publicar — Spanish conjugation

to publish

Frequency#118Irregular

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
yopublicoI publish
publicasyou publish
vospublicásyou publish
él/ella/Ud.publicahe/she/it publishes
nosotrospublicamoswe publish
vosotrospublicáisyou (pl.) publish
ellos/ellas/Uds.publicanthey publish

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
yopubliquéI published
publicasteyou published
vospublicasteyou published
él/ella/Ud.publicóhe/she/it published
nosotrospublicamoswe published
vosotrospublicasteisyou (pl.) published
ellos/ellas/Uds.publicaronthey published

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
yopublicaba
publicabas
vospublicabas
él/ella/Ud.publicaba
nosotrospublicábamos
vosotrospublicabais
ellos/ellas/Uds.publicaban

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
yopublicaríaI would publish
publicaríasyou would publish
vospublicaríasyou would publish
él/ella/Ud.publicaríahe/she/it would publish
nosotrospublicaríamoswe would publish
vosotrospublicaríaisyou (pl.) would publish
ellos/ellas/Uds.publicaríanthey would publish

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
yopublicaréI will publish
publicarásyou will publish
vospublicarásyou will publish
él/ella/Ud.publicaráhe/she/it will publish
nosotrospublicaremoswe will publish
vosotrospublicaréisyou (pl.) will publish
ellos/ellas/Uds.publicaránthey will publish

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 publicadoI have published
has publicadoyou have published
voshas publicadoyou have published
él/ella/Ud.ha publicadohe/she/it has published
nosotroshemos publicadowe have published
vosotroshabéis publicadoyou (pl.) have published
ellos/ellas/Uds.han publicadothey have published

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 publicadoI had published
habías publicadoyou had published
voshabías publicadoyou had published
él/ella/Ud.había publicadohe/she/it had published
nosotroshabíamos publicadowe had published
vosotroshabíais publicadoyou (pl.) had published
ellos/ellas/Uds.habían publicadothey had published

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

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 publicadoI will have published
habrás publicadoyou will have published
voshabrás publicadoyou will have published
él/ella/Ud.habrá publicadohe/she/it will have published
nosotroshabremos publicadowe will have published
vosotroshabréis publicadoyou (pl.) will have published
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrán publicadothey will have published

Subjunctive

Present subjunctive (Subjuntivo presente) Irregular

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
yopublique
publiques
vospubliques
él/ella/Ud.publique
nosotrospubliquemos
vosotrospubliquéis
ellos/ellas/Uds.publiquen

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
yopublicara
publicaras
vospublicaras
él/ella/Ud.publicara
nosotrospublicáramos
vosotrospublicarais
ellos/ellas/Uds.publicaran

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
yopublicase
publicases
vospublicases
él/ella/Ud.publicase
nosotrospublicásemos
vosotrospublicaseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.publicasen

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

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

Other forms

Imperative (affirmative) (Imperativo afirmativo) Irregular

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
publica
vospublicá
él/ella/Ud.publique
nosotrospubliquemos
vosotrospublicad
ustedespubliquen

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 publiques
vosno publiques
él/ella/Ud.no publique
nosotrosno publiquemos
vosotrosno publiquéis
ustedesno publiquen

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

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

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

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

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