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Learning and mastering a new language is a different process for each person. The technical or theoretical aspects may appear complicated at first, but it’s all about focused practice. In time, as you use a language for everyday activities and conversation, you will get to assimilate its logic and navigate through it seamlessly and with confidence. In this post you will receive a complete guide to Spanish verb conjugation.
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We wrote this article for all of you who are looking to grasp the technical elements of Spanish conjugation. No matter what stage you are at, beginner or advanced, this article will be your guide for any doubts you may have in the correct use of verbs in Spanish. We also created an Index Chart, which you will find at the end of this post, with links to deeper explanations and examples on each particular tense.
So, let’s start off by taking a look at the whole picture of Spanish verb conjugation.
- There are four variables in play: person, or persona; number, or número; mood, or modo; and tense, or tiempo.
- There are three basic conjugation types or paradigms: verbs ending in -ar, -er or -ir.
- And there are regular and irregular verbs. Regular verbs are conjugated by changing the suffix to the verb’s root. Irregular verbs work in a different way, but we will get to them soon enough.
Now we’re going dive into each one of these cases. First we’ll explain the variables for each verb form, this will help you identify when to use each one. Then we’ll get to the conjugation paradigms or types, showing you examples so you’ll know how to use each form. And finally, we’ll get to the exceptions, or the irregular verbs. So get ready, and let’s do this!
THE VARIABLES
Person and Number
When we talk about the grammatical person, we refer refer to the expression that states to whom the speaker or subject of the sentence is referring to. So, if the subject of the sentence is referring to itself (I, me); it’s in the first person. But when the subject is referring to another person that is also involved in the action expressed in the sentence (you); it’s in the second person. And, when the speaker is referring to someone who is not directly involved in the action of the sentence (him, her, it); it’s in the third person. (Check out this post for more details and examples on the grammatical person.)
The number expresses either singular or plural.
These are the simpler kinds of conjugation that give us our six basic forms. They are created by the combination of the first, second and third person with their plural and singular variations. We will use the verb hablar, “to speak”:
1st person singular: yo hablo – plural: nosotros hablamos
2nd person singular: tu hablas – plural: ustedes hablan / vosotros habláis
3rd person singular: el/ella habla – plural: ellos/ellas hablan
As you can see, this is a quite simple conjugation. The verb’s stem habl- remains the same, and the last letters determine the differences: -o, -amos in the first person; -as, -an, -áis in the second person; and -a,-an in the third person.
Mood
In Spanish we have three verb moods: indicative, subjunctive, and imperative.
The indicative mood expresses an action from an objective point of view. It talks about something that has happened, that is happening or that will happen.
The subjunctive mood let’s you express an idea, something that may or may not happen. It allows the speaker to express uncertainty, fear or desire.
The third mood is the imperative. This is the kind of mood in which the speaker expresses an action that will take place, as an order. This mood only has a present tense form.
Besides these three, there are some auxiliary moods. These are the infinitive, the gerund and the participle. However, they are not considered authentic verb forms. They are some kind of hybrid that may work as different parts of a sentence.
The conjugation for each mood varies according to the time the action happened. That is the tense, or tiempo. So let’s jump right into tenses and then we will see how all these forms work together.
(If you want to further learn about verb moods in Spanish, check out this article.)
Tense
The tense expresses the time period when the action takes place: present, past of future. So, if it’s something that has already happened, it will be presented in the past tense. If it’s something that is currently happening, it will be in the present tense. And if it’s something that will happen later, it will be in future tense.
Each tense has an imperfect, perfect and indefinite form. These allow the speaker to further specify the state of the action that is being spoken about. Let’s look a bit into them.
The imperfect tense expresses an action that is not yet completed or that is somewhat incomplete. The perfect tense presents an action that has been done. And the indefinites, well, they tell about something that isn’t determined, it may be a conditional or it may be unknown.
Here is an additional piece of information that will be helpful: imperfect and indefinite tenses are simple, while perfect tenses are compound. Simple tenses are those that stand alone, compound tenses require support from some form of the verb “to be”.
This article may help you get a clearer picture on how tenses work in Spanish.
THE PARADIGMS
Now, to get into the example charts, let’s go through the conjugation paradigms or types.
There are three basic word structures that determine how you conjugate verbs. In the Spanish academic tradition, these are often taught with the infinitive form of these words: cantar, comer, vivir. These are examples of verbs ending with: -ar, -er, -ir.
However, verbs ending in -er and -ir share most of their conjugations. So, to make it easier, we will consider two categories of verb endings. But if you are feeling like a pro, definitely check out Real Academia Española’s full conjugation chart.
Spanish Verbs with -ar ending
The following chart shows the verb endings that are added to the stem of the verb after removing the infinitive ending. For example: cant-ar (to sing), bail-ar (to dance), llor-ar (to cry).
