poseer — Spanish conjugation

to possess, to own, to hold, to have

Frequency#362Irregular

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
yoposeoI possess
poseesyou possess
vosposeésyou possess
él/ella/Ud.poseehe/she/it possesses
nosotrosposeemoswe possess
vosotrosposeéisyou (pl.) possess
ellos/ellas/Uds.poseenthey possess

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
yoposeíI possessed
poseísteyou possessed
vosposeísteyou possessed
él/ella/Ud.poseyóhe/she/it possessed
nosotrosposeímoswe possessed
vosotrosposeísteisyou (pl.) possessed
ellos/ellas/Uds.poseyeronthey possessed

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
yoposeía
poseías
vosposeías
él/ella/Ud.poseía
nosotrosposeíamos
vosotrosposeíais
ellos/ellas/Uds.poseían

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
yoposeeríaI would possess
poseeríasyou would possess
vosposeeríasyou would possess
él/ella/Ud.poseeríahe/she/it would possess
nosotrosposeeríamoswe would possess
vosotrosposeeríaisyou (pl.) would possess
ellos/ellas/Uds.poseeríanthey would possess

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
yoposeeréI will possess
poseerásyou will possess
vosposeerásyou will possess
él/ella/Ud.poseeráhe/she/it will possess
nosotrosposeeremoswe will possess
vosotrosposeeréisyou (pl.) will possess
ellos/ellas/Uds.poseeránthey will possess

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 poseídoI have possessed
has poseídoyou have possessed
voshas poseídoyou have possessed
él/ella/Ud.ha poseídohe/she/it has possessed
nosotroshemos poseídowe have possessed
vosotroshabéis poseídoyou (pl.) have possessed
ellos/ellas/Uds.han poseídothey have possessed

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 poseídoI had possessed
habías poseídoyou had possessed
voshabías poseídoyou had possessed
él/ella/Ud.había poseídohe/she/it had possessed
nosotroshabíamos poseídowe had possessed
vosotroshabíais poseídoyou (pl.) had possessed
ellos/ellas/Uds.habían poseídothey had possessed

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

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 poseídoI will have possessed
habrás poseídoyou will have possessed
voshabrás poseídoyou will have possessed
él/ella/Ud.habrá poseídohe/she/it will have possessed
nosotroshabremos poseídowe will have possessed
vosotroshabréis poseídoyou (pl.) will have possessed
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrán poseídothey will have possessed

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
yoposea
poseas
vosposeas
él/ella/Ud.posea
nosotrosposeamos
vosotrosposeáis
ellos/ellas/Uds.posean

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
yoposeyera
poseyeras
vosposeyeras
él/ella/Ud.poseyera
nosotrosposeyéramos
vosotrosposeyerais
ellos/ellas/Uds.poseyeran

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
yoposeyese
poseyeses
vosposeyeses
él/ella/Ud.poseyese
nosotrosposeyésemos
vosotrosposeyeseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.poseyesen

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

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

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
posee
vosposeé
él/ella/Ud.posea
nosotrosposeamos
vosotrosposeed
ustedesposean

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 poseas
vosno poseas
él/ella/Ud.no posea
nosotrosno poseamos
vosotrosno poseáis
ustedesno posean

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

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

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

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

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