The 18 Spanish Verb Conjugations
UNDERSTANDING SPANISH 18 VERB CONJUGATIONS
Spanish verb conjugations are critical for communicating different times, moods, and intentions in speech and writing. Verbs are conjugated to convey when an action takes place (present, past, future), the nature of the action (completed, habitual, hypothetical), and the speaker’s attitude toward the action (certainty, doubt, necessity).
The 18 main verb tenses in Spanish include various forms for the indicative mood, which expresses factual information, the subjunctive mood, which expresses doubt, desire, or hypotheticals, and the imperative mood, used for commands.
The indicative tenses provide a foundation for communicating clearly about actions and events. The subjunctive tenses add nuance by expressing uncertainty or hypothetical situations. Finally, the imperative tenses are practical for giving instructions or commands.
| # | TENSE (TIEMPO VERBAL) | EXPLANATION (EXPLICACIÓN) | EXAMPLE (EJEMPLO) |
| 1 | Present Tense (Presente) | Describes actions happening now or habitual actions. | Yo hablo (I speak). |
| 2 | Imperfect Tense (Imperfecto) | Describes past actions without a specific endpoint or habitual past actions. | Yo hablaba (I was speaking). |
| 3 | Preterite Tense (Pretérito) | Describes actions that were completed in the past. | Yo hablé (I spoke). |
| 4 | Future Tense (Futuro) | Describes actions that will happen in the future. | Yo hablaré (I will speak). |
| 5 | Conditional Tense (Condicional) | Describes actions that would happen under certain conditions. | Yo hablaría (I would speak). |
| 6 | Present Perfect Tense (Perfecto Compuesto) | Describes actions that have happened in the past and are connected to the present. | Yo he hablado (I have spoken). |
| 7 | Past Perfect (Pluperfect) Tense (Pluscuamperfecto) | Describes actions that had happened before another past action. | Yo había hablado (I had spoken). |
| 8 | Preterite Perfect Tense (Pretérito Anterior) | Describes actions that had just happened before another past action (mostly literary). | Yo hube hablado (I had spoken). |
| 9 | Future Perfect Tense (Futuro Perfecto) | Describes actions that will have happened by a certain point in the future. | Yo habré hablado (I will have spoken). |
| 10 | Conditional Perfect (Condicional Perfecto) | Describes actions that would have happened under certain conditions. | Yo habría hablado (I would have spoken). |
| 11 | Present Subjunctive (Subjuntivo Presente) | Describes hypothetical or non-real actions or actions related to emotion, doubt, or desire. | Yo hable (I speak, as in, I wish that I speak). |
| 12 | Imperfect Subjunctive (Subjuntivo Imperfecto) | Describes hypothetical or non-real past actions or polite requests. | Yo hablara (I would speak, as in, if I were to speak). |
| 13 | Future Subjunctive (Subjuntivo Futuro) | Describes hypothetical or non-real future actions (rarely used in modern Spanish). | Yo hablare (I will speak, as in, if I were to speak). |
| 14 | Present Perfect Subjunctive (Subjuntivo Perfecto Compuesto) | Describes hypothetical or non-real actions that have happened in the past and are connected to the present. | Yo haya hablado (I have spoken, as in, I hope that I have spoken). |
| 15 | Past Perfect Subjunctive (Subjuntivo Pluscuamperfecto) | Describes hypothetical or non-real actions that had happened before another past action. | Yo hubiera hablado (I had spoken, as in, if I had spoken). |
| 16 | Future Perfect Subjunctive (Subjuntivo Futuro Perfecto) | Describes hypothetical or non-real actions that will have happened by a certain point in the future (extremely rare). | Yo hubiere hablado (I will have spoken, as in, if I will have spoken). |
| 17 | Affirmative Imperative (Imperativo Afirmativo) | Used to give direct commands or requests. | Habla (Speak). |
| 18 | Negative Imperative (Imperativo Negativo) | Used to give direct commands or requests not to do something. | No hables (Don’t speak). |