Querer conjugation

Querer means "to want / to love". Here it is in every main tense, with real example sentences and a free checker for your own.

Meaningto want / to love

Type-er verb

Gerundqueriendo

Past participlequerido

Querer changes form (an irregular, stem-changing or spelling-changing form) in the present, preterite, future, conditional and present subjunctive. Juntos teaches Latin American Spanish, where ustedes replaces vosotros; the vosotros forms are shown for completeness.

Quick answer. Present: quiero, quieres, quiere, queremos, quieren. Preterite: quise, quisiste, quiso, quisimos, quisieron. All tenses below.

Querer conjugation tables

Jump to: present · preterite · imperfect · future · conditional · present subjunctive · present perfect · commands (imperative)

Querer in the present

what happens now or usually

yo	quiero
tú	quieres
él / ella / usted	quiere
nosotros	queremos
vosotros (Spain)	queréis
ellos / ustedes	quieren

Querer in the preterite

a finished action at a specific time

yo	quise
tú	quisiste
él / ella / usted	quiso
nosotros	quisimos
vosotros (Spain)	quisisteis
ellos / ustedes	quisieron

Querer in the imperfect

habits, descriptions and background in the past

yo	quería
tú	querías
él / ella / usted	quería
nosotros	queríamos
vosotros (Spain)	queríais
ellos / ustedes	querían

Querer in the future

what will happen

yo	querré
tú	querrás
él / ella / usted	querrá
nosotros	querremos
vosotros (Spain)	querréis
ellos / ustedes	querrán

Querer in the conditional

what would happen

yo	querría
tú	querrías
él / ella / usted	querría
nosotros	querríamos
vosotros (Spain)	querríais
ellos / ustedes	querrían

Querer in the present subjunctive

after wishes, doubts and requests (quiero que…)

yo	quiera
tú	quieras
él / ella / usted	quiera
nosotros	queramos
vosotros (Spain)	queráis
ellos / ustedes	quieran

Querer in the present perfect

what has happened, up to now (he comido)

yo	he querido
tú	has querido
él / ella / usted	ha querido
nosotros	hemos querido
vosotros (Spain)	habéis querido
ellos / ustedes	han querido

Querer in the commands (imperative)

telling someone to do something (habla, no hables)

tú	quiere
tú (no)	no quieras
usted	quiera
nosotros	queramos
vosotros (Spain)	quered
ustedes	quieran

Querer in real sentences

Example sentences from the Juntos exercise bank, each checked before learners see it.

Present

Por la tarde quiero comprar pan y leche.
In the afternoon I want to buy bread and milk.
El lunes voy al mercado y quiero comprar pan.
On Monday I go to the market and I want to buy bread.

Imperfect

Quería que llegaras a tiempo.
I wanted you to arrive on time.
Quería que me llamaras ayer.
I wanted you to call me yesterday.

Mistakes learners make with querer

Querer + infinitive is "want to": quiero viajar. Wanting someone else to do it takes que and the subjunctive: quiero que vengas.
With people, te quiero means "I love you" or "I care about you", not "I want you".
The stem changes e to ie in the present, except nosotros: quiero, quieres, queremos.

Write your own sentence with querer

Next step for querer: the Spanish essentials course, free. Not sure which past tense to use? The Spanish past tense course explains preterite vs imperfect with practice. Conjugate any other verb with the free Spanish conjugator, browse all 72 verb pages, or check any text with the free Spanish grammar checker.

Related verbs

Previous: decir · Next: saber · all verbs

tener conjugation
to have
hacer conjugation
to do / to make
poder conjugation
to be able to (can)
ser conjugation
to be (identity, traits)
saber conjugation
to know (a fact) / to know how
poner conjugation
to put
ver conjugation
to see / to watch
haber conjugation
there to be / to have (auxiliary)

Use querer in real conversation

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Questions people ask

Is querer irregular in Spanish?

Yes. Querer is irregular in most tenses: the present, preterite, future, conditional and present subjunctive all change form, so it's worth learning by heart.

What is the preterite of querer?

Yo quise, tú quisiste, él/ella quiso, nosotros quisimos, ellos/ustedes quisieron.

How do you conjugate querer in the present?

Yo quiero, tú quieres, él/ella quiere, nosotros queremos, ellos/ustedes quieren.

What is the future of querer?

Yo querré, tú querrás, él/ella querrá, nosotros querremos, ellos/ustedes querrán.

What is the present subjunctive of querer?

Que yo quiera, que tú quieras, que él/ella quiera, que nosotros queramos, que ellos/ustedes quieran.