VERBAL TIMES in Spanish

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When you learn our language, it is essential that you know how to handle it well verb tenses in Spanish. If you know how to use them well, you will have an enviable control of the language. In this lesson from a TEACHER you will learn in depth the conjugation of verb tenses in our language, both indicative and subjunctive. This way you will have adequate control of the language to express ideas and actions, such as actions that take place, could occur or have already been carried out. That is, you can talk or write about what happens in the past, in the present and in the future.

Being able to master all the verb tenses in Spanish is not easy, since there are different ones and sometimes they could seem a bit confusing. It is not always easy to differentiate them, which is why it is so important to know them in depth to avoid problems. We started!

Index

1. What are the verb tenses in Spanish?
2. Verb tenses in indicative
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3. The perfect or compound verb tenses
4. Simple verb tenses
5. Verb tenses in the subjunctive
6. Verb tenses exercises (with solutions)
7. Solution of the exercises

The verb tenses in Spanish they are divided into 4 modes different:

• Indicative mode: has 10 tenses
• Subjunctive mode: has 8 verb tenses
• Imperative mode: only has 1 tense
• Additional modalities: infinitive, gerund and participle

Therefore, in Spanish there are 23 verb tenses different that help us to express our reality and to form sentences in space / time. Next, we will analyze all the verb modes so that you understand this lesson better.

The verb tenses in indicativethey are the most commonly used in our language. They indicate actions or activities that have already taken place, are being carried out in the present or are going to be carried out with complete certainty in the near and distant future.

This group is the largest of all Spanish verbs. Not in vain are they the most used by Spanish speakers to express true actions, to accompany speeches and thoughts in affirmative way, to explain actions that have already occurred or that take place regularly, or to count very concrete. To know what each one is like, it is best to know all the conjugations one by one:

Present indicative

It is one of the most widely used verb forms in Spanish. It is used to place an action at the moment when it is spoken or in the very near future, describing repetitive routines or permanent or stable situations:

• I write
• We live
• Is it so

Estar + gerund

This is a verbal periphrase that indicates that the action takes place at a specific moment in time:

• I'm up
• We are singing
• You're driving

Perfect tense

Also known as past perfect indicative compound, it is used to express actions that have already ended, but give rise to situations in which they still have present validity:

• I have eaten
• We have learned
• They have sung

Imperfect past

In this case, the conjugation expresses past actions that have had an unspecified beginning and an end. It also serves to make it clear that an action started in the past still has regularity or continuity:

• Grew
• They spoke
• You ran

Simple past perfect

Also known as the past indefinite indicative, it is used to express actions that took place in the past in a specific way and have already ended or were interrupted:

• Sing
• Went up
• Read

Past perfect

In this case, the verbs thus conjugated express priority of an action that has already happened with respect to another that has also happened. It is like a repetitive past or past past:

• Had risen
• They had sung
• You had read

Past perfect

This expresses an event immediately prior to another that has also happened. It is not used much anymore, but it is found in literary texts:

• I have looked
• Had learned
• They had risen

Next future

This is another of the verb forms in Spanish that you have to know. It is formed with the verb go plus the preposition a united together with an infinitive. It is used to be used in place of the future simple indicating an action that will occur soon or has been planned:

• I'm going to sing
• Are you coming
• Let's march

Simple future

It is the future and expresses an action to come or a probability that something is going to happen soon:

• I will sing
• Will rise
• You will go down

Composite future

It is used to express a future action that will end before another action also begins in the future. It also expresses assumption or fact that could happen soon:

• I will have spoken
• You will have grown
• Will have eaten

Simple conditional

It is used to express hypothetical situations or actions or questions asked with courtesy or desire:

• Would sing
• Would you go down
• We would live

Conditional compound

It is used the same as the simple conditional, but in this case the actions have already finished:

• Would have eaten
• You would have sung
• They would have risen

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Now let's see what is known by perfect verb tenses. In this case, we refer to those who present an action that has already ended. So, here you would enter all compound tenses together with the simple past perfect.

In these verbs we find that we must add and conjugate the auxiliary verb to have next to the participle of a certain verb, hence the qualifier of perfect or compound. We have already seen some of them, but we repeat them again so that everything is perfectly clear:

Past perfect compound

This is one of the verb forms in Spanish that are used to indicate a recently completed action that has taken place a long time ago but is now completely finished and closed:

• I have loved
• You kissed
• We have came up

Past perfect

This is used to talk about a past action, however, it is not known for sure if it has finished or is still in progress. And, if it is finished, it is not known how everything ended:

• Had come down
• They had looked
• You had wanted

Past perfect

It is a past action, but it is not very usual that it is used beyond literature. In this case, the action has been completed. Currently it is changed for other times, such as the simple past perfect:

• I have wanted
• Had lowered
• You had jumped

Perfect future

Here is shown a future that will happen soon and that it is certain that it will happen or that it is very likely that it will happen in a short time:

• I will have gone down
• You will have sung
• We will have looked

Conditional compound

In this case, a conditional is shown, that is, it is more a wish or a wide probability than an accomplished fact in itself or that is occurring at the moment:

• Would have lowered
• You would have looked
• We would have wanted

Past perfect compound

It is a past way of expressing yourself to affirm something that has already taken place and that has also recently ended:

• Have come down
• You have drunk
• We have wanted

Past perfect

A past conditional form to state a wish for something to have happened:

• Would have or would have looked
• We would have or would have gone up
• Would you have or would you have run

Perfect future

A disused future subjunctive that expresses desire:

• I would have loved
• You would have wanted
• We would have lowered

Simple past perfect

The only one of the perfect verbs that is not composed. It belongs to the indicative, is also known as the indefinite past, as we have seen, and expresses a specific action of the past that has already ended:

• It fell
• They sang
• I improved

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In the case of simple verb tenses we will never find compound conjugations that require the union of the verb to have with another auxiliary verb. In addition, they serve both for past and future times to affirm, comment on actions, explain a wish, etc. For this reason, both the subjunctive and the indicative can be included. In this case we find the following verb tenses in Spanish:

Present indicative: the indicative mood expresses a concrete action that is taking place at the same moment:

• What
• You go up
• We embrace

Present subjunctive: expresses a current action that includes wish or conditional:

• Eat
• You upload
• Come down

Past imperfect indicative: here an indeterminate past action is expressed, since we do not know if it has finished or not or when it was carried out:

• Went up
• You hugged
• Ate

Imperfect subjunctive: This verb tense includes a past tense that adds a wish that something had happened:

• Drank or drank
• Would you go up or up
• You sing or sing

Indefinite past tense: here we must refer to an indefinite past, that is, one that has already happened and whose action has already ended or taken place:

• I lowered
• You mixed
• Embraced

Imperfect future: in this case we find a near future, that is, it will almost certainly take place shortly:

• I will go down
• You will eat
• Will rise

Simple conditional: in this case we find a verb conjugation that expresses a wish, something that we want to happen, but that is not certain that it will happen:

• Would drink
• Would go up
• You would kiss

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Let's now look at the verb tenses in subjunctive. This type of verb is generally used to express wish, doubts, hopes or feeling. They are also used to express negative thoughts, to refer to actions that have not taken place, to talk about a person without specify, but with certain particular characteristics, and for some specific subjunctive expressions unique to this conjugation.

In general, some of the Spanish verb tenses of the subjunctive are in disuse, as you will see below. Spanish speakers look for simple formulas to express ourselves, so some of these Conjugations can only be found in ancient literature and the like, but not in expressions current.

In this case, we can distinguish between simple tenses, such as the present, and compound tenses. Let's briefly look at the simple ones first:

Present: expresses a current wish:

• Love
• Get off
• Go up

Imperfect past: this time expresses a recently past wish:

• Love or love
• You go up or you go up
• Counted or counted

Simple future: here we express a desirable but uncertain future:

• I'll go down
• We would go up
• Love

Let's see now what are the compound tenses of the subjunctive:

Past perfect compound: also known as ante-present, denotes a desirable recent past:

• Have sung
• Have loved
• We have screamed

Past perfect: in this case we find a conjugation that shows a desirable past, and which is also known as antepreterite:

• Would have or would have risen
• We would or would have screamed
• Would you have or would you have counted

Composite future: this is another of the verb forms in Spanish that is also called antefuturo, expresses a wish for the near future. However, it is deprecated:

• I would have walked
• You would have counted
• We would have explained

In this other lesson we will discover what are the differences between indicative and subjunctive mood so that you better understand the two types of verb forms.

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To finish this lesson on verb tenses in Spanish, here we leave you exercises for you to complete and, thus, values ​​if you have grasped this lesson well. In the next section we will give you the solutions so that you can check if you are right. Here are verb tense exercises:

Identify the highlighted verb tenses in these sentences:

1. Her looked heaven.
2. I finished to work at eight.
3. I wish that have you success in your new life.
4. Yes had caught the bus on time, I would have called you.
5. We had a lot of work this morning.

Here we leave you the solutions of the previous exercises:

1. Her looked heaven. - Indicative mood: Imperfect Past
2. I finished to work at eight. - Indicative mood: Indefinite past tense
3. I wish that have you success in your new life. - Subjunctive mood: Present
4. Yes had caught the bus on time, I would have called you. - Subjunctive mood: Plusquamperfect.
5. We had a lot of work this morning. - Indicative mood: Past perfect.

If you want to read more articles similar to Verb tenses in Spanish, we recommend that you enter our category of Grammar and Linguistics.

• Bermúdez, F. (2005). Verb tenses as evidential markers: The case of the compound past perfect. Philological studies, (40), 165-188.
• Gutiérrez, A. C. (1994). Reichenbach and Spanish verb tenses. Dicenda: Studies of Spanish language and literature, (12), 69-86.
• Berschin, H. (1975). Regarding the theory of verb tenses: perfect simple and perfect compound in peninsular and Colombian Spanish. Thesaurus: bulletin of the Caro y Cuervo Institute, 30 (3), 539-556.