impulsar — Spanish conjugation

to drive (to promote or stimulate)

Frequency#520Regular

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
yoimpulsoI drive
impulsasyou drive
vosimpulsásyou drive
él/ella/Ud.impulsahe/she/it drives
nosotrosimpulsamoswe drive
vosotrosimpulsáisyou (pl.) drive
ellos/ellas/Uds.impulsanthey drive

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
yoimpulséI drove
impulsasteyou drove
vosimpulsasteyou drove
él/ella/Ud.impulsóhe/she/it drove
nosotrosimpulsamoswe drove
vosotrosimpulsasteisyou (pl.) drove
ellos/ellas/Uds.impulsaronthey drove

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
yoimpulsaba
impulsabas
vosimpulsabas
él/ella/Ud.impulsaba
nosotrosimpulsábamos
vosotrosimpulsabais
ellos/ellas/Uds.impulsaban

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
yoimpulsaríaI would drive
impulsaríasyou would drive
vosimpulsaríasyou would drive
él/ella/Ud.impulsaríahe/she/it would drive
nosotrosimpulsaríamoswe would drive
vosotrosimpulsaríaisyou (pl.) would drive
ellos/ellas/Uds.impulsaríanthey would drive

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
yoimpulsaréI will drive
impulsarásyou will drive
vosimpulsarásyou will drive
él/ella/Ud.impulsaráhe/she/it will drive
nosotrosimpulsaremoswe will drive
vosotrosimpulsaréisyou (pl.) will drive
ellos/ellas/Uds.impulsaránthey will drive

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 impulsadoI have driven
has impulsadoyou have driven
voshas impulsadoyou have driven
él/ella/Ud.ha impulsadohe/she/it has driven
nosotroshemos impulsadowe have driven
vosotroshabéis impulsadoyou (pl.) have driven
ellos/ellas/Uds.han impulsadothey have driven

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 impulsadoI had driven
habías impulsadoyou had driven
voshabías impulsadoyou had driven
él/ella/Ud.había impulsadohe/she/it had driven
nosotroshabíamos impulsadowe had driven
vosotroshabíais impulsadoyou (pl.) had driven
ellos/ellas/Uds.habían impulsadothey had driven

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

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 impulsadoI will have driven
habrás impulsadoyou will have driven
voshabrás impulsadoyou will have driven
él/ella/Ud.habrá impulsadohe/she/it will have driven
nosotroshabremos impulsadowe will have driven
vosotroshabréis impulsadoyou (pl.) will have driven
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrán impulsadothey will have driven

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
yoimpulse
impulses
vosimpulses
él/ella/Ud.impulse
nosotrosimpulsemos
vosotrosimpulséis
ellos/ellas/Uds.impulsen

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
yoimpulsara
impulsaras
vosimpulsaras
él/ella/Ud.impulsara
nosotrosimpulsáramos
vosotrosimpulsarais
ellos/ellas/Uds.impulsaran

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
yoimpulsase
impulsases
vosimpulsases
él/ella/Ud.impulsase
nosotrosimpulsásemos
vosotrosimpulsaseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.impulsasen

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

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

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
impulsa
vosimpulsá
él/ella/Ud.impulse
nosotrosimpulsemos
vosotrosimpulsad
ustedesimpulsen

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 impulses
vosno impulses
él/ella/Ud.no impulse
nosotrosno impulsemos
vosotrosno impulséis
ustedesno impulsen

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

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

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

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

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