abreviar — Spanish conjugation

to abbreviate, to shorten

Frequency#784Regular

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
yoabrevioI abbreviate
abreviasyou abbreviate
vosabreviásyou abbreviate
él/ella/Ud.abreviahe/she/it abbreviates
nosotrosabreviamoswe abbreviate
vosotrosabreviáisyou (pl.) abbreviate
ellos/ellas/Uds.abrevianthey abbreviate

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
yoabreviéI abbreviated
abreviasteyou abbreviated
vosabreviasteyou abbreviated
él/ella/Ud.abrevióhe/she/it abbreviated
nosotrosabreviamoswe abbreviated
vosotrosabreviasteisyou (pl.) abbreviated
ellos/ellas/Uds.abreviaronthey abbreviated

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
yoabreviaba
abreviabas
vosabreviabas
él/ella/Ud.abreviaba
nosotrosabreviábamos
vosotrosabreviabais
ellos/ellas/Uds.abreviaban

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
yoabreviaríaI would abbreviate
abreviaríasyou would abbreviate
vosabreviaríasyou would abbreviate
él/ella/Ud.abreviaríahe/she/it would abbreviate
nosotrosabreviaríamoswe would abbreviate
vosotrosabreviaríaisyou (pl.) would abbreviate
ellos/ellas/Uds.abreviaríanthey would abbreviate

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
yoabreviaréI will abbreviate
abreviarásyou will abbreviate
vosabreviarásyou will abbreviate
él/ella/Ud.abreviaráhe/she/it will abbreviate
nosotrosabreviaremoswe will abbreviate
vosotrosabreviaréisyou (pl.) will abbreviate
ellos/ellas/Uds.abreviaránthey will abbreviate

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 abreviadoI have abbreviated
has abreviadoyou have abbreviated
voshas abreviadoyou have abbreviated
él/ella/Ud.ha abreviadohe/she/it has abbreviated
nosotroshemos abreviadowe have abbreviated
vosotroshabéis abreviadoyou (pl.) have abbreviated
ellos/ellas/Uds.han abreviadothey have abbreviated

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 abreviadoI had abbreviated
habías abreviadoyou had abbreviated
voshabías abreviadoyou had abbreviated
él/ella/Ud.había abreviadohe/she/it had abbreviated
nosotroshabíamos abreviadowe had abbreviated
vosotroshabíais abreviadoyou (pl.) had abbreviated
ellos/ellas/Uds.habían abreviadothey had abbreviated

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 abreviado
habrías abreviado
voshabrías abreviado
él/ella/Ud.habría abreviado
nosotroshabríamos abreviado
vosotroshabríais abreviado
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrían abreviado

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 abreviadoI will have abbreviated
habrás abreviadoyou will have abbreviated
voshabrás abreviadoyou will have abbreviated
él/ella/Ud.habrá abreviadohe/she/it will have abbreviated
nosotroshabremos abreviadowe will have abbreviated
vosotroshabréis abreviadoyou (pl.) will have abbreviated
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrán abreviadothey will have abbreviated

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
yoabrevie
abrevies
vosabrevies
él/ella/Ud.abrevie
nosotrosabreviemos
vosotrosabreviéis
ellos/ellas/Uds.abrevien

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
yoabreviara
abreviaras
vosabreviaras
él/ella/Ud.abreviara
nosotrosabreviáramos
vosotrosabreviarais
ellos/ellas/Uds.abreviaran

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
yoabreviase
abreviases
vosabreviases
él/ella/Ud.abreviase
nosotrosabreviásemos
vosotrosabreviaseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.abreviasen

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 abreviado
hayas abreviado
voshayas abreviado
él/ella/Ud.haya abreviado
nosotroshayamos abreviado
vosotroshayáis abreviado
ellos/ellas/Uds.hayan abreviado

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 abreviado
hubieras abreviado
voshubieras abreviado
él/ella/Ud.hubiera abreviado
nosotroshubiéramos abreviado
vosotroshubierais abreviado
ellos/ellas/Uds.hubieran abreviado

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
abrevia
vosabreviá
él/ella/Ud.abrevie
nosotrosabreviemos
vosotrosabreviad
ustedesabrevien

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 abrevies
vosno abrevies
él/ella/Ud.no abrevie
nosotrosno abreviemos
vosotrosno abreviéis
ustedesno abrevien

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 abreviando
estás abreviando
vosestás abreviando
él/ella/Ud.está abreviando
nosotrosestamos abreviando
vosotrosestáis abreviando
ellos/ellas/Uds.están abreviando

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 abreviando
estuviste abreviando
vosestuviste abreviando
él/ella/Ud.estuvo abreviando
nosotrosestuvimos abreviando
vosotrosestuvisteis abreviando
ellos/ellas/Uds.estuvieron abreviando

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 abreviando
estabas abreviando
vosestabas abreviando
él/ella/Ud.estaba abreviando
nosotrosestábamos abreviando
vosotrosestabais abreviando
ellos/ellas/Uds.estaban abreviando

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 abreviando
estarías abreviando
vosestarías abreviando
él/ella/Ud.estaría abreviando
nosotrosestaríamos abreviando
vosotrosestaríais abreviando
ellos/ellas/Uds.estarían abreviando

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 abreviando
estarás abreviando
vosestarás abreviando
él/ella/Ud.estará abreviando
nosotrosestaremos abreviando
vosotrosestaréis abreviando
ellos/ellas/Uds.estarán abreviando