Master the 18 Spanish Tenses (and Take Our Cheat Sheet With You)

What if I told you that the key to achieve your language learning goals resides in mastering the 18 Spanish tenses? 

I’m not exaggerating—if you master today’s post, you’ll master all Spanish conjugations and with that, most of your current mistakes when writing and speaking in the language will be gone.  

Keep reading to discover what the Spanish tenses are, how to conjugate the 18 of them, and what you can express with each one of them. 

What Are the Spanish Tenses? 

Just as their counterparts in English, the Spanish tenses refer to time. The reason for their existence is “to inform about the moment in time when an action takes place.” The most common tenses are present, past, and future, but in Spanish you have up to 15 more tenses to express yourself.

These 18 Spanish tenses in total are divided into simple and compound tense. Simple tenses only have a main verb, while compound tenses include the auxiliary verb haber before the main verb in past participle: he estado (I have been). 

Which Are the Spanish Moods? 

The other reason for having so many different Spanish tenses is the existence of three moods: indicative, subjunctive, and imperative. Moods indicate the intention of the speaker and help you distinguish between different tenses. 

The good news is that the imperative doesn’t use any tenses, so we can forget about it for now. The indicative is thought of as the “normal” mood, you usually write or speak in the indicative mood. In the indicative mood, you express the meaning of the verb as a reality. 

The subjunctive mood, on the other hand, has nothing normal about it and requires a deep understanding of how it works before Spanish learners are able to master it. I strongly recommend you to read our three part series on the Spanish subjunctive.

Master the 18 Spanish Tenses

Find in the following lines an introduction to each one of the 18 Spanish tenses, divided by mood and between simple and compound tenses. 

In its “natural” form (infinitive), every verb in Spanish ends either on -ar, -er, -ir. For that reason, I’m including a conjugation of one regular verb for each tense and ending. These verbs are: comprar (to buy), correr (to run), and vivir (to live).

Indicative Mood Simple Tenses

This is the most common combination of mood and tenses, which means these are the conjugations that you’re going to use more. 

Present 

Also known as the “present simple.” Use this tense to talk about things that happen in general, or about habits. 

Corro todas las noches. 

I run every night.  

	comprar
yo	compro
tú	compras
él/ella	compra
nosotros	compramos
ustedes	compran
ellos/ellas	compran

	correr
yo	corro
tú	corres
él/ella	corre
nosotros	corremos
ustedes	corren
ellos/ellas	corren

	vivir
yo	vivo
tú	vives
él/ella	vive
nosotros	vivimos
ustedes	viven
ellos/ellas	viven

Preterite

The preterite is one of the Spanish tenses used to speak about the past. The imperfect is the other one. If you want to learn more about these two Spanish tenses check out our post about All You Ever Needed to Know About Spanish (Simple) Past Tense Verbs.

Use the preterite to talk about events that occured at a certain time in the past.  

	comprar
yo	compré
tú	compraste
él/ella	compró
nosotros	compramos
ustedes	compraron
ellos/ellas	compraron

	correr
yo	corrí
tú	corriste
él/ella	corrió
nosotros	corrimos
ustedes	corrieron
ellos/ellas	corrieron

	vivir
yo	viví
tú	viviste
él/ella	vivió
nosotros	vivimos
ustedes	vivieron
ellos/ellas	vivieron

Imperfect

The imperfect is that “other” simple past tense in Spanish. Use it to talk about “past actions without a definite end,” when you put an emphasis on the process of the action, or habitual events in the past.

	comprar
yo	compraba
tú	comprabas
él/ella	compraba
nosotros	comprábamos
ustedes	compraban
ellos/ellas	compraban

	correr
yo	corría
tú	corrías
él/ella	corría
nosotros	correríamos
ustedes	corrían
ellos/ellas	corrían

	vivir
yo	vivía
tú	vivías
él/ella	vivía
nosotros	vivíamos
ustedes	vivían
ellos/ellas	vivían

Future

There are two Spanish tenses to talk about the events that will happen at any moment after the present moment: the future and the conditional. The future translates to English using the word “will” and it straightforward expresses events that are about to happen or will happen at some point after right now. 

