Spanish tenses chart: every tense, one example each

Spanish has more tenses than English, but you only need a handful to hold a real conversation. Here they all are on one page, with what each one is for and the order to learn them in.

Quick answer. Spanish has eleven tenses you'll use all the time: the present, preterite, imperfect, present perfect, pluperfect, future, ir a + infinitive, conditional, present subjunctive, imperfect subjunctive and the imperative. Learn the present and ir a + infinitive first, then the preterite and imperfect, because those four cover most everyday conversation.

The Spanish tenses chart

Every example uses hablar (to speak) so you can see the verb change while everything else stays put. The Spanish name in the first column is what you'll see in Latin American textbooks and on a Spanish conjugator.

Tense	English name	Example	Use it for
presente	Present	Hablo con mi mamá los domingos. I talk to my mom on Sundays.	Habits, facts, right now, and fixed plans (Mañana trabajo.)
estar + gerundio	Present progressive	Estoy hablando por teléfono. I'm on the phone.	Something happening at this moment
pretérito	Preterite (simple past)	Ayer hablé con el dueño. Yesterday I spoke with the owner.	Finished events with a clear start or end
imperfecto	Imperfect	De niña hablaba inglés en casa. As a girl I spoke English at home.	Past habits, background, descriptions, "was ...ing"
pretérito perfecto	Present perfect	Nunca he hablado con él. I've never spoken to him.	Life experience, ever, never, yet
pluscuamperfecto	Pluperfect	Ya había hablado con ella cuando llamaste. I had already spoken to her when you called.	A past that happened before another past
futuro	Simple future	Hablaré con el banco el lunes. I'll speak to the bank on Monday.	Promises, formal plans, guesses about now
ir a + infinitivo	Going-to future	Voy a hablar con el banco. I'm going to speak to the bank.	Everyday plans, the default future in conversation
condicional	Conditional	Hablaría con ella, pero no tengo su número. I'd talk to her, but I don't have her number.	Would, polite requests, hypotheticals
presente de subjuntivo	Present subjunctive	Quiero que hables con ella. I want you to talk to her.	After wishes, doubts, emotions, ojalá, cuando + future
imperfecto de subjuntivo	Imperfect subjunctive	Si hablaras más despacio, te entendería. If you spoke more slowly, I'd understand you.	Unreal if-clauses, past wishes and requests
imperativo	Imperative	Habla más despacio, por favor. Speak more slowly, please.	Commands, instructions, invitations

When to use each tense

Present: the hardest-working tense

The Spanish present covers more ground than the English one. Vivo en Monterrey is "I live in Monterrey", ¿Qué haces? is "What are you doing?", and Mañana trabajo is "I'm working tomorrow". It even makes offers: ¿Te ayudo? means "Shall I help you?" If you only know one tense, you can still get through a day with this one.

Preterite vs imperfect: the two pasts

English uses one simple past, Spanish splits it in two. The preterite is a closed box: something happened and finished (Fui al mercado, Comí tacos, Me llamó a las tres). The imperfect is the open scene around it: what used to happen, what was going on, what things were like (Iba al mercado cada sábado, Llovía, Tenía diez años). In a story they work together: Estaba en la cocina cuando sonó el teléfono (I was in the kitchen when the phone rang). The past tense course drills exactly this choice.

Present perfect: Latin America vs Spain

In Spain, he comido is the normal way to talk about today (Hoy he comido tacos). In Mexico and most of Latin America, people use the preterite for anything finished, even this morning: Hoy comí tacos. The present perfect is kept for experience and things that are still open: ¿Has ido a Oaxaca? (Have you ever been to Oaxaca?), Todavía no he terminado (I haven't finished yet).

Pluperfect

Había + participle steps one stage further back in time: Cuando llegué, la película ya había empezado (When I arrived, the movie had already started). It's the same as English "had done", so it's one of the easier tenses for English speakers.

The two futures

In conversation, ir a + infinitive does most of the work: Vamos a comer a las dos, Va a llover. The simple future (comeremos, lloverá) sounds more formal or more certain, and it's common in news and promises. It also has a job English doesn't: guessing about the present. ¿Dónde estará Ana? means "I wonder where Ana is", and Serán las tres means "It must be about three". See the future tense course for both.

Conditional

The conditional is English "would": Me gustaría un café (I'd like a coffee), Yo no lo haría (I wouldn't do it). It's also the polite way to ask: ¿Podría ayudarme? (Could you help me?). Its partner in if-sentences is the imperfect subjunctive, never another conditional. The conditional course practises both halves.