Indicative mood
| Present | Past imperfect | Simple past (Indefinite preterite) |
Future imperfect | Future indefinite | |
| 1st person singular | -o | -aba | -é | -aré | -aría |
| 2nd person singular | -as | -abas | -aste | -arás | -arías |
| 3rd person singular | -a | -aba | -ó | -ará | -aría |
| 1st person plural | -amos | -ábamos | -amos | -aremos | -aríamos |
| 2nd person plural | -áis / -an | -abais / -aban | -asteis / -aron | -aréis / -arán | -aríais / -arían |
| 3rd person plural | -an | -aban | -aron | -arán | -arían |
Example: Cantar (to sing)
- Present tense:
- Yo cant-o
- Tú cant-as
- Él/ella cant-a
- Nosotros cant-amos
- Vosotros cant-áis / Ustedes cant-an
- Ellos/ellas cant-an
- Past tense
- Yo cant-aba; yo cant-é
- Tú cant-abas; tú cant-aste
- Él/ella cant-aba; él/ella cant-ó
- Nosotros cant-ábamos; nosotros cant-amos
- Vosotros cant-abais / ustedes cant-aban; vosotros cant-asteis / ustedes cant-aron
- Ellos/ellas cant-aban; ellos/ellas cant-aron
- Future tense
- Yo cant-aré; yo cant-aría
- Tú cant-arás; tú cant-arías
- Él/ella cant-ará; él/ella cant-aría
- Nosotros cant-aremos; nosotros cant-aríamos
- Vosotros cant-areis / ustedes cant-arán; vosotros cant-aríais / ustedes cant-arían
- Ellos/ellas cant-arán; ellos/ellas cant-arían
Subjunctive mood
| Present | Past | Future | |
| 1st person singular | -e | -ara / -ase | -are |
| 2nd person singular | -es | -aras / -ases | -ares |
| 3rd person singular | -e | -ara / -ase | -are |
| 1st person plural | -emos | -áramos / -ásemos | -áremos |
| 2nd person plural | -éis/ -en | -arais / -aseis / -aran / -asen | -areis / -aren |
| 3rd person plural | -en | -aran / -asen | -aren |
Example: Cantar (to sing)
- Present tense:
- Yo cant-e
- Tú cant-es
- Él/ella cant-e
- Nosotros cant-emos
- Vosotros cant-éis / Ustedes cant-en
- Ellos/ellas cant-en
- Past tense
- Yo cant-ara / yo cant-ase
- Tú cant-aras / tú cant-ases
- Él/ella cant-ara / él/ella cant-ase
- Nosotros cant-áramos / nosotros cant-ásemos
- Vosotros cant-arais / vosotros cant-aseis / ustedes cant-aran / ustedes cant-asen
- Ellos/ellas cant-aran; ellos/ellas cant-asen
- Future tense
- Yo cant-are
- Tú cant-ares
- Él/ella cant-are
- Nosotros cant-áremos
- Vosotros cant-areis / ustedes cant-aren
- Ellos/ellas cant-aren
Imperative mood
| Present | |
| 2nd person singular | -a |
| 2nd person plural | -ad / -en |
Example: Cantar (to sing)
- Present tense:
- Tú cant-a
- Vosotros cant-ad / Ustedes cant-en
Spanish Verbs with -er, -ir ending
The following chart shows the verb endings that are added to the stem of the verb after removing the infinitive ending. For example: viv-ir (to live), sufr-ir (to suffer), com-er (to eat), tem-er (to fear).
