contribuir — Spanish conjugation

to contribute

Frequency#501Irregular

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
yocontribuyoI contribute
contribuyesyou contribute
voscontribuísyou contribute
él/ella/Ud.contribuyehe/she/it contributes
nosotroscontribuimoswe contribute
vosotroscontribuísyou (pl.) contribute
ellos/ellas/Uds.contribuyenthey contribute

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
yocontribuíI contributed
contribuisteyou contributed
voscontribuisteyou contributed
él/ella/Ud.contribuyóhe/she/it contributed
nosotroscontribuimoswe contributed
vosotroscontribuisteisyou (pl.) contributed
ellos/ellas/Uds.contribuyeronthey contributed

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
yocontribuía
contribuías
voscontribuías
él/ella/Ud.contribuía
nosotroscontribuíamos
vosotroscontribuíais
ellos/ellas/Uds.contribuían

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
yocontribuiríaI would contribute
contribuiríasyou would contribute
voscontribuiríasyou would contribute
él/ella/Ud.contribuiríahe/she/it would contribute
nosotroscontribuiríamoswe would contribute
vosotroscontribuiríaisyou (pl.) would contribute
ellos/ellas/Uds.contribuiríanthey would contribute

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
yocontribuiréI will contribute
contribuirásyou will contribute
voscontribuirásyou will contribute
él/ella/Ud.contribuiráhe/she/it will contribute
nosotroscontribuiremoswe will contribute
vosotroscontribuiréisyou (pl.) will contribute
ellos/ellas/Uds.contribuiránthey will contribute

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 contribuidoI have contributed
has contribuidoyou have contributed
voshas contribuidoyou have contributed
él/ella/Ud.ha contribuidohe/she/it has contributed
nosotroshemos contribuidowe have contributed
vosotroshabéis contribuidoyou (pl.) have contributed
ellos/ellas/Uds.han contribuidothey have contributed

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 contribuidoI had contributed
habías contribuidoyou had contributed
voshabías contribuidoyou had contributed
él/ella/Ud.había contribuidohe/she/it had contributed
nosotroshabíamos contribuidowe had contributed
vosotroshabíais contribuidoyou (pl.) had contributed
ellos/ellas/Uds.habían contribuidothey had contributed

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

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 contribuidoI will have contributed
habrás contribuidoyou will have contributed
voshabrás contribuidoyou will have contributed
él/ella/Ud.habrá contribuidohe/she/it will have contributed
nosotroshabremos contribuidowe will have contributed
vosotroshabréis contribuidoyou (pl.) will have contributed
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrán contribuidothey will have contributed

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
yocontribuya
contribuyas
voscontribuyas
él/ella/Ud.contribuya
nosotroscontribuyamos
vosotroscontribuyáis
ellos/ellas/Uds.contribuyan

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

PronounSpanish
yocontribuyera
contribuyeras
voscontribuyeras
él/ella/Ud.contribuyera
nosotroscontribuyéramos
vosotroscontribuyerais
ellos/ellas/Uds.contribuyeran

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
yocontribuyese
contribuyeses
voscontribuyeses
él/ella/Ud.contribuyese
nosotroscontribuyésemos
vosotroscontribuyeseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.contribuyesen

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

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

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
contribuye
voscontribuí
él/ella/Ud.contribuya
nosotroscontribuyamos
vosotroscontribuid
ustedescontribuyan

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 contribuyas
vosno contribuyas
él/ella/Ud.no contribuya
nosotrosno contribuyamos
vosotrosno contribuyáis
ustedesno contribuyan

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

PronounSpanish
yoestoy contribuyendo
estás contribuyendo
vosestás contribuyendo
él/ella/Ud.está contribuyendo
nosotrosestamos contribuyendo
vosotrosestáis contribuyendo
ellos/ellas/Uds.están contribuyendo

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

PronounSpanish
yoestuve contribuyendo
estuviste contribuyendo
vosestuviste contribuyendo
él/ella/Ud.estuvo contribuyendo
nosotrosestuvimos contribuyendo
vosotrosestuvisteis contribuyendo
ellos/ellas/Uds.estuvieron contribuyendo

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

PronounSpanish
yoestaba contribuyendo
estabas contribuyendo
vosestabas contribuyendo
él/ella/Ud.estaba contribuyendo
nosotrosestábamos contribuyendo
vosotrosestabais contribuyendo
ellos/ellas/Uds.estaban contribuyendo

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

PronounSpanish
yoestaría contribuyendo
estarías contribuyendo
vosestarías contribuyendo
él/ella/Ud.estaría contribuyendo
nosotrosestaríamos contribuyendo
vosotrosestaríais contribuyendo
ellos/ellas/Uds.estarían contribuyendo

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

PronounSpanish
yoestaré contribuyendo
estarás contribuyendo
vosestarás contribuyendo
él/ella/Ud.estará contribuyendo
nosotrosestaremos contribuyendo
vosotrosestaréis contribuyendo
ellos/ellas/Uds.estarán contribuyendo