In Spanish, verbs change their endings (conjugate) depending on their tense:
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AR Verbs
-
ER Verbs
-
IR Verbs
-
Irregular Verb to go (Ir) (and immediate future tense)
-
Irregular Verb to be (Ser/Estar)
-
Irregular Verb to have (Tener)
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Irregular Verb to do/make (Hacer)
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Reflexive Verbs
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Other Irregular Verbs and Stem-changing verbs (examples)
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Haber and the perfect tense
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Person |
Presente (present) |
Préterito (preterite/past) |
Imperfecto (imperfect/past) |
Futuro Perfecto (Future Perfect) |
Condicional (future) |
yo (I) |
o |
é |
aba |
é |
ía |
Tú (you) |
as |
aste |
abas |
ás |
ías |
él/ella/usted (he/she/one) |
a |
ó |
aba |
á |
ía |
nosotros (we) |
amos |
amos |
ábamos |
emos |
íamos |
vosotros (you) |
áis |
asteis |
abais |
éis |
íais |
ellos/ellas/ustedes(they) |
an |
aron |
aban |
án |
ían |
For the present and past tense, replace AR with the endings stated above.
For the future tense, add on to the ar that which is shown above.
For the future tense, add on to the ar that which is shown above.
Person |
Presente (present) |
Préterito (preterite/past) |
Imperfecto (imperfect/past) |
Futuro Perfecto (Future Perfect) |
Condicional (future) |
yo (I) |
o |
í |
ía |
é |
ía |
Tú (you) |
es |
iste |
ías |
ás |
ías |
él/ella/usted (he/she/one) |
e |
ió |
ía |
á |
ía |
nosotros (we) |
emos |
imos |
íamos |
emos |
íamos |
vosotros (you) |
éis |
isteis |
íais |
éis |
íais |
ellos/ellas/ustedes |
en |
ieron |
ían |
án |
ían |
For the present and past tense, replace ER with the endings stated above.
For the future tense, add on to the er that which is shown above. There are some exceptions which change their stem, including:
Poner -> Pondr
Poder -> Podr
Querer -> Querr
Haber -> Habr
For the future tense, add on to the er that which is shown above. There are some exceptions which change their stem, including:
Poner -> Pondr
Poder -> Podr
Querer -> Querr
Haber -> Habr
Person |
Presente (present) |
Préterito (preterite/past) |
Imperfecto (imperfect/past) |
Futuro Perfecto (Future Perfect) |
Condicional (future) |
yo (I) |
o |
í |
ía |
é |
ía |
Tú (you) |
es |
iste |
ías |
ás |
ías |
él/ella/usted (he/she/one) |
e |
ió |
ía |
á |
ía |
nosotros (we) |
imos |
imos |
íamos |
emos |
íamos |
vosotros (you) |
ís |
isteis |
íais |
éis |
íais |
ellos/ellas/ustedes |
en |
ieron |
ían |
án |
ían |
For the present and past tense, replace IR with the endings stated above.
For the future tense, add on to the ir that which is shown above. There are some exceptions which change their stem, including:
decir -> dir
Salir -> Saldr
For the future tense, add on to the ir that which is shown above. There are some exceptions which change their stem, including:
decir -> dir
Salir -> Saldr
Person |
Presente (present) |
Préterito (preterite/past) |
Imperfecto (imperfect/past) |
Futuro Perfecto (future perfect) |
condicional (future) |
yo (I) |
voy |
fui |
iba |
iré |
iría |
Tú (you) |
vas |
fuiste |
ibas |
irás |
irías |
él/ella/usted (he/she/one) |
va |
fue |
iba |
irá |
iría |
nosotros (we) |
vamos |
fuimos |
ibamos |
iremos |
iríamos |
vosotros (you) |
váis |
fuisteis |
ibáis |
iréis |
iríais |
ellos/ellas/ustedes(they) |
van |
fueron |
iban |
irán |
irían |
The gerrund form of ir (going) is yendo
I go to... = voy a...
