sentenciar — Spanish conjugation

to sentence

Frequency#854Regular

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
yosentencioI sentence
sentenciasyou sentence
vossentenciásyou sentence
él/ella/Ud.sentenciahe/she/it sentences
nosotrossentenciamoswe sentence
vosotrossentenciáisyou (pl.) sentence
ellos/ellas/Uds.sentencianthey sentence

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
yosentenciéI sentenced
sentenciasteyou sentenced
vossentenciasteyou sentenced
él/ella/Ud.sentencióhe/she/it sentenced
nosotrossentenciamoswe sentenced
vosotrossentenciasteisyou (pl.) sentenced
ellos/ellas/Uds.sentenciaronthey sentenced

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
yosentenciaba
sentenciabas
vossentenciabas
él/ella/Ud.sentenciaba
nosotrossentenciábamos
vosotrossentenciabais
ellos/ellas/Uds.sentenciaban

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
yosentenciaríaI would sentence
sentenciaríasyou would sentence
vossentenciaríasyou would sentence
él/ella/Ud.sentenciaríahe/she/it would sentence
nosotrossentenciaríamoswe would sentence
vosotrossentenciaríaisyou (pl.) would sentence
ellos/ellas/Uds.sentenciaríanthey would sentence

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
yosentenciaréI will sentence
sentenciarásyou will sentence
vossentenciarásyou will sentence
él/ella/Ud.sentenciaráhe/she/it will sentence
nosotrossentenciaremoswe will sentence
vosotrossentenciaréisyou (pl.) will sentence
ellos/ellas/Uds.sentenciaránthey will sentence

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 sentenciadoI have sentenced
has sentenciadoyou have sentenced
voshas sentenciadoyou have sentenced
él/ella/Ud.ha sentenciadohe/she/it has sentenced
nosotroshemos sentenciadowe have sentenced
vosotroshabéis sentenciadoyou (pl.) have sentenced
ellos/ellas/Uds.han sentenciadothey have sentenced

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 sentenciadoI had sentenced
habías sentenciadoyou had sentenced
voshabías sentenciadoyou had sentenced
él/ella/Ud.había sentenciadohe/she/it had sentenced
nosotroshabíamos sentenciadowe had sentenced
vosotroshabíais sentenciadoyou (pl.) had sentenced
ellos/ellas/Uds.habían sentenciadothey had sentenced

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

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 sentenciadoI will have sentenced
habrás sentenciadoyou will have sentenced
voshabrás sentenciadoyou will have sentenced
él/ella/Ud.habrá sentenciadohe/she/it will have sentenced
nosotroshabremos sentenciadowe will have sentenced
vosotroshabréis sentenciadoyou (pl.) will have sentenced
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrán sentenciadothey will have sentenced

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
yosentencie
sentencies
vossentencies
él/ella/Ud.sentencie
nosotrossentenciemos
vosotrossentenciéis
ellos/ellas/Uds.sentencien

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
yosentenciara
sentenciaras
vossentenciaras
él/ella/Ud.sentenciara
nosotrossentenciáramos
vosotrossentenciarais
ellos/ellas/Uds.sentenciaran

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
yosentenciase
sentenciases
vossentenciases
él/ella/Ud.sentenciase
nosotrossentenciásemos
vosotrossentenciaseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.sentenciasen

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

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

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
sentencia
vossentenciá
él/ella/Ud.sentencie
nosotrossentenciemos
vosotrossentenciad
ustedessentencien

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 sentencies
vosno sentencies
él/ella/Ud.no sentencie
nosotrosno sentenciemos
vosotrosno sentenciéis
ustedesno sentencien

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

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

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

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

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