valer — Spanish conjugation

to be worth

Frequency#100Irregular

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
yovalgoI am worth
valesyou are worth
vosvalésyou are worth
él/ella/Ud.valehe/she/it is worth
nosotrosvalemoswe are worth
vosotrosvaléisyou (pl.) are worth
ellos/ellas/Uds.valenthey are worth

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
yovalíI was worth
valisteyou were worth
vosvalisteyou were worth
él/ella/Ud.valióhe/she/it was worth
nosotrosvalimoswe were worth
vosotrosvalisteisyou (pl.) were worth
ellos/ellas/Uds.valieronthey were worth

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
yovalía
valías
vosvalías
él/ella/Ud.valía
nosotrosvalíamos
vosotrosvalíais
ellos/ellas/Uds.valían

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?

PronounSpanishEnglish
yovaldríaI would be worth
valdríasyou would be worth
vosvaldríasyou would be worth
él/ella/Ud.valdríahe/she/it would be worth
nosotrosvaldríamoswe would be worth
vosotrosvaldríaisyou (pl.) would be worth
ellos/ellas/Uds.valdríanthey would be worth

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
yovaldréI will be worth
valdrásyou will be worth
vosvaldrásyou will be worth
él/ella/Ud.valdráhe/she/it will be worth
nosotrosvaldremoswe will be worth
vosotrosvaldréisyou (pl.) will be worth
ellos/ellas/Uds.valdránthey will be worth

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 validoI have been worth
has validoyou have been worth
voshas validoyou have been worth
él/ella/Ud.ha validohe/she/it has been worth
nosotroshemos validowe have been worth
vosotroshabéis validoyou (pl.) have been worth
ellos/ellas/Uds.han validothey have been worth

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 validoI had been worth
habías validoyou had been worth
voshabías validoyou had been worth
él/ella/Ud.había validohe/she/it had been worth
nosotroshabíamos validowe had been worth
vosotroshabíais validoyou (pl.) had been worth
ellos/ellas/Uds.habían validothey had been worth

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

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 validoI will have been worth
habrás validoyou will have been worth
voshabrás validoyou will have been worth
él/ella/Ud.habrá validohe/she/it will have been worth
nosotroshabremos validowe will have been worth
vosotroshabréis validoyou (pl.) will have been worth
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrán validothey will have been worth

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
yovalga
valgas
vosvalgas
él/ella/Ud.valga
nosotrosvalgamos
vosotrosvalgáis
ellos/ellas/Uds.valgan

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
yovaliera
valieras
vosvalieras
él/ella/Ud.valiera
nosotrosvaliéramos
vosotrosvalierais
ellos/ellas/Uds.valieran

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
yovaliese
valieses
vosvalieses
él/ella/Ud.valiese
nosotrosvaliésemos
vosotrosvalieseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.valiesen

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

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

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
vale
vosvalé
él/ella/Ud.valga
nosotrosvalgamos
vosotrosvaled
ustedesvalgan

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 valgas
vosno valgas
él/ella/Ud.no valga
nosotrosno valgamos
vosotrosno valgáis
ustedesno valgan

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

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

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

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

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