Immediate Future:
I am going to ... = voy a (+ infinitive)
eg:
I am going to go to school = voy a ir al colegio
I am going to eat = voy a comer
Immediate Future:
I am going to ... = voy a (+ infinitive)
eg:
I am going to go to school = voy a ir al colegio
I am going to eat = voy a comer
SER vs ESTAR
In Spanish, there are 2 forms of the verb 'to be': ser and estar
Knowing which one to use when is complicated but it can be simplified to:
estoy cansado -> I am tired
estoy bien -> I am well
estoy en Londrés -> I am in London
soy de inglaterra -> I am from England
soy simpatico -> I am friendly
soy estricto -> I am strict
In Spanish, there are 2 forms of the verb 'to be': ser and estar
Knowing which one to use when is complicated but it can be simplified to:
- Use Estar for temporary things or for location
- Use Ser for permanent things
estoy cansado -> I am tired
estoy bien -> I am well
estoy en Londrés -> I am in London
soy de inglaterra -> I am from England
soy simpatico -> I am friendly
soy estricto -> I am strict
Person |
Presente (present) |
Préterito (preterite/past) |
Imperfecto (imperfect/past) |
yo (I) |
soy |
fui |
era |
Tú (you) |
eres |
fuiste |
eras |
él/ella/usted (he/she/one) |
es |
fue |
era |
nosotros (we) |
somos |
fuimos |
éramos |
vosotros (you) |
sois |
fuisteis |
erais |
ellos/ellas/ustedes(they) |
son |
fueron |
eran |
Person |
Presente (present) |
Préterito (preterite/past) |
Imperfecto (imperfect/past) |
yo (I) |
estoy |
estuve |
estaba |
Tú (you) |
estás |
estuviste |
estabas |
él/ella/usted (he/she/one) |
está |
estuvo |
estaba |
nosotros (we) |
estamos |
estuvimos |
estabámos |
vosotros (you) |
estáis |
estuvisteis |
estabais |
ellos/ellas/ustedes(they) |
están |
estuvieron |
estaban |
Both forms of the verb 'to be' conjugate regularly in the future tense
The gerrund of:
The gerrund of:
- SER is siendo
- ESTAR is estando
Person |
Presente (present) |
Préterito (preterite/past) |
Imperfecto (imperfect/past) |
Futuro Perfecto (future perfect) |
condicional (future) |
yo (I) |
tengo |
tuve |
tenía |
tendré |
tendría |
Tú (you) |
tienes |
tuviste |
tenías |
tendrás |
tendrías |
él/ella/usted (he/she/one) |
tiene |
tuvo |
tenía |
tendrá |
tendría |
nosotros (we) |
tenemos |
tuvimos |
teníamos |
tendremos |
tendríamos |
vosotros (you) |
tenéis |
tuvisteis |
teníais |
tendréis |
tendríais |
ellos/ellas/ustedes(they) |
tienen |
tuvieron |
tenían |
tendrán |
tendrían |
Person |
Presente (present) |
Préterito (preterite/past) |
Imperfecto (imperfect/past) |
Futuro Perfecto (future perfect) |
condicional (future) |
yo (I) |
hago |
hice |
hacía |
haré |
haría |
Tú (you) |
haces |
hiciste |
hacías |
harás |
harías |
él/ella/usted (he/she/one) |
hace |
hizo |
hacía |
hará |
haría |
nosotros (we) |
hacemos |
hicimos |
hacíamos |
harámos |
haríamos |
vosotros (you) |
hacéis |
hicisteis |
hacíais |
haráis |
haríais |
ellos/ellas/ustedes(they) |
hacen |
hicieron |
hacían |
harán |
harían |
The gerrund form of HACER is regular: haciendo
The participle (for the perfect past tense) is irregular: hecho
The participle (for the perfect past tense) is irregular: hecho
Reflexive verbs like llamarse (to be called) and Vestirse follow slightly different rules. When conjugated, the se goes to the front of the word and becomes me/te/se/nos/os/se depending on the person (I, you, he/she/it, we, you, they respectively). Then the rest of the word is conjugated normally.
Eg:
me llamo
te llamas
se llama
Eg:
me llamo
te llamas
se llama
Other important irregular verbs include the verb to like: Gustar and the verb to love Encantar. These verbs conjugate like reflexive verbs but don't change their ending in the same way:
Me Gusta
Te Gusta
Se Gusta
Me Encanta
Te Encanta
Se Encanta
Some Spanish words change their stem when conjugated:
Eg: Soler:
Me Gusta
Te Gusta
Se Gusta
Me Encanta
Te Encanta
Se Encanta
Some Spanish words change their stem when conjugated:
Eg: Soler:
Person |
Presente (present) |
yo (I) |
suelo |
Tú (you) |
sueles |
él/ella/usted (he/she/one) |
suele |
nosotros (we) |
solemos |
vosotros (you) |
soléis |
ellos/ellas/ustedes(they) |
suelen |
Note on Soler: When using the verb soler (to tend to) place an infinitive after it. Eg. I tend to play: suelo jugar.
Other stem-changing verbs change stem in the same conjugations:
Jugar -> Juego
Vestirse -> Me Visto
Other stem-changing verbs change stem in the same conjugations:
Jugar -> Juego
Vestirse -> Me Visto
The verb haber is regularly used as hay which means there is/are
- hay un dormitorio -> there is a bedroom
- hay dos dormitorios -> there are two bedrooms
yo (I) |
tú (you singular) |
él/ella/usted (he/she/one) |
nosotros (we) |
vosotros (you pl) |
ellos/ellas/(they) |
he |
has |
ha |
hemos |
habeis |
han |
To form the perfect tense, the present tense of HABER is followed by the past participle of the verb. To form the past participle, remove AR/ER/IR from the verb. AR verbs replace it with ado and ER/IR verbs replace it with ido
- He comido -> I have eaten
- Has hablado -> you have spoken
- Ha vivido -> he/she/one has lived
Tense Translations
Present: I do
Preterite: I did
Imperfect: I used to do
Perfect (past): I have done
Immediate Future: I am going to do
Future Perfect: I will do
Conditional (future): I would do
Present: I do
Preterite: I did
Imperfect: I used to do
Perfect (past): I have done
Immediate Future: I am going to do
Future Perfect: I will do
Conditional (future): I would do