articular — Spanish conjugation

to articulate

Frequency#763Regular

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
yoarticuloI articulate
articulasyou articulate
vosarticulásyou articulate
él/ella/Ud.articulahe/she/it articulates
nosotrosarticulamoswe articulate
vosotrosarticuláisyou (pl.) articulate
ellos/ellas/Uds.articulanthey articulate

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
yoarticuléI articulated
articulasteyou articulated
vosarticulasteyou articulated
él/ella/Ud.articulóhe/she/it articulated
nosotrosarticulamoswe articulated
vosotrosarticulasteisyou (pl.) articulated
ellos/ellas/Uds.articularonthey articulated

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
yoarticulaba
articulabas
vosarticulabas
él/ella/Ud.articulaba
nosotrosarticulábamos
vosotrosarticulabais
ellos/ellas/Uds.articulaban

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
yoarticularíaI would articulate
articularíasyou would articulate
vosarticularíasyou would articulate
él/ella/Ud.articularíahe/she/it would articulate
nosotrosarticularíamoswe would articulate
vosotrosarticularíaisyou (pl.) would articulate
ellos/ellas/Uds.articularíanthey would articulate

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
yoarticularéI will articulate
articularásyou will articulate
vosarticularásyou will articulate
él/ella/Ud.articularáhe/she/it will articulate
nosotrosarticularemoswe will articulate
vosotrosarticularéisyou (pl.) will articulate
ellos/ellas/Uds.articularánthey will articulate

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 articuladoI have articulated
has articuladoyou have articulated
voshas articuladoyou have articulated
él/ella/Ud.ha articuladohe/she/it has articulated
nosotroshemos articuladowe have articulated
vosotroshabéis articuladoyou (pl.) have articulated
ellos/ellas/Uds.han articuladothey have articulated

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 articuladoI had articulated
habías articuladoyou had articulated
voshabías articuladoyou had articulated
él/ella/Ud.había articuladohe/she/it had articulated
nosotroshabíamos articuladowe had articulated
vosotroshabíais articuladoyou (pl.) had articulated
ellos/ellas/Uds.habían articuladothey had articulated

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

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 articuladoI will have articulated
habrás articuladoyou will have articulated
voshabrás articuladoyou will have articulated
él/ella/Ud.habrá articuladohe/she/it will have articulated
nosotroshabremos articuladowe will have articulated
vosotroshabréis articuladoyou (pl.) will have articulated
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrán articuladothey will have articulated

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
yoarticule
articules
vosarticules
él/ella/Ud.articule
nosotrosarticulemos
vosotrosarticuléis
ellos/ellas/Uds.articulen

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
yoarticulara
articularas
vosarticularas
él/ella/Ud.articulara
nosotrosarticuláramos
vosotrosarticularais
ellos/ellas/Uds.articularan

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
yoarticulase
articulases
vosarticulases
él/ella/Ud.articulase
nosotrosarticulásemos
vosotrosarticulaseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.articulasen

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

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

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
articula
vosarticulá
él/ella/Ud.articule
nosotrosarticulemos
vosotrosarticulad
ustedesarticulen

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 articules
vosno articules
él/ella/Ud.no articule
nosotrosno articulemos
vosotrosno articuléis
ustedesno articulen

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

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

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

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

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