descuidar — Spanish conjugation

to neglect

Frequency#645Regular

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
yodescuidoI neglect
descuidasyou neglect
vosdescuidásyou neglect
él/ella/Ud.descuidahe/she/it neglects
nosotrosdescuidamoswe neglect
vosotrosdescuidáisyou (pl.) neglect
ellos/ellas/Uds.descuidanthey neglect

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
yodescuidéI neglected
descuidasteyou neglected
vosdescuidasteyou neglected
él/ella/Ud.descuidóhe/she/it neglected
nosotrosdescuidamoswe neglected
vosotrosdescuidasteisyou (pl.) neglected
ellos/ellas/Uds.descuidaronthey neglected

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
yodescuidaba
descuidabas
vosdescuidabas
él/ella/Ud.descuidaba
nosotrosdescuidábamos
vosotrosdescuidabais
ellos/ellas/Uds.descuidaban

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
yodescuidaríaI would neglect
descuidaríasyou would neglect
vosdescuidaríasyou would neglect
él/ella/Ud.descuidaríahe/she/it would neglect
nosotrosdescuidaríamoswe would neglect
vosotrosdescuidaríaisyou (pl.) would neglect
ellos/ellas/Uds.descuidaríanthey would neglect

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
yodescuidaréI will neglect
descuidarásyou will neglect
vosdescuidarásyou will neglect
él/ella/Ud.descuidaráhe/she/it will neglect
nosotrosdescuidaremoswe will neglect
vosotrosdescuidaréisyou (pl.) will neglect
ellos/ellas/Uds.descuidaránthey will neglect

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 descuidadoI have neglected
has descuidadoyou have neglected
voshas descuidadoyou have neglected
él/ella/Ud.ha descuidadohe/she/it has neglected
nosotroshemos descuidadowe have neglected
vosotroshabéis descuidadoyou (pl.) have neglected
ellos/ellas/Uds.han descuidadothey have neglected

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 descuidadoI had neglected
habías descuidadoyou had neglected
voshabías descuidadoyou had neglected
él/ella/Ud.había descuidadohe/she/it had neglected
nosotroshabíamos descuidadowe had neglected
vosotroshabíais descuidadoyou (pl.) had neglected
ellos/ellas/Uds.habían descuidadothey had neglected

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

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 descuidadoI will have neglected
habrás descuidadoyou will have neglected
voshabrás descuidadoyou will have neglected
él/ella/Ud.habrá descuidadohe/she/it will have neglected
nosotroshabremos descuidadowe will have neglected
vosotroshabréis descuidadoyou (pl.) will have neglected
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrán descuidadothey will have neglected

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
yodescuide
descuides
vosdescuides
él/ella/Ud.descuide
nosotrosdescuidemos
vosotrosdescuidéis
ellos/ellas/Uds.descuiden

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
yodescuidara
descuidaras
vosdescuidaras
él/ella/Ud.descuidara
nosotrosdescuidáramos
vosotrosdescuidarais
ellos/ellas/Uds.descuidaran

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
yodescuidase
descuidases
vosdescuidases
él/ella/Ud.descuidase
nosotrosdescuidásemos
vosotrosdescuidaseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.descuidasen

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

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

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
descuida
vosdescuidá
él/ella/Ud.descuide
nosotrosdescuidemos
vosotrosdescuidad
ustedesdescuiden

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 descuides
vosno descuides
él/ella/Ud.no descuide
nosotrosno descuidemos
vosotrosno descuidéis
ustedesno descuiden

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

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

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

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

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