indicar — Spanish conjugation

to indicate

Frequency#149Irregular

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
yoindicoI indicate
indicasyou indicate
vosindicásyou indicate
él/ella/Ud.indicahe/she/it indicates
nosotrosindicamoswe indicate
vosotrosindicáisyou (pl.) indicate
ellos/ellas/Uds.indicanthey indicate

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
yoindiquéI indicated
indicasteyou indicated
vosindicasteyou indicated
él/ella/Ud.indicóhe/she/it indicated
nosotrosindicamoswe indicated
vosotrosindicasteisyou (pl.) indicated
ellos/ellas/Uds.indicaronthey indicated

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
yoindicaba
indicabas
vosindicabas
él/ella/Ud.indicaba
nosotrosindicábamos
vosotrosindicabais
ellos/ellas/Uds.indicaban

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
yoindicaríaI would indicate
indicaríasyou would indicate
vosindicaríasyou would indicate
él/ella/Ud.indicaríahe/she/it would indicate
nosotrosindicaríamoswe would indicate
vosotrosindicaríaisyou (pl.) would indicate
ellos/ellas/Uds.indicaríanthey would indicate

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
yoindicaréI will indicate
indicarásyou will indicate
vosindicarásyou will indicate
él/ella/Ud.indicaráhe/she/it will indicate
nosotrosindicaremoswe will indicate
vosotrosindicaréisyou (pl.) will indicate
ellos/ellas/Uds.indicaránthey will indicate

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 indicadoI have indicated
has indicadoyou have indicated
voshas indicadoyou have indicated
él/ella/Ud.ha indicadohe/she/it has indicated
nosotroshemos indicadowe have indicated
vosotroshabéis indicadoyou (pl.) have indicated
ellos/ellas/Uds.han indicadothey have indicated

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 indicadoI had indicated
habías indicadoyou had indicated
voshabías indicadoyou had indicated
él/ella/Ud.había indicadohe/she/it had indicated
nosotroshabíamos indicadowe had indicated
vosotroshabíais indicadoyou (pl.) had indicated
ellos/ellas/Uds.habían indicadothey had indicated

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

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 indicadoI will have indicated
habrás indicadoyou will have indicated
voshabrás indicadoyou will have indicated
él/ella/Ud.habrá indicadohe/she/it will have indicated
nosotroshabremos indicadowe will have indicated
vosotroshabréis indicadoyou (pl.) will have indicated
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrán indicadothey will have indicated

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
yoindique
indiques
vosindiques
él/ella/Ud.indique
nosotrosindiquemos
vosotrosindiquéis
ellos/ellas/Uds.indiquen

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
yoindicara
indicaras
vosindicaras
él/ella/Ud.indicara
nosotrosindicáramos
vosotrosindicarais
ellos/ellas/Uds.indicaran

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
yoindicase
indicases
vosindicases
él/ella/Ud.indicase
nosotrosindicásemos
vosotrosindicaseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.indicasen

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

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

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
indica
vosindicá
él/ella/Ud.indique
nosotrosindiquemos
vosotrosindicad
ustedesindiquen

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 indiques
vosno indiques
él/ella/Ud.no indique
nosotrosno indiquemos
vosotrosno indiquéis
ustedesno indiquen

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

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

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

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

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