esposar — Spanish conjugation

to handcuff

Frequency#271Regular

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
yoesposoI handcuff
esposasyou handcuff
vosesposásyou handcuff
él/ella/Ud.esposahe/she/it handcuffs
nosotrosesposamoswe handcuff
vosotrosesposáisyou (pl.) handcuff
ellos/ellas/Uds.esposanthey handcuff

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
yoesposéI handcuffed
esposasteyou handcuffed
vosesposasteyou handcuffed
él/ella/Ud.esposóhe/she/it handcuffed
nosotrosesposamoswe handcuffed
vosotrosesposasteisyou (pl.) handcuffed
ellos/ellas/Uds.esposaronthey handcuffed

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
yoesposaba
esposabas
vosesposabas
él/ella/Ud.esposaba
nosotrosesposábamos
vosotrosesposabais
ellos/ellas/Uds.esposaban

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
yoesposaríaI would handcuff
esposaríasyou would handcuff
vosesposaríasyou would handcuff
él/ella/Ud.esposaríahe/she/it would handcuff
nosotrosesposaríamoswe would handcuff
vosotrosesposaríaisyou (pl.) would handcuff
ellos/ellas/Uds.esposaríanthey would handcuff

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
yoesposaréI will handcuff
esposarásyou will handcuff
vosesposarásyou will handcuff
él/ella/Ud.esposaráhe/she/it will handcuff
nosotrosesposaremoswe will handcuff
vosotrosesposaréisyou (pl.) will handcuff
ellos/ellas/Uds.esposaránthey will handcuff

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 esposadoI have handcuffed
has esposadoyou have handcuffed
voshas esposadoyou have handcuffed
él/ella/Ud.ha esposadohe/she/it has handcuffed
nosotroshemos esposadowe have handcuffed
vosotroshabéis esposadoyou (pl.) have handcuffed
ellos/ellas/Uds.han esposadothey have handcuffed

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 esposadoI had handcuffed
habías esposadoyou had handcuffed
voshabías esposadoyou had handcuffed
él/ella/Ud.había esposadohe/she/it had handcuffed
nosotroshabíamos esposadowe had handcuffed
vosotroshabíais esposadoyou (pl.) had handcuffed
ellos/ellas/Uds.habían esposadothey had handcuffed

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

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 esposadoI will have handcuffed
habrás esposadoyou will have handcuffed
voshabrás esposadoyou will have handcuffed
él/ella/Ud.habrá esposadohe/she/it will have handcuffed
nosotroshabremos esposadowe will have handcuffed
vosotroshabréis esposadoyou (pl.) will have handcuffed
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrán esposadothey will have handcuffed

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
yoespose
esposes
vosesposes
él/ella/Ud.espose
nosotrosesposemos
vosotrosesposéis
ellos/ellas/Uds.esposen

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
yoesposara
esposaras
vosesposaras
él/ella/Ud.esposara
nosotrosesposáramos
vosotrosesposarais
ellos/ellas/Uds.esposaran

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
yoesposase
esposases
vosesposases
él/ella/Ud.esposase
nosotrosesposásemos
vosotrosesposaseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.esposasen

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

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

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
esposa
vosesposá
él/ella/Ud.espose
nosotrosesposemos
vosotrosesposad
ustedesesposen

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 esposes
vosno esposes
él/ella/Ud.no espose
nosotrosno esposemos
vosotrosno esposéis
ustedesno esposen

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

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

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

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

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