It has the characteristic of changing the whole verb, and because of that it’s easier to learn as all verbs have the same conjugation regardless of their infinitive ending.

	comprar
yo	compraré
tú	comprarás
él/ella	comprará
nosotros	compraremos
ustedes	comprarán
ellos/ellas	comprarán

	correr
yo	correrán
tú	correrás
él/ella	correrá
nosotros	correremos
ustedes	correrán
ellos/ellas	correrán

	vivir
yo	vivíré
tú	vivirás
él/ella	vivrá
nosotros	viviremos
ustedes	vivirán
ellos/ellas	vivirán

Conditional

The conditional is basically the Spanish equivalent of the “would + verb” construction in English, but for a deeper understanding of how it works please read What is the Conditional Tense in Spanish?

The conditional is one of the easiest tenses to conjugate as it keeps the verb in its infinitive form and only adds an inflection at the end of it, for the three types of regular verbs (-ar, -er, -ir).

	comprar
yo	compraría
tú	comprarías
él/ella	compraría
nosotros	compraríamos
ustedes	comprarían
ellos/ellas	comprarían

	correr
yo	correrían
tú	correrías
él/ella	correría
nosotros	correríamos
ustedes	correrían
ellos/ellas	correrían

	vivir
yo	vivíría
tú	vivirías
él/ella	vivría
nosotros	viviríamos
ustedes	vivirían
ellos/ellas	vivirían

Indicative Mood Compound Tenses

As I said before, the indicative mood is the most commonly used since we use it to express things that happen in reality. Compound tenses include two verbs, an auxiliary one which always is haber (to have) and the main verb in its past participle form. Learn more details about How to Use the Past Participle as an Adjective in Spanish.  

Present Perfect

The present perfect is the first one on this list of Spanish tenses that’s made up of two verbs: haber + main verb in past participle. Use the perfect present for:

• Events that started in the past, have continued until the present, and may continue into the future.
• Events that occurred in a non-specific time in the past. 
• Events that just took place in the recent past. 

Translate to English as “have/has + past participle verb.” 

	comprar
yo	he comprado
tú	has comprado
él/ella	ha comprado
nosotros	hemos comprado
ustedes	han comprado
ellos/ellas	han comprado

	correr
yo	he corrido
tú	has corrido
él/ella	ha corrido
nosotros	hemos corrido
ustedes	han corrido
ellos/ellas	han corrido

	vivir
yo	he vivido
tú	has vivido
él/ella	ha vivido
nosotros	hemos vivido
ustedes	han vivido
ellos/ellas	han vivido

Preterite Perfect

Also known as past anterior, preterite perfect helps you to talk about an action in the past that took place before another action in the past. Its use is minimal and limited to formal language and literature mostly. In other words, don’t spend too much time trying to memorize and use this verb tense.

Translate to English as “had + past participle verb.” 

	comprar
yo	hube comprado
tú	hubiste comprado
él/ella	hubo comprado
nosotros	hubimos comprado
ustedes	hubieron comprado
ellos/ellas	hubieron comprado

	correr
yo	hube corrido
tú	hubiste corrido
él/ella	hubo corrido
nosotros	hubimos corrido
ustedes	hubieron corrido
ellos/ellas	hubieron corrido

	vivir
yo	hube vivido
tú	hubiste vivido
él/ella	hubo vivido
nosotros	hubimos vivido
ustedes	hubieron vivido
ellos/ellas	hubieron vivido

Past Perfect 

The dreaded pluscuamperfecto also helps you to explain something that “had happened before something else happened.” Read this post to Master the Past Perfect Spanish Tense (El Pluscuamperfecto). 

The pluscuamperfecto is the reason the preterite perfect isn’t as commonly used anymore. 

Translate to English as “had + past participle verb.”

	comprar
yo	había comprado
tú	habías comprado
él/ella	había comprado
nosotros	habíamos comprado
ustedes	habían comprado
ellos/ellas	habían comprado

	correr
yo	había corrido
tú	habías corrido
él/ella	había corrido
nosotros	habíamos corrido
ustedes	habían corrido
ellos/ellas	habían corrido

	vivir
yo	había vivido
tú	habías vivido
él/ella	había vivido
nosotros	habíamos vivido
ustedes	habían vivido
ellos/ellas	habían vivido

Conditional Perfect

Use the conditional perfect to talk about suppositions in the past, complete or finished requests, invitations, or suggestions, and future actions from a past perspective. 

