machar — Spanish conjugation

to eat

Frequency#385Regular

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
yomachoI eat
machasyou eat
vosmachásyou eat
él/ella/Ud.machahe/she/it eats
nosotrosmachamoswe eat
vosotrosmacháisyou (pl.) eat
ellos/ellas/Uds.machanthey eat

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
yomachéI ate
machasteyou ate
vosmachasteyou ate
él/ella/Ud.machóhe/she/it ate
nosotrosmachamoswe ate
vosotrosmachasteisyou (pl.) ate
ellos/ellas/Uds.macharonthey ate

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
yomachaba
machabas
vosmachabas
él/ella/Ud.machaba
nosotrosmachábamos
vosotrosmachabais
ellos/ellas/Uds.machaban

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
yomacharíaI would eat
macharíasyou would eat
vosmacharíasyou would eat
él/ella/Ud.macharíahe/she/it would eat
nosotrosmacharíamoswe would eat
vosotrosmacharíaisyou (pl.) would eat
ellos/ellas/Uds.macharíanthey would eat

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
yomacharéI will eat
macharásyou will eat
vosmacharásyou will eat
él/ella/Ud.macharáhe/she/it will eat
nosotrosmacharemoswe will eat
vosotrosmacharéisyou (pl.) will eat
ellos/ellas/Uds.macharánthey will eat

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 machadoI have eaten
has machadoyou have eaten
voshas machadoyou have eaten
él/ella/Ud.ha machadohe/she/it has eaten
nosotroshemos machadowe have eaten
vosotroshabéis machadoyou (pl.) have eaten
ellos/ellas/Uds.han machadothey have eaten

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 machadoI had eaten
habías machadoyou had eaten
voshabías machadoyou had eaten
él/ella/Ud.había machadohe/she/it had eaten
nosotroshabíamos machadowe had eaten
vosotroshabíais machadoyou (pl.) had eaten
ellos/ellas/Uds.habían machadothey had eaten

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

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 machadoI will have eaten
habrás machadoyou will have eaten
voshabrás machadoyou will have eaten
él/ella/Ud.habrá machadohe/she/it will have eaten
nosotroshabremos machadowe will have eaten
vosotroshabréis machadoyou (pl.) will have eaten
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrán machadothey will have eaten

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
yomache
maches
vosmaches
él/ella/Ud.mache
nosotrosmachemos
vosotrosmachéis
ellos/ellas/Uds.machen

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
yomachara
macharas
vosmacharas
él/ella/Ud.machara
nosotrosmacháramos
vosotrosmacharais
ellos/ellas/Uds.macharan

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
yomachase
machases
vosmachases
él/ella/Ud.machase
nosotrosmachásemos
vosotrosmachaseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.machasen

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

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

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
macha
vosmachá
él/ella/Ud.mache
nosotrosmachemos
vosotrosmachad
ustedesmachen

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 maches
vosno maches
él/ella/Ud.no mache
nosotrosno machemos
vosotrosno machéis
ustedesno machen

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

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

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

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

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