robar — Spanish conjugation

to steal

Frequency#412Regular

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
yoroboI steal
robasyou steal
vosrobásyou steal
él/ella/Ud.robahe/she/it steals
nosotrosrobamoswe steal
vosotrosrobáisyou (pl.) steal
ellos/ellas/Uds.robanthey steal

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
yorobéI stole
robasteyou stole
vosrobasteyou stole
él/ella/Ud.robóhe/she/it stole
nosotrosrobamoswe stole
vosotrosrobasteisyou (pl.) stole
ellos/ellas/Uds.robaronthey stole

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
yorobaba
robabas
vosrobabas
él/ella/Ud.robaba
nosotrosrobábamos
vosotrosrobabais
ellos/ellas/Uds.robaban

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
yorobaríaI would steal
robaríasyou would steal
vosrobaríasyou would steal
él/ella/Ud.robaríahe/she/it would steal
nosotrosrobaríamoswe would steal
vosotrosrobaríaisyou (pl.) would steal
ellos/ellas/Uds.robaríanthey would steal

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
yorobaréI will steal
robarásyou will steal
vosrobarásyou will steal
él/ella/Ud.robaráhe/she/it will steal
nosotrosrobaremoswe will steal
vosotrosrobaréisyou (pl.) will steal
ellos/ellas/Uds.robaránthey will steal

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 robadoI have stolen
has robadoyou have stolen
voshas robadoyou have stolen
él/ella/Ud.ha robadohe/she/it has stolen
nosotroshemos robadowe have stolen
vosotroshabéis robadoyou (pl.) have stolen
ellos/ellas/Uds.han robadothey have stolen

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 robadoI had stolen
habías robadoyou had stolen
voshabías robadoyou had stolen
él/ella/Ud.había robadohe/she/it had stolen
nosotroshabíamos robadowe had stolen
vosotroshabíais robadoyou (pl.) had stolen
ellos/ellas/Uds.habían robadothey had stolen

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

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 robadoI will have stolen
habrás robadoyou will have stolen
voshabrás robadoyou will have stolen
él/ella/Ud.habrá robadohe/she/it will have stolen
nosotroshabremos robadowe will have stolen
vosotroshabréis robadoyou (pl.) will have stolen
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrán robadothey will have stolen

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
yorobe
robes
vosrobes
él/ella/Ud.robe
nosotrosrobemos
vosotrosrobéis
ellos/ellas/Uds.roben

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
yorobara
robaras
vosrobaras
él/ella/Ud.robara
nosotrosrobáramos
vosotrosrobarais
ellos/ellas/Uds.robaran

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
yorobase
robases
vosrobases
él/ella/Ud.robase
nosotrosrobásemos
vosotrosrobaseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.robasen

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

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

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
roba
vosrobá
él/ella/Ud.robe
nosotrosrobemos
vosotrosrobad
ustedesroben

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 robes
vosno robes
él/ella/Ud.no robe
nosotrosno robemos
vosotrosno robéis
ustedesno roben

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

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

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

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

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