Translate to English as “would have + past participle verb.”

	comprar
yo	habría comprado
tú	habrías comprado
él/ella	habría comprado
nosotros	habríamos comprado
ustedes	habrían comprado
ellos/ellas	habrían comprado

	correr
yo	habría corrido
tú	habrías corrido
él/ella	habría corrido
nosotros	habríamos corrido
ustedes	habrían corrido
ellos/ellas	habrían corrido

	vivir
yo	habría vivido
tú	habrías vivido
él/ella	habría vivido
nosotros	habríamos vivido
ustedes	habrían vivido
ellos/ellas	habrían vivido

Future Perfect

The future perfect is one of the most complex Spanish tenses there are. It allows you to “look back to the past from a point in the future.”

Translate to English as “will have + past participle verb.”

	comprar
yo	habré comprado
tú	habrás comprado
él/ella	habrá comprado
nosotros	habremos comprado
ustedes	habrán comprado
ellos/ellas	habrán comprado

	correr
yo	habré corrido
tú	habrás corrido
él/ella	habrá corrido
nosotros	habremos corrido
ustedes	habrán corrido
ellos/ellas	habrán corrido

	vivir
yo	habrá vivido
tú	habrás vivido
él/ella	habrá vivido
nosotros	habremos vivido
ustedes	habrán vivido
ellos/ellas	habrán vivido

Take Note

Did you notice how all the compound tenses have the exact same conjugation of haber, the helping verb? Meanwhile, the main verbs (comprar, correr, vivir) morphed into their past participle forms. 

My point is—while, yes, these are a lot of conjugations to learn, they’re not as many (and difficult) as you think at closer inspection! 

Subjunctive Mood Simple Tenses

If the indicative was the “normal” mood, then the subjunctive is the “weird” one. You use the subjunctive to talk about things that are not part of reality, such as wishes and desires, among many other things.

Present

Use the present subjunctive to express uncertainty, doubt, and hope. 

	comprar
yo	compre
tú	compres
él/ella	compre
nosotros	compraremos
ustedes	compren
ellos/ellas	compren

	correr
yo	corra
tú	corras
él/ella	corra
nosotros	corramos
ustedes	corran
ellos/ellas	corran

	vivir
yo	viva
tú	vivas
él/ella	viva
nosotros	vivamos
ustedes	vivan
ellos/ellas	vivan

Imperfect 1

There are two imperfect tenses in subjunctive. Both are correct and you can use whichever you prefer and it makes no difference. Use the imperfect subjunctive to express a point of view in the past. 

	comprar
yo	comprara
tú	compraras
él/ella	comprara
nosotros	compráramos
ustedes	compraran
ellos/ellas	compraran

	correr
yo	corriera
tú	corrieras
él/ella	corriera
nosotros	corriéramos
ustedes	corrieran
ellos/ellas	corrieran

	vivir
yo	viviera
tú	vivieras
él/ella	viviera
nosotros	vivieramos
ustedes	vivieran
ellos/ellas	vivieran

Imperfect 2

Same situations apply, it’s just a different way of expressing the same idea. If anything, this imperfect tense is more used in Spain than in Latin America. 

	comprar
yo	comprase
tú	comprases
él/ella	comprase
nosotros	comprásemos
ustedes	comprasen
ellos/ellas	comprasen

	correr
yo	corriese
tú	corrieses
él/ella	corriesen
nosotros	corrésemos
ustedes	corriesen
ellos/ellas	corriesen

	vivir
yo	viviese
tú	vivieses
él/ella	viviese
nosotros	viviésemos
ustedes	viviesen
ellos/ellas	viviesen

Future

This Spanish tense is almost obsolete these days, but it’s still used in formal language when a verb in present or future requires the subjunctive in the main clause and refers to a future action. 

	comprar
yo	comprare
tú	comparres
él/ella	comparre
nosotros	compráremos
ustedes	comparen
ellos/ellas	comparen

	correr
yo	corriere
tú	corrieres
él/ella	corriere
nosotros	corriéremos
ustedes	corrieren
ellos/ellas	corrieren

	vivir
yo	viviere
tú	vivieres
él/ella	viviere
nosotros	viviéremos
ustedes	vivieren
ellos/ellas	vivieren

Subjunctive Mood Compound Tenses

These are arguably the most complex Spanish tenses that exist. So much that some of them don’t even have a direct translation to English. 

