The Present Tense: The present indicative tense is the verb form nearly all beginners first learn when they
begin to speak Spanish. And there's good reason for doing so: It's used the most, and it functions quite
similarly to the present tense in English. Again, context is the key to telling you which way a particular verb is
being used. As long as you remember that trabajo, for example, can mean either "I work" or "I am working,"
you should have little difficulty in learning the uses of the present tense.
Present: I speak
Infinitivo: Hablar
Yo: hablo
tú: hablas
Usted(Ud.)/él/ella: habla
Nosotros: hablamos
Vosotros: habláis
Ustedes (Uds.)/ellos/ellas:
hablan
I eat
I live
como
comes
come
comemos
coméis
comen
vivo
vives
vive
vivimos
vivís
viven
Irregular Present Tense Yo Forms: (yo) caer (caigo), hacer (hago), poner (pongo), salir (salgo), tener (tengo),
valer (valgo), decir (digo), oír (oigo), venir (vengo), ir (voy), saber (sé), caber (quepo)= I fit, conocer (conozco),
estar (estoy), ser (soy).
The Past Tense: What's past is past, but in Spanish what's past may be either preterite or imperfect. Unlike
English, Spanish has two simple past tenses, known as the preterite (often called the preterit) and the
imperfect indicative. (As in English, they are known as simple tenses to distinguish them from verb forms that
use an auxiliary verb, such as "has left" in English and ha salido in Spanish.)
Preterite: The preterite is used: The verb tense that expresses action taking place at a definite time in the
past. It is contrasted with the imperfect tense, which expresses action that took place at an indefinite time or
has not been completed. The preterite is the tense that would normally be thought of as the past tense in
EnglishTo tell of something that happened once — Fui ayer a la tienda. (I went to the store yesterday.)
Escribí la carta. (I wrote the letter.)
**To tell of something that happened more than once but with a specific end — Fui ayer a la tienda seis
veces. (I went to the store six times yesterday.) Leyó el libro cinco veces. (He read the book five times.)
To indicate the beginning or end of a process — Tuvo frío. (He got cold.) El huracán se terminó a las ocho.
(The hurricane was over at 8.)
Simple Past: I spoke
Hablar
Yo: hablé
tú: hablaste
Ud. Él, ella: habló
nos. hablamos
vos. hablasteis
Uds. hablaron
I ate
comer
comí
comiste
comió
comimos
comisteis
comieron
I lived
Vivir
viví
viviste
vivió
vivimos
vivisteis
vivieron
The Imperfect: The imperfect indicative is used: The tense that expresses action in the past that has not
been completed, that occurred habitually or frequently or that took place over an indefinite period of time. It is
contrasted with the preterite tense, which expresses action that took place at a definite time or has been
completed. English does not have an imperfect tense per se, although it has other ways of expressing the
concept of the Spanish imperfect.
To tell of past habitual or repeated actions — Iba a la tienda. (I used to go to the store.) Leíamos los libros.
(We would read the books.) Lavaban los manos. (They would wash their hands.) Escribía muchas cartas. (I
wrote many letters.)
To describe a condition, mental state or state of being from the past — Había una casa aquí. (There used
to be a house here.) Era estúpido. (He was stupid.) No te conocía. (I didn't know you.) Quería estar feliz. (He
wanted to be happy.) Tenía frío. (He was cold.)
To describe an action that occurred over an unspecified time — Lavaban los manos. (They were washing
their hands.) Cuando José tocaba el piano, María comía. (While José was playing the piano, María was
eating.)
To indicate time or age in the past — Era la una de la tarde. (It was 1 p.m.) Tenía 43 años. (She was 43
years old.)
Imperfect: I was speaking, I used to speak,
hablar
yo: hablaba
tú: hablabas
Ud. hablaba
nos. hablábamos
vos. hablabais
Uds. hablaban
to eat,
comer
comía
comías
comía
comíamos
comíais
comían
to live
vivir
vivía
vivías
vivía
vivíamos
vivíais
vivían
Other distinctions: Background — The imperfect indicative is frequently used to provide the background for
an event that is described using the preterite.
Era [imperfect] la una de la tarde cuando comió [preterite]. (It was 1 p.m. when she ate.)
Yo escribía [imperfect] cuando llegaste [preterite]. (I was writing when you arrived.)
Differences in translated meaning — Because of the way the two tenses are used, some verbs can be
translated using differing words in English depending on the tense in Spanish. This is especially true when the
preterite is used to indicate the beginning or end of a process. Conocí al presidente. (I met the president.)
Conocía al presidente. (I knew the president.) Tuvo frío. (He got cold.) Tenía frío. (He was cold.) Supe
escuchar. (I found out how to listen.) Sabía escuchar. (I knew how to listen.)
Final note:Some of the sentences on this page could be stated in the other tense with a change of meaning.
For example, while "escribía muchas cartas" would be the typical way of saying "I wrote many letters," as that
is something that typically would take place over an unspecified period of time, one also might say "escribí
muchas cartas." But the meaning of the sentence, not readily translatable without a context to English, would
change to indicate that the speaker was referring to a specific point in time. For example, if you were talking
about writing many letters while you were on a particular trip, you might use the preterite form.
The Future: If you think that the future tense in Spanish is used to talk about events that will happen in the
future, you're only partially right. For the Spanish future tense also has two other uses, one of which
corresponds to an English usage and one that does not. It is most often used to refer to events that haven't
happened yet, but it can also be used for emphatic commands and also to indicate uncertainty about current
happenings.
