perfeccionar — Spanish conjugation

to perfect

Frequency#1838RegularReflexiveperfeccionarse — to perfect oneself

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
yoperfeccionoI perfect
perfeccionasyou perfect
vosperfeccionásyou perfect
él/ella/Ud.perfeccionahe/she/it perfects
nosotrosperfeccionamoswe perfect
vosotrosperfeccionáisyou (pl.) perfect
ellos/ellas/Uds.perfeccionanthey perfect

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
yoperfeccionéI perfected
perfeccionasteyou perfected
vosperfeccionasteyou perfected
él/ella/Ud.perfeccionóhe/she/it perfected
nosotrosperfeccionamoswe perfected
vosotrosperfeccionasteisyou (pl.) perfected
ellos/ellas/Uds.perfeccionaronthey perfected

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
yoperfeccionaba
perfeccionabas
vosperfeccionabas
él/ella/Ud.perfeccionaba
nosotrosperfeccionábamos
vosotrosperfeccionabais
ellos/ellas/Uds.perfeccionaban

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
yoperfeccionaríaI would perfect
perfeccionaríasyou would perfect
vosperfeccionaríasyou would perfect
él/ella/Ud.perfeccionaríahe/she/it would perfect
nosotrosperfeccionaríamoswe would perfect
vosotrosperfeccionaríaisyou (pl.) would perfect
ellos/ellas/Uds.perfeccionaríanthey would perfect

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
yoperfeccionaréI will perfect
perfeccionarásyou will perfect
vosperfeccionarásyou will perfect
él/ella/Ud.perfeccionaráhe/she/it will perfect
nosotrosperfeccionaremoswe will perfect
vosotrosperfeccionaréisyou (pl.) will perfect
ellos/ellas/Uds.perfeccionaránthey will perfect

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 perfeccionadoI have perfected
has perfeccionadoyou have perfected
voshas perfeccionadoyou have perfected
él/ella/Ud.ha perfeccionadohe/she/it has perfected
nosotroshemos perfeccionadowe have perfected
vosotroshabéis perfeccionadoyou (pl.) have perfected
ellos/ellas/Uds.han perfeccionadothey have perfected

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 perfeccionadoI had perfected
habías perfeccionadoyou had perfected
voshabías perfeccionadoyou had perfected
él/ella/Ud.había perfeccionadohe/she/it had perfected
nosotroshabíamos perfeccionadowe had perfected
vosotroshabíais perfeccionadoyou (pl.) had perfected
ellos/ellas/Uds.habían perfeccionadothey had perfected

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

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 perfeccionadoI will have perfected
habrás perfeccionadoyou will have perfected
voshabrás perfeccionadoyou will have perfected
él/ella/Ud.habrá perfeccionadohe/she/it will have perfected
nosotroshabremos perfeccionadowe will have perfected
vosotroshabréis perfeccionadoyou (pl.) will have perfected
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrán perfeccionadothey will have perfected

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
yoperfeccione
perfecciones
vosperfecciones
él/ella/Ud.perfeccione
nosotrosperfeccionemos
vosotrosperfeccionéis
ellos/ellas/Uds.perfeccionen

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
yoperfeccionara
perfeccionaras
vosperfeccionaras
él/ella/Ud.perfeccionara
nosotrosperfeccionáramos
vosotrosperfeccionarais
ellos/ellas/Uds.perfeccionaran

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
yoperfeccionase
perfeccionases
vosperfeccionases
él/ella/Ud.perfeccionase
nosotrosperfeccionásemos
vosotrosperfeccionaseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.perfeccionasen

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

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

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
perfecciona
vosperfeccioná
él/ella/Ud.perfeccione
nosotrosperfeccionemos
vosotrosperfeccionad
ustedesperfeccionen

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 perfecciones
vosno perfecciones
él/ella/Ud.no perfeccione
nosotrosno perfeccionemos
vosotrosno perfeccionéis
ustedesno perfeccionen

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

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

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

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

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