Present Perfect

Use the present perfect subjunctive when a verb requiring the subjunctive in the main clause is in the present, future, or present perfect. The only difference with the present subjunctive is that you have to use the present perfect subjunctive when the dependent clause is in the past, while you use the present subjunctive when the dependent clause is in the present or future. 

	comprar
yo	haya comprado
tú	hayas comprado
él/ella	haya comprado
nosotros	hayamos comprado
ustedes	hayan comprado
ellos/ellas	hayan comprado

	correr
yo	haya corrido
tú	hayas corrido
él/ella	hayas corrido
nosotros	hayamos corrido
ustedes	hayan corrido
ellos/ellas	hayan corrido

	vivir
yo	haya vivido
tú	hayas vivido
él/ella	haya vivido
nosotros	hayamos vivido
ustedes	hayan vivido
ellos/ellas	hayan vivido

Past Perfect 1

Use the past perfect subjunctive to talk about hypothetical situations, regrets, or hindsight. This is the equivalent subjunctive compound tense to the imperfect, so there are also two versions of it. 

	comprar
yo	hubiera comprado
tú	hubieras comprado
él/ella	hubiera comprado
nosotros	hubiéramos comprado
ustedes	hubieran comprado
ellos/ellas	hubieran comprado

	correr
yo	hubiera corrido
tú	hubieras corrido
él/ella	hubiera corrido
nosotros	hubiéramos corrido
ustedes	hubieran corrido
ellos/ellas	hubieran corrido

	vivir
yo	hubiera vivido
tú	hubieras vivido
él/ella	hubiera vivido
nosotros	hubiéramos vivido
ustedes	hubieran vivido
ellos/ellas	hubieran vivido

Past Perfect 2

Same case as the imperfect, this version is more widely used in Spain. Besides that, there’s no other difference between the two subjunctive past perfect tenses. 

	comprar
yo	hubiese comprado
tú	hubieses comprado
él/ella	hubiese comprado
nosotros	hubiésemos comprado
ustedes	hubiesen comprado
ellos/ellas	hubiesen comprado

	correr
yo	hubiese corrido
tú	hubieses corrido
él/ella	hubiese corrido
nosotros	hubiésemos corrido
ustedes	hubiesen corrido
ellos/ellas	hubiesen corrido

	vivir
yo	hubiese vivido
tú	hubieses vivido
él/ella	hubiese vivido
nosotros	hubiésemos vivido
ustedes	hubiesen vivido
ellos/ellas	hubiesen vivido

Future Perfect

Another rarely used tense in modern Spanish. You can use it to talk about actions that have happened, should have happened, or could have happened at some point in the future.

	comprar
yo	hubiere comprado
tú	hubieres comprado
él/ella	hubiere comprado
nosotros	hubiéremos comprado
ustedes	hubieren comprado
ellos/ellas	hubieren comprado

	correr
yo	hubiere corrido
tú	hubieres corrido
él/ella	hubiere corrido
nosotros	hubiéremos corrido
ustedes	hubieren corrido
ellos/ellas	hubieren corrido

	vivir
yo	hubiere vivido
tú	hubieres vivido
él/ella	hubiere vivido
nosotros	hubiéremos vivido
ustedes	hubieren vivido
ellos/ellas	hubieren vivido

Practice Your Spanish Tenses

I know that was a lot of information to digest in one single post. But, when you analyze the Spanish tenses closely, you can see that many of them change only slightly from one to the other, and that perfect tenses are quite easy to master as their conjugations are the same for every verb. 

Do you want to know the good news? There are no more tenses or conjugations! Now, you know them all and you can focus on introducing them one by one to your daily conversations in Spanish. Sign up for a free class to work through all 18 tenses with native Spanish teachers from Guatemala!

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