avecinar — Spanish conjugation

to approach (to come near)

Frequency#147Regular

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
yoavecinoI approach
avecinasyou approach
vosavecinásyou approach
él/ella/Ud.avecinahe/she/it approaches
nosotrosavecinamoswe approach
vosotrosavecináisyou (pl.) approach
ellos/ellas/Uds.avecinanthey approach

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
yoavecinéI approached
avecinasteyou approached
vosavecinasteyou approached
él/ella/Ud.avecinóhe/she/it approached
nosotrosavecinamoswe approached
vosotrosavecinasteisyou (pl.) approached
ellos/ellas/Uds.avecinaronthey approached

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
yoavecinaba
avecinabas
vosavecinabas
él/ella/Ud.avecinaba
nosotrosavecinábamos
vosotrosavecinabais
ellos/ellas/Uds.avecinaban

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
yoavecinaríaI would approach
avecinaríasyou would approach
vosavecinaríasyou would approach
él/ella/Ud.avecinaríahe/she/it would approach
nosotrosavecinaríamoswe would approach
vosotrosavecinaríaisyou (pl.) would approach
ellos/ellas/Uds.avecinaríanthey would approach

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
yoavecinaréI will approach
avecinarásyou will approach
vosavecinarásyou will approach
él/ella/Ud.avecinaráhe/she/it will approach
nosotrosavecinaremoswe will approach
vosotrosavecinaréisyou (pl.) will approach
ellos/ellas/Uds.avecinaránthey will approach

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 avecinadoI have approached
has avecinadoyou have approached
voshas avecinadoyou have approached
él/ella/Ud.ha avecinadohe/she/it has approached
nosotroshemos avecinadowe have approached
vosotroshabéis avecinadoyou (pl.) have approached
ellos/ellas/Uds.han avecinadothey have approached

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 avecinadoI had approached
habías avecinadoyou had approached
voshabías avecinadoyou had approached
él/ella/Ud.había avecinadohe/she/it had approached
nosotroshabíamos avecinadowe had approached
vosotroshabíais avecinadoyou (pl.) had approached
ellos/ellas/Uds.habían avecinadothey had approached

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

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 avecinadoI will have approached
habrás avecinadoyou will have approached
voshabrás avecinadoyou will have approached
él/ella/Ud.habrá avecinadohe/she/it will have approached
nosotroshabremos avecinadowe will have approached
vosotroshabréis avecinadoyou (pl.) will have approached
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrán avecinadothey will have approached

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
yoavecine
avecines
vosavecines
él/ella/Ud.avecine
nosotrosavecinemos
vosotrosavecinéis
ellos/ellas/Uds.avecinen

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
yoavecinara
avecinaras
vosavecinaras
él/ella/Ud.avecinara
nosotrosavecináramos
vosotrosavecinarais
ellos/ellas/Uds.avecinaran

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
yoavecinase
avecinases
vosavecinases
él/ella/Ud.avecinase
nosotrosavecinásemos
vosotrosavecinaseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.avecinasen

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

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

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
avecina
vosaveciná
él/ella/Ud.avecine
nosotrosavecinemos
vosotrosavecinad
ustedesavecinen

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 avecines
vosno avecines
él/ella/Ud.no avecine
nosotrosno avecinemos
vosotrosno avecinéis
ustedesno avecinen

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

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

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

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

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