Learning Spanish involves grappling with its essential tenses, crucial for accurately expressing action timing and performers.
The Royal Spanish Academy acknowledges 17 tenses, but contemporary speakers primarily use 14, with the preterite perfect, future subjunctive, and future perfect subjunctive being less common.
A guide has been prepared to aid learners in understanding these vital components of the language.

Fundamental Spanish Verb Tenses

In every language, the significance of verb tenses is fundamental as they serve to indicate the temporal occurrence of an action. Put plainly, they provide a means to articulate whether an event occurred in the past, present, or future in relation to the current moment of expression.
Furthermore, in the process of conjugating a verb in Spanish, you concurrently specify the identity of the individual undertaking the action.
Consider the following examples:

¿Estudiaron para el exámen?
Did you guys study for the test?

Todos los sábados compramos hamburguesas. 
We buy burgers every Saturday.

As previously indicated, the Spanish language encompasses a total of 17 tenses. Among these, 14 are commonly employed in everyday communication and, consequently, form an integral part of daily linguistic usage. Conversely, the remaining three tenses are considered antiquated, often encountered in historical literature or cinematic productions.

For your reference, the following are the Spanish tenses that warrant familiarity:

1. Present Tense – Presente
2. Simple Past Tense – Pretérito perfecto simple
3. Imperfect Tense – Pretérito imperfecto
4. Future Tense – Futuro simple
5. Conditional Tense – Condicional simple
6. Present perfect – Pretérito perfecto compuesto
7. Spanish pluperfect – Pretérito pluscuamperfecto  
8. Future perfect – Futuro perfecto
9. Conditional perfect – Condicional compuesto
10. Imperative – Imperativo
11. Present subjunctive – Presente subjuntivo
12. Imperfect subjunctive – Pretérito imperfecto subjuntivo
13. Spanish present perfect subjunctive – Pretérito perfecto subjuntivo
14. Spanish past perfect subjunctive – Pretérito pluscuamperfecto subjuntivo

Kindly observe: A significant question often arises among learners regarding the distinctions inherent in Spanish tenses. Broadly defined, these tenses are characterized by their unique conjugation endings, and importantly, each tense corresponds to distinct moments in time.

Indicative Tenses

Initiating with Spanish indicative tenses is advisable for novice learners. Hereafter, you will encounter a list of the tenses within this mood, along with the corresponding conjugation endings to be observed.

Present Tense – Presente

As its name implies, the Spanish present tense signifies the occurrence of an action in the current moment. Consequently, this tense is frequently employed for the following purposes:

• Discussing contemporary habits and routines.
• Detailing the attributes of an individual or object.
• Referring to actions transpiring at the very moment of speech.

For the conjugation of verbs into the Spanish present tense, it is requisite to append the following endings to the verb stem:

Below are examples of sentences in the present tense:

[Verb conjugated to the present tense] + [complement]

Visito a mis amigos los domingos. 
I visit my friends every Sunday. 

Sandy y Peter hablan alemán. 
Sandy and Peter speak German. 

¿No comen carne?
You guys don’t eat meat?

Simple Past Tense – Pretérito perfecto simple

The Pretérito Perfecto Simple is one of the past tenses in Spanish, signifying that an event transpired and concluded in the past. Presented below are illustrative examples:

[Verb conjugated to the preterite tense] + [complement]

Estefan y yo fuimos al cine. 
Estefan and I went to the movies. 

Raquel cantó en la fiesta de Kelly. 
Raquel sang at Kelly’s party.

Mis primos nacieron en 1998. 
My cousins were born in 1998. 

The following are the endings that should be utilized for conjugating verbs into the “Pretérito Perfecto Simple” tense in Spanish:

Kindly observe: It is important to observe that certain conjugation endings are marked with accent marks. In such instances, the presence of accent marks is essential as it signifies our engagement with the “Pretérito perfecto simple“.

Imperfect Tense – Pretérito imperfecto

The “Pretérito Imperfecto” tense, another past tense in Spanish, pertains to actions that unfolded over an extended duration in the past. Essentially, the Spanish “Pretérito Imperfecto” tense characterizes actions without delineating their beginning or end.
Examples where the imperfect tense is employed encompass:

• Expressing past time
• Describing contexts, objects, and individuals
• Indicating one’s age in the past

In the accompanying graphic, you will find the conjugation guidelines for the “Pretérito Imperfecto” tense in Spanish.

Esa noche hacía mucho frío. 
That night was very cold. 

A los chicos no les gustaba jugar con nosotras. 
The boys didn’t like playing with us. 

Elizabeth era la más chaparrita del salón.  
Elizabeth was the shortest in the classroom. 

Note: The “Pretérito imperfecto” tense features only three irregular verbs.

