presentar — Spanish conjugation

to present

Frequency#59RegularReflexivepresentarse — to introduce 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
yopresentoI present
presentasyou present
vospresentásyou present
él/ella/Ud.presentahe/she/it presents
nosotrospresentamoswe present
vosotrospresentáisyou (pl.) present
ellos/ellas/Uds.presentanthey present

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
yopresentéI presented
presentasteyou presented
vospresentasteyou presented
él/ella/Ud.presentóhe/she/it presented
nosotrospresentamoswe presented
vosotrospresentasteisyou (pl.) presented
ellos/ellas/Uds.presentaronthey presented

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
yopresentaba
presentabas
vospresentabas
él/ella/Ud.presentaba
nosotrospresentábamos
vosotrospresentabais
ellos/ellas/Uds.presentaban

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
yopresentaríaI would present
presentaríasyou would present
vospresentaríasyou would present
él/ella/Ud.presentaríahe/she/it would present
nosotrospresentaríamoswe would present
vosotrospresentaríaisyou (pl.) would present
ellos/ellas/Uds.presentaríanthey would present

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
yopresentaréI will present
presentarásyou will present
vospresentarásyou will present
él/ella/Ud.presentaráhe/she/it will present
nosotrospresentaremoswe will present
vosotrospresentaréisyou (pl.) will present
ellos/ellas/Uds.presentaránthey will present

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 presentadoI have presented
has presentadoyou have presented
voshas presentadoyou have presented
él/ella/Ud.ha presentadohe/she/it has presented
nosotroshemos presentadowe have presented
vosotroshabéis presentadoyou (pl.) have presented
ellos/ellas/Uds.han presentadothey have presented

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 presentadoI had presented
habías presentadoyou had presented
voshabías presentadoyou had presented
él/ella/Ud.había presentadohe/she/it had presented
nosotroshabíamos presentadowe had presented
vosotroshabíais presentadoyou (pl.) had presented
ellos/ellas/Uds.habían presentadothey had presented

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

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 presentadoI will have presented
habrás presentadoyou will have presented
voshabrás presentadoyou will have presented
él/ella/Ud.habrá presentadohe/she/it will have presented
nosotroshabremos presentadowe will have presented
vosotroshabréis presentadoyou (pl.) will have presented
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrán presentadothey will have presented

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
yopresente
presentes
vospresentes
él/ella/Ud.presente
nosotrospresentemos
vosotrospresentéis
ellos/ellas/Uds.presenten

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
yopresentara
presentaras
vospresentaras
él/ella/Ud.presentara
nosotrospresentáramos
vosotrospresentarais
ellos/ellas/Uds.presentaran

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
yopresentase
presentases
vospresentases
él/ella/Ud.presentase
nosotrospresentásemos
vosotrospresentaseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.presentasen

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

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

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
presenta
vospresentá
él/ella/Ud.presente
nosotrospresentemos
vosotrospresentad
ustedespresenten

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 presentes
vosno presentes
él/ella/Ud.no presente
nosotrosno presentemos
vosotrosno presentéis
ustedesno presenten

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

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

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

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

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