Verb Tenses and Conjugation in Spanish

Spanish is a rich and detailed language, and much of that richness comes from its verb tenses, which are the way we indicate when an action occurs. Was it in the past? Is it happening now? Will it be in the future?

Understanding verb tenses and knowing how to conjugate verbs correctly is essential for being able to talk about actions in different moments and situations. By the end of this article, you will learn what verb tenses are and how they work, so you can start conjugating verbs in Spanish without problems.

Let’s get started!

What are verb tenses?

As we mentioned, verb tenses refer to the different forms that verbs take to express when an action occurs. These tenses can be:

• Past: Actions that have already occurred. For example: “Yo comí pizza ayer.” (I ate pizza yesterday.)
• Present: Actions that are occurring now. For example: “Tú lees este artículo.” (You read this article.)
• Future: Actions that will happen later. For example: “Mañana jugarán fútbol.” (They will play soccer tomorrow.)

In Spanish, tenses can also be simple (a single word) or compound (formed by an auxiliary verb and a participle). Example:

• Yo estudio todos los días. (simple) (I study every day.)
• Mi hermana ha ido a Colombia. (compound) (My sister has gone to Colombia.)
• Ricardo venderá sus libros. (simple) (Ricardo will sell his books.)
• Ellos hubieran venido si fuera domingo. (compound) (They would have come if it were Sunday.)

Verb tenses allow us not only to locate actions in time but also to provide more context about how, where, or why they occurred.

The conjugation of verbs in Spanish

One of the main questions that beginner students ask is “How do you conjugate verbs in Spanish?” And while we will answer that question, we first need to define what conjugation is.

Conjugation is the process by which we change the form of an infinitive verb to adapt it to the subject (who performs the action), the tense, and the mood. 

The infinitive verb is the base form in which we find the verb before it is conjugated and, therefore, does not indicate any of the above.

Verbs in Spanish are classified into three groups according to their endings:

• First conjugation: verbs ending in -ar (hablar, cantar, bailar). (to speak, to sing, to dance)
• Second conjugation: verbs ending in -er (comer, beber, aprender). (to eat, to drink, to learn)
• Third conjugation: verbs ending in -ir (vivir, escribir, abrir). (to live, to write, to open)

In summary, infinitive verbs are the starting point for conjugating a verb in any of these groups. Additionally, verbs can be classified as regular or irregular. Let’s now look at what they are.

Regular verbs

Regular verbs are those that follow a fixed pattern of conjugation. Their root (the part of the verb that does not change) remains the same in all conjugations, and only the endings change according to the tense and the subject. For example, the verb hablar (to speak):

Root: habl-

Present endings: -o, -as, -a, -amos, -áis, -an.

Conjugation of the regular verb "hablar" in present:

• Yo hablo. (I speak.)
• Tú hablas. (You speak.)
• Él/Ella/Usted habla. (He/She/You speak.)
• Nosotros/Nosotras hablamos. (We speak.)
• Vosotros/Vosotras habláis. (You all speak.)
• Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes hablan. (They/You all speak.)

If, for example, we were to conjugate the verb “sacar” (to take out), it would be the same since it is also a regular verb:

• Yo saco. (I take out.)
• Tú sacas. (You take out.)
• Él/Ella/Usted saca. (He/She/You take out.)
• Nosotros/Nosotras sacamos. (We take out.)
• Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes sacan. (They/You all take out.)

We recommend practicing with common verbs like hablar, comer, and vivir to identify regular patterns and learn the correct conjugations in different verb tenses.

Irregular verbs

Irregular verbs are those that are not as intuitive as regular ones, as they do not follow the standard conjugation patterns. These may change their root, their ending, or both depending on the tense and the subject. For example, the verb tener (to have):

Root: changes from ten- to tien- in some conjugations.

Endings: do not follow the regular pattern of -er verbs (-o, -es, -e, -emos, -éis, -en).

Conjugation of the irregular verb "tener" in present:

• Yo tengo. (I have.)
• Tú tienes. (You have.)
• Él/Ella/Usted tiene. (He/She/You have.)
• Nosotros/Nosotras tenemos. (We have.)
• Vosotros/Vosotras tenéis. (You all have.)
• Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes tienen. (They/You all have.)

