Spanish Verb Forms
Present - Commands - Past (Preterite & Imperfect) - Future - Conditional
Subjunctive - Present Participle (Gerund) - Past Participle
Present Tense
The present tense is formed differently for verbs that end in -ar, -er and -ir. Remove the ending of the verb to get to the "stem" form and then add the appropriate ending depending on the subject of the verb.
| -ar verbs | -er verbs | -ir verbs | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Infinitive verb form | hablar (to speak) | comer (to eat) | vivir (to live) |
| Stem | habl- | com- | viv- |
| yo | hablo | como | vivo |
| tú | hablas | comes | vives |
| usted, él, ella | habla | come | vive |
| nosotros, nosotras | hablamos | comemos | vivimos |
| vosotros, vosotras (used in Spain) | habláis | coméis | vivís |
| ustedes, ellos, ellas | hablan | comen | viven |
Command Forms
Command forms, also known as imperatives, are for telling someone what to do or what not to do. The -er and -ir verbs are conjugated the same in the command form, but the -ar form is different. All verb forms are the same in the affirmative and negative commands except for the tú form.
Affirmative Commands
| -ar verbs | -er verbs | -ir verbs | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Infinitive verb form | hablar (to speak) | comer (to eat) | vivir (to live) |
| Stem | habl- | com- | viv- |
| tú | habla | come | vive |
| usted | hable | coma | viva |
| nosotros, nosotras | hablemos | comamos | vivamos |
| vosotros, vosotras (used in Spain) | habléis | comáis | viváis |
| ustedes | hablen | coman | vivan |
Negative Commands
| -ar verbs | -er verbs | -ir verbs | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Infinitive verb form | hablar (to speak) | comer (to eat) | vivir (to live) |
| Stem | habl- | com- | viv- |
| tú | no hables | no comas | no vivas |
| usted | no hable | no coma | no viva |
| nosotros, nosotras | no hablemos | no comamos | no vivamos |
| vosotros, vosotras (used in Spain) | no habléis | no comáis | no viváis |
| ustedes | no hablen | no coman | no vivan |
Past Tense
There are two past tense forms in Spanish: the preterite and the imperfect. The -er and -ir verb endings are the same in the preterite and the imperfect tenses, but the -ar form is different.
Preterite
The preterite form is for actions that took place in the past at a specific time and are finished.
| -ar verbs | -er verbs | -ir verbs | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Infinitive verb form | hablar (to speak) | comer (to eat) | vivir (to live) |
| Stem | habl- | com- | viv- |
| yo | hablé | comí | viví |
| tú | hablaste | comiste | viviste |
| usted, él, ella | habló | comió | vivió |
| nosotros, nosotras | hablamos | comimos | vivimos |
| vosotros, vosotras (used in Spain) | hablasteis | comisteis | vivisteis |
| ustedes, ellos, ellas | hablaron | comieron | vivieron |
Imperfect
The imperfect form is used for . . .
- Actions that were repeated in the past
Caminaba a la escuela todos los días. (I walked to school every day.) - Actions that happened continuously in the past
Vivía en Nueva York durante dos años. (I lived in New York for two years.) - Time and dates
Eran las tres. (It was three o'clock.) - Age in the past
Ella tenía cinco años. (She was five year old.) - Mental or physical states
Él estaba muy cansado. (He was very tired.)
| -ar verbs | -er verbs | -ir verbs | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Infinitive verb form | hablar (to speak) | comer (to eat) | vivir (to live) |
| Stem | habl- | com- | viv- |
| yo | hablaba | comía | vivía |
| tú | hablabas | comías | vivías |
| usted, él, ella | hablaba | comía | vivía |
| nosotros, nosotras | hablábamos | comíamos | vivíamos |
| vosotros, vosotras (used in Spain) | hablabais | comíais | vivíais |
| ustedes, ellos, ellas | hablaban | comían | vivían |
Future Tense
The future tense is like "will" in English. To form the future tense an ending is added to the infinitive form of the verb. The endings for -er and -ir verbs in the future tense are the same.
| -ar verbs | -er verbs | -ir verbs | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Infinitive verb form | hablar (to speak) | comer (to eat) | vivir (to live) |
| yo | hablaré | comeré | viviré |
| tú | hablarás | comerás | vivirás |
| usted, él, ella | hablará | comerá | vivirá |
| nosotros, nosotras | hablaremos | comeremos | viviremos |
| vosotros, vosotras (used in Spain) | hablaréis | comeréis | viviréis |
| ustedes, ellos, ellas | hablarán | comerán | vivirán |
Note: The future tense can also be used in Spanish to speculate about what is probably or might be true.
