ser — Spanish conjugation

to be (essence, identity)

Frequency#1Irregular

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

Pronoun	Spanish	English
yo	soy	I am
tú	eres	you are
vos	sos	you are
él/ella/Ud.	es	he/she/it is
nosotros	somos	we are
vosotros	sois	you (pl.) are
ellos/ellas/Uds.	son	they are

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

Pronoun	Spanish	English
yo	fui	I was
tú	fuiste	you were
vos	fuiste	you were
él/ella/Ud.	fue	he/she/it was
nosotros	fuimos	we were
vosotros	fuisteis	you (pl.) were
ellos/ellas/Uds.	fueron	they were

Imperfect (Pretérito imperfecto) Irregular

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

Pronoun	Spanish
yo	era
tú	eras
vos	eras
él/ella/Ud.	era
nosotros	éramos
vosotros	erais
ellos/ellas/Uds.	eran

Conditional (Condicional) Irregular

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?

Pronoun	Spanish	English
yo	sería	I would be
tú	serías	you would be
vos	serías	you would be
él/ella/Ud.	sería	he/she/it would be
nosotros	seríamos	we would be
vosotros	seríais	you (pl.) would be
ellos/ellas/Uds.	serían	they would be

Future (Futuro) Irregular

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

Pronoun	Spanish	English
yo	seré	I will be
tú	serás	you will be
vos	serás	you will be
él/ella/Ud.	será	he/she/it will be
nosotros	seremos	we will be
vosotros	seréis	you (pl.) will be
ellos/ellas/Uds.	serán	they will be

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

Pronoun	Spanish	English
yo	he sido	I have been
tú	has sido	you have been
vos	has sido	you have been
él/ella/Ud.	ha sido	he/she/it has been
nosotros	hemos sido	we have been
vosotros	habéis sido	you (pl.) have been
ellos/ellas/Uds.	han sido	they have been

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

Pronoun	Spanish	English
yo	había sido	I had been
tú	habías sido	you had been
vos	habías sido	you had been
él/ella/Ud.	había sido	he/she/it had been
nosotros	habíamos sido	we had been
vosotros	habíais sido	you (pl.) had been
ellos/ellas/Uds.	habían sido	they had been

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

Pronoun	Spanish
yo	habría sido
tú	habrías sido
vos	habrías sido
él/ella/Ud.	habría sido
nosotros	habríamos sido
vosotros	habríais sido
ellos/ellas/Uds.	habrían sido

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

Pronoun	Spanish	English
yo	habré sido	I will have been
tú	habrás sido	you will have been
vos	habrás sido	you will have been
él/ella/Ud.	habrá sido	he/she/it will have been
nosotros	habremos sido	we will have been
vosotros	habréis sido	you (pl.) will have been
ellos/ellas/Uds.	habrán sido	they will have been

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

Pronoun	Spanish
yo	sea
tú	seas
vos	seas
él/ella/Ud.	sea
nosotros	seamos
vosotros	seáis
ellos/ellas/Uds.	sean

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra) (Subjuntivo imperfecto (-ra)) Irregular

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

Pronoun	Spanish
yo	fuera
tú	fueras
vos	fueras
él/ella/Ud.	fuera
nosotros	fuéramos
vosotros	fuerais
ellos/ellas/Uds.	fueran

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

Pronoun	Spanish
yo	fuese
tú	fueses
vos	fueses
él/ella/Ud.	fuese
nosotros	fuésemos
vosotros	fueseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.	fuesen

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

Pronoun	Spanish
yo	haya sido
tú	hayas sido
vos	hayas sido
él/ella/Ud.	haya sido
nosotros	hayamos sido
vosotros	hayáis sido
ellos/ellas/Uds.	hayan sido

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

Pronoun	Spanish
yo	hubiera sido
tú	hubieras sido
vos	hubieras sido
él/ella/Ud.	hubiera sido
nosotros	hubiéramos sido
vosotros	hubierais sido
ellos/ellas/Uds.	hubieran sido

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

Pronoun	Spanish
tú	sé
vos	sé
él/ella/Ud.	sea
nosotros	seamos
vosotros	sed
ustedes	sean

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

Pronoun	Spanish
tú	no seas
vos	no seas
él/ella/Ud.	no sea
nosotros	no seamos
vosotros	no seáis
ustedes	no sean

Present progressive (Presente progresivo) Irregular

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

Pronoun	Spanish
yo	estoy siendo
tú	estás siendo
vos	estás siendo
él/ella/Ud.	está siendo
nosotros	estamos siendo
vosotros	estáis siendo
ellos/ellas/Uds.	están siendo

Preterite progressive (Pretérito indefinido progresivo) Irregular

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

Pronoun	Spanish
yo	estuve siendo
tú	estuviste siendo
vos	estuviste siendo
él/ella/Ud.	estuvo siendo
nosotros	estuvimos siendo
vosotros	estuvisteis siendo
ellos/ellas/Uds.	estuvieron siendo

Imperfect progressive (Pretérito imperfecto progresivo) Irregular

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

Pronoun	Spanish
yo	estaba siendo
tú	estabas siendo
vos	estabas siendo
él/ella/Ud.	estaba siendo
nosotros	estábamos siendo
vosotros	estabais siendo
ellos/ellas/Uds.	estaban siendo

Conditional progressive (Condicional progresivo) Irregular

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

Pronoun	Spanish
yo	estaría siendo
tú	estarías siendo
vos	estarías siendo
él/ella/Ud.	estaría siendo
nosotros	estaríamos siendo
vosotros	estaríais siendo
ellos/ellas/Uds.	estarían siendo

Future progressive (Futuro progresivo) Irregular

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

Pronoun	Spanish
yo	estaré siendo
tú	estarás siendo
vos	estarás siendo
él/ella/Ud.	estará siendo
nosotros	estaremos siendo
vosotros	estaréis siendo
ellos/ellas/Uds.	estarán siendo