anotar — Spanish conjugation

to note (to write down for reference)

Frequency#686Regular

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
yoanotoI note
anotasyou note
vosanotásyou note
él/ella/Ud.anotahe/she/it notes
nosotrosanotamoswe note
vosotrosanotáisyou (pl.) note
ellos/ellas/Uds.anotanthey note

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
yoanotéI noted
anotasteyou noted
vosanotasteyou noted
él/ella/Ud.anotóhe/she/it noted
nosotrosanotamoswe noted
vosotrosanotasteisyou (pl.) noted
ellos/ellas/Uds.anotaronthey noted

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
yoanotaba
anotabas
vosanotabas
él/ella/Ud.anotaba
nosotrosanotábamos
vosotrosanotabais
ellos/ellas/Uds.anotaban

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
yoanotaríaI would note
anotaríasyou would note
vosanotaríasyou would note
él/ella/Ud.anotaríahe/she/it would note
nosotrosanotaríamoswe would note
vosotrosanotaríaisyou (pl.) would note
ellos/ellas/Uds.anotaríanthey would note

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
yoanotaréI will note
anotarásyou will note
vosanotarásyou will note
él/ella/Ud.anotaráhe/she/it will note
nosotrosanotaremoswe will note
vosotrosanotaréisyou (pl.) will note
ellos/ellas/Uds.anotaránthey will note

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 anotadoI have noted
has anotadoyou have noted
voshas anotadoyou have noted
él/ella/Ud.ha anotadohe/she/it has noted
nosotroshemos anotadowe have noted
vosotroshabéis anotadoyou (pl.) have noted
ellos/ellas/Uds.han anotadothey have noted

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 anotadoI had noted
habías anotadoyou had noted
voshabías anotadoyou had noted
él/ella/Ud.había anotadohe/she/it had noted
nosotroshabíamos anotadowe had noted
vosotroshabíais anotadoyou (pl.) had noted
ellos/ellas/Uds.habían anotadothey had noted

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

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 anotadoI will have noted
habrás anotadoyou will have noted
voshabrás anotadoyou will have noted
él/ella/Ud.habrá anotadohe/she/it will have noted
nosotroshabremos anotadowe will have noted
vosotroshabréis anotadoyou (pl.) will have noted
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrán anotadothey will have noted

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
yoanote
anotes
vosanotes
él/ella/Ud.anote
nosotrosanotemos
vosotrosanotéis
ellos/ellas/Uds.anoten

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
yoanotara
anotaras
vosanotaras
él/ella/Ud.anotara
nosotrosanotáramos
vosotrosanotarais
ellos/ellas/Uds.anotaran

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
yoanotase
anotases
vosanotases
él/ella/Ud.anotase
nosotrosanotásemos
vosotrosanotaseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.anotasen

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

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

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
anota
vosanotá
él/ella/Ud.anote
nosotrosanotemos
vosotrosanotad
ustedesanoten

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 anotes
vosno anotes
él/ella/Ud.no anote
nosotrosno anotemos
vosotrosno anotéis
ustedesno anoten

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

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

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

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

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