of the infinitive ending is changed to d before attaching the regular endings:
| PONER | pondría, pondrías, pondría, pondríamos, pondríais, pondrían |
| SALIR | saldría, saldrías, saldría, saldríamos, saldríais, saldrían |
| TENER | tendría, tendrías, tendría, tendríamos, tendríais, tendrían |
| VALER | valdría, valdrías, valdría, valdríamos, valdríais, valdrían |
| VENIR | vendría, vendrías, vendría, vendríamos, vendríais, vendrían |
In two, decir and hacer, the letters ec and ce, respectively, are deleted from the infinitive:
| DECIR | diría, dirías, diría, diríamos, diríais, dirían |
| HACER | haría, harías, haría, haríamos, haríais, harían |
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Uses of the conditional Tense
1. A future-possible condition is one which indicates a simple future action which may or may not take place. This type of condition offers no difficulty. In Spanish, as in English, the present tense is used in the if clause, and the future tense is used in the main or answer clause.
Si Juan viene, traerá los discos.
If John comes, he will bring the records.
Si tengo tiempo mañana, iré a la playa.
If I have time tomorrow, I will go to the beach.
2. A present-unreal condition is one which, while referring in general to present time, indicates some unreal or contrary-to-fact situation. In such conditions, the imperfect subjunctive is used in the if clause and the conditional is used in the main or answer clause.
Si Juan tuviera un automóvil, pasaría sus vacaciones en el campo.
If John had an automobile, he would spend his vacations in the country.
Si María supiera nadar, iría a la playa todos los días.
If Mary knew how to swim, she would go to the beach every day.
NOTE:
(1) In a simple condition which is really a mere statement of fact, the indicative is used in both clauses in Spanish, as in English.
Si necesito papel, lo compraré.
If I need paper, I will buy it.
Si vienen los niños, nos divertimos.
If the children come, we have a good time.
Si estaba aquí, no lo dijo.
If he was here, he didn' t say so.
(2) Would, in the sense of an habitual action, is translated by the imperfect and not by the conditional.
Venía a verme todos los días.
He would (used to) come to see me every day.
(3) Should, in the sense of ought to, is rendered by deber.
Deberíamos estudiar.
We ought to (should) study.