errar — Spanish conjugation

to err

Frequency#491Regular

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
yoerroI err
errasyou err
voserrásyou err
él/ella/Ud.errahe/she/it errs
nosotroserramoswe err
vosotroserráisyou (pl.) err
ellos/ellas/Uds.erranthey err

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
yoerréI erred
errasteyou erred
voserrasteyou erred
él/ella/Ud.erróhe/she/it erred
nosotroserramoswe erred
vosotroserrasteisyou (pl.) erred
ellos/ellas/Uds.erraronthey erred

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
yoerraba
errabas
voserrabas
él/ella/Ud.erraba
nosotroserrábamos
vosotroserrabais
ellos/ellas/Uds.erraban

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
yoerraríaI would err
erraríasyou would err
voserraríasyou would err
él/ella/Ud.erraríahe/she/it would err
nosotroserraríamoswe would err
vosotroserraríaisyou (pl.) would err
ellos/ellas/Uds.erraríanthey would err

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
yoerraréI will err
errarásyou will err
voserrarásyou will err
él/ella/Ud.erraráhe/she/it will err
nosotroserraremoswe will err
vosotroserraréisyou (pl.) will err
ellos/ellas/Uds.erraránthey will err

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 erradoI have erred
has erradoyou have erred
voshas erradoyou have erred
él/ella/Ud.ha erradohe/she/it has erred
nosotroshemos erradowe have erred
vosotroshabéis erradoyou (pl.) have erred
ellos/ellas/Uds.han erradothey have erred

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 erradoI had erred
habías erradoyou had erred
voshabías erradoyou had erred
él/ella/Ud.había erradohe/she/it had erred
nosotroshabíamos erradowe had erred
vosotroshabíais erradoyou (pl.) had erred
ellos/ellas/Uds.habían erradothey had erred

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

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 erradoI will have erred
habrás erradoyou will have erred
voshabrás erradoyou will have erred
él/ella/Ud.habrá erradohe/she/it will have erred
nosotroshabremos erradowe will have erred
vosotroshabréis erradoyou (pl.) will have erred
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrán erradothey will have erred

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
yoerre
erres
voserres
él/ella/Ud.erre
nosotroserremos
vosotroserréis
ellos/ellas/Uds.erren

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
yoerrara
erraras
voserraras
él/ella/Ud.errara
nosotroserráramos
vosotroserrarais
ellos/ellas/Uds.erraran

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
yoerrase
errases
voserrases
él/ella/Ud.errase
nosotroserrásemos
vosotroserraseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.errasen

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

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

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
erra
voserrá
él/ella/Ud.erre
nosotroserremos
vosotroserrad
ustedeserren

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 erres
vosno erres
él/ella/Ud.no erre
nosotrosno erremos
vosotrosno erréis
ustedesno erren

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

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

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

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

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