Indicative mood
| Present | Past imperfect | Simple Past (Indefinite preterite) |
Future imperfect | Future indefinite | |
| 1st person singular | -o | -ía | -í | -eré / -iré | -ería / -iría |
| 2nd person singular | -es | -ías | -iste | -erás / -irás | -erías / -irías |
| 3rd person singular | -e | -ía | -ió | -erá / -irá | -ería / -iría |
| 1st person plural | -emos / -imos | -íamos | -imos | -eremos / -iremos | -eríamos / -iríamos |
| 2nd person plural | -eís / -ís / -en | -íais / -ían | -isteis / -ieron | -ereis / -iréis / -erán / -irán | -eríais / -iríais / -erían / -irían |
| 3rd person plural | -en | -ían | -ieron | -erán / -irán | -erían / -irían |
Example: comer (to eat) / vivir (to live)
- Present tense:
- Yo com-o / viv-o
- Tú com-es / viv-es
- Él/ella com-e / viv-e
- Nosotros com-emos / viv-imos
- Vosotros com-éis / viv-ís; ustedes com-en / viv-en
- Ellos/ellas com-en / viv-en
- Past imperfect
- Yo com-ía / viv-ía
- Tú com-ías / vivías
- Él/ella com-ía / viv-ía
- Nosotros com-íamos / viv-íamos
- Vosotros com-íais / viv-íais; ustedes com-ían / viv-ían
- Ellos/ellas com-ían / viv-ían
- Past indefinite
- Yo com-í / viv-í
- Tú com-iste / viv-iste
- Él/ella com-ió / viv-ió
- Nosotros com-imos / viv-imos
- Vosotros com-isteis / viv-isteis; ustedes com-ieron / viv-ieron
- Ellos/ellas com-ieron / viv-ieron
- Future imperfect
- Yo com-eré / viv-iré
- Tú com-erás / viv-irás
- Él/ella com-erá / viv-irá
- Nosotros com-eremos / viv-iremos
- Vosotros com-ereis / viv-ireis; ustedes com-erán / viv-irán
- Ellos/ellas com-erán / viv-irán
- Future indefinite
- Yo com-ería / viv-iría
- Tú com-erías / viv-irías
- Él/ella com-ería / viv-iría
- Nosotros com-eríamos / viv-iríamos
- Vosotros com-eríais / viv-iríais; ustedes com-erían / viv-irían
- Ellos/ellas com-erían / viv-irían
Subjunctive mood
| Present | Past | Future | |
| 1st person singular | -a | -iera / -iese | -iere |
| 2nd person singular | -as | -ieras / -ieses | -ieres |
| 3rd person singular | -a | -iera / -iese | -iere |
| 1st person plural | -amos | -iéramos / -iésemos | -iéremos |
| 2nd person plural | -aís / -an | -ierais / -ieseis / -ieran / -iesen | -iereis / -ieren |
| 3rd person plural | -am | -ieran / -iesen | -ieren |
Example: comer (to eat) / vivir (to live)
- Present tense:
- Yo com-a /viv-a
- Tú com-as / viv-as
- Él/ella com-a / viv-a
- Nosotros com-amos / viv-amos
- Vosotros com-aís / Ustedes com-an
- Ellos/ellas com-an
- Past tense
- Yo com-iera / com-iese / viv-iera / viv-iese
- Tú com-ieras / com-ieses / viv-ieras / viv-ieses
- Él/ella com-iera / com-iese / viv-iera / viv-iese
- Nosotros com-iéramos / com-iésemos / viv-iéramos / viv-iésemos
- Vosotros com-ierais / com-ieseis; ustedes com-ieran / com-iesen. Vosotros viv-ierais / viv-ieseis; ustedes viv-ieran / viv-iesen.
- Ellos/ellas com-ieran / com-iesen / viv-ieran / viv-iesen
- Future tense
- Yo com-iere / viv-iere
- Tú com-ieres / viv-ieres
- Él/ella com-iere / viv-iere
- Nosotros com-iéremos / viv-iéremos
- Vosotros com-iereis / viv-iereis / ustedes com-ieren / viv-ieren
- Ellos/ellas com-ieren / viv-ieren
Imperative mood
| Present | |
| 2nd person singular | -e |
| 2nd person plural | -ed / -id / -an |
Example: comer (to eat) / vivir (to live)
- Present tense:
- Tú com-e / viv-e
- Vosotros com-ed / viv-id; ustedes com-an / viv-an
Spanish Irregular verbs
For irregular verbs, two special conditions apply: either they alter the root word or they don’t follow the paradigms or patterns explained in the previous section. You’ll find a detailed explanation in this article.
These are some examples:
Indicative mood
Example: tener (to have)
- Present tense:
- Yo tengo
- Tú tienes
- Él/ella tiene
- Nosotros tenemos
- Vosotros tenéis / Ustedes tienen
- Ellos/ellas tienen
- Past imperfect
- Yo tenía
- Tú tenías
- Él/ella tenía
- Nosotros teníamos
- Vosotros teníais / ustedes tenían
- Ellos/ellas tenían
- Past indefinite
- Yo tuve
- Tú tuviste
- Él/ella tuvo
- Nosotros tuvimos
- Vosotros tuvisteis / ustedes tuvieron
- Ellos/ellas tuvieron
- Future imperfect
- Yo tendré
- Tú tendrás
- Él/ella tendrá
- Nosotros tendremos
- Vosotros tendreis / ustedes tendrán
- Ellos/ellas tendrán
- Future indefinite
- Yo tendría
- Tú tendrías
- Él/ella tendría
- Nosotros tendríamos
- Vosotros tendríais / ustedes tendrían
- Ellos/ellas tendrían
Subjunctive Mood
As you can see, the verb tener (to have) has irregular root forms in the present tense for the first person and for the second and third person. And if we go further to the subjunctive mood, this is what happens:
- Present tense:
- Yo tenga
- Tú tengas
- Él/ella tenga
- Nosotros tengamos
- Vosotros tengais / ustedes tengan
- Ellos/ellas tengan
- Past tense
- Yo tuviera / tuviese
- Tú tuvieras / tuvieses
- Él/ella tuviera / tuviese
- Nosotros tuviéramos / tuviésemos
- Vosotros tuvierais / tuvieseis; ustedes tuvieran / tuviesen
- Ellos/ellas tuvieran /tuviesen
- Future tense
- Yo tuviere
- Tú tuvieres
- Él/ella tuviere
- Nosotros tuviéremos
- Vosotros tuviereis / ustedes tuvieren
- Ellos/ellas tuvieren
You can see how both the root and the suffix vary in this verb.
