orar — Spanish conjugation

to pray

Frequency#835Regular

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
yooroI pray
orasyou pray
vosorásyou pray
él/ella/Ud.orahe/she/it prays
nosotrosoramoswe pray
vosotrosoráisyou (pl.) pray
ellos/ellas/Uds.oranthey pray

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
yooréI prayed
orasteyou prayed
vosorasteyou prayed
él/ella/Ud.oróhe/she/it prayed
nosotrosoramoswe prayed
vosotrosorasteisyou (pl.) prayed
ellos/ellas/Uds.oraronthey prayed

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
yooraba
orabas
vosorabas
él/ella/Ud.oraba
nosotrosorábamos
vosotrosorabais
ellos/ellas/Uds.oraban

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
yooraríaI would pray
oraríasyou would pray
vosoraríasyou would pray
él/ella/Ud.oraríahe/she/it would pray
nosotrosoraríamoswe would pray
vosotrosoraríaisyou (pl.) would pray
ellos/ellas/Uds.oraríanthey would pray

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
yooraréI will pray
orarásyou will pray
vosorarásyou will pray
él/ella/Ud.oraráhe/she/it will pray
nosotrosoraremoswe will pray
vosotrosoraréisyou (pl.) will pray
ellos/ellas/Uds.oraránthey will pray

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 oradoI have prayed
has oradoyou have prayed
voshas oradoyou have prayed
él/ella/Ud.ha oradohe/she/it has prayed
nosotroshemos oradowe have prayed
vosotroshabéis oradoyou (pl.) have prayed
ellos/ellas/Uds.han oradothey have prayed

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 oradoI had prayed
habías oradoyou had prayed
voshabías oradoyou had prayed
él/ella/Ud.había oradohe/she/it had prayed
nosotroshabíamos oradowe had prayed
vosotroshabíais oradoyou (pl.) had prayed
ellos/ellas/Uds.habían oradothey had prayed

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

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 oradoI will have prayed
habrás oradoyou will have prayed
voshabrás oradoyou will have prayed
él/ella/Ud.habrá oradohe/she/it will have prayed
nosotroshabremos oradowe will have prayed
vosotroshabréis oradoyou (pl.) will have prayed
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrán oradothey will have prayed

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
yoore
ores
vosores
él/ella/Ud.ore
nosotrosoremos
vosotrosoréis
ellos/ellas/Uds.oren

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
yoorara
oraras
vosoraras
él/ella/Ud.orara
nosotrosoráramos
vosotrosorarais
ellos/ellas/Uds.oraran

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
yoorase
orases
vosorases
él/ella/Ud.orase
nosotrosorásemos
vosotrosoraseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.orasen

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

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

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
ora
vosorá
él/ella/Ud.ore
nosotrosoremos
vosotrosorad
ustedesoren

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 ores
vosno ores
él/ella/Ud.no ore
nosotrosno oremos
vosotrosno oréis
ustedesno oren

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

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

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

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

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