conversar — Spanish conjugation

to converse (to talk with someone)

Frequency#640Regular

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
yoconversoI converse
conversasyou converse
vosconversásyou converse
él/ella/Ud.conversahe/she/it converses
nosotrosconversamoswe converse
vosotrosconversáisyou (pl.) converse
ellos/ellas/Uds.conversanthey converse

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
yoconverséI conversed
conversasteyou conversed
vosconversasteyou conversed
él/ella/Ud.conversóhe/she/it conversed
nosotrosconversamoswe conversed
vosotrosconversasteisyou (pl.) conversed
ellos/ellas/Uds.conversaronthey conversed

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
yoconversaba
conversabas
vosconversabas
él/ella/Ud.conversaba
nosotrosconversábamos
vosotrosconversabais
ellos/ellas/Uds.conversaban

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
yoconversaríaI would converse
conversaríasyou would converse
vosconversaríasyou would converse
él/ella/Ud.conversaríahe/she/it would converse
nosotrosconversaríamoswe would converse
vosotrosconversaríaisyou (pl.) would converse
ellos/ellas/Uds.conversaríanthey would converse

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
yoconversaréI will converse
conversarásyou will converse
vosconversarásyou will converse
él/ella/Ud.conversaráhe/she/it will converse
nosotrosconversaremoswe will converse
vosotrosconversaréisyou (pl.) will converse
ellos/ellas/Uds.conversaránthey will converse

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 conversadoI have conversed
has conversadoyou have conversed
voshas conversadoyou have conversed
él/ella/Ud.ha conversadohe/she/it has conversed
nosotroshemos conversadowe have conversed
vosotroshabéis conversadoyou (pl.) have conversed
ellos/ellas/Uds.han conversadothey have conversed

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 conversadoI had conversed
habías conversadoyou had conversed
voshabías conversadoyou had conversed
él/ella/Ud.había conversadohe/she/it had conversed
nosotroshabíamos conversadowe had conversed
vosotroshabíais conversadoyou (pl.) had conversed
ellos/ellas/Uds.habían conversadothey had conversed

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

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 conversadoI will have conversed
habrás conversadoyou will have conversed
voshabrás conversadoyou will have conversed
él/ella/Ud.habrá conversadohe/she/it will have conversed
nosotroshabremos conversadowe will have conversed
vosotroshabréis conversadoyou (pl.) will have conversed
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrán conversadothey will have conversed

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
yoconverse
converses
vosconverses
él/ella/Ud.converse
nosotrosconversemos
vosotrosconverséis
ellos/ellas/Uds.conversen

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
yoconversara
conversaras
vosconversaras
él/ella/Ud.conversara
nosotrosconversáramos
vosotrosconversarais
ellos/ellas/Uds.conversaran

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
yoconversase
conversases
vosconversases
él/ella/Ud.conversase
nosotrosconversásemos
vosotrosconversaseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.conversasen

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

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

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
conversa
vosconversá
él/ella/Ud.converse
nosotrosconversemos
vosotrosconversad
ustedesconversen

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 converses
vosno converses
él/ella/Ud.no converse
nosotrosno conversemos
vosotrosno converséis
ustedesno conversen

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

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

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

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

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