abordar — Spanish conjugation

to address

Frequency#512Regular

Indicative

Present (Presente) Regular

The present tense is the most versatile tense in Spanish. It covers actions happening right now, habitual actions, and even near-future plans. One form does the work of three English constructions.

Ella habla inglés — She speaks / is speaking English

PronounSpanishEnglish
yoabordoI address
abordasyou address
vosabordásyou address
él/ella/Ud.abordahe/she/it addresses
nosotrosabordamoswe address
vosotrosabordáisyou (pl.) address
ellos/ellas/Uds.abordanthey address

Preterite (Pretérito indefinido) Regular

Used for completed past actions with a defined endpoint — a single event, a series of events, or an action that interrupted another. Common with time expressions like ayer, el lunes, una vez.

Ella habló de ti ayer — She spoke about you yesterday

PronounSpanishEnglish
yoabordéI addressed
abordasteyou addressed
vosabordasteyou addressed
él/ella/Ud.abordóhe/she/it addressed
nosotrosabordamoswe addressed
vosotrosabordasteisyou (pl.) addressed
ellos/ellas/Uds.abordaronthey addressed

Imperfect (Pretérito imperfecto) Regular

Describes ongoing or habitual past states — what things were like, background context, what used to happen. Contrasts with the preterite which marks completed events.

Cuando era niño vivía en Valencia — When I was a child I lived in Valencia

PronounSpanish
yoabordaba
abordabas
vosabordabas
él/ella/Ud.abordaba
nosotrosabordábamos
vosotrosabordabais
ellos/ellas/Uds.abordaban

Conditional (Condicional) Regular

Expresses hypothetical actions, polite requests, and what would happen under certain conditions. Also used for reported speech about the future from a past perspective.

¿Podrías ayudarme? — Could you help me?

PronounSpanishEnglish
yoabordaríaI would address
abordaríasyou would address
vosabordaríasyou would address
él/ella/Ud.abordaríahe/she/it would address
nosotrosabordaríamoswe would address
vosotrosabordaríaisyou (pl.) would address
ellos/ellas/Uds.abordaríanthey would address

Future (Futuro) Regular

Expresses future actions, predictions, and probability about the present. Formed with the full infinitive as stem for most verbs. In spoken Spanish, ir a + infinitive is often preferred for near future.

Ella hablará en conferencia mañana — She will speak at the conference tomorrow

PronounSpanishEnglish
yoabordaréI will address
abordarásyou will address
vosabordarásyou will address
él/ella/Ud.abordaráhe/she/it will address
nosotrosabordaremoswe will address
vosotrosabordaréisyou (pl.) will address
ellos/ellas/Uds.abordaránthey will address

Present perfect (Pretérito perfecto) Regular

A compound past tense linking a past action to the present moment — something that has happened and still feels recent or relevant. More common in Spain than Latin America where preterite is preferred.

Hoy he hablado con el jefe — Today I have spoken with the boss

PronounSpanishEnglish
yohe abordadoI have addressed
has abordadoyou have addressed
voshas abordadoyou have addressed
él/ella/Ud.ha abordadohe/she/it has addressed
nosotroshemos abordadowe have addressed
vosotroshabéis abordadoyou (pl.) have addressed
ellos/ellas/Uds.han abordadothey have addressed

Pluperfect (Pretérito pluscuamperfecto) Regular

The past of the past — describes an action that was already completed before another past event happened. Always implies a reference point in the past.

Ya había hablado cuando llegaste — She had already spoken when you arrived

PronounSpanishEnglish
yohabía abordadoI had addressed
habías abordadoyou had addressed
voshabías abordadoyou had addressed
él/ella/Ud.había abordadohe/she/it had addressed
nosotroshabíamos abordadowe had addressed
vosotroshabíais abordadoyou (pl.) had addressed
ellos/ellas/Uds.habían abordadothey had addressed

Conditional perfect (Condicional perfecto) Regular

Expresses what would have happened — actions that were possible but did not occur, or regrets about the past. Formed with conditional of haber + past participle.

Habría hablado, pero no me dejaron — I would have spoken, but they did not let me

PronounSpanish
yohabría abordado
habrías abordado
voshabrías abordado
él/ella/Ud.habría abordado
nosotroshabríamos abordado
vosotroshabríais abordado
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrían abordado

Future perfect (Futuro perfecto) Regular

Describes an action that will have been completed by a certain point in the future, or expresses probability about a recent past action.

Para el lunes habré terminado — By Monday I will have finished

PronounSpanishEnglish
yohabré abordadoI will have addressed
habrás abordadoyou will have addressed
voshabrás abordadoyou will have addressed
él/ella/Ud.habrá abordadohe/she/it will have addressed
nosotroshabremos abordadowe will have addressed
vosotroshabréis abordadoyou (pl.) will have addressed
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrán abordadothey will have addressed

Subjunctive

Present subjunctive (Subjuntivo presente) Regular

Used in subordinate clauses after expressions of desire, doubt, emotion, necessity, or impersonal statements. Triggered by a change of subject between the main and subordinate clause.