Future Tense – Futuro simple

Similar to English, Spanish employs the future tense to discuss actions that will transpire in the future. Unlike other tenses, the conjugation of the Spanish “Futuro simple” tense merely involves adding the following endings to the infinitive verb.

Yo no iré a trabajar mañana. 
I will not go to work tomorrow. 

La semana que viene viajaremos a Perú. 
Next week, we will travel to Perú. 

Mañana conocerás a mi familia. 
Tomorrow you will meet my family. 

Creo que Julián hablará contigo. 
I think Julian will talk to you. 

The endings remain the same for all -AR, -ER and -IR verbs, which makes this tense one of the easiest for Spanish beginners to learn.

Kindly observe: Please be aware: Irregular verbs in the future tense are characterized as stem-changing verbs, and their conjugation involves utilizing the future endings provided above. The Spanish “Futuro simple” tense presents various practical applications, and indeed, there exist several variations of the tense suitable for diverse situations. To gain a more comprehensive understanding, you may refer to our guide on the future tense.

Conditional Tense – Condicional simple

The conditional tense in Spanish serves the following purposes:

1. Expressing wishes.
2. Discussing hypothetical situations.
3. Addressing someone politely.
4. Making suggestions.
5. Reflecting on things that could have occurred in the past.

Similar to the Spanish future tense, the conditional tense is constructed by appending the conditional endings to a verb in its infinitive form.

Si tuvieran tiempo, viajarían más seguido. 
If they had time, they would travel more often. 

Nos gustaría probar el helado de chocolate. 
We would like to try the chocolate ice cream. 

Te diría lo que pienso, pero te vas a enojar. 
I would tell you what I think, but you’re going to get upset. 

Similar to the future tense, the conditional tense in Spanish adheres to the same conjugation rules. The ending is affixed to the infinitive form of the verb, and the aforementioned endings are universally applicable for all three verb types (-AR, -ER, and -IR).

Indicative Compound Tenses

Compound tenses in Spanish are constructed with two verbs: an auxiliary verb (haber) and a past participle verb. The conjugation of haber is applicable to present, imperfect, future, and conditional tenses.

According to the conjugation of the auxiliary verb, Spanish compound tenses can be categorized into:

• Present perfect – Pretérito perfecto compuesto: Employed to discuss life experiences or express that a past action continues into the present.
• Spanish pluperfect – Pretérito pluscuamperfecto: A past tense enabling the communication of the occurrence of one past action before another. To form this tense, haber must be conjugated in the imperfect tense.
• Future perfect – Futuro perfecto: Indicates the completion of an action before a specific point in the future.
• Conditional perfect – Condicional compuesto: Used in Spanish to discuss past possibilities. As past possibilities are unalterable, this tense typically associates with the subjunctive mood.

Review the following examples:

Present perfect – Pretérito perfecto compuesto

Nunca he probado la cerveza. 
I have never tried beer. 

Mario se ha ido temprano. 
Mario has left early. 

Spanish pluperfect – Pretérito pluscuamperfecto

Traje comida china, pero ya habían comido.
I brought Chinese food, but you guys had already eaten. 

Cuando llegué, el avión ya había despegado. 
When I arrived, the plane had taken off.

Future perfect – Futuro perfecto

Para el jueves, me habré mudado. 
I will have moved by Thursday. 

Mañana habremos terminado nuestro proyecto. 
Tomorrow we will have finished our project. 

Conditional perfect – Condicional compuesto

Si hubieras podido, ¿habrías cambiado algo?
If you could, would you have changed something?

Habría ido, pero no sabía que ibas a estar ahí.
I would have gone, but I didn’t know you would be there.

Spanish Imperative – Imperativo

Despite its frequent confusion with a tense, the imperative represents one of the three Spanish moods. Setting aside its classification, the Spanish imperative proves highly valuable as it enables the issuance of commands or instructions to others.

To conjugate a verb into the imperative form, the following endings are required. It is noteworthy that, in this case, a reduced number of subject pronouns is utilized.

Alguien corte las cebollas, por favor. 
Someone chop the onions, please. 

Suzie, sube el volumen. 
Suzie, turn up the volume. 

¡Chicos, abran la puerta!
Guys, open the door!

In the case where negative commands are required, indicating what actions should not be taken, the following endings will be necessary:

[No] + [verb in negative imperative]

Niños, ¡no corran! Se van a caer. 
Kids, don’t run! You’re going to fall. 

Por favor, no le digan nada a Julie. 
Please, don’t say anything to Julie.

Advanced Tip: In Spanish, the structure “a + infinitive verb” verb can also be used to give commands. However, these sentences are not nearly as common as the imperative and don’t have a direct English translation.

A + [infinitive verb]

¡A comer! La comida se está enfriando. 
Come to have lunch. The food is getting cold.

