prensar — Spanish conjugation

to press

Frequency#338Regular

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
yoprensoI press
prensasyou press
vosprensásyou press
él/ella/Ud.prensahe/she/it presses
nosotrosprensamoswe press
vosotrosprensáisyou (pl.) press
ellos/ellas/Uds.prensanthey press

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
yoprenséI pressed
prensasteyou pressed
vosprensasteyou pressed
él/ella/Ud.prensóhe/she/it pressed
nosotrosprensamoswe pressed
vosotrosprensasteisyou (pl.) pressed
ellos/ellas/Uds.prensaronthey pressed

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
yoprensaba
prensabas
vosprensabas
él/ella/Ud.prensaba
nosotrosprensábamos
vosotrosprensabais
ellos/ellas/Uds.prensaban

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
yoprensaríaI would press
prensaríasyou would press
vosprensaríasyou would press
él/ella/Ud.prensaríahe/she/it would press
nosotrosprensaríamoswe would press
vosotrosprensaríaisyou (pl.) would press
ellos/ellas/Uds.prensaríanthey would press

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
yoprensaréI will press
prensarásyou will press
vosprensarásyou will press
él/ella/Ud.prensaráhe/she/it will press
nosotrosprensaremoswe will press
vosotrosprensaréisyou (pl.) will press
ellos/ellas/Uds.prensaránthey will press

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 prensadoI have pressed
has prensadoyou have pressed
voshas prensadoyou have pressed
él/ella/Ud.ha prensadohe/she/it has pressed
nosotroshemos prensadowe have pressed
vosotroshabéis prensadoyou (pl.) have pressed
ellos/ellas/Uds.han prensadothey have pressed

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 prensadoI had pressed
habías prensadoyou had pressed
voshabías prensadoyou had pressed
él/ella/Ud.había prensadohe/she/it had pressed
nosotroshabíamos prensadowe had pressed
vosotroshabíais prensadoyou (pl.) had pressed
ellos/ellas/Uds.habían prensadothey had pressed

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

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 prensadoI will have pressed
habrás prensadoyou will have pressed
voshabrás prensadoyou will have pressed
él/ella/Ud.habrá prensadohe/she/it will have pressed
nosotroshabremos prensadowe will have pressed
vosotroshabréis prensadoyou (pl.) will have pressed
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrán prensadothey will have pressed

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
yoprense
prenses
vosprenses
él/ella/Ud.prense
nosotrosprensemos
vosotrosprenséis
ellos/ellas/Uds.prensen

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
yoprensara
prensaras
vosprensaras
él/ella/Ud.prensara
nosotrosprensáramos
vosotrosprensarais
ellos/ellas/Uds.prensaran

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
yoprensase
prensases
vosprensases
él/ella/Ud.prensase
nosotrosprensásemos
vosotrosprensaseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.prensasen

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

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

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
prensa
vosprensá
él/ella/Ud.prense
nosotrosprensemos
vosotrosprensad
ustedesprensen

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 prenses
vosno prenses
él/ella/Ud.no prense
nosotrosno prensemos
vosotrosno prenséis
ustedesno prensen

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

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

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

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

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