adelantar — Spanish conjugation

to advance

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
yoadelantoI advance
adelantasyou advance
vosadelantásyou advance
él/ella/Ud.adelantahe/she/it advances
nosotrosadelantamoswe advance
vosotrosadelantáisyou (pl.) advance
ellos/ellas/Uds.adelantanthey advance

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
yoadelantéI advanced
adelantasteyou advanced
vosadelantasteyou advanced
él/ella/Ud.adelantóhe/she/it advanced
nosotrosadelantamoswe advanced
vosotrosadelantasteisyou (pl.) advanced
ellos/ellas/Uds.adelantaronthey advanced

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
yoadelantaba
adelantabas
vosadelantabas
él/ella/Ud.adelantaba
nosotrosadelantábamos
vosotrosadelantabais
ellos/ellas/Uds.adelantaban

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
yoadelantaríaI would advance
adelantaríasyou would advance
vosadelantaríasyou would advance
él/ella/Ud.adelantaríahe/she/it would advance
nosotrosadelantaríamoswe would advance
vosotrosadelantaríaisyou (pl.) would advance
ellos/ellas/Uds.adelantaríanthey would advance

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
yoadelantaréI will advance
adelantarásyou will advance
vosadelantarásyou will advance
él/ella/Ud.adelantaráhe/she/it will advance
nosotrosadelantaremoswe will advance
vosotrosadelantaréisyou (pl.) will advance
ellos/ellas/Uds.adelantaránthey will advance

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 adelantadoI have advanced
has adelantadoyou have advanced
voshas adelantadoyou have advanced
él/ella/Ud.ha adelantadohe/she/it has advanced
nosotroshemos adelantadowe have advanced
vosotroshabéis adelantadoyou (pl.) have advanced
ellos/ellas/Uds.han adelantadothey have advanced

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 adelantadoI had advanced
habías adelantadoyou had advanced
voshabías adelantadoyou had advanced
él/ella/Ud.había adelantadohe/she/it had advanced
nosotroshabíamos adelantadowe had advanced
vosotroshabíais adelantadoyou (pl.) had advanced
ellos/ellas/Uds.habían adelantadothey had advanced

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

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 adelantadoI will have advanced
habrás adelantadoyou will have advanced
voshabrás adelantadoyou will have advanced
él/ella/Ud.habrá adelantadohe/she/it will have advanced
nosotroshabremos adelantadowe will have advanced
vosotroshabréis adelantadoyou (pl.) will have advanced
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrán adelantadothey will have advanced

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
yoadelante
adelantes
vosadelantes
él/ella/Ud.adelante
nosotrosadelantemos
vosotrosadelantéis
ellos/ellas/Uds.adelanten

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
yoadelantara
adelantaras
vosadelantaras
él/ella/Ud.adelantara
nosotrosadelantáramos
vosotrosadelantarais
ellos/ellas/Uds.adelantaran

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
yoadelantase
adelantases
vosadelantases
él/ella/Ud.adelantase
nosotrosadelantásemos
vosotrosadelantaseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.adelantasen

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

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

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
adelanta
vosadelantá
él/ella/Ud.adelante
nosotrosadelantemos
vosotrosadelantad
ustedesadelanten

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 adelantes
vosno adelantes
él/ella/Ud.no adelante
nosotrosno adelantemos
vosotrosno adelantéis
ustedesno adelanten

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

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

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

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

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