liar — Spanish conjugation

to bind, tie

Frequency#1127Irregular

Indicative

Present (Presente) Irregular

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
yolíoI bind
líasyou bind
vosliasyou bind
él/ella/Ud.líahe/she/it binds
nosotrosliamoswe bind
vosotrosliaisyou (pl.) bind
ellos/ellas/Uds.líanthey bind

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
yolieI bound
liasteyou bound
vosliasteyou bound
él/ella/Ud.liohe/she/it bound
nosotrosliamoswe bound
vosotrosliasteisyou (pl.) bound
ellos/ellas/Uds.liaronthey bound

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
yoliaba
liabas
vosliabas
él/ella/Ud.liaba
nosotrosliábamos
vosotrosliabais
ellos/ellas/Uds.liaban

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
yoliaríaI would bind
liaríasyou would bind
vosliaríasyou would bind
él/ella/Ud.liaríahe/she/it would bind
nosotrosliaríamoswe would bind
vosotrosliaríaisyou (pl.) would bind
ellos/ellas/Uds.liaríanthey would bind

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
yoliaréI will bind
liarásyou will bind
vosliarásyou will bind
él/ella/Ud.liaráhe/she/it will bind
nosotrosliaremoswe will bind
vosotrosliaréisyou (pl.) will bind
ellos/ellas/Uds.liaránthey will bind

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 liadoI have bound
has liadoyou have bound
voshas liadoyou have bound
él/ella/Ud.ha liadohe/she/it has bound
nosotroshemos liadowe have bound
vosotroshabéis liadoyou (pl.) have bound
ellos/ellas/Uds.han liadothey have bound

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 liadoI had bound
habías liadoyou had bound
voshabías liadoyou had bound
él/ella/Ud.había liadohe/she/it had bound
nosotroshabíamos liadowe had bound
vosotroshabíais liadoyou (pl.) had bound
ellos/ellas/Uds.habían liadothey had bound

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

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 liadoI will have bound
habrás liadoyou will have bound
voshabrás liadoyou will have bound
él/ella/Ud.habrá liadohe/she/it will have bound
nosotroshabremos liadowe will have bound
vosotroshabréis liadoyou (pl.) will have bound
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrán liadothey will have bound

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
yolíe
líes
voslíes
él/ella/Ud.líe
nosotrosliemos
vosotroslieis
ellos/ellas/Uds.líen

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
yoliara
liaras
vosliaras
él/ella/Ud.liara
nosotrosliáramos
vosotrosliarais
ellos/ellas/Uds.liaran

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
yoliase
liases
vosliases
él/ella/Ud.liase
nosotrosliásemos
vosotrosliaseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.liasen

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

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

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
lía
voslia
él/ella/Ud.líe
nosotrosliemos
vosotrosliad
ustedeslíen

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 líes
vosno líes
él/ella/Ud.no líe
nosotrosno liemos
vosotrosno lieis
ustedesno líen

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

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

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

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

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