activar — Spanish conjugation

to activate

Frequency#367Regular

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
yoactivoI activate
activasyou activate
vosactivásyou activate
él/ella/Ud.activahe/she/it activates
nosotrosactivamoswe activate
vosotrosactiváisyou (pl.) activate
ellos/ellas/Uds.activanthey activate

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
yoactivéI activated
activasteyou activated
vosactivasteyou activated
él/ella/Ud.activóhe/she/it activated
nosotrosactivamoswe activated
vosotrosactivasteisyou (pl.) activated
ellos/ellas/Uds.activaronthey activated

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
yoactivaba
activabas
vosactivabas
él/ella/Ud.activaba
nosotrosactivábamos
vosotrosactivabais
ellos/ellas/Uds.activaban

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
yoactivaríaI would activate
activaríasyou would activate
vosactivaríasyou would activate
él/ella/Ud.activaríahe/she/it would activate
nosotrosactivaríamoswe would activate
vosotrosactivaríaisyou (pl.) would activate
ellos/ellas/Uds.activaríanthey would activate

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
yoactivaréI will activate
activarásyou will activate
vosactivarásyou will activate
él/ella/Ud.activaráhe/she/it will activate
nosotrosactivaremoswe will activate
vosotrosactivaréisyou (pl.) will activate
ellos/ellas/Uds.activaránthey will activate

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 activadoI have activated
has activadoyou have activated
voshas activadoyou have activated
él/ella/Ud.ha activadohe/she/it has activated
nosotroshemos activadowe have activated
vosotroshabéis activadoyou (pl.) have activated
ellos/ellas/Uds.han activadothey have activated

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 activadoI had activated
habías activadoyou had activated
voshabías activadoyou had activated
él/ella/Ud.había activadohe/she/it had activated
nosotroshabíamos activadowe had activated
vosotroshabíais activadoyou (pl.) had activated
ellos/ellas/Uds.habían activadothey had activated

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

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 activadoI will have activated
habrás activadoyou will have activated
voshabrás activadoyou will have activated
él/ella/Ud.habrá activadohe/she/it will have activated
nosotroshabremos activadowe will have activated
vosotroshabréis activadoyou (pl.) will have activated
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrán activadothey will have activated

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
yoactive
actives
vosactives
él/ella/Ud.active
nosotrosactivemos
vosotrosactivéis
ellos/ellas/Uds.activen

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
yoactivara
activaras
vosactivaras
él/ella/Ud.activara
nosotrosactiváramos
vosotrosactivarais
ellos/ellas/Uds.activaran

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
yoactivase
activases
vosactivases
él/ella/Ud.activase
nosotrosactivásemos
vosotrosactivaseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.activasen

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

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

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
activa
vosactivá
él/ella/Ud.active
nosotrosactivemos
vosotrosactivad
ustedesactiven

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 actives
vosno actives
él/ella/Ud.no active
nosotrosno activemos
vosotrosno activéis
ustedesno activen

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

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

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

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

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