pedir — Spanish conjugation

to ask/request

Frequency#43Irregular

Indicative

Present (Presente) Irregular

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

PronounSpanish
yopido
pides
vospedís
él/ella/Ud.pide
nosotrospedimos
vosotrospedís
ellos/ellas/Uds.piden

Preterite (Pretérito indefinido) Irregular

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

PronounSpanish
yopedí
pediste
vospediste
él/ella/Ud.pidió
nosotrospedimos
vosotrospedisteis
ellos/ellas/Uds.pidieron

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
yopedía
pedías
vospedías
él/ella/Ud.pedía
nosotrospedíamos
vosotrospedíais
ellos/ellas/Uds.pedían

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?

PronounSpanish
yopediría
pedirías
vospedirías
él/ella/Ud.pediría
nosotrospediríamos
vosotrospediríais
ellos/ellas/Uds.pedirían

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

PronounSpanish
yopediré
pedirás
vospedirás
él/ella/Ud.pedirá
nosotrospediremos
vosotrospediréis
ellos/ellas/Uds.pedirán

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

PronounSpanish
yohe pedido
has pedido
voshas pedido
él/ella/Ud.ha pedido
nosotroshemos pedido
vosotroshabéis pedido
ellos/ellas/Uds.han pedido

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

PronounSpanish
yohabía pedido
habías pedido
voshabías pedido
él/ella/Ud.había pedido
nosotroshabíamos pedido
vosotroshabíais pedido
ellos/ellas/Uds.habían pedido

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

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

PronounSpanish
yohabré pedido
habrás pedido
voshabrás pedido
él/ella/Ud.habrá pedido
nosotroshabremos pedido
vosotroshabréis pedido
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrán pedido

Subjunctive

Present subjunctive (Subjuntivo presente) Irregular

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
yopida
pidas
vospidas
él/ella/Ud.pida
nosotrospidamos
vosotrospidáis
ellos/ellas/Uds.pidan

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra) (Subjuntivo imperfecto (-ra)) Irregular

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
yopidiera
pidieras
vospidieras
él/ella/Ud.pidiera
nosotrospidiéramos
vosotrospidierais
ellos/ellas/Uds.pidieran

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
yopidiese
pidieses
vospidieses
él/ella/Ud.pidiese
nosotrospidiésemos
vosotrospidieseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.pidiesen

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

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

Other forms

Imperative (affirmative) (Imperativo afirmativo) Irregular

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
pide
vospedí
él/ella/Ud.pida
nosotrospidamos
vosotrospedid
ustedespidan

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 pidas
vosno pidas
él/ella/Ud.no pida
nosotrosno pidamos
vosotrosno pidáis
ustedesno pidan

Present progressive (Presente progresivo) Irregular

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

Preterite progressive (Pretérito indefinido progresivo) Irregular

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

Imperfect progressive (Pretérito imperfecto progresivo) Irregular

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

Conditional progressive (Condicional progresivo) Irregular

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

Future progressive (Futuro progresivo) Irregular

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