felicitar — Spanish conjugation

to congratulate

Frequency#302RegularReflexivefelicitarse — to congratulate oneself

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
yofelicitoI congratulate
felicitasyou congratulate
vosfelicitásyou congratulate
él/ella/Ud.felicitahe/she/it congratulates
nosotrosfelicitamoswe congratulate
vosotrosfelicitáisyou (pl.) congratulate
ellos/ellas/Uds.felicitanthey congratulate

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
yofelicitéI congratulated
felicitasteyou congratulated
vosfelicitasteyou congratulated
él/ella/Ud.felicitóhe/she/it congratulated
nosotrosfelicitamoswe congratulated
vosotrosfelicitasteisyou (pl.) congratulated
ellos/ellas/Uds.felicitaronthey congratulated

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
yofelicitaba
felicitabas
vosfelicitabas
él/ella/Ud.felicitaba
nosotrosfelicitábamos
vosotrosfelicitabais
ellos/ellas/Uds.felicitaban

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
yofelicitaríaI would congratulate
felicitaríasyou would congratulate
vosfelicitaríasyou would congratulate
él/ella/Ud.felicitaríahe/she/it would congratulate
nosotrosfelicitaríamoswe would congratulate
vosotrosfelicitaríaisyou (pl.) would congratulate
ellos/ellas/Uds.felicitaríanthey would congratulate

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
yofelicitaréI will congratulate
felicitarásyou will congratulate
vosfelicitarásyou will congratulate
él/ella/Ud.felicitaráhe/she/it will congratulate
nosotrosfelicitaremoswe will congratulate
vosotrosfelicitaréisyou (pl.) will congratulate
ellos/ellas/Uds.felicitaránthey will congratulate

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 felicitadoI have congratulated
has felicitadoyou have congratulated
voshas felicitadoyou have congratulated
él/ella/Ud.ha felicitadohe/she/it has congratulated
nosotroshemos felicitadowe have congratulated
vosotroshabéis felicitadoyou (pl.) have congratulated
ellos/ellas/Uds.han felicitadothey have congratulated

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 felicitadoI had congratulated
habías felicitadoyou had congratulated
voshabías felicitadoyou had congratulated
él/ella/Ud.había felicitadohe/she/it had congratulated
nosotroshabíamos felicitadowe had congratulated
vosotroshabíais felicitadoyou (pl.) had congratulated
ellos/ellas/Uds.habían felicitadothey had congratulated

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

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 felicitadoI will have congratulated
habrás felicitadoyou will have congratulated
voshabrás felicitadoyou will have congratulated
él/ella/Ud.habrá felicitadohe/she/it will have congratulated
nosotroshabremos felicitadowe will have congratulated
vosotroshabréis felicitadoyou (pl.) will have congratulated
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrán felicitadothey will have congratulated

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
yofelicite
felicites
vosfelicites
él/ella/Ud.felicite
nosotrosfelicitemos
vosotrosfelicitéis
ellos/ellas/Uds.feliciten

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
yofelicitara
felicitaras
vosfelicitaras
él/ella/Ud.felicitara
nosotrosfelicitáramos
vosotrosfelicitarais
ellos/ellas/Uds.felicitaran

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
yofelicitase
felicitases
vosfelicitases
él/ella/Ud.felicitase
nosotrosfelicitásemos
vosotrosfelicitaseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.felicitasen

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

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

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
felicita
vosfelicitá
él/ella/Ud.felicite
nosotrosfelicitemos
vosotrosfelicitad
ustedesfeliciten

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 felicites
vosno felicites
él/ella/Ud.no felicite
nosotrosno felicitemos
vosotrosno felicitéis
ustedesno feliciten

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

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

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

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

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