Hi! Can you list all the tenses in Spanish and what they're used for, with an example in Spanish??
Los tiempos verbales en español - Verb Tenses in Spanish
Okay, for the purposes of this, I’m going to use very basic verbs, probably the same three: comer “to eat”, hablar “to speak”, and vivir “to live”. I will, for the most part, be a bit emphatic with the use of the pronouns just so that you can see which verb corresponds to what pronoun.
Each is regular; each is a member of its own “family”: -er verb, -ar verb, and -ir verb.
Any other verbs I use will be either necessary for the tenses (and thus irregular) or will be completely regular for the purposes of examples.
First, there are 3 official moods.
Indicative = Anything that isn’t subjunctive or imperative. Most tenses are indicative.
Subjunctive = Used for wishes, desires, special clauses, hypothetical situations, and doubt
Imperative = Commands; negative or affirmative.
There could potentially be a “fourth mood” which would be el infinitivo or “the infinitive”.
This is used when the second verb in a line does not need to be conjugated; when the verb is actually being used as a noun; or the dictionary version of any verb
Me gusta comer. - I like to eat.
Hablar es importante. - Speaking is important.
Quiero vivir. - I want to live.
The “fifth mood” is el progresivo “the progressive” also known as “gerund”… which is the “-ing” form of a verb. Most often, it uses the verb estar but not always; sometimes all that’s needed is a verb implying continuous motion.
The gerund exists in many tenses.
Estoy viviendo. - I am living.
Ella estuvo comiendo ayer. - She was eating yesterday.
Estaba hablando. - She was speaking.
1. Indicative [el indicativo] includes:
Present tense - the basic of the basic; description of things, or things happening in the present… or the very near future.
Pienso. - I think / I plan.
Pienso ir. - I plan to go.
Pienso irme. - I’m planning to leave.
Me lavo. - I wash myself.
*Present-Future: using ir + a you convey the idea of “going to”; it’s a precursor for the future tense
Voy a comer. - I am going to eat.
Voy a vivir. - I am going to live.
Voy a hablar. - I am going to speak.
Preterite / Past Tense - things that definitely happened in the past; completed actions in the past; things that happened in the past with a defined time frame usually using a time phrase.
Note: -ar verbs and -ir verbs in the nosotros form are the same in preterite as they are in present; so watch out for the context clues.
El hombre viviĂł. - The man lived.
El hombre comiĂł. - The man ate.
El hombre hablĂł. - The man spoke.
Ellas hablaron. - They [female] spoke.
Ellos comieron. - They ate.
Vivieron juntos. - They lived together.
Hizo mucho calor ayer. - It was very hot yesterday.
Hizo mucho frĂo ayer. - It was very cold yesterday.
Imperfect - actions in the past not yet completed; typically for description; indefinite time phrases in the past; used to convey the idea of “used to”Â
Nosotros comĂamos juntos. - We used to eat together.
Yo hablaba. - I was speaking.
Hablábamos mucho. - We talked a lot. / We used to talk a lot.
Ellos vivĂan en esa casa. - They had been living in that house. / They used to live in that house.
Estaba lloviendo. - It was raining.
Estaba nevando. - It was snowing.
HacĂa mucho calor. - It was very hot.
HacĂa mucho frĂo. - It was very cold.
Ella solĂa comer con nosotros. - She used to eat with us.
Future - things that will happen in the future definitively
Yo comeré. - I will eat.
Tú comerás. - You will eat.
Yo viviré. - I will live.
Tú vivirás. - You will live.
Yo hablaré. - I will speak.
Tú hablarás. - You will speak.
Conditional - things that can happen in the future, provided something else is there to fulfill that condition; used to convey hypothetical thought processes or doubt; softens requests to make them very polite
*Note: Conditional is often used with the Imperfect Subjunctive
Ella vivirĂa (si no tuviera esa enfermedad). - She would live (if she didn’t have that disease).
El hombre hablarĂa (si no estuviera enfermo). - The man would speak (if he weren’t sick).
