recomendar — Spanish conjugation

to recommend

Frequency#245Irregular

Indicative

Present (Presente) Irregular

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
yorecomiendoI recommend
recomiendasyou recommend
vosrecomendásyou recommend
él/ella/Ud.recomiendahe/she/it recommends
nosotrosrecomendamoswe recommend
vosotrosrecomendáisyou (pl.) recommend
ellos/ellas/Uds.recomiendanthey recommend

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
yorecomendéI recommended
recomendasteyou recommended
vosrecomendasteyou recommended
él/ella/Ud.recomendóhe/she/it recommended
nosotrosrecomendamoswe recommended
vosotrosrecomendasteisyou (pl.) recommended
ellos/ellas/Uds.recomendaronthey recommended

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
yorecomendaba
recomendabas
vosrecomendabas
él/ella/Ud.recomendaba
nosotrosrecomendábamos
vosotrosrecomendabais
ellos/ellas/Uds.recomendaban

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
yorecomendaríaI would recommend
recomendaríasyou would recommend
vosrecomendaríasyou would recommend
él/ella/Ud.recomendaríahe/she/it would recommend
nosotrosrecomendaríamoswe would recommend
vosotrosrecomendaríaisyou (pl.) would recommend
ellos/ellas/Uds.recomendaríanthey would recommend

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
yorecomendaréI will recommend
recomendarásyou will recommend
vosrecomendarásyou will recommend
él/ella/Ud.recomendaráhe/she/it will recommend
nosotrosrecomendaremoswe will recommend
vosotrosrecomendaréisyou (pl.) will recommend
ellos/ellas/Uds.recomendaránthey will recommend

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 recomendadoI have recommended
has recomendadoyou have recommended
voshas recomendadoyou have recommended
él/ella/Ud.ha recomendadohe/she/it has recommended
nosotroshemos recomendadowe have recommended
vosotroshabéis recomendadoyou (pl.) have recommended
ellos/ellas/Uds.han recomendadothey have recommended

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 recomendadoI had recommended
habías recomendadoyou had recommended
voshabías recomendadoyou had recommended
él/ella/Ud.había recomendadohe/she/it had recommended
nosotroshabíamos recomendadowe had recommended
vosotroshabíais recomendadoyou (pl.) had recommended
ellos/ellas/Uds.habían recomendadothey had recommended

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

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 recomendadoI will have recommended
habrás recomendadoyou will have recommended
voshabrás recomendadoyou will have recommended
él/ella/Ud.habrá recomendadohe/she/it will have recommended
nosotroshabremos recomendadowe will have recommended
vosotroshabréis recomendadoyou (pl.) will have recommended
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrán recomendadothey will have recommended

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
yorecomiende
recomiendes
vosrecomiendes
él/ella/Ud.recomiende
nosotrosrecomendemos
vosotrosrecomendéis
ellos/ellas/Uds.recomienden

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
yorecomendara
recomendaras
vosrecomendaras
él/ella/Ud.recomendara
nosotrosrecomendáramos
vosotrosrecomendarais
ellos/ellas/Uds.recomendaran

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
yorecomendase
recomendases
vosrecomendases
él/ella/Ud.recomendase
nosotrosrecomendásemos
vosotrosrecomendaseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.recomendasen

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

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

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
recomienda
vosrecomendá
él/ella/Ud.recomiende
nosotrosrecomendemos
vosotrosrecomendad
ustedesrecomienden

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 recomiendes
vosno recomiendes
él/ella/Ud.no recomiende
nosotrosno recomendemos
vosotrosno recomendéis
ustedesno recomienden

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

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

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

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

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