idear — Spanish conjugation

to devise, to come up with

Frequency#207Regular

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
yoideoI devise
ideasyou devise
vosideásyou devise
él/ella/Ud.ideahe/she/it devises
nosotrosideamoswe devise
vosotrosideáisyou (pl.) devise
ellos/ellas/Uds.ideanthey devise

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
yoideéI devised
ideasteyou devised
vosideasteyou devised
él/ella/Ud.ideóhe/she/it devised
nosotrosideamoswe devised
vosotrosideasteisyou (pl.) devised
ellos/ellas/Uds.idearonthey devised

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
yoideaba
ideabas
vosideabas
él/ella/Ud.ideaba
nosotrosideábamos
vosotrosideabais
ellos/ellas/Uds.ideaban

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
yoidearíaI would devise
idearíasyou would devise
vosidearíasyou would devise
él/ella/Ud.idearíahe/she/it would devise
nosotrosidearíamoswe would devise
vosotrosidearíaisyou (pl.) would devise
ellos/ellas/Uds.idearíanthey would devise

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
yoidearéI will devise
idearásyou will devise
vosidearásyou will devise
él/ella/Ud.idearáhe/she/it will devise
nosotrosidearemoswe will devise
vosotrosidearéisyou (pl.) will devise
ellos/ellas/Uds.idearánthey will devise

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 ideadoI have devised
has ideadoyou have devised
voshas ideadoyou have devised
él/ella/Ud.ha ideadohe/she/it has devised
nosotroshemos ideadowe have devised
vosotroshabéis ideadoyou (pl.) have devised
ellos/ellas/Uds.han ideadothey have devised

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 ideadoI had devised
habías ideadoyou had devised
voshabías ideadoyou had devised
él/ella/Ud.había ideadohe/she/it had devised
nosotroshabíamos ideadowe had devised
vosotroshabíais ideadoyou (pl.) had devised
ellos/ellas/Uds.habían ideadothey had devised

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

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 ideadoI will have devised
habrás ideadoyou will have devised
voshabrás ideadoyou will have devised
él/ella/Ud.habrá ideadohe/she/it will have devised
nosotroshabremos ideadowe will have devised
vosotroshabréis ideadoyou (pl.) will have devised
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrán ideadothey will have devised

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
yoidee
idees
vosidees
él/ella/Ud.idee
nosotrosideemos
vosotrosideéis
ellos/ellas/Uds.ideen

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
yoideara
idearas
vosidearas
él/ella/Ud.ideara
nosotrosideáramos
vosotrosidearais
ellos/ellas/Uds.idearan

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
yoidease
ideases
vosideases
él/ella/Ud.idease
nosotrosideásemos
vosotrosideaseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.ideasen

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

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

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
idea
vosideá
él/ella/Ud.idee
nosotrosideemos
vosotrosidead
ustedesideen

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 idees
vosno idees
él/ella/Ud.no idee
nosotrosno ideemos
vosotrosno ideéis
ustedesno ideen

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

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

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

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

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