esbozar — Spanish conjugation

to sketch

Frequency#10Irregular

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
yoesbozoI sketch
esbozasyou sketch
vosesbozásyou sketch
él/ella/Ud.esbozahe/she/it sketches
nosotrosesbozamoswe sketch
vosotrosesbozáisyou (pl.) sketch
ellos/ellas/Uds.esbozanthey sketch

Preterite (Pretérito indefinido) Irregular

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
yoesbocéI sketched
esbozasteyou sketched
vosesbozasteyou sketched
él/ella/Ud.esbozóhe/she/it sketched
nosotrosesbozamoswe sketched
vosotrosesbozasteisyou (pl.) sketched
ellos/ellas/Uds.esbozaronthey sketched

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
yoesbozaba
esbozabas
vosesbozabas
él/ella/Ud.esbozaba
nosotrosesbozábamos
vosotrosesbozabais
ellos/ellas/Uds.esbozaban

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
yoesbozaríaI would sketch
esbozaríasyou would sketch
vosesbozaríasyou would sketch
él/ella/Ud.esbozaríahe/she/it would sketch
nosotrosesbozaríamoswe would sketch
vosotrosesbozaríaisyou (pl.) would sketch
ellos/ellas/Uds.esbozaríanthey would sketch

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
yoesbozaréI will sketch
esbozarásyou will sketch
vosesbozarásyou will sketch
él/ella/Ud.esbozaráhe/she/it will sketch
nosotrosesbozaremoswe will sketch
vosotrosesbozaréisyou (pl.) will sketch
ellos/ellas/Uds.esbozaránthey will sketch

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 esbozadoI have sketched
has esbozadoyou have sketched
voshas esbozadoyou have sketched
él/ella/Ud.ha esbozadohe/she/it has sketched
nosotroshemos esbozadowe have sketched
vosotroshabéis esbozadoyou (pl.) have sketched
ellos/ellas/Uds.han esbozadothey have sketched

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 esbozadoI had sketched
habías esbozadoyou had sketched
voshabías esbozadoyou had sketched
él/ella/Ud.había esbozadohe/she/it had sketched
nosotroshabíamos esbozadowe had sketched
vosotroshabíais esbozadoyou (pl.) had sketched
ellos/ellas/Uds.habían esbozadothey had sketched

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

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 esbozadoI will have sketched
habrás esbozadoyou will have sketched
voshabrás esbozadoyou will have sketched
él/ella/Ud.habrá esbozadohe/she/it will have sketched
nosotroshabremos esbozadowe will have sketched
vosotroshabréis esbozadoyou (pl.) will have sketched
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrán esbozadothey will have sketched

Subjunctive

Present subjunctive (Subjuntivo presente) Irregular

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
yoesboce
esboces
vosesboces
él/ella/Ud.esboce
nosotrosesbocemos
vosotrosesbocéis
ellos/ellas/Uds.esbocen

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
yoesbozara
esbozaras
vosesbozaras
él/ella/Ud.esbozara
nosotrosesbozáramos
vosotrosesbozarais
ellos/ellas/Uds.esbozaran

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
yoesbozase
esbozases
vosesbozases
él/ella/Ud.esbozase
nosotrosesbozásemos
vosotrosesbozaseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.esbozasen

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

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

Other forms

Imperative (affirmative) (Imperativo afirmativo) Irregular

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
esboza
vosesbozá
él/ella/Ud.esboce
nosotrosesbocemos
vosotrosesbozad
ustedesesbocen

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 esboces
vosno esboces
él/ella/Ud.no esboce
nosotrosno esbocemos
vosotrosno esbocéis
ustedesno esbocen

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

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

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

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

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