meter — Spanish conjugation

to put

Frequency#355Regular

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
yometoI put
metesyou put
vosmetésyou put
él/ella/Ud.metehe/she/it puts
nosotrosmetemoswe put
vosotrosmetéisyou (pl.) put
ellos/ellas/Uds.metenthey put

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
yometíI put
metisteyou put
vosmetisteyou put
él/ella/Ud.metióhe/she/it put
nosotrosmetimoswe put
vosotrosmetisteisyou (pl.) put
ellos/ellas/Uds.metieronthey put

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
yometía
metías
vosmetías
él/ella/Ud.metía
nosotrosmetíamos
vosotrosmetíais
ellos/ellas/Uds.metían

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
yometeríaI would put
meteríasyou would put
vosmeteríasyou would put
él/ella/Ud.meteríahe/she/it would put
nosotrosmeteríamoswe would put
vosotrosmeteríaisyou (pl.) would put
ellos/ellas/Uds.meteríanthey would put

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
yometeréI will put
meterásyou will put
vosmeterásyou will put
él/ella/Ud.meteráhe/she/it will put
nosotrosmeteremoswe will put
vosotrosmeteréisyou (pl.) will put
ellos/ellas/Uds.meteránthey will put

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 metidoI have put
has metidoyou have put
voshas metidoyou have put
él/ella/Ud.ha metidohe/she/it has put
nosotroshemos metidowe have put
vosotroshabéis metidoyou (pl.) have put
ellos/ellas/Uds.han metidothey have put

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 metidoI had put
habías metidoyou had put
voshabías metidoyou had put
él/ella/Ud.había metidohe/she/it had put
nosotroshabíamos metidowe had put
vosotroshabíais metidoyou (pl.) had put
ellos/ellas/Uds.habían metidothey had put

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

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 metidoI will have put
habrás metidoyou will have put
voshabrás metidoyou will have put
él/ella/Ud.habrá metidohe/she/it will have put
nosotroshabremos metidowe will have put
vosotroshabréis metidoyou (pl.) will have put
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrán metidothey will have put

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
yometa
metas
vosmetas
él/ella/Ud.meta
nosotrosmetamos
vosotrosmetáis
ellos/ellas/Uds.metan

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
yometiera
metieras
vosmetieras
él/ella/Ud.metiera
nosotrosmetiéramos
vosotrosmetierais
ellos/ellas/Uds.metieran

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
yometiese
metieses
vosmetieses
él/ella/Ud.metiese
nosotrosmetiésemos
vosotrosmetieseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.metiesen

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

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

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
mete
vosmeté
él/ella/Ud.meta
nosotrosmetamos
vosotrosmeted
ustedesmetan

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 metas
vosno metas
él/ella/Ud.no meta
nosotrosno metamos
vosotrosno metáis
ustedesno metan

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

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

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

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

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