datar — Spanish conjugation

to date

Frequency#506Regular

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
yodatoI date
datasyou date
vosdatásyou date
él/ella/Ud.datahe/she/it dates
nosotrosdatamoswe date
vosotrosdatáisyou (pl.) date
ellos/ellas/Uds.datanthey date

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
yodatéI dated
datasteyou dated
vosdatasteyou dated
él/ella/Ud.datóhe/she/it dated
nosotrosdatamoswe dated
vosotrosdatasteisyou (pl.) dated
ellos/ellas/Uds.dataronthey dated

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
yodataba
databas
vosdatabas
él/ella/Ud.databa
nosotrosdatábamos
vosotrosdatabais
ellos/ellas/Uds.databan

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
yodataríaI would date
dataríasyou would date
vosdataríasyou would date
él/ella/Ud.dataríahe/she/it would date
nosotrosdataríamoswe would date
vosotrosdataríaisyou (pl.) would date
ellos/ellas/Uds.dataríanthey would date

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
yodataréI will date
datarásyou will date
vosdatarásyou will date
él/ella/Ud.dataráhe/she/it will date
nosotrosdataremoswe will date
vosotrosdataréisyou (pl.) will date
ellos/ellas/Uds.dataránthey will date

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 datadoI have dated
has datadoyou have dated
voshas datadoyou have dated
él/ella/Ud.ha datadohe/she/it has dated
nosotroshemos datadowe have dated
vosotroshabéis datadoyou (pl.) have dated
ellos/ellas/Uds.han datadothey have dated

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 datadoI had dated
habías datadoyou had dated
voshabías datadoyou had dated
él/ella/Ud.había datadohe/she/it had dated
nosotroshabíamos datadowe had dated
vosotroshabíais datadoyou (pl.) had dated
ellos/ellas/Uds.habían datadothey had dated

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

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 datadoI will have dated
habrás datadoyou will have dated
voshabrás datadoyou will have dated
él/ella/Ud.habrá datadohe/she/it will have dated
nosotroshabremos datadowe will have dated
vosotroshabréis datadoyou (pl.) will have dated
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrán datadothey will have dated

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
yodate
dates
vosdates
él/ella/Ud.date
nosotrosdatemos
vosotrosdatéis
ellos/ellas/Uds.daten

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
yodatara
dataras
vosdataras
él/ella/Ud.datara
nosotrosdatáramos
vosotrosdatarais
ellos/ellas/Uds.dataran

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
yodatase
datases
vosdatases
él/ella/Ud.datase
nosotrosdatásemos
vosotrosdataseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.datasen

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

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

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
data
vosdatá
él/ella/Ud.date
nosotrosdatemos
vosotrosdatad
ustedesdaten

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 dates
vosno dates
él/ella/Ud.no date
nosotrosno datemos
vosotrosno datéis
ustedesno daten

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

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

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

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

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