arder — Spanish conjugation

to burn

Frequency#967Regular

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
yoardoI burn
ardesyou burn
vosardésyou burn
él/ella/Ud.ardehe/she/it burns
nosotrosardemoswe burn
vosotrosardéisyou (pl.) burn
ellos/ellas/Uds.ardenthey burn

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
yoardíI burned
ardisteyou burned
vosardisteyou burned
él/ella/Ud.ardióhe/she/it burned
nosotrosardimoswe burned
vosotrosardisteisyou (pl.) burned
ellos/ellas/Uds.ardieronthey burned

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
yoardía
ardías
vosardías
él/ella/Ud.ardía
nosotrosardíamos
vosotrosardíais
ellos/ellas/Uds.ardían

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
yoarderíaI would burn
arderíasyou would burn
vosarderíasyou would burn
él/ella/Ud.arderíahe/she/it would burn
nosotrosarderíamoswe would burn
vosotrosarderíaisyou (pl.) would burn
ellos/ellas/Uds.arderíanthey would burn

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
yoarderéI will burn
arderásyou will burn
vosarderásyou will burn
él/ella/Ud.arderáhe/she/it will burn
nosotrosarderemoswe will burn
vosotrosarderéisyou (pl.) will burn
ellos/ellas/Uds.arderánthey will burn

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 ardidoI have burned
has ardidoyou have burned
voshas ardidoyou have burned
él/ella/Ud.ha ardidohe/she/it has burned
nosotroshemos ardidowe have burned
vosotroshabéis ardidoyou (pl.) have burned
ellos/ellas/Uds.han ardidothey have burned

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 ardidoI had burned
habías ardidoyou had burned
voshabías ardidoyou had burned
él/ella/Ud.había ardidohe/she/it had burned
nosotroshabíamos ardidowe had burned
vosotroshabíais ardidoyou (pl.) had burned
ellos/ellas/Uds.habían ardidothey had burned

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

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 ardidoI will have burned
habrás ardidoyou will have burned
voshabrás ardidoyou will have burned
él/ella/Ud.habrá ardidohe/she/it will have burned
nosotroshabremos ardidowe will have burned
vosotroshabréis ardidoyou (pl.) will have burned
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrán ardidothey will have burned

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
yoarda
ardas
vosardas
él/ella/Ud.arda
nosotrosardamos
vosotrosardáis
ellos/ellas/Uds.ardan

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
yoardiera
ardieras
vosardieras
él/ella/Ud.ardiera
nosotrosardiéramos
vosotrosardierais
ellos/ellas/Uds.ardieran

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
yoardiese
ardieses
vosardieses
él/ella/Ud.ardiese
nosotrosardiésemos
vosotrosardieseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.ardiesen

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

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

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
arde
vosardé
él/ella/Ud.arda
nosotrosardamos
vosotrosarded
ustedesardan

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 ardas
vosno ardas
él/ella/Ud.no arda
nosotrosno ardamos
vosotrosno ardáis
ustedesno ardan

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

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

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

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

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