parar — Spanish conjugation
to stop
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
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | paro | I stop |
| tú | paras | you stop |
| vos | parás | you stop |
| él/ella/Ud. | para | he/she/it stops |
| nosotros | paramos | we stop |
| vosotros | paráis | you (pl.) stop |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | paran | they stop |
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
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | paré | I stopped |
| tú | paraste | you stopped |
| vos | paraste | you stopped |
| él/ella/Ud. | paró | he/she/it stopped |
| nosotros | paramos | we stopped |
| vosotros | parasteis | you (pl.) stopped |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | pararon | they stopped |
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
| Pronoun | Spanish |
|---|---|
| yo | paraba |
| tú | parabas |
| vos | parabas |
| él/ella/Ud. | paraba |
| nosotros | parábamos |
| vosotros | parabais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | paraban |
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?
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | pararía | I would stop |
| tú | pararías | you would stop |
| vos | pararías | you would stop |
| él/ella/Ud. | pararía | he/she/it would stop |
| nosotros | pararíamos | we would stop |
| vosotros | pararíais | you (pl.) would stop |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | pararían | they would stop |
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
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | pararé | I will stop |
| tú | pararás | you will stop |
| vos | pararás | you will stop |
| él/ella/Ud. | parará | he/she/it will stop |
| nosotros | pararemos | we will stop |
| vosotros | pararéis | you (pl.) will stop |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | pararán | they will stop |
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
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | he parado | I have stopped |
| tú | has parado | you have stopped |
| vos | has parado | you have stopped |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha parado | he/she/it has stopped |
| nosotros | hemos parado | we have stopped |
| vosotros | habéis parado | you (pl.) have stopped |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han parado | they have stopped |
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
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | había parado | I had stopped |
| tú | habías parado | you had stopped |
| vos | habías parado | you had stopped |
| él/ella/Ud. | había parado | he/she/it had stopped |
| nosotros | habíamos parado | we had stopped |
| vosotros | habíais parado | you (pl.) had stopped |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían parado | they had stopped |
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
| Pronoun | Spanish |
|---|---|
| yo | habría parado |
| tú | habrías parado |
| vos | habrías parado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría parado |
| nosotros | habríamos parado |
| vosotros | habríais parado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían parado |
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
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | habré parado | I will have stopped |
| tú | habrás parado | you will have stopped |
| vos | habrás parado | you will have stopped |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá parado | he/she/it will have stopped |
| nosotros | habremos parado | we will have stopped |
| vosotros | habréis parado | you (pl.) will have stopped |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán parado | they will have stopped |
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
| Pronoun | Spanish |
|---|---|
| yo | pare |
| tú | pares |
| vos | pares |
| él/ella/Ud. | pare |
| nosotros | paremos |
| vosotros | paréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | paren |
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
| Pronoun | Spanish |
|---|---|
| yo | parara |
| tú | pararas |
| vos | pararas |
| él/ella/Ud. | parara |
| nosotros | paráramos |
| vosotros | pararais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | pararan |
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
| Pronoun | Spanish |
|---|---|
| yo | parase |
| tú | parases |
| vos | parases |
| él/ella/Ud. | parase |
| nosotros | parásemos |
| vosotros | paraseis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | parasen |
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
| Pronoun | Spanish |
|---|---|
| yo | haya parado |
| tú | hayas parado |
| vos | hayas parado |
| él/ella/Ud. | haya parado |
| nosotros | hayamos parado |
| vosotros | hayáis parado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | hayan parado |
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
| Pronoun | Spanish |
|---|---|
| yo | hubiera parado |
| tú | hubieras parado |
| vos | hubieras parado |
| él/ella/Ud. | hubiera parado |
| nosotros | hubiéramos parado |
| vosotros | hubierais parado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | hubieran parado |
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
| Pronoun | Spanish |
|---|---|
| tú | para |
| vos | pará |
| él/ella/Ud. | pare |
| nosotros | paremos |
| vosotros | parad |
| ustedes | paren |
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
| Pronoun | Spanish |
|---|---|
| tú | no pares |
| vos | no pares |
| él/ella/Ud. | no pare |
| nosotros | no paremos |
| vosotros | no paréis |
| ustedes | no paren |
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
| Pronoun | Spanish |
|---|---|
| yo | estoy parando |
| tú | estás parando |
| vos | estás parando |
| él/ella/Ud. | está parando |
| nosotros | estamos parando |
| vosotros | estáis parando |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | están parando |
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
| Pronoun | Spanish |
|---|---|
| yo | estuve parando |
| tú | estuviste parando |
| vos | estuviste parando |
| él/ella/Ud. | estuvo parando |
| nosotros | estuvimos parando |
| vosotros | estuvisteis parando |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | estuvieron parando |
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
| Pronoun | Spanish |
|---|---|
| yo | estaba parando |
| tú | estabas parando |
| vos | estabas parando |
| él/ella/Ud. | estaba parando |
| nosotros | estábamos parando |
| vosotros | estabais parando |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | estaban parando |
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
| Pronoun | Spanish |
|---|---|
| yo | estaría parando |
| tú | estarías parando |
| vos | estarías parando |
| él/ella/Ud. | estaría parando |
| nosotros | estaríamos parando |
| vosotros | estaríais parando |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | estarían parando |
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
| Pronoun | Spanish |
|---|---|
| yo | estaré parando |
| tú | estarás parando |
| vos | estarás parando |
| él/ella/Ud. | estará parando |
| nosotros | estaremos parando |
| vosotros | estaréis parando |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | estarán parando |