Spanish Verb Conjugation Marathon
Master Spanish verb conjugation: 23 essential verbs across every tense and mood — present, preterite, imperfect, future, conditional, the subjunctive, compound tenses and commands. Full tables with audio, a pattern reference and an endless practice engine, all explained in English.
Conjugation tables
Which verbs
| hablar | to speak |
|---|---|
| comer | to eat |
| vivir | to live |
| pensar | to think |
| poder | to be able (can) |
| pedir | to ask for |
| querer | to want / love |
| ser | to be (essence) |
| estar | to be (state) |
| ir | to go |
| tener | to have |
| hacer | to do / make |
| decir | to say / tell |
| ver | to see |
| dar | to give |
| llegar | to arrive |
| buscar | to look for |
| empezar | to begin |
| jugar | to play |
| conocer | to know (be familiar) |
| construir | to build |
| leer | to read |
| dormir | to sleep |
| venir | to come |
| saber | to know |
| beber | to drink |
| trabajar | to work |
| estudiar | to study |
| comprar | to buy |
| tomar | to take |
| amar | to love |
| escribir | to write |
How Spanish verbs work
The rules behind every form in this marathon. Learn these and most verbs conjugate themselves.
The three verb families
Drop the infinitive ending (-ar / -er / -ir) to get the stem, then add the ending for the tense and person. -er and -ir verbs share most endings.
Present — Presente
| Person | -ar | -er | -ir |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | -o | -o | -o |
| tú | -as | -es | -es |
| él/ella | -a | -e | -e |
| nosotros | -amos | -emos | -imos |
| vosotros | -áis | -éis | -ís |
| ellos/ellas | -an | -en | -en |
Preterite — Pretérito indefinido (completed past)
| Person | -ar | -er / -ir |
|---|---|---|
| yo | -é | -í |
| tú | -aste | -iste |
| él/ella | -ó | -ió |
| nosotros | -amos | -imos |
| vosotros | -asteis | -isteis |
| ellos/ellas | -aron | -ieron |
Imperfect — Pretérito imperfecto (ongoing / habitual past)
| Person | -ar | -er / -ir |
|---|---|---|
| yo | -aba | -ía |
| tú | -abas | -ías |
| él/ella | -aba | -ía |
| nosotros | -ábamos | -íamos |
| vosotros | -abais | -íais |
| ellos/ellas | -aban | -ían |
Only three verbs are irregular in the imperfect: ser (era…), ir (iba…) and ver (veía…).
Future & Conditional
Add these endings to the whole infinitive, not the stem: hablar → hablaré, hablaría. A dozen verbs use an irregular stem here (tener → tendr-, hacer → har-, decir → dir-, poder → podr-, querer → querr-, saber → sabr-…) but the endings never change.
| Person | Future | Conditional |
|---|---|---|
| yo | -é | -ía |
| tú | -ás | -ías |
| él/ella | -á | -ía |
| nosotros | -emos | -íamos |
| vosotros | -éis | -íais |
| ellos/ellas | -án | -ían |
Present subjunctive — Subjuntivo presente
Start from the yo present, drop the -o, and add the "opposite" vowel: -ar verbs take -e endings, -er/-ir verbs take -a endings. This also gives you the usted commands and all negative commands.
| Person | -ar | -er / -ir |
|---|---|---|
| yo | -e | -a |
| tú | -es | -as |
| él/ella | -e | -a |
| nosotros | -emos | -amos |
| vosotros | -éis | -áis |
| ellos/ellas | -en | -an |
Imperfect subjunctive — Subjuntivo imperfecto
Take the ellos preterite (hablaron, comieron, fueron), drop -ron, and add -ra, -ras, -ra, -´ramos, -rais, -ran. The -se endings (-se, -ses, -se…) are equally correct.
Compound (perfect) tenses
Every perfect tense is haber in the matching simple tense + the past participle (-ar → -ado, -er/-ir → -ido). The participle never changes for person.
- Present perfect: he / has / ha / hemos / habéis / han + participle
- Pluperfect: había… + participle
- Future perfect: habré… + participle · Conditional perfect: habría… + participle
- Irregular participles: hacer → hecho, decir → dicho, ver → visto.
Commands — Imperativo
Affirmative tú is usually just the él/ella present (habla, come); the other persons use the present subjunctive. Every negative command uses the present subjunctive: no hables, no comas, no vengas.
Stem & spelling changes
- Stem changes hit the stressed syllable: e→ie (pensar → pienso), o→ue (poder → puedo), e→i (pedir → pido).
- Spelling keeps the sound: -car → qu (buscar → busqué), -gar → gu (llegar → llegué), -zar → c (empezar → empecé).
Two verbs for "to be": ser vs estar
ser is for essence — identity, origin, time, permanent traits (soy de México, es médico). estar is for states and location — feelings, conditions, where something is (estoy cansado, está en casa).