lamentar — Spanish conjugation

to lament (to express sorrow)

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
yolamentoI lament
lamentasyou lament
voslamentásyou lament
él/ella/Ud.lamentahe/she/it laments
nosotroslamentamoswe lament
vosotroslamentáisyou (pl.) lament
ellos/ellas/Uds.lamentanthey lament

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
yolamentéI lamented
lamentasteyou lamented
voslamentasteyou lamented
él/ella/Ud.lamentóhe/she/it lamented
nosotroslamentamoswe lamented
vosotroslamentasteisyou (pl.) lamented
ellos/ellas/Uds.lamentaronthey lamented

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
yolamentaba
lamentabas
voslamentabas
él/ella/Ud.lamentaba
nosotroslamentábamos
vosotroslamentabais
ellos/ellas/Uds.lamentaban

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
yolamentaríaI would lament
lamentaríasyou would lament
voslamentaríasyou would lament
él/ella/Ud.lamentaríahe/she/it would lament
nosotroslamentaríamoswe would lament
vosotroslamentaríaisyou (pl.) would lament
ellos/ellas/Uds.lamentaríanthey would lament

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
yolamentaréI will lament
lamentarásyou will lament
voslamentarásyou will lament
él/ella/Ud.lamentaráhe/she/it will lament
nosotroslamentaremoswe will lament
vosotroslamentaréisyou (pl.) will lament
ellos/ellas/Uds.lamentaránthey will lament

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 lamentadoI have lamented
has lamentadoyou have lamented
voshas lamentadoyou have lamented
él/ella/Ud.ha lamentadohe/she/it has lamented
nosotroshemos lamentadowe have lamented
vosotroshabéis lamentadoyou (pl.) have lamented
ellos/ellas/Uds.han lamentadothey have lamented

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 lamentadoI had lamented
habías lamentadoyou had lamented
voshabías lamentadoyou had lamented
él/ella/Ud.había lamentadohe/she/it had lamented
nosotroshabíamos lamentadowe had lamented
vosotroshabíais lamentadoyou (pl.) had lamented
ellos/ellas/Uds.habían lamentadothey had lamented

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

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 lamentadoI will have lamented
habrás lamentadoyou will have lamented
voshabrás lamentadoyou will have lamented
él/ella/Ud.habrá lamentadohe/she/it will have lamented
nosotroshabremos lamentadowe will have lamented
vosotroshabréis lamentadoyou (pl.) will have lamented
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrán lamentadothey will have lamented

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
yolamente
lamentes
voslamentes
él/ella/Ud.lamente
nosotroslamentemos
vosotroslamentéis
ellos/ellas/Uds.lamenten

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
yolamentara
lamentaras
voslamentaras
él/ella/Ud.lamentara
nosotroslamentáramos
vosotroslamentarais
ellos/ellas/Uds.lamentaran

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
yolamentase
lamentases
voslamentases
él/ella/Ud.lamentase
nosotroslamentásemos
vosotroslamentaseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.lamentasen

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

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

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
lamenta
voslamentá
él/ella/Ud.lamente
nosotroslamentemos
vosotroslamentad
ustedeslamenten

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 lamentes
vosno lamentes
él/ella/Ud.no lamente
nosotrosno lamentemos
vosotrosno lamentéis
ustedesno lamenten

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

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

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

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

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