indagar — Spanish conjugation

to inquire

Frequency#86Irregular

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
yoindagoI inquire
indagasyou inquire
vosindagásyou inquire
él/ella/Ud.indagahe/she/it inquires
nosotrosindagamoswe inquire
vosotrosindagáisyou (pl.) inquire
ellos/ellas/Uds.indaganthey inquire

Preterite (Pretérito indefinido) Irregular

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
yoindaguéI inquired
indagasteyou inquired
vosindagasteyou inquired
él/ella/Ud.indagóhe/she/it inquired
nosotrosindagamoswe inquired
vosotrosindagasteisyou (pl.) inquired
ellos/ellas/Uds.indagaronthey inquired

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
yoindagaba
indagabas
vosindagabas
él/ella/Ud.indagaba
nosotrosindagábamos
vosotrosindagabais
ellos/ellas/Uds.indagaban

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
yoindagaríaI would inquire
indagaríasyou would inquire
vosindagaríasyou would inquire
él/ella/Ud.indagaríahe/she/it would inquire
nosotrosindagaríamoswe would inquire
vosotrosindagaríaisyou (pl.) would inquire
ellos/ellas/Uds.indagaríanthey would inquire

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
yoindagaréI will inquire
indagarásyou will inquire
vosindagarásyou will inquire
él/ella/Ud.indagaráhe/she/it will inquire
nosotrosindagaremoswe will inquire
vosotrosindagaréisyou (pl.) will inquire
ellos/ellas/Uds.indagaránthey will inquire

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 indagadoI have inquired
has indagadoyou have inquired
voshas indagadoyou have inquired
él/ella/Ud.ha indagadohe/she/it has inquired
nosotroshemos indagadowe have inquired
vosotroshabéis indagadoyou (pl.) have inquired
ellos/ellas/Uds.han indagadothey have inquired

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 indagadoI had inquired
habías indagadoyou had inquired
voshabías indagadoyou had inquired
él/ella/Ud.había indagadohe/she/it had inquired
nosotroshabíamos indagadowe had inquired
vosotroshabíais indagadoyou (pl.) had inquired
ellos/ellas/Uds.habían indagadothey had inquired

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

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 indagadoI will have inquired
habrás indagadoyou will have inquired
voshabrás indagadoyou will have inquired
él/ella/Ud.habrá indagadohe/she/it will have inquired
nosotroshabremos indagadowe will have inquired
vosotroshabréis indagadoyou (pl.) will have inquired
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrán indagadothey will have inquired

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
yoindague
indagues
vosindagues
él/ella/Ud.indague
nosotrosindaguemos
vosotrosindaguéis
ellos/ellas/Uds.indaguen

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
yoindagara
indagaras
vosindagaras
él/ella/Ud.indagara
nosotrosindagáramos
vosotrosindagarais
ellos/ellas/Uds.indagaran

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
yoindagase
indagases
vosindagases
él/ella/Ud.indagase
nosotrosindagásemos
vosotrosindagaseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.indagasen

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

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

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
indaga
vosindagá
él/ella/Ud.indague
nosotrosindaguemos
vosotrosindagad
ustedesindaguen

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 indagues
vosno indagues
él/ella/Ud.no indague
nosotrosno indaguemos
vosotrosno indaguéis
ustedesno indaguen

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

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

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

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

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