dudar — Spanish conjugation

to doubt

Frequency#165Regular

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
yodudoI doubt
dudasyou doubt
vosdudásyou doubt
él/ella/Ud.dudahe/she/it doubts
nosotrosdudamoswe doubt
vosotrosdudáisyou (pl.) doubt
ellos/ellas/Uds.dudanthey doubt

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
yodudéI doubted
dudasteyou doubted
vosdudasteyou doubted
él/ella/Ud.dudóhe/she/it doubted
nosotrosdudamoswe doubted
vosotrosdudasteisyou (pl.) doubted
ellos/ellas/Uds.dudaronthey doubted

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
yodudaba
dudabas
vosdudabas
él/ella/Ud.dudaba
nosotrosdudábamos
vosotrosdudabais
ellos/ellas/Uds.dudaban

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
yodudaríaI would doubt
dudaríasyou would doubt
vosdudaríasyou would doubt
él/ella/Ud.dudaríahe/she/it would doubt
nosotrosdudaríamoswe would doubt
vosotrosdudaríaisyou (pl.) would doubt
ellos/ellas/Uds.dudaríanthey would doubt

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
yodudaréI will doubt
dudarásyou will doubt
vosdudarásyou will doubt
él/ella/Ud.dudaráhe/she/it will doubt
nosotrosdudaremoswe will doubt
vosotrosdudaréisyou (pl.) will doubt
ellos/ellas/Uds.dudaránthey will doubt

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 dudadoI have doubted
has dudadoyou have doubted
voshas dudadoyou have doubted
él/ella/Ud.ha dudadohe/she/it has doubted
nosotroshemos dudadowe have doubted
vosotroshabéis dudadoyou (pl.) have doubted
ellos/ellas/Uds.han dudadothey have doubted

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 dudadoI had doubted
habías dudadoyou had doubted
voshabías dudadoyou had doubted
él/ella/Ud.había dudadohe/she/it had doubted
nosotroshabíamos dudadowe had doubted
vosotroshabíais dudadoyou (pl.) had doubted
ellos/ellas/Uds.habían dudadothey had doubted

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

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 dudadoI will have doubted
habrás dudadoyou will have doubted
voshabrás dudadoyou will have doubted
él/ella/Ud.habrá dudadohe/she/it will have doubted
nosotroshabremos dudadowe will have doubted
vosotroshabréis dudadoyou (pl.) will have doubted
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrán dudadothey will have doubted

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
yodude
dudes
vosdudes
él/ella/Ud.dude
nosotrosdudemos
vosotrosdudéis
ellos/ellas/Uds.duden

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
yodudara
dudaras
vosdudaras
él/ella/Ud.dudara
nosotrosdudáramos
vosotrosdudarais
ellos/ellas/Uds.dudaran

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
yodudase
dudases
vosdudases
él/ella/Ud.dudase
nosotrosdudásemos
vosotrosdudaseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.dudasen

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

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

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
duda
vosdudá
él/ella/Ud.dude
nosotrosdudemos
vosotrosdudad
ustedesduden

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 dudes
vosno dudes
él/ella/Ud.no dude
nosotrosno dudemos
vosotrosno dudéis
ustedesno duden

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

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

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

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

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