externar — Spanish conjugation

to express

Frequency#307Regular

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
yoexternoI express
externasyou express
vosexternásyou express
él/ella/Ud.externahe/she/it expresses
nosotrosexternamoswe express
vosotrosexternáisyou (pl.) express
ellos/ellas/Uds.externanthey express

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
yoexternéI expressed
externasteyou expressed
vosexternasteyou expressed
él/ella/Ud.externóhe/she/it expressed
nosotrosexternamoswe expressed
vosotrosexternasteisyou (pl.) expressed
ellos/ellas/Uds.externaronthey expressed

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
yoexternaba
externabas
vosexternabas
él/ella/Ud.externaba
nosotrosexternábamos
vosotrosexternabais
ellos/ellas/Uds.externaban

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
yoexternaríaI would express
externaríasyou would express
vosexternaríasyou would express
él/ella/Ud.externaríahe/she/it would express
nosotrosexternaríamoswe would express
vosotrosexternaríaisyou (pl.) would express
ellos/ellas/Uds.externaríanthey would express

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
yoexternaréI will express
externarásyou will express
vosexternarásyou will express
él/ella/Ud.externaráhe/she/it will express
nosotrosexternaremoswe will express
vosotrosexternaréisyou (pl.) will express
ellos/ellas/Uds.externaránthey will express

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 externadoI have expressed
has externadoyou have expressed
voshas externadoyou have expressed
él/ella/Ud.ha externadohe/she/it has expressed
nosotroshemos externadowe have expressed
vosotroshabéis externadoyou (pl.) have expressed
ellos/ellas/Uds.han externadothey have expressed

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 externadoI had expressed
habías externadoyou had expressed
voshabías externadoyou had expressed
él/ella/Ud.había externadohe/she/it had expressed
nosotroshabíamos externadowe had expressed
vosotroshabíais externadoyou (pl.) had expressed
ellos/ellas/Uds.habían externadothey had expressed

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

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 externadoI will have expressed
habrás externadoyou will have expressed
voshabrás externadoyou will have expressed
él/ella/Ud.habrá externadohe/she/it will have expressed
nosotroshabremos externadowe will have expressed
vosotroshabréis externadoyou (pl.) will have expressed
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrán externadothey will have expressed

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
yoexterne
externes
vosexternes
él/ella/Ud.externe
nosotrosexternemos
vosotrosexternéis
ellos/ellas/Uds.externen

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
yoexternara
externaras
vosexternaras
él/ella/Ud.externara
nosotrosexternáramos
vosotrosexternarais
ellos/ellas/Uds.externaran

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
yoexternase
externases
vosexternases
él/ella/Ud.externase
nosotrosexternásemos
vosotrosexternaseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.externasen

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

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

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
externa
vosexterná
él/ella/Ud.externe
nosotrosexternemos
vosotrosexternad
ustedesexternen

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 externes
vosno externes
él/ella/Ud.no externe
nosotrosno externemos
vosotrosno externéis
ustedesno externen

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

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

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

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

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