inventar — Spanish conjugation

to invent

Frequency#776Regular

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
yoinventoI invent
inventasyou invent
vosinventásyou invent
él/ella/Ud.inventahe/she/it invents
nosotrosinventamoswe invent
vosotrosinventáisyou (pl.) invent
ellos/ellas/Uds.inventanthey invent

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
yoinventéI invented
inventasteyou invented
vosinventasteyou invented
él/ella/Ud.inventóhe/she/it invented
nosotrosinventamoswe invented
vosotrosinventasteisyou (pl.) invented
ellos/ellas/Uds.inventaronthey invented

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
yoinventaba
inventabas
vosinventabas
él/ella/Ud.inventaba
nosotrosinventábamos
vosotrosinventabais
ellos/ellas/Uds.inventaban

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
yoinventaríaI would invent
inventaríasyou would invent
vosinventaríasyou would invent
él/ella/Ud.inventaríahe/she/it would invent
nosotrosinventaríamoswe would invent
vosotrosinventaríaisyou (pl.) would invent
ellos/ellas/Uds.inventaríanthey would invent

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
yoinventaréI will invent
inventarásyou will invent
vosinventarásyou will invent
él/ella/Ud.inventaráhe/she/it will invent
nosotrosinventaremoswe will invent
vosotrosinventaréisyou (pl.) will invent
ellos/ellas/Uds.inventaránthey will invent

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 inventadoI have invented
has inventadoyou have invented
voshas inventadoyou have invented
él/ella/Ud.ha inventadohe/she/it has invented
nosotroshemos inventadowe have invented
vosotroshabéis inventadoyou (pl.) have invented
ellos/ellas/Uds.han inventadothey have invented

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 inventadoI had invented
habías inventadoyou had invented
voshabías inventadoyou had invented
él/ella/Ud.había inventadohe/she/it had invented
nosotroshabíamos inventadowe had invented
vosotroshabíais inventadoyou (pl.) had invented
ellos/ellas/Uds.habían inventadothey had invented

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

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 inventadoI will have invented
habrás inventadoyou will have invented
voshabrás inventadoyou will have invented
él/ella/Ud.habrá inventadohe/she/it will have invented
nosotroshabremos inventadowe will have invented
vosotroshabréis inventadoyou (pl.) will have invented
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrán inventadothey will have invented

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
yoinvente
inventes
vosinventes
él/ella/Ud.invente
nosotrosinventemos
vosotrosinventéis
ellos/ellas/Uds.inventen

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
yoinventara
inventaras
vosinventaras
él/ella/Ud.inventara
nosotrosinventáramos
vosotrosinventarais
ellos/ellas/Uds.inventaran

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
yoinventase
inventases
vosinventases
él/ella/Ud.inventase
nosotrosinventásemos
vosotrosinventaseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.inventasen

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

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

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
inventa
vosinventá
él/ella/Ud.invente
nosotrosinventemos
vosotrosinventad
ustedesinventen

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 inventes
vosno inventes
él/ella/Ud.no invente
nosotrosno inventemos
vosotrosno inventéis
ustedesno inventen

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

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

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

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

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