averiar — Spanish conjugation

to break down

Frequency#1602Irregular

Indicative

Present (Presente) Irregular

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
yoaveríoI break down
averíasyou break down
vosaveriásyou break down
él/ella/Ud.averíahe/she/it breaks down
nosotrosaveriamoswe break down
vosotrosaveriáisyou (pl.) break down
ellos/ellas/Uds.averíanthey break down

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
yoaveriéI broke down
averiasteyou broke down
vosaveriasteyou broke down
él/ella/Ud.averióhe/she/it broke down
nosotrosaveriamoswe broke down
vosotrosaveriasteisyou (pl.) broke down
ellos/ellas/Uds.averiaronthey broke down

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
yoaveriaba
averiabas
vosaveriabas
él/ella/Ud.averiaba
nosotrosaveriábamos
vosotrosaveriabais
ellos/ellas/Uds.averiaban

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
yoaveriaríaI would break down
averiaríasyou would break down
vosaveriaríasyou would break down
él/ella/Ud.averiaríahe/she/it would break down
nosotrosaveriaríamoswe would break down
vosotrosaveriaríaisyou (pl.) would break down
ellos/ellas/Uds.averiaríanthey would break down

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
yoaveriaréI will break down
averiarásyou will break down
vosaveriarásyou will break down
él/ella/Ud.averiaráhe/she/it will break down
nosotrosaveriaremoswe will break down
vosotrosaveriaréisyou (pl.) will break down
ellos/ellas/Uds.averiaránthey will break down

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 averiadoI have broken down
has averiadoyou have broken down
voshas averiadoyou have broken down
él/ella/Ud.ha averiadohe/she/it has broken down
nosotroshemos averiadowe have broken down
vosotroshabéis averiadoyou (pl.) have broken down
ellos/ellas/Uds.han averiadothey have broken down

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 averiadoI had broken down
habías averiadoyou had broken down
voshabías averiadoyou had broken down
él/ella/Ud.había averiadohe/she/it had broken down
nosotroshabíamos averiadowe had broken down
vosotroshabíais averiadoyou (pl.) had broken down
ellos/ellas/Uds.habían averiadothey had broken down

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

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 averiadoI will have broken down
habrás averiadoyou will have broken down
voshabrás averiadoyou will have broken down
él/ella/Ud.habrá averiadohe/she/it will have broken down
nosotroshabremos averiadowe will have broken down
vosotroshabréis averiadoyou (pl.) will have broken down
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrán averiadothey will have broken down

Subjunctive

Present subjunctive (Subjuntivo presente) Irregular

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
yoaveríe
averíes
vosaveríes
él/ella/Ud.averíe
nosotrosaveriemos
vosotrosaveriéis
ellos/ellas/Uds.averíen

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
yoaveriara
averiaras
vosaveriaras
él/ella/Ud.averiara
nosotrosaveriáramos
vosotrosaveriarais
ellos/ellas/Uds.averiaran

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
yoaveriase
averiases
vosaveriases
él/ella/Ud.averiase
nosotrosaveriásemos
vosotrosaveriaseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.averiasen

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

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

Other forms

Imperative (affirmative) (Imperativo afirmativo) Irregular

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
avería
vosaveriá
él/ella/Ud.averíe
nosotrosaveriemos
vosotrosaveriad
ustedesaveríen

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 averíes
vosno averíes
él/ella/Ud.no averíe
nosotrosno averiemos
vosotrosno averiéis
ustedesno averíen

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

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

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

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

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