Spanish conjugation

Spanish conjugation is changing the end of a verb to show who does the action and when: hablo (I speak), hablé (I spoke), hablaré (I’ll speak). Type any verb above to see every form with audio, or read on to learn the patterns that cover almost every verb.

How Spanish conjugation works: 3 steps

1. Find the group. Every Spanish infinitive ends in -ar, -er or -ir: hablar, comer, vivir. The group decides the endings.
2. Drop the ending. What’s left is the stem: hablar → habl-.
3. Add the ending for the person and the tense. habl- + o = hablo (I speak), habl- + amos = hablamos (we speak). For the future and the conditional you keep the whole infinitive: hablaré.

That’s why Spanish can drop the subject pronoun: the ending already says who. Hablo español is a full sentence, and adding yo only adds emphasis.

Spanish subject pronouns

Every conjugation table follows the same order of persons. Two of them depend on where you are.

In Latin America, ustedes is the only “you all,” formal or not, and it takes the same form as ellos: ustedes hablan. Vosotros (habláis) is used only in Spain. Vos has its own present tense (vos hablás) and the conjugator shows it on every verb.

Regular verb endings in every tense

These are the three model verbs, with the ending in bold. Tap any form to hear it. Learn these five tenses and you can conjugate thousands of regular verbs.

Present

-er and -ir verbs only differ in nosotros and vosotros: comemos, vivimos.

Preterite

-er and -ir verbs share one set of endings. Watch the accent on yo and él: hablé (I spoke) is not hable.

Imperfect

Just two sets: -aba for -ar verbs and -ía for -er and -ir verbs. Only three verbs break it: ser (era), ir (iba) and ver (veía).

Future and conditional

Add the ending to the whole infinitive. The endings are the same for all three groups, and the irregular verbs only change the stem (tendré, haría).

Present subjunctive

Start from the yo form of the present, drop the -o and switch the vowel: -ar verbs take e, -er and -ir verbs take a. That’s why tengo gives tenga.

Printable version, with the 50 most common verbs: Spanish conjugation chart.

Irregular verbs: the patterns

Most irregular verbs aren’t random. They fall into a few groups, and once you know the group you know the verb. The button under each group filters the full list below.

And then there are the true irregulars, the ones you simply learn by heart. They are also the verbs you’ll use most: ser, ir, estar, haber, tener and hacer. The full guide: Spanish irregular verbs.

Which tense do I need?

The two past tenses are where most learners get stuck: the preterite tells what happened, the imperfect sets the scene. Here’s how to choose: preterite vs. imperfect. For the verbs worth learning first, see Spanish verbs.