racionar — Spanish conjugation

to ration

Frequency#1511Regular

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
yoracionoI ration
racionasyou ration
vosracionásyou ration
él/ella/Ud.racionahe/she/it rations
nosotrosracionamoswe ration
vosotrosracionáisyou (pl.) ration
ellos/ellas/Uds.racionanthey ration

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
yoracionéI rationed
racionasteyou rationed
vosracionasteyou rationed
él/ella/Ud.racionóhe/she/it rationed
nosotrosracionamoswe rationed
vosotrosracionasteisyou (pl.) rationed
ellos/ellas/Uds.racionaronthey rationed

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
yoracionaba
racionabas
vosracionabas
él/ella/Ud.racionaba
nosotrosracionábamos
vosotrosracionabais
ellos/ellas/Uds.racionaban

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
yoracionaríaI would ration
racionaríasyou would ration
vosracionaríasyou would ration
él/ella/Ud.racionaríahe/she/it would ration
nosotrosracionaríamoswe would ration
vosotrosracionaríaisyou (pl.) would ration
ellos/ellas/Uds.racionaríanthey would ration

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
yoracionaréI will ration
racionarásyou will ration
vosracionarásyou will ration
él/ella/Ud.racionaráhe/she/it will ration
nosotrosracionaremoswe will ration
vosotrosracionaréisyou (pl.) will ration
ellos/ellas/Uds.racionaránthey will ration

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 racionadoI have rationed
has racionadoyou have rationed
voshas racionadoyou have rationed
él/ella/Ud.ha racionadohe/she/it has rationed
nosotroshemos racionadowe have rationed
vosotroshabéis racionadoyou (pl.) have rationed
ellos/ellas/Uds.han racionadothey have rationed

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 racionadoI had rationed
habías racionadoyou had rationed
voshabías racionadoyou had rationed
él/ella/Ud.había racionadohe/she/it had rationed
nosotroshabíamos racionadowe had rationed
vosotroshabíais racionadoyou (pl.) had rationed
ellos/ellas/Uds.habían racionadothey had rationed

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

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 racionadoI will have rationed
habrás racionadoyou will have rationed
voshabrás racionadoyou will have rationed
él/ella/Ud.habrá racionadohe/she/it will have rationed
nosotroshabremos racionadowe will have rationed
vosotroshabréis racionadoyou (pl.) will have rationed
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrán racionadothey will have rationed

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
yoracione
raciones
vosraciones
él/ella/Ud.racione
nosotrosracionemos
vosotrosracionéis
ellos/ellas/Uds.racionen

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
yoracionara
racionaras
vosracionaras
él/ella/Ud.racionara
nosotrosracionáramos
vosotrosracionarais
ellos/ellas/Uds.racionaran

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
yoracionase
racionases
vosracionases
él/ella/Ud.racionase
nosotrosracionásemos
vosotrosracionaseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.racionasen

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

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

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
raciona
vosracioná
él/ella/Ud.racione
nosotrosracionemos
vosotrosracionad
ustedesracionen

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 raciones
vosno raciones
él/ella/Ud.no racione
nosotrosno racionemos
vosotrosno racionéis
ustedesno racionen

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

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

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

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

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