cuestionar — Spanish conjugation

to question (have doubts about)

Frequency#892RegularReflexivecuestionarse — to question oneself

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
yocuestionoI question
cuestionasyou question
voscuestionásyou question
él/ella/Ud.cuestionahe/she/it questions
nosotroscuestionamoswe question
vosotroscuestionáisyou (pl.) question
ellos/ellas/Uds.cuestionanthey question

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
yocuestionéI questioned
cuestionasteyou questioned
voscuestionasteyou questioned
él/ella/Ud.cuestionóhe/she/it questioned
nosotroscuestionamoswe questioned
vosotroscuestionasteisyou (pl.) questioned
ellos/ellas/Uds.cuestionaronthey questioned

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
yocuestionaba
cuestionabas
voscuestionabas
él/ella/Ud.cuestionaba
nosotroscuestionábamos
vosotroscuestionabais
ellos/ellas/Uds.cuestionaban

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
yocuestionaríaI would question
cuestionaríasyou would question
voscuestionaríasyou would question
él/ella/Ud.cuestionaríahe/she/it would question
nosotroscuestionaríamoswe would question
vosotroscuestionaríaisyou (pl.) would question
ellos/ellas/Uds.cuestionaríanthey would question

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
yocuestionaréI will question
cuestionarásyou will question
voscuestionarásyou will question
él/ella/Ud.cuestionaráhe/she/it will question
nosotroscuestionaremoswe will question
vosotroscuestionaréisyou (pl.) will question
ellos/ellas/Uds.cuestionaránthey will question

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 cuestionadoI have questioned
has cuestionadoyou have questioned
voshas cuestionadoyou have questioned
él/ella/Ud.ha cuestionadohe/she/it has questioned
nosotroshemos cuestionadowe have questioned
vosotroshabéis cuestionadoyou (pl.) have questioned
ellos/ellas/Uds.han cuestionadothey have questioned

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 cuestionadoI had questioned
habías cuestionadoyou had questioned
voshabías cuestionadoyou had questioned
él/ella/Ud.había cuestionadohe/she/it had questioned
nosotroshabíamos cuestionadowe had questioned
vosotroshabíais cuestionadoyou (pl.) had questioned
ellos/ellas/Uds.habían cuestionadothey had questioned

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

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 cuestionadoI will have questioned
habrás cuestionadoyou will have questioned
voshabrás cuestionadoyou will have questioned
él/ella/Ud.habrá cuestionadohe/she/it will have questioned
nosotroshabremos cuestionadowe will have questioned
vosotroshabréis cuestionadoyou (pl.) will have questioned
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrán cuestionadothey will have questioned

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
yocuestione
cuestiones
voscuestiones
él/ella/Ud.cuestione
nosotroscuestionemos
vosotroscuestionéis
ellos/ellas/Uds.cuestionen

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
yocuestionara
cuestionaras
voscuestionaras
él/ella/Ud.cuestionara
nosotroscuestionáramos
vosotroscuestionarais
ellos/ellas/Uds.cuestionaran

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
yocuestionase
cuestionases
voscuestionases
él/ella/Ud.cuestionase
nosotroscuestionásemos
vosotroscuestionaseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.cuestionasen

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

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

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
cuestiona
voscuestioná
él/ella/Ud.cuestione
nosotroscuestionemos
vosotroscuestionad
ustedescuestionen

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 cuestiones
vosno cuestiones
él/ella/Ud.no cuestione
nosotrosno cuestionemos
vosotrosno cuestionéis
ustedesno cuestionen

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

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

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

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

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