sintonizar — Spanish conjugation

to tune in

Frequency#1943Irregular

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
yosintonizoI tune in
sintonizasyou tune in
vossintonizásyou tune in
él/ella/Ud.sintonizahe/she/it tunes in
nosotrossintonizamoswe tune in
vosotrossintonizáisyou (pl.) tune in
ellos/ellas/Uds.sintonizanthey tune in

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
yosintonicéI tuned in
sintonizasteyou tuned in
vossintonizasteyou tuned in
él/ella/Ud.sintonizóhe/she/it tuned in
nosotrossintonizamoswe tuned in
vosotrossintonizasteisyou (pl.) tuned in
ellos/ellas/Uds.sintonizaronthey tuned in

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
yosintonizaba
sintonizabas
vossintonizabas
él/ella/Ud.sintonizaba
nosotrossintonizábamos
vosotrossintonizabais
ellos/ellas/Uds.sintonizaban

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
yosintonizaríaI would tune in
sintonizaríasyou would tune in
vossintonizaríasyou would tune in
él/ella/Ud.sintonizaríahe/she/it would tune in
nosotrossintonizaríamoswe would tune in
vosotrossintonizaríaisyou (pl.) would tune in
ellos/ellas/Uds.sintonizaríanthey would tune in

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
yosintonizaréI will tune in
sintonizarásyou will tune in
vossintonizarásyou will tune in
él/ella/Ud.sintonizaráhe/she/it will tune in
nosotrossintonizaremoswe will tune in
vosotrossintonizaréisyou (pl.) will tune in
ellos/ellas/Uds.sintonizaránthey will tune in

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 sintonizadoI have tuned in
has sintonizadoyou have tuned in
voshas sintonizadoyou have tuned in
él/ella/Ud.ha sintonizadohe/she/it has tuned in
nosotroshemos sintonizadowe have tuned in
vosotroshabéis sintonizadoyou (pl.) have tuned in
ellos/ellas/Uds.han sintonizadothey have tuned in

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 sintonizadoI had tuned in
habías sintonizadoyou had tuned in
voshabías sintonizadoyou had tuned in
él/ella/Ud.había sintonizadohe/she/it had tuned in
nosotroshabíamos sintonizadowe had tuned in
vosotroshabíais sintonizadoyou (pl.) had tuned in
ellos/ellas/Uds.habían sintonizadothey had tuned in

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

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 sintonizadoI will have tuned in
habrás sintonizadoyou will have tuned in
voshabrás sintonizadoyou will have tuned in
él/ella/Ud.habrá sintonizadohe/she/it will have tuned in
nosotroshabremos sintonizadowe will have tuned in
vosotroshabréis sintonizadoyou (pl.) will have tuned in
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrán sintonizadothey will have tuned in

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
yosintonice
sintonices
vossintonices
él/ella/Ud.sintonice
nosotrossintonicemos
vosotrossintonicéis
ellos/ellas/Uds.sintonicen

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
yosintonizara
sintonizaras
vossintonizaras
él/ella/Ud.sintonizara
nosotrossintonizáramos
vosotrossintonizarais
ellos/ellas/Uds.sintonizaran

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
yosintonizase
sintonizases
vossintonizases
él/ella/Ud.sintonizase
nosotrossintonizásemos
vosotrossintonizaseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.sintonizasen

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

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

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
sintoniza
vossintonizá
él/ella/Ud.sintonice
nosotrossintonicemos
vosotrossintonizad
ustedessintonicen

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 sintonices
vosno sintonices
él/ella/Ud.no sintonice
nosotrosno sintonicemos
vosotrosno sintonicéis
ustedesno sintonicen

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

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

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

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

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