construir — Spanish conjugation
to build
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
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | construyo | I build |
| tú | construyes | you build |
| vos | construís | you build |
| él/ella/Ud. | construye | he/she/it builds |
| nosotros | construimos | we build |
| vosotros | construís | you (pl.) build |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | construyen | they build |
Preterite (Pretérito indefinido) Irregular
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
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | construí | I built |
| tú | construiste | you built |
| vos | construiste | you built |
| él/ella/Ud. | construyó | he/she/it built |
| nosotros | construimos | we built |
| vosotros | construisteis | you (pl.) built |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | construyeron | they built |
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
| Pronoun | Spanish |
|---|---|
| yo | construía |
| tú | construías |
| vos | construías |
| él/ella/Ud. | construía |
| nosotros | construíamos |
| vosotros | construíais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | construían |
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?
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | construiría | I would build |
| tú | construirías | you would build |
| vos | construirías | you would build |
| él/ella/Ud. | construiría | he/she/it would build |
| nosotros | construiríamos | we would build |
| vosotros | construiríais | you (pl.) would build |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | construirían | they would build |
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
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | construiré | I will build |
| tú | construirás | you will build |
| vos | construirás | you will build |
| él/ella/Ud. | construirá | he/she/it will build |
| nosotros | construiremos | we will build |
| vosotros | construiréis | you (pl.) will build |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | construirán | they will build |
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
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | he construido | I have built |
| tú | has construido | you have built |
| vos | has construido | you have built |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha construido | he/she/it has built |
| nosotros | hemos construido | we have built |
| vosotros | habéis construido | you (pl.) have built |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han construido | they have built |
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
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | había construido | I had built |
| tú | habías construido | you had built |
| vos | habías construido | you had built |
| él/ella/Ud. | había construido | he/she/it had built |
| nosotros | habíamos construido | we had built |
| vosotros | habíais construido | you (pl.) had built |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían construido | they had built |
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
| Pronoun | Spanish |
|---|---|
| yo | habría construido |
| tú | habrías construido |
| vos | habrías construido |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría construido |
| nosotros | habríamos construido |
| vosotros | habríais construido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían construido |
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
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | habré construido | I will have built |
| tú | habrás construido | you will have built |
| vos | habrás construido | you will have built |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá construido | he/she/it will have built |
| nosotros | habremos construido | we will have built |
| vosotros | habréis construido | you (pl.) will have built |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán construido | they will have built |
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
| Pronoun | Spanish |
|---|---|
| yo | construya |
| tú | construyas |
| vos | construyas |
| él/ella/Ud. | construya |
| nosotros | construyamos |
| vosotros | construyáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | construyan |
Imperfect subjunctive (-ra) (Subjuntivo imperfecto (-ra)) Irregular
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
| Pronoun | Spanish |
|---|---|
| yo | construyera |
| tú | construyeras |
| vos | construyeras |
| él/ella/Ud. | construyera |
| nosotros | construyéramos |
| vosotros | construyerais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | construyeran |
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
| Pronoun | Spanish |
|---|---|
| yo | construyese |
| tú | construyeses |
| vos | construyeses |
| él/ella/Ud. | construyese |
| nosotros | construyésemos |
| vosotros | construyeseis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | construyesen |
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
| Pronoun | Spanish |
|---|---|
| yo | haya construido |
| tú | hayas construido |
| vos | hayas construido |
| él/ella/Ud. | haya construido |
| nosotros | hayamos construido |
| vosotros | hayáis construido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | hayan construido |
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
| Pronoun | Spanish |
|---|---|
| yo | hubiera construido |
| tú | hubieras construido |
| vos | hubieras construido |
| él/ella/Ud. | hubiera construido |
| nosotros | hubiéramos construido |
| vosotros | hubierais construido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | hubieran construido |
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
| Pronoun | Spanish |
|---|---|
| tú | construye |
| vos | construí |
| él/ella/Ud. | construya |
| nosotros | construyamos |
| vosotros | construid |
| ustedes | construyan |
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
| Pronoun | Spanish |
|---|---|
| tú | no construyas |
| vos | no construyas |
| él/ella/Ud. | no construya |
| nosotros | no construyamos |
| vosotros | no construyáis |
| ustedes | no construyan |
Present progressive (Presente progresivo) Irregular
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
| Pronoun | Spanish |
|---|---|
| yo | estoy construyendo |
| tú | estás construyendo |
| vos | estás construyendo |
| él/ella/Ud. | está construyendo |
| nosotros | estamos construyendo |
| vosotros | estáis construyendo |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | están construyendo |
Preterite progressive (Pretérito indefinido progresivo) Irregular
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
| Pronoun | Spanish |
|---|---|
| yo | estuve construyendo |
| tú | estuviste construyendo |
| vos | estuviste construyendo |
| él/ella/Ud. | estuvo construyendo |
| nosotros | estuvimos construyendo |
| vosotros | estuvisteis construyendo |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | estuvieron construyendo |
Imperfect progressive (Pretérito imperfecto progresivo) Irregular
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
| Pronoun | Spanish |
|---|---|
| yo | estaba construyendo |
| tú | estabas construyendo |
| vos | estabas construyendo |
| él/ella/Ud. | estaba construyendo |
| nosotros | estábamos construyendo |
| vosotros | estabais construyendo |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | estaban construyendo |
Conditional progressive (Condicional progresivo) Irregular
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
| Pronoun | Spanish |
|---|---|
| yo | estaría construyendo |
| tú | estarías construyendo |
| vos | estarías construyendo |
| él/ella/Ud. | estaría construyendo |
| nosotros | estaríamos construyendo |
| vosotros | estaríais construyendo |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | estarían construyendo |
Future progressive (Futuro progresivo) Irregular
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
| Pronoun | Spanish |
|---|---|
| yo | estaré construyendo |
| tú | estarás construyendo |
| vos | estarás construyendo |
| él/ella/Ud. | estará construyendo |
| nosotros | estaremos construyendo |
| vosotros | estaréis construyendo |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | estarán construyendo |