Spanish Verb Tenses

Personal Pronouns

Yo
I
You (informal)
Él/Ella
He/She
Usted
You (formal)
Nosotros/as
We
Vosotros/as
You all (informal, Spain)
Ellos/as
They
Ustedes
You all (formal/Latin America)

INDICATIVE

Preterite Perfect
Expresses an action completed before another past action. Rarely used in spoken language, mostly in formal writing.
Yo hube hablado
I had spoken
hube, hubiste, hubo, hubimos, hubisteis, hubieron + past participle (Not used in spoken language, only in writing)
Preterite
Expresses completed actions in the past with a specific beginning and end.
Yo hablé
I spoke
-ar: -é, -aste, -ó, -amos, -asteis, -aron -er/-ir: -í, -iste, -ió, -imos, -isteis, -ieron Irregulars: andar, conducir, dar, decir, estar, haber, hacer, ir, poner, poder, querer, saber, ser, tener, traer, venir, ver
Pluperfect
Expresses an action that occurred before another past action.
Yo había hablado
I had spoken
había, habías, había, habíamos, habíais, habían + past participle
Present Perfect
Expresses actions completed in the recent past or with present relevance.
Yo he hablado
I have spoken
he, has, ha, hemos, habéis, han + past participle
Present
Expresses current actions, habitual actions, or general truths.
Yo hablo
I speak
-ar: -o, -as, -a, -amos, -áis, -an -er: -o, -es, -e, -emos, -éis, -en -ir: -o, -es, -e, -imos, -ís, -en Irregulars: caber, dar, estar, saber, ver, and more
Conditional
Expresses hypothetical situations, polite requests, or future actions from a past perspective.
Yo hablaría
I would speak
add to infinitive: -ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían Same irregulars as future tense
Conditional Perfect
Expresses hypothetical actions that would have occurred in the past.
Yo habría hablado
I would have spoken
habría, habrías, habría, habríamos, habríais, habrían + past participle
Future
Expresses future actions or events. Also used for probability in the present.
Yo hablaré
I will speak
add to infinitive: -é, -ás, -á, -emos, -éis, -án Irregulars: caber—cabr-, decir—dir-, haber—habr-, hacer—har-, poder—podr-, poner—pondr-, querer—querr-, saber—sabr-, salir—saldr-, tener—tendr-, valer—valdr-, venir—vendr- Also: Yo voy a hablar (I am going to speak)
Future Perfect
Expresses actions that will be completed before a future point in time.
Yo habré hablado
I will have spoken
habré, habrás, habrá, habremos, habréis, habrán + past participle

SUBJUNCTIVE

Pluperfect
Expresses a hypothetical or uncertain action completed before another past action.
...que yo hubiera/hubiese hablado
that I had spoken
hubiera, hubieras, hubiera, hubiéramos, hubierais, hubieran hubiese, hubieses, hubiese, hubiésemos, hubieseis, hubiesen + past participle
Imperfect
Expresses ongoing or habitual actions in the past, or background information.
...que yo hablara/hablase
that I spoke
-ara, -aras, -ara, -áramos, -arais, -aran -ase, -ases, -ase, -ásemos, -aseis, -asen
Present Perfect
Expresses completed actions in hypothetical or uncertain contexts.
...que yo haya hablado
that I have spoken
haya, hayas, haya, hayamos, hayáis, hayan + past participle
Present
Used for wishes, doubts, emotions, and hypothetical situations.
...que yo hable
that I speak
-e, -es, -e, -emos, -éis, -en (for -ar verbs) -a, -as, -a, -amos, -áis, -an (for -er/-ir verbs)

IMPERATIVE

¡Habla!
Used to give commands, instructions, or make requests.
¡Habla!
Speak!
-ar: -a, -e, -emos, -ad, -en -er: -e, -a, -amos, -ed, -an -ir: -e, -a, -amos, -id, -an (Negative: use Present Subjunctive)

NON-PERSONAL

Past Participle
Used to form compound tenses and passive voice. Also functions as an adjective.
Hablado
Spoken
-ar: -ado, -er/-ir: -ido Irregulars: abrir—abierto, decir—dicho, escribir—escrito, hacer—hecho, morir—muerto, poner—puesto, resolver—resuelto, romper—roto, ver—visto, volver—vuelto
Present Participle
Used to form progressive tenses and as an adjective.
Hablando
Speaking
-ar: -ando, -er/-ir: -iendo Continuous is formed with estar + Present Participle
Infinitive
The basic form of the verb, used after prepositions and certain verbs.
Hablar
To speak
-ar, -er, -ir

Common Errors

  • Confusing the subjunctive with the indicative mood
  • Incorrect use of past participles in compound tenses
  • Mixing up irregular verb conjugations
  • Forgetting accent marks in certain conjugations