fotografiar — Spanish conjugation

to photograph

Frequency#583Irregular

Indicative

Present (Presente) Irregular

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
yofotografíoI photograph
fotografíasyou photograph
vosfotografiásyou photograph
él/ella/Ud.fotografíahe/she/it photographs
nosotrosfotografiamoswe photograph
vosotrosfotografiáisyou (pl.) photograph
ellos/ellas/Uds.fotografíanthey photograph

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
yofotografiéI photographed
fotografiasteyou photographed
vosfotografiasteyou photographed
él/ella/Ud.fotografióhe/she/it photographed
nosotrosfotografiamoswe photographed
vosotrosfotografiasteisyou (pl.) photographed
ellos/ellas/Uds.fotografiaronthey photographed

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
yofotografiaba
fotografiabas
vosfotografiabas
él/ella/Ud.fotografiaba
nosotrosfotografiábamos
vosotrosfotografiabais
ellos/ellas/Uds.fotografiaban

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
yofotografiaríaI would photograph
fotografiaríasyou would photograph
vosfotografiaríasyou would photograph
él/ella/Ud.fotografiaríahe/she/it would photograph
nosotrosfotografiaríamoswe would photograph
vosotrosfotografiaríaisyou (pl.) would photograph
ellos/ellas/Uds.fotografiaríanthey would photograph

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
yofotografiaréI will photograph
fotografiarásyou will photograph
vosfotografiarásyou will photograph
él/ella/Ud.fotografiaráhe/she/it will photograph
nosotrosfotografiaremoswe will photograph
vosotrosfotografiaréisyou (pl.) will photograph
ellos/ellas/Uds.fotografiaránthey will photograph

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 fotografiadoI have photographed
has fotografiadoyou have photographed
voshas fotografiadoyou have photographed
él/ella/Ud.ha fotografiadohe/she/it has photographed
nosotroshemos fotografiadowe have photographed
vosotroshabéis fotografiadoyou (pl.) have photographed
ellos/ellas/Uds.han fotografiadothey have photographed

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 fotografiadoI had photographed
habías fotografiadoyou had photographed
voshabías fotografiadoyou had photographed
él/ella/Ud.había fotografiadohe/she/it had photographed
nosotroshabíamos fotografiadowe had photographed
vosotroshabíais fotografiadoyou (pl.) had photographed
ellos/ellas/Uds.habían fotografiadothey had photographed

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

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 fotografiadoI will have photographed
habrás fotografiadoyou will have photographed
voshabrás fotografiadoyou will have photographed
él/ella/Ud.habrá fotografiadohe/she/it will have photographed
nosotroshabremos fotografiadowe will have photographed
vosotroshabréis fotografiadoyou (pl.) will have photographed
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrán fotografiadothey will have photographed

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
yofotografíe
fotografíes
vosfotografíes
él/ella/Ud.fotografíe
nosotrosfotografiemos
vosotrosfotografiéis
ellos/ellas/Uds.fotografíen

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
yofotografiara
fotografiaras
vosfotografiaras
él/ella/Ud.fotografiara
nosotrosfotografiáramos
vosotrosfotografiarais
ellos/ellas/Uds.fotografiaran

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
yofotografiase
fotografiases
vosfotografiases
él/ella/Ud.fotografiase
nosotrosfotografiásemos
vosotrosfotografiaseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.fotografiasen

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

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

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
fotografía
vosfotografiá
él/ella/Ud.fotografíe
nosotrosfotografiemos
vosotrosfotografiad
ustedesfotografíen

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 fotografíes
vosno fotografíes
él/ella/Ud.no fotografíe
nosotrosno fotografiemos
vosotrosno fotografiéis
ustedesno fotografíen

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

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

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

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

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