postular — Spanish conjugation

to apply (for a position)

Frequency#1848Regular

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
yopostuloI apply
postulasyou apply
vospostulásyou apply
él/ella/Ud.postulahe/she/it applies
nosotrospostulamoswe apply
vosotrospostuláisyou (pl.) apply
ellos/ellas/Uds.postulanthey apply

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
yopostuléI applied
postulasteyou applied
vospostulasteyou applied
él/ella/Ud.postulóhe/she/it applied
nosotrospostulamoswe applied
vosotrospostulasteisyou (pl.) applied
ellos/ellas/Uds.postularonthey applied

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
yopostulaba
postulabas
vospostulabas
él/ella/Ud.postulaba
nosotrospostulábamos
vosotrospostulabais
ellos/ellas/Uds.postulaban

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
yopostularíaI would apply
postularíasyou would apply
vospostularíasyou would apply
él/ella/Ud.postularíahe/she/it would apply
nosotrospostularíamoswe would apply
vosotrospostularíaisyou (pl.) would apply
ellos/ellas/Uds.postularíanthey would apply

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
yopostularéI will apply
postularásyou will apply
vospostularásyou will apply
él/ella/Ud.postularáhe/she/it will apply
nosotrospostularemoswe will apply
vosotrospostularéisyou (pl.) will apply
ellos/ellas/Uds.postularánthey will apply

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 postuladoI have applied
has postuladoyou have applied
voshas postuladoyou have applied
él/ella/Ud.ha postuladohe/she/it has applied
nosotroshemos postuladowe have applied
vosotroshabéis postuladoyou (pl.) have applied
ellos/ellas/Uds.han postuladothey have applied

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 postuladoI had applied
habías postuladoyou had applied
voshabías postuladoyou had applied
él/ella/Ud.había postuladohe/she/it had applied
nosotroshabíamos postuladowe had applied
vosotroshabíais postuladoyou (pl.) had applied
ellos/ellas/Uds.habían postuladothey had applied

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

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 postuladoI will have applied
habrás postuladoyou will have applied
voshabrás postuladoyou will have applied
él/ella/Ud.habrá postuladohe/she/it will have applied
nosotroshabremos postuladowe will have applied
vosotroshabréis postuladoyou (pl.) will have applied
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrán postuladothey will have applied

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
yopostule
postules
vospostules
él/ella/Ud.postule
nosotrospostulemos
vosotrospostuléis
ellos/ellas/Uds.postulen

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
yopostulara
postularas
vospostularas
él/ella/Ud.postulara
nosotrospostuláramos
vosotrospostularais
ellos/ellas/Uds.postularan

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
yopostulase
postulases
vospostulases
él/ella/Ud.postulase
nosotrospostulásemos
vosotrospostulaseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.postulasen

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

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

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
postula
vospostulá
él/ella/Ud.postule
nosotrospostulemos
vosotrospostulad
ustedespostulen

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 postules
vosno postules
él/ella/Ud.no postule
nosotrosno postulemos
vosotrosno postuléis
ustedesno postulen

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

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

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

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

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