¡Niños, a dormir! Mañana tienen escuela. 
Kids, go to sleep! It’s school day tomorrow. 

Spanish Subjunctive Tenses – Subjuntivo

Undoubtedly, the subjunctive tenses are indispensable for achieving fluency in Spanish. Thankfully, proficiency in only four Spanish subjunctive tenses is essential, namely:

Present subjunctive – Presente subjuntivo

In the Spanish language, the present subjunctive serves as a means to articulate uncertainty, wishes, and feelings regarding a particular situation. Furthermore, this tense is employed to discuss hypothetical scenarios in the present.

The subjunctive endings for regular verbs are as follows:

Ojalá te aumenten el salario. 
I hope they raise your salary. 

Espero que disfrutes tu viaje. 
I hope you enjoy your trip. 

Pregúntale a Ana, quizá ella pueda ayudarte. 
Ask Ana; maybe she can help you. 

Kindly observe: The subjunctive tense can pose challenges as it lacks a direct translation in English. Nevertheless, in Spanish, the differentiation between the indicative (conveying claims and assertions) and subjunctive (expressing wishes and uncertainties) is distinctly clear.

Imperfect subjunctive – Pretérito imperfecto subjuntivo

As a brief overview, the Spanish imperfect subjunctive is employed to discuss hypothetical situations that are improbable, offer advice, and express wishes. For example:

Ojalá dejaras de molestarme. 
I wish you stopped annoying me. 

Larry me aconsejó que trabajara menos. 
Larry advised me to work less. 

Si me despertara más temprano, llegaría a tiempo al trabajo. 
If I woke up earlier, I would arrive at work on time. 

Kindly observe: As evident in example #2, certain sentences exhibit the subjunctive verb translated as an infinitive form. This phenomenon occurs in statements with dual subjects, as illustrated in our example, where the subjects are Larry and me.

The endings that you use for this tense are:

Kindly observe: These conjugation endings are better suited for Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America. In Castilian Spanish, the following endings are more prevalent.

Spanish present perfect subjunctive – Pretérito perfecto subjuntivo

This subjunctive tense describes:

• Expectations and wishes.
• Events that are probable to occur.
• Uncertainty about actions that might have taken place in the past.

As a compound tense in Spanish, the present subjunctive is constructed with the auxiliary verb “haber” and a past participle. In this scenario, it is essential to ensure the conjugation of “haber” in the present subjunctive form:

[`Haber’ in present subjunctive] + [past participle verb]

Ojalá hayan encontrado a su perro. 
I hope they have found their dog. 

No creo que haya comido, se fue muy rápido. 
I don’t think he has eaten; he left very quickly. 

Es posible que Nora se haya ido con Tommy. 
It’s possible that Nora has left with Tommy. 

Spanish past perfect subjunctive – Pretérito pluscuamperfecto subjuntivo

Similar to any other subjunctive tense, the Spanish past perfect subjunctive is employed to deliberate on hypothetical situations. However, this particular tense conveys a sense of regret:

Si hubiera sabido, no me habría ido. 
If I had known, I wouldn’t have left. 

Ojalá nos hubiéramos conocido antes. 
I wish we had met before. 

Si le hubieras dicho antes, Tanya te habría perdonado. 
If you had told her sooner, Tanya would have forgiven you. 

As evident in these examples, they communicate a sense of regret and depict a hypothetical scenario illustrating how things might have unfolded. In the graphic provided below, you will find the formula of the Spanish present perfect subjunctive.

Spanish Moods

In the pursuit of mastering Spanish tenses, it is crucial to comprehend the concept of Spanish moods. Moods denote the intention or manner in which we convey information. Predicated on this distinction, Spanish encompasses three moods: indicative, subjunctive, and imperative.

The indicative mood is employed to articulate facts, assertions, and objective statements. As previously explained, various tenses are utilized to specify when these factual statements occurred.

Yo hablo español. 
I speak Spanish. 

Doug aprendió español en la secundaria. 
Doug learned Spanish in junior high. 

The subjunctive mood is utilized to convey wishes, hypothetical situations, doubts, feelings, and expectations. In contrast to the indicative mood, the subjunctive does not center around real facts. In this context, various tenses can be employed to denote when these wishes or hypothetical situations transpired. Refer to the examples provided below:

Ojalá hablara español más rápido. 
I wish I spoke Spanish more quickly. 

Si Doug hubiera aprendido español, tendría un mejor trabajo. 
If Doug had learned Spanish, he would have a better job. 

Ultimately, the imperative mood empowers you to instruct someone to perform a specific action. Notably, this mood is not subject to conjugation in any tense.

¡Habla en español! Necesitas practicar más. 
Speak in Spanish! You need to practice more. 

Aprende español y podrás tener un mejor trabajo. 
Learn Spanish and you could have a better job. 