Espero que hable — I hope she speaks

PronounSpanish
yoaborde
abordes
vosabordes
él/ella/Ud.aborde
nosotrosabordemos
vosotrosabordéis
ellos/ellas/Uds.aborden

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra) (Subjuntivo imperfecto (-ra)) Regular

The past subjunctive used after past main verbs, in if-clauses with conditional, and for polite softening. The -ra form is more common in everyday speech than the -se form.

Si pudiera, lo haría — If I could, I would do it

PronounSpanish
yoabordara
abordaras
vosabordaras
él/ella/Ud.abordara
nosotrosabordáramos
vosotrosabordarais
ellos/ellas/Uds.abordaran

Imperfect subjunctive (-se) (Subjuntivo imperfecto (-se)) Regular

The alternative past subjunctive form. Interchangeable with -ra in most contexts but slightly more literary or formal. Both forms are grammatically correct in all regions.

Si pudiese, lo haría — If I could, I would do it

PronounSpanish
yoabordase
abordases
vosabordases
él/ella/Ud.abordase
nosotrosabordásemos
vosotrosabordaseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.abordasen

Perfect subjunctive (Pretérito perfecto de subjuntivo) Regular

A compound subjunctive that expresses completed actions in a subjunctive context — used after present or future main verbs expressing doubt, emotion or desire.

Dudo que ya haya llegado — I doubt she has already arrived

PronounSpanish
yohaya abordado
hayas abordado
voshayas abordado
él/ella/Ud.haya abordado
nosotroshayamos abordado
vosotroshayáis abordado
ellos/ellas/Uds.hayan abordado

Pluperfect subjunctive (Pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo) Regular

Expresses what had happened in hypothetical or unreal past contexts — the subjunctive equivalent of the pluperfect. Common in contrary-to-fact past conditions.

Si hubiera hablado, lo habrían creído — If she had spoken, they would have believed her

PronounSpanish
yohubiera abordado
hubieras abordado
voshubieras abordado
él/ella/Ud.hubiera abordado
nosotroshubiéramos abordado
vosotroshubierais abordado
ellos/ellas/Uds.hubieran abordado

Other forms

Imperative (affirmative) (Imperativo afirmativo) Regular

Direct commands and instructions. The imperative only exists for tú, usted, nosotros, vosotros and ustedes — yo has no command form. Affirmative and negative forms use different conjugations.

Habla más despacio — Speak more slowly

PronounSpanish
aborda
vosabordá
él/ella/Ud.aborde
nosotrosabordemos
vosotrosabordad
ustedesaborden

Imperative (negative) (Imperativo negativo) Regular

Negative commands use the subjunctive forms for all persons. Formed with no + present subjunctive. This applies to all persons including tú where the affirmative uses a different form.

No hables tan rápido — Do not speak so fast

PronounSpanish
no abordes
vosno abordes
él/ella/Ud.no aborde
nosotrosno abordemos
vosotrosno abordéis
ustedesno aborden

Present progressive (Presente progresivo) Regular

Emphasises that an action is happening right now at this very moment. Less common than in English since the present tense already covers ongoing actions in Spanish.

Estoy hablando contigo — I am speaking with you

PronounSpanish
yoestoy abordando
estás abordando
vosestás abordando
él/ella/Ud.está abordando
nosotrosestamos abordando
vosotrosestáis abordando
ellos/ellas/Uds.están abordando

Preterite progressive (Pretérito indefinido progresivo) Regular

Describes an action that was in progress throughout a completed past period. Uses the preterite of estar + gerund to emphasise the ongoing nature within a defined timeframe.

Estuvo hablando toda la tarde — He was talking all afternoon

PronounSpanish
yoestuve abordando
estuviste abordando
vosestuviste abordando
él/ella/Ud.estuvo abordando
nosotrosestuvimos abordando
vosotrosestuvisteis abordando
ellos/ellas/Uds.estuvieron abordando

Imperfect progressive (Pretérito imperfecto progresivo) Regular

Emphasises an ongoing background action using the imperfect of estar + gerund. Layered on top of the imperfect which already conveys continuity — used for extra emphasis on the progressive nature.

Estaba hablando cuando entró — I was speaking when he came in

PronounSpanish
yoestaba abordando
estabas abordando
vosestabas abordando
él/ella/Ud.estaba abordando
nosotrosestábamos abordando
vosotrosestabais abordando
ellos/ellas/Uds.estaban abordando

Conditional progressive (Condicional progresivo) Regular

Expresses what would be in progress under hypothetical conditions. Uses the conditional of estar + gerund. Less common but used for emphasis on the ongoing nature of a hypothetical action.

Estaría hablando ahora si pudiera — I would be speaking now if I could

PronounSpanish
yoestaría abordando
estarías abordando
vosestarías abordando
él/ella/Ud.estaría abordando
nosotrosestaríamos abordando
vosotrosestaríais abordando
ellos/ellas/Uds.estarían abordando

Future progressive (Futuro progresivo) Regular

Describes an action that will be in progress at a future point, or expresses probability about an ongoing present action. Uses the future of estar + gerund.

Mañana a esta hora estaré viajando — At this time tomorrow I will be travelling

PronounSpanish
yoestaré abordando
estarás abordando
vosestarás abordando
él/ella/Ud.estará abordando
nosotrosestaremos abordando
vosotrosestaréis abordando
ellos/ellas/Uds.estarán abordando