Future: I will speak, I shall speak, eat, live…
hablar
yo: hablaré
tú: hablarás
Ud. hablará
nos. hablaremos
vos. hablaréis
Uds. hablarán
comer
comeré
comerás
comerá
comeremos
comeréis
comerán
vivir
viviré
vivirás
vivirá
viviremos
viviréis
vivirán
Emphatic command: If you grew up not liking vegetables, you may remember having a stern parent saying
something like "You will eat the carrots" with a strong emphasis on the "will." In such a sentence, the English
future tense is being used not merely to say what will happen, but also to insist that it does. The same can be
done in Spanish. Depending on the context and intonation, a sentence such as Comerás las zanahorias can
be either a prediction or a strong command.
Present probability: More common is to use the future verb forms as a way of expressing something that is
probable or supposed. The verb-only equivalent in English is rare; usually we would express such a thought by
using "probably," "likely," "I suppose" or some similar word or phrase. In question form, the future tense can
indicate uncertainty rather than probability Following are examples of such usages of the Spanish future tense
with some possible translations.
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Pablo no está aquí. Estará en casa. (Paul isn't here. He's probably at home.)
¿Qué hora es? Será la una. (What time is it? I suppose it's 1 o'clock.)
Han trabajado mucho. Estarán cansados. (They've worked hard. They must be tired.)
Keep in mind that the understanding of such sentences, and therefore the translation, will often depend on the
context. For example, estará en casa could mean both "he/she will be at home" or "he/she probably is at
home," depending on where it is used. And of course, the same is true when translating to Spanish.
Other ways of expressing the future: Although it's beyond the scope of this lesson to go into considerable
detail, keep in mind that there are at least three ways of expressing the future in Spanish without using the
future tense. Probably the most common is to use a form of the verb ir ("to go"), followed by a and the infinitive.
Voy a salir, I am going to leave. Van a comprar un coche, they are going to buy a car. This use of ir a is so
common that it is popularly thought of as the future tense in some areas. ¿Vas a estudiar? Are you going to
study? In some cases, as in English, it is possible to use the present tense to tell of future events. Sale el tren a
las ocho, the train leaves at 8. La fiesta de películas comienza esta noche, the film festival begins tonight.
The Conditional Tense: The conditional tense also known in Spanish as la condicional, is different than the
others in that it isn't clearly connected with a particular time period. As its names imply, this tense is used to
refer to events that are conditional or hypothetical in nature. This tense should not be confused with the
subjunctive mood, a verb form that also can refer to actions that aren't necessarily "real."
Conditional: I would speak, eat, live…
hablar
yo: hablaría
tú: hablarías
Ud. hablaría
nos. hablaríamos
vos. hablaríais
Uds. hablarían
comer
comería
comerías
comería
comeríamos
comeríais
comerían
vivir
viviría
vivirías
viviría
viviríamos
viviríais
vivirían
Just as in English, the conditional tense of verbs in Spanish is difficult to classify. Unlike the past, future and
present tenses, it doesn't always refer to a particular period of time.
And while its name suggests that it is used when there's a condition involved, in Spanish it also has
some close connections with the future tense. In fact, in Spanish, the conditional tense is known as la
condicional The conditional also has various uses that don't at first glance seem closely related.
But the connection among them is that verbs in the conditional don't refer to events that definitely or
necessarily have happened or are happening. In other words, the conditional tense refers to acts that can be
seen as hypothetical in nature.
Fortunately for those of us who speak English, the theory is fairly easy to apply, since the conditional tense can
usually be understood as the Spanish verb form that is used to translate English "would + verb" forms. In most
cases where we use "would" in English we use the conditional in Spanish, and vice versa. As long as you
remember the rare exceptions, you won't go wrong often by thinking of the conditional as the "would" tense.
Following are some examples (in boldface) of the conditional tense in use:
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No comería una hamburguesa porque no como animales. I wouldn't eat a hamburger because I don't eat
animals.
Si pudiese, viviría en Guadalajara. If I could, I would live in Guadalajara.
Hay seis películas que yo pagaría por ver. There are six films I would pay to see.
Here are the major usages of the conditional that can be understood by using the English "would." If the
explanations are confusing, read the examples for clarification:
Describing an act that depends on a condition: Another way of putting this is that the conditional indicates
the possibility of an action related to specific circumstances. The circumstances (that is, the condition) can be
stated, but they don't have to be. Note the following examples, with the conditional verb in boldface:
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Si tuviera dinero, iría al cine. If I had money, I would go to the movies. (The condition is having money. In
this case, the condition in Spanish is stated in the imperfect subjunctive, as is very common. It is also stated
in the subjunctive in the English sentence, and this is one of the few constructions where the subjunctive
form is still used in English today.)
Yo comería la comida, pero soy vegetariano. I would eat the meal, but I'm vegetarian. (The condition is
being a vegetarian.)
María habría venido, pero su madre estaba enferma. Mary would have come, but her mother was sick.
(The condition is her mother's sickness. This sentence is in the conditional perfect form, using the
conditional tense of haber followed by the past participle.)
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María habría venido. Mary would have come. (This sentence is the same as the one above, but without
the condition explicitly stated. The condition would have to be inferred from the context.)
Con más dinero, yo ganaría. With more money, I would win. (The condition is having money. This is a
case where a condition is expressed without using si.)
Yo no hablaría con ella. I wouldn't talk with her. (The condition is unstated.)