Another example is the verb dar (to give). Below you’ll see how it breaks down.
Indicative mood for dar:
- Present tense:
- Yo doy
- Tú das
- Él/ella da
- Nosotros damos
- Vosotros dais / ustedes dan
- Ellos/ellas dan
- Past imperfect
- Yo daba
- Tú dabas
- Él/ella daba
- Nosotros dábamos
- Vosotros dabais / ustedes daban
- Ellos/ellas daban
- Past indefinite
- Yo di
- Tú diste
- Él/ella dio
- Nosotros dimos
- Vosotros disteis / ustedes dieron
- Ellos/ellas dieron
- Future imperfect
- Yo daré
- Tú darás
- Él/ella dará
- Nosotros daremos
- Vosotros daréis / ustedes darán
- Ellos/ellas darán
- Future indefinite
- Yo daría
- Tú darías
- Él/ella daría
- Nosotros daríamos
- Vosotros daríais / ustedes darían
- Ellos/ellas darían
And the subjunctive mood for dar:
- Present tense:
- Yo dé
- Tú des
- Él/ella dé
- Nosotros demos
- Vosotros dais / ustedes dan
- Ellos/ellas dan
- Past tense
- Yo diera / diese
- Tú dieras / dieses
- Él/ella diera / diese
- Nosotros diéramos / diésemos
- Vosotros dierais / dieseis; ustedes dieran / diesen
- Ellos/ellas dieran / diesen
- Future tense
- Yo diere
- Tú dieres
- Él/ella diere
- Nosotros diéremos
- Vosotros diereis / ustedes dieren
- Ellos/ellas dieren
As you can see, spanish irregular verbs may be the main challenge. Their logic may appear elusive. But, it’s all a matter of practice. And there is no better practice than casual conversation. Join our Spanish conversation program and get on the fast track to fluency and confidence on your Spanish skills.
QUICK RECAP
In this post you have found the charts that explain how conjugation works according to each conjugation paradigm (-ar, -er or -ir). And now, to look further into each case, we are going to look into verb conjugation from the tense angle. Let’s break them down:
Basic Tenses
The tenses we can use to express distinctions of time for a certain action are three: past, present and future. The past tense refers to something that has happened before. The present tense talks about something that is currently taking place. And the future tense refers to something that will happen in the future. These are the basic forms to express the temporal aspect of an action. Yet, both language and our perception of reality need more precise distinctions to locate the time or moment a particular idea refers to.
Specificity
In Spanish, there is a distinction between imperfect, perfect and indefinite tenses. The imperfect tense expresses an action that is not yet completed, it’s either incomplete in its execution or in its realization. Perfect tenses express a fully consummated or complete action, that is to say, something that is complete in every detail. Indefinites are those that don’t determine a certain circumstance or detail. You have to interpret indefinites in the sense that some of these verbs state a terminated action and others don’t.
Structure
When we think about structure, we have to consider that verbs can be either simple or compound. For instance, the imperfect and indefinite are simple tenses, these are the ones expressed by the verb itself. On the other hand, perfect tenses are compound tenses. This means they require an additional word (equivalent to the verb “to be”) to express their particular tense.
Relations
Another aspect we need to distinguish is between absolute and relative tenses. For instance, absolutes point at a determined timeframe in which the verbal action takes place, while relatives don’t specify a particular timeframe. Instead, they link the verbal action to another verbal action or to any fixed indication of time. This relation can be of anteriority (related to what has happened), contemporaneity (related to what is happening) or posteriority (related to what will happen).
Mood
INDEX CHART
Now, we will look into the details in every particular case. This guide is here to help you review your doubts and assist you in our Spanish conversation program.
Follow the links in this chart to find a detailed explanation and more examples for how to properly use each tense.
| INDICATIVE MOOD | SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD | IMPERATIVE MOOD | |||
| Imperfect tenses | Perfect tenses | Imperfect tenses | Perfect tenses | Unique tense | |
| Absolute tenses | Present | Past Perfect | Present | ||
| Future imperfect | Simple Past (Indefinite preterite) |
||||
| Relative tenses | Past Imperfect | Pluperfect preterite | Present | Perfect preterite | |
| Anterior preterite | Imperfect preterite | Pluperfect preterite | |||
| Future perfect | Future imperfect | Future perfect | |||
| Potential simple | Potential compound | ||||