serrar — Spanish conjugation

to saw

Frequency#70Irregular

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
yosierroI saw
sierrasyou saw
vosserrásyou saw
él/ella/Ud.sierrahe/she/it saws
nosotrosserramoswe saw
vosotrosserráisyou (pl.) saw
ellos/ellas/Uds.sierranthey saw

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
yoserréI sawed
serrasteyou sawed
vosserrasteyou sawed
él/ella/Ud.serróhe/she/it sawed
nosotrosserramoswe sawed
vosotrosserrasteisyou (pl.) sawed
ellos/ellas/Uds.serraronthey sawed

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
yoserraba
serrabas
vosserrabas
él/ella/Ud.serraba
nosotrosserrábamos
vosotrosserrabais
ellos/ellas/Uds.serraban

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
yoserraríaI would saw
serraríasyou would saw
vosserraríasyou would saw
él/ella/Ud.serraríahe/she/it would saw
nosotrosserraríamoswe would saw
vosotrosserraríaisyou (pl.) would saw
ellos/ellas/Uds.serraríanthey would saw

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
yoserraréI will saw
serrarásyou will saw
vosserrarásyou will saw
él/ella/Ud.serraráhe/she/it will saw
nosotrosserraremoswe will saw
vosotrosserraréisyou (pl.) will saw
ellos/ellas/Uds.serraránthey will saw

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 serradoI have sawn
has serradoyou have sawn
voshas serradoyou have sawn
él/ella/Ud.ha serradohe/she/it has sawn
nosotroshemos serradowe have sawn
vosotroshabéis serradoyou (pl.) have sawn
ellos/ellas/Uds.han serradothey have sawn

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 serradoI had sawn
habías serradoyou had sawn
voshabías serradoyou had sawn
él/ella/Ud.había serradohe/she/it had sawn
nosotroshabíamos serradowe had sawn
vosotroshabíais serradoyou (pl.) had sawn
ellos/ellas/Uds.habían serradothey had sawn

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

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 serradoI will have sawn
habrás serradoyou will have sawn
voshabrás serradoyou will have sawn
él/ella/Ud.habrá serradohe/she/it will have sawn
nosotroshabremos serradowe will have sawn
vosotroshabréis serradoyou (pl.) will have sawn
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrán serradothey will have sawn

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
yosierre
sierres
vossierres
él/ella/Ud.sierre
nosotrosserremos
vosotrosserréis
ellos/ellas/Uds.sierren

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
yoserrara
serraras
vosserraras
él/ella/Ud.serrara
nosotrosserráramos
vosotrosserrarais
ellos/ellas/Uds.serraran

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
yoserrase
serrases
vosserrases
él/ella/Ud.serrase
nosotrosserrásemos
vosotrosserraseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.serrasen

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

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

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
sierra
vosserrá
él/ella/Ud.sierre
nosotrosserremos
vosotrosserrad
ustedessierren

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 sierres
vosno sierres
él/ella/Ud.no sierre
nosotrosno serremos
vosotrosno serréis
ustedesno sierren

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

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

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

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

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