frenar — Spanish conjugation

to brake (a vehicle)

Frequency#639Regular

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
yofrenoI brake
frenasyou brake
vosfrenásyou brake
él/ella/Ud.frenahe/she/it brakes
nosotrosfrenamoswe brake
vosotrosfrenáisyou (pl.) brake
ellos/ellas/Uds.frenanthey brake

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
yofrenéI braked
frenasteyou braked
vosfrenasteyou braked
él/ella/Ud.frenóhe/she/it braked
nosotrosfrenamoswe braked
vosotrosfrenasteisyou (pl.) braked
ellos/ellas/Uds.frenaronthey braked

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
yofrenaba
frenabas
vosfrenabas
él/ella/Ud.frenaba
nosotrosfrenábamos
vosotrosfrenabais
ellos/ellas/Uds.frenaban

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
yofrenaríaI would brake
frenaríasyou would brake
vosfrenaríasyou would brake
él/ella/Ud.frenaríahe/she/it would brake
nosotrosfrenaríamoswe would brake
vosotrosfrenaríaisyou (pl.) would brake
ellos/ellas/Uds.frenaríanthey would brake

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
yofrenaréI will brake
frenarásyou will brake
vosfrenarásyou will brake
él/ella/Ud.frenaráhe/she/it will brake
nosotrosfrenaremoswe will brake
vosotrosfrenaréisyou (pl.) will brake
ellos/ellas/Uds.frenaránthey will brake

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 frenadoI have braked
has frenadoyou have braked
voshas frenadoyou have braked
él/ella/Ud.ha frenadohe/she/it has braked
nosotroshemos frenadowe have braked
vosotroshabéis frenadoyou (pl.) have braked
ellos/ellas/Uds.han frenadothey have braked

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 frenadoI had braked
habías frenadoyou had braked
voshabías frenadoyou had braked
él/ella/Ud.había frenadohe/she/it had braked
nosotroshabíamos frenadowe had braked
vosotroshabíais frenadoyou (pl.) had braked
ellos/ellas/Uds.habían frenadothey had braked

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

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 frenadoI will have braked
habrás frenadoyou will have braked
voshabrás frenadoyou will have braked
él/ella/Ud.habrá frenadohe/she/it will have braked
nosotroshabremos frenadowe will have braked
vosotroshabréis frenadoyou (pl.) will have braked
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrán frenadothey will have braked

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
yofrene
frenes
vosfrenes
él/ella/Ud.frene
nosotrosfrenemos
vosotrosfrenéis
ellos/ellas/Uds.frenen

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
yofrenara
frenaras
vosfrenaras
él/ella/Ud.frenara
nosotrosfrenáramos
vosotrosfrenarais
ellos/ellas/Uds.frenaran

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
yofrenase
frenases
vosfrenases
él/ella/Ud.frenase
nosotrosfrenásemos
vosotrosfrenaseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.frenasen

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

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

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
frena
vosfrená
él/ella/Ud.frene
nosotrosfrenemos
vosotrosfrenad
ustedesfrenen

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 frenes
vosno frenes
él/ella/Ud.no frene
nosotrosno frenemos
vosotrosno frenéis
ustedesno frenen

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

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

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

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

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