firmar — Spanish conjugation

to sign

Frequency#1047Regular

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
yofirmoI sign
firmasyou sign
vosfirmásyou sign
él/ella/Ud.firmahe/she/it signs
nosotrosfirmamoswe sign
vosotrosfirmáisyou (pl.) sign
ellos/ellas/Uds.firmanthey sign

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
yofirméI signed
firmasteyou signed
vosfirmasteyou signed
él/ella/Ud.firmóhe/she/it signed
nosotrosfirmamoswe signed
vosotrosfirmasteisyou (pl.) signed
ellos/ellas/Uds.firmaronthey signed

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
yofirmaba
firmabas
vosfirmabas
él/ella/Ud.firmaba
nosotrosfirmábamos
vosotrosfirmabais
ellos/ellas/Uds.firmaban

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
yofirmaríaI would sign
firmaríasyou would sign
vosfirmaríasyou would sign
él/ella/Ud.firmaríahe/she/it would sign
nosotrosfirmaríamoswe would sign
vosotrosfirmaríaisyou (pl.) would sign
ellos/ellas/Uds.firmaríanthey would sign

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
yofirmaréI will sign
firmarásyou will sign
vosfirmarásyou will sign
él/ella/Ud.firmaráhe/she/it will sign
nosotrosfirmaremoswe will sign
vosotrosfirmaréisyou (pl.) will sign
ellos/ellas/Uds.firmaránthey will sign

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 firmadoI have signed
has firmadoyou have signed
voshas firmadoyou have signed
él/ella/Ud.ha firmadohe/she/it has signed
nosotroshemos firmadowe have signed
vosotroshabéis firmadoyou (pl.) have signed
ellos/ellas/Uds.han firmadothey have signed

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 firmadoI had signed
habías firmadoyou had signed
voshabías firmadoyou had signed
él/ella/Ud.había firmadohe/she/it had signed
nosotroshabíamos firmadowe had signed
vosotroshabíais firmadoyou (pl.) had signed
ellos/ellas/Uds.habían firmadothey had signed

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

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 firmadoI will have signed
habrás firmadoyou will have signed
voshabrás firmadoyou will have signed
él/ella/Ud.habrá firmadohe/she/it will have signed
nosotroshabremos firmadowe will have signed
vosotroshabréis firmadoyou (pl.) will have signed
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrán firmadothey will have signed

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
yofirme
firmes
vosfirmes
él/ella/Ud.firme
nosotrosfirmemos
vosotrosfirméis
ellos/ellas/Uds.firmen

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
yofirmara
firmaras
vosfirmaras
él/ella/Ud.firmara
nosotrosfirmáramos
vosotrosfirmarais
ellos/ellas/Uds.firmaran

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
yofirmase
firmases
vosfirmases
él/ella/Ud.firmase
nosotrosfirmásemos
vosotrosfirmaseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.firmasen

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

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

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
firma
vosfirmá
él/ella/Ud.firme
nosotrosfirmemos
vosotrosfirmad
ustedesfirmen

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 firmes
vosno firmes
él/ella/Ud.no firme
nosotrosno firmemos
vosotrosno firméis
ustedesno firmen

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

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

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

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

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