Additional Insight: Spanish Impersonal Verb Forms & Progressive Tenses

In basic terms, Spanish tenses articulate the timing of an action. As previously noted, verb conjugations also elucidate the individual responsible for that action. However, impersonal verb forms do not provide such details. Spanish impersonal verb forms include:

• Infinitive verbs
• Past participle forms
• Gerunds

Despite lacking identical characteristics to Spanish tenses, comprehending these verb forms is essential. As you’ve acquired, Spanish past participles play a pivotal role in the creation of compound tenses.

[`Haber’ conjugated] + [past participle] 

No he hablado con Jim.
I haven’t spoke with Jim

Martha y yo hemos viajado a Europa varias veces. 
Martha and I have traveled to Europe many times.

On the contrary, infinitive verbs find utility after specific verbs such as poder, querer, ir, etc. Omitting them would render any sentence formed with these verbs nonsensical.

Queremos ir al cine. 
We want to go to the movies. 

No podemos abrir la puerta. 
We can’t open the door. 

The final impersonal verb form comprises Spanish gerunds, essential for constructing progressive tenses in Spanish. Progressive tenses can be viewed as derivatives of the present, past, and future tenses. Their primary attribute is emphasizing whether an action is currently in progress or persisted for a specific duration.

These applications become evident in the ensuing examples featuring the Spanish progressive tense and the past progressive tense:

[`Estar’ conjugated] + [gerund]

Klaus está cocinando pastel de carne. 
Klaus is cooking meatloaf. 

Estaba limpiando la cocina, ¿tú que estás haciendo?
I was cleaning the kitchen, what are you doing?

In Which Order Should You Learn the Spanish Tenses?

Spanish speakers routinely incorporate all 14 verb tenses that you have acquainted yourself with. Nevertheless, when embarking on the journey of learning this language, I suggest following this sequence for a systematic approach to understanding and mastering Spanish tenses:

1. Present Tense – Presente
2. Simple Past Tense – Pretérito perfecto simple
3. Imperfect Tense – Pretérito imperfecto
4. Future Tense – Futuro simple
5. Conditional Tense – Condicional simple
6. Present perfect – Pretérito perfecto compuesto
7. Spanish pluperfect – Pretérito pluscuamperfecto  
8. Future perfect – Futuro perfecto
9. Conditional perfect – Condicional compuesto
10. Imperative – Imperativo
11. Present subjunctive – Presente subjuntivo
12. Imperfect subjunctive – Pretérito imperfecto subjuntivo
13. Spanish present perfect subjunctive – Pretérito perfecto subjuntivo
14. Spanish past perfect subjunctive – Pretérito pluscuamperfecto subjuntivo

Kindly observe: In Spanish, the subjunctive is utilized with comparable frequency to the indicative tenses. Nevertheless, it might be advisable to postpone delving into the nuances of the subjunctive until you have gained a more proficient command of the indicative tenses.

Best Way to Learn Spanish Tenses

As you might anticipate, a command of Spanish verb tenses is essential for engaging in meaningful conversations. Here are some strategies that can facilitate a more effective learning of these tenses:

• Master conjugation endings: Unfortunately, Spanish conjugations are more intricate than English due to each tense and subject having its own distinct ending.
• Context comprehension: Each Spanish tense corresponds to a specific point in time and serves varied purposes. When listening to Spanish speakers, endeavor to comprehend the situation in which a particular tense is applied.
• Construct sentences in various tenses: Once you acquire proficiency in various tenses, practice transforming a sentence into different tenses. This exercise enables you to discern the diverse contexts in which each verb tense is employed.
• Identify time markers: Time markers, including adverbs or expressions denoting the precise moment of an action, are significant triggers for each Spanish tense. Recognizing these expressions aids in determining the optimal occasions for using specific tenses.
• Evaluate your knowledge with practice quizzes: Assess your progress and rectify potential mistakes by engaging in various Spanish quizzes. To maximize this learning process, carefully note your errors for continuous improvement.

Key Points About Spanish Tenses

Navigating Spanish tenses can be perplexing for many learners. Here are key considerations to bear in mind:

• There are 14 extensively utilized tenses in Spanish.
• Spanish tenses pinpoint the moment in time when an action occurs.
• Verb tenses in Spanish can be categorized into simple or compound tenses.
• Compound tenses involve the conjugated verb haber paired with a specific past participle verb.
• Spanish indicative tenses delineate facts, objective statements, and assertions.
• Subjunctive tenses are employed for expressing wishes, expectations, and hypothetical situations.
• Both moods and tenses pertain to verbs. Moods delineate the way something is expressed (whether factual or hypothetical), while tenses elucidate when an event transpired.
• The imperative mood is deployed for issuing commands.
• Progressive tenses are utilized to accentuate actions occurring at the moment of speaking.