The subjunctive pair

The subjunctive isn't a tense so much as a mood: it appears in the second half of a sentence when the first half expresses a wish, a doubt, a feeling or something not yet real. Quiero que vengas (I want you to come), Ojalá que no llueva (I hope it doesn't rain), Cuando llegues, llámame (When you arrive, call me). Move the main verb into the past and the subjunctive moves too: Quería que vinieras (I wanted you to come). Start with the subjunctive course once the present and past feel solid.

Imperative

Commands use their own forms: habla and no hables for tú, hable for usted, hablen for ustedes. In everyday Latin American Spanish a bare command can sound abrupt with strangers, so people often turn it into a question: ¿Me pasas la sal?, ¿Me ayudas?

Regular endings at a glance

Here is the yo form of the three regular verb groups in every tense on the chart (tú for the imperative). Look up any verb, including irregulars like ser, ir and tener, on its own page in the verb tables.

Tense	hablar (-ar)	comer (-er)	vivir (-ir)
presente	hablo	como	vivo
pretérito	hablé	comí	viví
imperfecto	hablaba	comía	vivía
pretérito perfecto	he hablado	he comido	he vivido
pluscuamperfecto	había hablado	había comido	había vivido
futuro	hablaré	comeré	viviré
condicional	hablaría	comería	viviría
presente de subjuntivo	hable	coma	viva
imperfecto de subjuntivo	hablara	comiera	viviera
imperativo (tú)	habla	come	vive

Notice two shortcuts. The future and conditional add their endings to the whole infinitive (hablar-é, comer-ía). The imperfect subjunctive is built from the ellos form of the preterite: hablaron becomes hablara, tuvieron becomes tuviera, fueron becomes fuera. You may also see a second form ending in -se (hablase); it means the same thing and is more common in Spain and in writing.

The compound tenses you'll meet later

Future perfect: Para junio habré terminado (By June I'll have finished). Also a guess about the past: Ya habrá salido (She must have left already).
Conditional perfect: Yo habría ido (I would have gone).
Present perfect subjunctive: Espero que hayas comido (I hope you've eaten).
Pluperfect subjunctive: Si hubiera sabido, habría venido (If I had known, I would have come). In everyday Latin American speech you'll also hear Si hubiera sabido, hubiera venido.

Which tenses to learn first

Present and ir a + infinitive. Talk about now, your routine and your plans. This alone gets you through introductions, shops and small talk.
Preterite. Say what you did yesterday and on the weekend. Learn the big irregulars early: fui, tuve, hice, pude, dije, estuve.
Imperfect. Describe the past and tell stories with the preterite.
Commands and polite requests. Useful from week one, even if only ¿me da...? and ¿me pasas...?
Present perfect. Mostly for "have you ever" and "not yet".
Present subjunctive. Start with the fixed triggers: quiero que, ojalá, para que, cuando + future.
Conditional and simple future. Polite requests, hypotheticals and guesses.
Imperfect subjunctive and pluperfect. If-sentences and reported wishes, around B1 to B2.

Common mistakes with Spanish tenses

Present for past: Ayer como pizza should be Ayer comí pizza. It's the most common slip at A2, because the present is the form you know best.
Imperfect for a single finished event: Ayer iba al cine sounds like an unfinished scene. Say Ayer fui al cine.
Indicative after a wish: Quiero que vienes should be Quiero que vengas.
Conditional in the if-clause: Si tendría tiempo should be Si tuviera tiempo. The conditional only goes in the other half.
Future after cuando: Cuando llegaré, te llamo should be Cuando llegue, te llamo.

Tense errors rarely stop people understanding you, so nobody corrects them and they stick. The free Spanish grammar checker grades your own sentence and points out the tense slip, which is a quick way to test yourself on the chart above.

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Questions people ask

How many tenses are there in Spanish?

Traditional grammars list about 16 tenses across the indicative and subjunctive, plus the imperative, though a few are rare or archaic. In everyday speech you mostly need about eight: present, preterite, imperfect, present perfect, ir a + infinitive, conditional, present subjunctive and the imperative.

What is the most used tense in Spanish?

The present indicative, by a long way. It covers habits, facts, what's happening now and even fixed future plans, so it's always the first tense to learn.

What is the difference between the preterite and the imperfect?

The preterite reports a finished event (Fui al cine). The imperfect describes background, habits or something in progress in the past (Iba al cine cada viernes). In stories, the imperfect sets the scene and the preterite moves the action forward.

Do Latin Americans use the present perfect?

Yes, but less than people in Spain. In Mexico and most of Latin America the preterite is used for anything finished, even earlier today (Hoy comí tacos), and the present perfect is kept for experiences and things not yet done.

Which Spanish tense should I learn after the present?

Learn ir a + infinitive (it's just ir in the present plus an infinitive), then the preterite. With those three you can talk about now, the future and the past.