adivinar — Spanish conjugation

to guess

Frequency#786Regular

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
yoadivinoI guess
adivinasyou guess
vosadivinásyou guess
él/ella/Ud.adivinahe/she/it guesses
nosotrosadivinamoswe guess
vosotrosadivináisyou (pl.) guess
ellos/ellas/Uds.adivinanthey guess

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
yoadivinéI guessed
adivinasteyou guessed
vosadivinasteyou guessed
él/ella/Ud.adivinóhe/she/it guessed
nosotrosadivinamoswe guessed
vosotrosadivinasteisyou (pl.) guessed
ellos/ellas/Uds.adivinaronthey guessed

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
yoadivinaba
adivinabas
vosadivinabas
él/ella/Ud.adivinaba
nosotrosadivinábamos
vosotrosadivinabais
ellos/ellas/Uds.adivinaban

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
yoadivinaríaI would guess
adivinaríasyou would guess
vosadivinaríasyou would guess
él/ella/Ud.adivinaríahe/she/it would guess
nosotrosadivinaríamoswe would guess
vosotrosadivinaríaisyou (pl.) would guess
ellos/ellas/Uds.adivinaríanthey would guess

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
yoadivinaréI will guess
adivinarásyou will guess
vosadivinarásyou will guess
él/ella/Ud.adivinaráhe/she/it will guess
nosotrosadivinaremoswe will guess
vosotrosadivinaréisyou (pl.) will guess
ellos/ellas/Uds.adivinaránthey will guess

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 adivinadoI have guessed
has adivinadoyou have guessed
voshas adivinadoyou have guessed
él/ella/Ud.ha adivinadohe/she/it has guessed
nosotroshemos adivinadowe have guessed
vosotroshabéis adivinadoyou (pl.) have guessed
ellos/ellas/Uds.han adivinadothey have guessed

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 adivinadoI had guessed
habías adivinadoyou had guessed
voshabías adivinadoyou had guessed
él/ella/Ud.había adivinadohe/she/it had guessed
nosotroshabíamos adivinadowe had guessed
vosotroshabíais adivinadoyou (pl.) had guessed
ellos/ellas/Uds.habían adivinadothey had guessed

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

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 adivinadoI will have guessed
habrás adivinadoyou will have guessed
voshabrás adivinadoyou will have guessed
él/ella/Ud.habrá adivinadohe/she/it will have guessed
nosotroshabremos adivinadowe will have guessed
vosotroshabréis adivinadoyou (pl.) will have guessed
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrán adivinadothey will have guessed

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
yoadivine
adivines
vosadivines
él/ella/Ud.adivine
nosotrosadivinemos
vosotrosadivinéis
ellos/ellas/Uds.adivinen

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
yoadivinara
adivinaras
vosadivinaras
él/ella/Ud.adivinara
nosotrosadivináramos
vosotrosadivinarais
ellos/ellas/Uds.adivinaran

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
yoadivinase
adivinases
vosadivinases
él/ella/Ud.adivinase
nosotrosadivinásemos
vosotrosadivinaseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.adivinasen

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

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

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
adivina
vosadiviná
él/ella/Ud.adivine
nosotrosadivinemos
vosotrosadivinad
ustedesadivinen

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 adivines
vosno adivines
él/ella/Ud.no adivine
nosotrosno adivinemos
vosotrosno adivinéis
ustedesno adivinen

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

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

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

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

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