sufrir — Spanish conjugation

to suffer

Frequency#107Regular

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
yosufroI suffer
sufresyou suffer
vossufrísyou suffer
él/ella/Ud.sufrehe/she/it suffers
nosotrossufrimoswe suffer
vosotrossufrísyou (pl.) suffer
ellos/ellas/Uds.sufrenthey suffer

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
yosufríI suffered
sufristeyou suffered
vossufristeyou suffered
él/ella/Ud.sufrióhe/she/it suffered
nosotrossufrimoswe suffered
vosotrossufristeisyou (pl.) suffered
ellos/ellas/Uds.sufrieronthey suffered

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
yosufría
sufrías
vossufrías
él/ella/Ud.sufría
nosotrossufríamos
vosotrossufríais
ellos/ellas/Uds.sufrían

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
yosufriríaI would suffer
sufriríasyou would suffer
vossufriríasyou would suffer
él/ella/Ud.sufriríahe/she/it would suffer
nosotrossufriríamoswe would suffer
vosotrossufriríaisyou (pl.) would suffer
ellos/ellas/Uds.sufriríanthey would suffer

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
yosufriréI will suffer
sufrirásyou will suffer
vossufrirásyou will suffer
él/ella/Ud.sufriráhe/she/it will suffer
nosotrossufriremoswe will suffer
vosotrossufriréisyou (pl.) will suffer
ellos/ellas/Uds.sufriránthey will suffer

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 sufridoI have suffered
has sufridoyou have suffered
voshas sufridoyou have suffered
él/ella/Ud.ha sufridohe/she/it has suffered
nosotroshemos sufridowe have suffered
vosotroshabéis sufridoyou (pl.) have suffered
ellos/ellas/Uds.han sufridothey have suffered

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 sufridoI had suffered
habías sufridoyou had suffered
voshabías sufridoyou had suffered
él/ella/Ud.había sufridohe/she/it had suffered
nosotroshabíamos sufridowe had suffered
vosotroshabíais sufridoyou (pl.) had suffered
ellos/ellas/Uds.habían sufridothey had suffered

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

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 sufridoI will have suffered
habrás sufridoyou will have suffered
voshabrás sufridoyou will have suffered
él/ella/Ud.habrá sufridohe/she/it will have suffered
nosotroshabremos sufridowe will have suffered
vosotroshabréis sufridoyou (pl.) will have suffered
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrán sufridothey will have suffered

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
yosufra
sufras
vossufras
él/ella/Ud.sufra
nosotrossuframos
vosotrossufráis
ellos/ellas/Uds.sufran

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
yosufriera
sufrieras
vossufrieras
él/ella/Ud.sufriera
nosotrossufriéramos
vosotrossufrierais
ellos/ellas/Uds.sufrieran

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
yosufriese
sufrieses
vossufrieses
él/ella/Ud.sufriese
nosotrossufriésemos
vosotrossufrieseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.sufriesen

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

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

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
sufre
vossufrí
él/ella/Ud.sufra
nosotrossuframos
vosotrossufrid
ustedessufran

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 sufras
vosno sufras
él/ella/Ud.no sufra
nosotrosno suframos
vosotrosno sufráis
ustedesno sufran

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

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

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

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

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