Example:
Ella estará en casa ahora.
(She probably is at home now.)
Conditional
The future tense is like "would" in English. To form the conditional tense an ending is added to the infinitive form of the verb. The endings for -er and -ir verbs in the conditional are the same.
| -ar verbs | -er verbs | -ir verbs | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Infinitive verb form | hablar (to speak) | comer (to eat) | vivir (to live) |
| yo | hablaría | comería | viviría |
| tú | hablarías | comerías | vivirías |
| usted, él, ella | hablaría | comería | viviría |
| nosotros, nosotras | hablaríamos | comeríamos | viviríamos |
| vosotros, vosotras (used in Spain) | hablaríais | comeríais | viviríais |
| ustedes, ellos, ellas | hablarían | comerían | vivirían |
Subjunctive
The subjunctive form is used to describe mood or our attitude towards something, not fact. The subjunctive usually appears in the subordinate clause. If you see the word "que" (that) or "quien" (who) is the middle of a sentence, that's a red alert that you might need the subjunctive with the second verb. Look for the following in a sentence to know if you need the subjunctive.
- "que" or "quien" - indicating a subordinate clause
- Two different subjects - The subject of the first verb is different from the subject of the second verb.
- Two different verbs, the first of which is a WEIRDO verb (explained below)
WEIRDO is an acronym for Wishes, Emotions, Impersonal Expressions, Recommendations, Doubt/Denial, and Ojalá. These kinds of verbs generally trigger the subjunctive tense in the second verb in the sentence.
- Wishes - Verbs that describe wishes, wants, desires or orders
- Emotions - Verbs that show anger, happiness, sadness, fear, etc.
- Impersonal Expressions - Verbs that express opinion or judgement
- Recommendations - Verbs to recommend that someone do or not do something
- Doubt/Denial - Verbs used to doubt or deny that something is true
- Ojalà - "I hope," "God willing," if only"
Present Subjunctive
| -ar verbs | -er verbs | -ir verbs | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Infinitive verb form | hablar (to speak) | comer (to eat) | vivir (to live) |
| Stem | habl- | com- | viv- |
| yo | hable | coma | viva |
| tú | hables | comas | vivas |
| usted, él, ella | hable | coma | viva |
| nosotros, nosotras | hablemos | comamos | vivamos |
| vosotros, vosotras (used in Spain) | habléis | comáis | vivás |
| ustedes, ellos, ellas | hablen | coman | vivan |
Past Subjunctive (Imperfect Subjunctive)
| -ar verbs | -er verbs | -ir verbs | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Infinitive verb form | hablar (to speak) | comer (to eat) | vivir (to live) |
| Stem | habl- | com- | viv- |
| yo | hablara | comiera | viviera |
| tú | hablaras | comieras | vivieras |
| usted, él, ella | hablara | comiera | viviera |
| nosotros, nosotras | habláramos | comiéramos | viviéramos |
| vosotros, vosotras (used in Spain) | hablarais | comerais | viverais |
| ustedes, ellos, ellas | hablaran | comieran | vivieran |
Present Participle (Gerund)
The present participle or gerund is the form that ends in -ing in English such as "walking" or "cooking." In Spanish these are formed by adding -ando onto the stem of -ar verbs or -iendo onto the stem of -er and -ir verbs.
| -ar verbs | -er verbs | -ir verbs | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Infinitive verb form | hablar (to speak) | comer (to eat) | vivir (to live) |
| Stem | habl- | com- | viv- |
| hablando | comiendo | viviendo |
Past Participle
Past participles are the forms that end in -ed in English such as "worked" or "talked." These forms are used with the present perfect tenses ("I have worked."). In Spanish these are formed by adding -ado onto the stem of -ar verbs or -ido onto the stem of -er and -ir verbs.
| -ar verbs | -er verbs | -ir verbs | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Infinitive verb form | hablar (to speak) | comer (to eat) | vivir (to live) |
| Stem | habl- | com- | viv- |
| hablado | comido | vivido |
Important Links
Pronouns - Pronunciation - Verbs
