complementar — Spanish conjugation

to complement

Frequency#969Regular

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
yocomplementoI complement
complementasyou complement
voscomplementásyou complement
él/ella/Ud.complementahe/she/it complements
nosotroscomplementamoswe complement
vosotroscomplementáisyou (pl.) complement
ellos/ellas/Uds.complementanthey complement

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
yocomplementéI complemented
complementasteyou complemented
voscomplementasteyou complemented
él/ella/Ud.complementóhe/she/it complemented
nosotroscomplementamoswe complemented
vosotroscomplementasteisyou (pl.) complemented
ellos/ellas/Uds.complementaronthey complemented

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
yocomplementaba
complementabas
voscomplementabas
él/ella/Ud.complementaba
nosotroscomplementábamos
vosotroscomplementabais
ellos/ellas/Uds.complementaban

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
yocomplementaríaI would complement
complementaríasyou would complement
voscomplementaríasyou would complement
él/ella/Ud.complementaríahe/she/it would complement
nosotroscomplementaríamoswe would complement
vosotroscomplementaríaisyou (pl.) would complement
ellos/ellas/Uds.complementaríanthey would complement

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
yocomplementaréI will complement
complementarásyou will complement
voscomplementarásyou will complement
él/ella/Ud.complementaráhe/she/it will complement
nosotroscomplementaremoswe will complement
vosotroscomplementaréisyou (pl.) will complement
ellos/ellas/Uds.complementaránthey will complement

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 complementadoI have complemented
has complementadoyou have complemented
voshas complementadoyou have complemented
él/ella/Ud.ha complementadohe/she/it has complemented
nosotroshemos complementadowe have complemented
vosotroshabéis complementadoyou (pl.) have complemented
ellos/ellas/Uds.han complementadothey have complemented

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 complementadoI had complemented
habías complementadoyou had complemented
voshabías complementadoyou had complemented
él/ella/Ud.había complementadohe/she/it had complemented
nosotroshabíamos complementadowe had complemented
vosotroshabíais complementadoyou (pl.) had complemented
ellos/ellas/Uds.habían complementadothey had complemented

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

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 complementadoI will have complemented
habrás complementadoyou will have complemented
voshabrás complementadoyou will have complemented
él/ella/Ud.habrá complementadohe/she/it will have complemented
nosotroshabremos complementadowe will have complemented
vosotroshabréis complementadoyou (pl.) will have complemented
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrán complementadothey will have complemented

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
yocomplemente
complementes
voscomplementes
él/ella/Ud.complemente
nosotroscomplementemos
vosotroscomplementéis
ellos/ellas/Uds.complementen

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
yocomplementara
complementaras
voscomplementaras
él/ella/Ud.complementara
nosotroscomplementáramos
vosotroscomplementarais
ellos/ellas/Uds.complementaran

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
yocomplementase
complementases
voscomplementases
él/ella/Ud.complementase
nosotroscomplementásemos
vosotroscomplementaseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.complementasen

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

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

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
complementa
voscomplementá
él/ella/Ud.complemente
nosotroscomplementemos
vosotroscomplementad
ustedescomplementen

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 complementes
vosno complementes
él/ella/Ud.no complemente
nosotrosno complementemos
vosotrosno complementéis
ustedesno complementen

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

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

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

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

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