programar — Spanish conjugation

to program

Frequency#407Regular

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
yoprogramoI program
programasyou program
vosprogramásyou program
él/ella/Ud.programahe/she/it programs
nosotrosprogramamoswe program
vosotrosprogramáisyou (pl.) program
ellos/ellas/Uds.programanthey program

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
yoprograméI programmed
programasteyou programmed
vosprogramasteyou programmed
él/ella/Ud.programóhe/she/it programmed
nosotrosprogramamoswe programmed
vosotrosprogramasteisyou (pl.) programmed
ellos/ellas/Uds.programaronthey programmed

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
yoprogramaba
programabas
vosprogramabas
él/ella/Ud.programaba
nosotrosprogramábamos
vosotrosprogramabais
ellos/ellas/Uds.programaban

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
yoprogramaríaI would program
programaríasyou would program
vosprogramaríasyou would program
él/ella/Ud.programaríahe/she/it would program
nosotrosprogramaríamoswe would program
vosotrosprogramaríaisyou (pl.) would program
ellos/ellas/Uds.programaríanthey would program

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
yoprogramaréI will program
programarásyou will program
vosprogramarásyou will program
él/ella/Ud.programaráhe/she/it will program
nosotrosprogramaremoswe will program
vosotrosprogramaréisyou (pl.) will program
ellos/ellas/Uds.programaránthey will program

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 programadoI have programmed
has programadoyou have programmed
voshas programadoyou have programmed
él/ella/Ud.ha programadohe/she/it has programmed
nosotroshemos programadowe have programmed
vosotroshabéis programadoyou (pl.) have programmed
ellos/ellas/Uds.han programadothey have programmed

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 programadoI had programmed
habías programadoyou had programmed
voshabías programadoyou had programmed
él/ella/Ud.había programadohe/she/it had programmed
nosotroshabíamos programadowe had programmed
vosotroshabíais programadoyou (pl.) had programmed
ellos/ellas/Uds.habían programadothey had programmed

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

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 programadoI will have programmed
habrás programadoyou will have programmed
voshabrás programadoyou will have programmed
él/ella/Ud.habrá programadohe/she/it will have programmed
nosotroshabremos programadowe will have programmed
vosotroshabréis programadoyou (pl.) will have programmed
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrán programadothey will have programmed

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
yoprograme
programes
vosprogrames
él/ella/Ud.programe
nosotrosprogramemos
vosotrosprograméis
ellos/ellas/Uds.programen

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
yoprogramara
programaras
vosprogramaras
él/ella/Ud.programara
nosotrosprogramáramos
vosotrosprogramarais
ellos/ellas/Uds.programaran

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
yoprogramase
programases
vosprogramases
él/ella/Ud.programase
nosotrosprogramásemos
vosotrosprogramaseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.programasen

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

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

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
programa
vosprogramá
él/ella/Ud.programe
nosotrosprogramemos
vosotrosprogramad
ustedesprogramen

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 programes
vosno programes
él/ella/Ud.no programe
nosotrosno programemos
vosotrosno programéis
ustedesno programen

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

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

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

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

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