basar — Spanish conjugation

to base

Frequency#242Regular

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
yobasoI base
basasyou base
vosbasásyou base
él/ella/Ud.basahe/she/it bases
nosotrosbasamoswe base
vosotrosbasáisyou (pl.) base
ellos/ellas/Uds.basanthey base

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
yobaséI based
basasteyou based
vosbasasteyou based
él/ella/Ud.basóhe/she/it based
nosotrosbasamoswe based
vosotrosbasasteisyou (pl.) based
ellos/ellas/Uds.basaronthey based

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
yobasaba
basabas
vosbasabas
él/ella/Ud.basaba
nosotrosbasábamos
vosotrosbasabais
ellos/ellas/Uds.basaban

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
yobasaríaI would base
basaríasyou would base
vosbasaríasyou would base
él/ella/Ud.basaríahe/she/it would base
nosotrosbasaríamoswe would base
vosotrosbasaríaisyou (pl.) would base
ellos/ellas/Uds.basaríanthey would base

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
yobasaréI will base
basarásyou will base
vosbasarásyou will base
él/ella/Ud.basaráhe/she/it will base
nosotrosbasaremoswe will base
vosotrosbasaréisyou (pl.) will base
ellos/ellas/Uds.basaránthey will base

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 basadoI have based
has basadoyou have based
voshas basadoyou have based
él/ella/Ud.ha basadohe/she/it has based
nosotroshemos basadowe have based
vosotroshabéis basadoyou (pl.) have based
ellos/ellas/Uds.han basadothey have based

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 basadoI had based
habías basadoyou had based
voshabías basadoyou had based
él/ella/Ud.había basadohe/she/it had based
nosotroshabíamos basadowe had based
vosotroshabíais basadoyou (pl.) had based
ellos/ellas/Uds.habían basadothey had based

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

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 basadoI will have based
habrás basadoyou will have based
voshabrás basadoyou will have based
él/ella/Ud.habrá basadohe/she/it will have based
nosotroshabremos basadowe will have based
vosotroshabréis basadoyou (pl.) will have based
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrán basadothey will have based

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
yobase
bases
vosbases
él/ella/Ud.base
nosotrosbasemos
vosotrosbaséis
ellos/ellas/Uds.basen

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
yobasara
basaras
vosbasaras
él/ella/Ud.basara
nosotrosbasáramos
vosotrosbasarais
ellos/ellas/Uds.basaran

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
yobasase
basases
vosbasases
él/ella/Ud.basase
nosotrosbasásemos
vosotrosbasaseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.basasen

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

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

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
basa
vosbasá
él/ella/Ud.base
nosotrosbasemos
vosotrosbasad
ustedesbasen

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 bases
vosno bases
él/ella/Ud.no base
nosotrosno basemos
vosotrosno baséis
ustedesno basen

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

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

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

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

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