girar — Spanish conjugation

to turn

Frequency#557RegularReflexivegirarse — to turn around

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
yogiroI turn
girasyou turn
vosgirásyou turn
él/ella/Ud.girahe/she/it turns
nosotrosgiramoswe turn
vosotrosgiráisyou (pl.) turn
ellos/ellas/Uds.giranthey turn

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
yogiréI turned
girasteyou turned
vosgirasteyou turned
él/ella/Ud.giróhe/she/it turned
nosotrosgiramoswe turned
vosotrosgirasteisyou (pl.) turned
ellos/ellas/Uds.giraronthey turned

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
yogiraba
girabas
vosgirabas
él/ella/Ud.giraba
nosotrosgirábamos
vosotrosgirabais
ellos/ellas/Uds.giraban

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
yogiraríaI would turn
giraríasyou would turn
vosgiraríasyou would turn
él/ella/Ud.giraríahe/she/it would turn
nosotrosgiraríamoswe would turn
vosotrosgiraríaisyou (pl.) would turn
ellos/ellas/Uds.giraríanthey would turn

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
yogiraréI will turn
girarásyou will turn
vosgirarásyou will turn
él/ella/Ud.giraráhe/she/it will turn
nosotrosgiraremoswe will turn
vosotrosgiraréisyou (pl.) will turn
ellos/ellas/Uds.giraránthey will turn

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 giradoI have turned
has giradoyou have turned
voshas giradoyou have turned
él/ella/Ud.ha giradohe/she/it has turned
nosotroshemos giradowe have turned
vosotroshabéis giradoyou (pl.) have turned
ellos/ellas/Uds.han giradothey have turned

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 giradoI had turned
habías giradoyou had turned
voshabías giradoyou had turned
él/ella/Ud.había giradohe/she/it had turned
nosotroshabíamos giradowe had turned
vosotroshabíais giradoyou (pl.) had turned
ellos/ellas/Uds.habían giradothey had turned

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

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 giradoI will have turned
habrás giradoyou will have turned
voshabrás giradoyou will have turned
él/ella/Ud.habrá giradohe/she/it will have turned
nosotroshabremos giradowe will have turned
vosotroshabréis giradoyou (pl.) will have turned
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrán giradothey will have turned

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
yogire
gires
vosgires
él/ella/Ud.gire
nosotrosgiremos
vosotrosgiréis
ellos/ellas/Uds.giren

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
yogirara
giraras
vosgiraras
él/ella/Ud.girara
nosotrosgiráramos
vosotrosgirarais
ellos/ellas/Uds.giraran

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
yogirase
girases
vosgirases
él/ella/Ud.girase
nosotrosgirásemos
vosotrosgiraseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.girasen

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

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

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
gira
vosgirá
él/ella/Ud.gire
nosotrosgiremos
vosotrosgirad
ustedesgiren

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 gires
vosno gires
él/ella/Ud.no gire
nosotrosno giremos
vosotrosno giréis
ustedesno giren

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

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

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

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

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