Yo comerĂa (si tuviera hambre). - I would eat (if I were hungry).
ÂżQuĂ© querrĂas? - What would you like? [lit. “what would you want”]
ÂżQuĂ© le gustarĂa? - What would he like (do you think)?
Me gustarĂa… - I would like…
Perfect tenses - the perfect tenses exist in indicative and subjunctive
They use the verb haber “to have ___ something” plus the past participle to express the idea of “having done” something.
There are some irregular past participles.
los tiempos verbales del perfecto
Yo he comido. - I have eaten.
Nosotros hemos vivido. - We have lived.
Ellos han hablado. - They have spoken.
Yo hube comido ayer. - I had eaten yesterday.
Yo habĂa comido. - I had eaten.
Espero que Ustedes hayan comido. - I hope that you all have eaten.
2. Subjunctive [el subjuntivo] - Subjunctive is a mood that expresses desire or wishes, imposing one’s will onto another.
They can express doubt, hypothetical situations, a submissive tone, or used in the face of uncertainty.
Subjunctive also has various “subjunctive clauses”, which are learned as you go.
Subjunctive can be used with the perfect tenses as well.
Espero que Ustedes hayan comido. - I hope that you all have eaten.
Quiero que hablen. - I want them to speak.
Ojalá que ella viva. - I hope (to God) that she lives.
Dudo que coman. - I doubt they will eat.
Antes de que hables… - Before you speak…
Nos vamos después de que comamos. - We’re leaving after we eat.
Often uses the Imperfect tense for clauses.
Esperaba que ellos hubieran comido. - I hoped they had eaten.
QuerĂa que hablaran. - I wanted them to speak.
Ojalá que ella viviera. - I hoped (to God) that she would live.
Dudaba que comieran. - I doubted they would eat.
Antes de que habláramos… - Before we had spoken…
Nos Ăbamos despuĂ©s de que comiĂ©ramos. - We were going to leave after we ate.
Ojalá que ella no haya roto su brazo. - I hope she hasn’t broken her arm.
Dudo que haya roto su brazo. - I doubt she’s broken her arm.
Espero que hayan comido. - I hope they have eaten.
Quiero que hayas vivido feliz. - I hope you have lived happily.
Antes de que haya hablado… - Before I’ve spoken…
Imperfect Perfect Subjunctive / The Imperfect Pluscuamperfect Subjunctive - desires and wishes and doubts made in the past which render the rest of the sentence subjunctive… using haber
Ojalá que ella no hubiera roto su brazo. - I hoped/wished that she hadn’t broken her arm.
Dudaba que hubiera roto su brazo. - I doubted she had broken her arm.
Esperaba que hubieran comido. - I hoped they had eaten.
3. Imperative [el imperativo / los mandatos “commands”] includes:
The exact conjugation depends upon to whom you’re addressing the command. Many commands do not exist in the yo form; when someone speaks to themselves, they often use tú commands.
Affirmative Commands - “do it”
Come (tĂş). - Eat. (informal)
Coma (Usted). - Eat. (formal)
Coman (Ustedes). - Eat. (plural)
Comamos (nosotros). - Let’s eat.
Comed (vosotros; Spain). - Eat. (plural; usually informal)
Vivid. - Live. (vosotros; Spain)
Negative Commands - “don’t do it”
No hables. - Don’t speak. (informal)
No hable. - Don’t speak. (formal)
No hablen. - Don’t speak. (plural)
No hablemos. - Let’s not speak. (nosotros)
No habléis. - Don’t speak. (vosotros; Spain)
No comas. - Don’t eat. (informal)
No coma (Ud.). - Don’t eat. (formal)
No coman. - Don’t eat. (plural)
No comamos. - Let’s not eat. (nosotros)
No comáis. - Don’t eat. (vosotros; Spain)
**Note: There are obsolete tenses in Spanish such as the future subjunctive; but you don’t have to worry about them because they aren’t commonly used.
***Note: There are many irregular verbs in Spanish that do not follow verb rules. You have to learn them as you go.
