afectar — Spanish conjugation

to affect

Frequency#223Regular

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
yoafectoI affect
afectasyou affect
vosafectásyou affect
él/ella/Ud.afectahe/she/it affects
nosotrosafectamoswe affect
vosotrosafectáisyou (pl.) affect
ellos/ellas/Uds.afectanthey affect

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
yoafectéI affected
afectasteyou affected
vosafectasteyou affected
él/ella/Ud.afectóhe/she/it affected
nosotrosafectamoswe affected
vosotrosafectasteisyou (pl.) affected
ellos/ellas/Uds.afectaronthey affected

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
yoafectaba
afectabas
vosafectabas
él/ella/Ud.afectaba
nosotrosafectábamos
vosotrosafectabais
ellos/ellas/Uds.afectaban

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
yoafectaríaI would affect
afectaríasyou would affect
vosafectaríasyou would affect
él/ella/Ud.afectaríahe/she/it would affect
nosotrosafectaríamoswe would affect
vosotrosafectaríaisyou (pl.) would affect
ellos/ellas/Uds.afectaríanthey would affect

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
yoafectaréI will affect
afectarásyou will affect
vosafectarásyou will affect
él/ella/Ud.afectaráhe/she/it will affect
nosotrosafectaremoswe will affect
vosotrosafectaréisyou (pl.) will affect
ellos/ellas/Uds.afectaránthey will affect

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 afectadoI have affected
has afectadoyou have affected
voshas afectadoyou have affected
él/ella/Ud.ha afectadohe/she/it has affected
nosotroshemos afectadowe have affected
vosotroshabéis afectadoyou (pl.) have affected
ellos/ellas/Uds.han afectadothey have affected

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 afectadoI had affected
habías afectadoyou had affected
voshabías afectadoyou had affected
él/ella/Ud.había afectadohe/she/it had affected
nosotroshabíamos afectadowe had affected
vosotroshabíais afectadoyou (pl.) had affected
ellos/ellas/Uds.habían afectadothey had affected

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

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 afectadoI will have affected
habrás afectadoyou will have affected
voshabrás afectadoyou will have affected
él/ella/Ud.habrá afectadohe/she/it will have affected
nosotroshabremos afectadowe will have affected
vosotroshabréis afectadoyou (pl.) will have affected
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrán afectadothey will have affected

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
yoafecte
afectes
vosafectes
él/ella/Ud.afecte
nosotrosafectemos
vosotrosafectéis
ellos/ellas/Uds.afecten

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
yoafectara
afectaras
vosafectaras
él/ella/Ud.afectara
nosotrosafectáramos
vosotrosafectarais
ellos/ellas/Uds.afectaran

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
yoafectase
afectases
vosafectases
él/ella/Ud.afectase
nosotrosafectásemos
vosotrosafectaseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.afectasen

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

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

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
afecta
vosafectá
él/ella/Ud.afecte
nosotrosafectemos
vosotrosafectad
ustedesafecten

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 afectes
vosno afectes
él/ella/Ud.no afecte
nosotrosno afectemos
vosotrosno afectéis
ustedesno afecten

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

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

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

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

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