oír — Spanish conjugation

to hear

Frequency#63Regular

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
yooigoI hear
oyesyou hear
vosoísyou hear
él/ella/Ud.oyehe/she/it hears
nosotrosoímoswe hear
vosotrosoísyou (pl.) hear
ellos/ellas/Uds.oyenthey hear

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
yoI heard
oísteyou heard
vosoísteyou heard
él/ella/Ud.oyóhe/she/it heard
nosotrosoímoswe heard
vosotrosoísteisyou (pl.) heard
ellos/ellas/Uds.oyeronthey heard

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
yooía
oías
vosoías
él/ella/Ud.oía
nosotrosoíamos
vosotrosoíais
ellos/ellas/Uds.oían

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
yooiríaI would hear
oiríasyou would hear
vosoiríasyou would hear
él/ella/Ud.oiríahe/she/it would hear
nosotrosoiríamoswe would hear
vosotrosoiríaisyou (pl.) would hear
ellos/ellas/Uds.oiríanthey would hear

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
yooiréI will hear
oirásyou will hear
vosoirásyou will hear
él/ella/Ud.oiráhe/she/it will hear
nosotrosoiremoswe will hear
vosotrosoiréisyou (pl.) will hear
ellos/ellas/Uds.oiránthey will hear

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 oídoI have heard
has oídoyou have heard
voshas oídoyou have heard
él/ella/Ud.ha oídohe/she/it has heard
nosotroshemos oídowe have heard
vosotroshabéis oídoyou (pl.) have heard
ellos/ellas/Uds.han oídothey have heard

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 oídoI had heard
habías oídoyou had heard
voshabías oídoyou had heard
él/ella/Ud.había oídohe/she/it had heard
nosotroshabíamos oídowe had heard
vosotroshabíais oídoyou (pl.) had heard
ellos/ellas/Uds.habían oídothey had heard

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

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 oídoI will have heard
habrás oídoyou will have heard
voshabrás oídoyou will have heard
él/ella/Ud.habrá oídohe/she/it will have heard
nosotroshabremos oídowe will have heard
vosotroshabréis oídoyou (pl.) will have heard
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrán oídothey will have heard

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
yooiga
oigas
vosoigas
él/ella/Ud.oiga
nosotrosoigamos
vosotrosoigáis
ellos/ellas/Uds.oigan

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
yooyera
oyeras
vosoyeras
él/ella/Ud.oyera
nosotrosoyéramos
vosotrosoyerais
ellos/ellas/Uds.oyeran

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
yooyese
oyeses
vosoyeses
él/ella/Ud.oyese
nosotrosoyésemos
vosotrosoyeseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.oyesen

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

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

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
oye
vos
él/ella/Ud.oiga
nosotrosoigamos
vosotrosoíd
ustedesoigan

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 oigas
vosno oigas
él/ella/Ud.no oiga
nosotrosno oigamos
vosotrosno oigáis
ustedesno oigan

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

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

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

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

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