Other examples of common irregular verbs include: ser (to be), ir (to go), estar (to be), hacer (to do), querer (to want), and venir (to come).

In the case of irregular verbs, there is not an exact set of rules to identify them all, so we recommend taking the time to memorize them and to practice with them.

Verb tenses in the indicative mood

The indicative mood has several verb tenses with which we can express various real actions at different moments in time. Here are the most common:

Present

It is used for actions that are happening now or that are habitual. Examples:

• Yo leo un libro. (I read a book.)
• Ella va a la escuela en bicicleta. (She goes to school by bicycle.)

Simple past 

Indicates actions that occurred in the past and have already ended. Examples:

• Visité a mi tío en el hospital. (I visited my uncle in the hospital.)
• Mi cumpleaños fue hace un mes. (My birthday was a month ago.)

Simple future

It is used to express actions that will happen later.

• Mañana iremos al teatro. (Tomorrow we will go to the theater.)
• Me graduaré en dos años. (I will graduate in two years.)

Imperfect past

Ideal for describing past actions that were ongoing or habitual.

• Mi familia iba a la playa cada verano. (My family went to the beach every summer.)
• A Carlos le gustaba jugar con autos de juguete. (Carlos liked to play with toy cars.)

Simple conditional

It allows us to express hypothetical actions or wishes.

• A Paula le gustaría tener más tiempo para pintar. (Paula would like to have more time to paint.)
• Me encantaría ir a ese concierto. (I would love to go to that concert.)

Verb tenses in the subjunctive mood

The subjunctive mood includes several tenses that express wishes, doubts, or hypothetical situations. Here are the main ones:

Present subjunctive

Useful for expressing wishes or possibilities in the present or future.

• Ojalá que no llueva mañana durante el pícnic. (I hope it doesn’t rain tomorrow during the picnic.)
• Dudaba que Carmen supiera la respuesta. (I doubted that Carmen knew the answer.)

Imperfect subjunctive (pretérito imperfecto del subjuntivo)

Used to express wishes or hypotheses in the past.

• Quería que mis amigos vinieran a mi casa. (I wanted my friends to come to my house.)
• Es importante que ellos terminen su tarea. (It is important that they finish their homework.)

Future subjunctive

Used to indicate future actions in formal contexts. It is very rare to find it in modern conversations or texts, but you may see it in ancient literature, legal documents, or fixed expressions.

• Si tuviere tiempo, iré a visitarte. (If I am to have time, I will go to visit you.)
• Donde fueres, haz lo que vieres. (Wherever you go, do what you see.)

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Compound verb tenses

Compound tenses are formed with the auxiliary verb "haber" plus the participle of the main verb. These tenses are used to talk about actions completed in relation to another moment.

Present perfect

It’s used to describe actions completed in a time close to the present.

• Los constructores han avanzado mucho esta semana. (The builders have made a lot of progress this week.)
• Ya has escuchado esa canción antes. (You have already heard that song before.)

Past perfect

Allows us to describe actions completed before another past action.

• Cuando llegué a casa, mi esposo ya había lavado los platos. (When I got home, my husband had already washed the dishes.)
• Ya había visto esa película antes de que se estrenara en el cine. (I had already seen that movie before it premiered in the theater.)

Future perfect (futuro perfecto)

Describes actions that will be completed in the future.

• Habrán terminado de remodelar el edificio el año que viene. (They will have finished remodeling the building next year.)
• Para mañana habré completado todas mis lecciones de español. (By tomorrow, I will have completed all my Spanish lessons.)

Table of verb tenses

Summary

Verb tenses and conjugation are indispensable tools on your journey to mastering Spanish, as they allow us to talk about past, present, and future actions clearly.

We know that learning to conjugate verbs can be overwhelming at first, but you will see that with patience and some practice through the Promova app, you will master it faster than you think.

Keep going and don’t be afraid to make mistakes! You can do it.