Have Conjugations

Spine/Back/Would/Will

Spine have verbs use the following chart. Some examples of how these would be used are “I had eaten” and “She had studied”. First you conjugate “haber” or “have” in the “spine” or “preterite” tense.

Have Verbs + Spine

Haber (had)

hube	hubimos
hubiste	habisteis
hubo	hubieron

ar verb stem +ado
OR
er/ir verb stem +ido

Then you put the appropriate “a-d-o” or “i-d-o” ending on the verbs.

Although the “Spine” or “Preterite” tense is used frequently, with “have” verbs it isn’t so common. It is much more common to use “back” or “imperfect” have verbs for communicating past tense. The implied meaning is the same as the Spine or Preterite tense. Examples would be “I had eaten” and “She had studied”. Here’s how to conjugate them: First you conjugate “haber” or “have” in the “Back” or “Imperfect” tense:

Have Verbs + Back

Haber (had)

había	habíamos
habías	habíais
había	habían

Then you put the appropriate “a-d-o” or “i-d-o” ending on the verbs.

A few examples are:

She had spoken (Ella hablar)                                      Había hablado  
I had eaten (Yo comer)                                               Había comido
We had washed our hands (nosotros)                         Nos habíamos lavado las manos

Next we’ll cover “have” verbs using “would” or the “conditional” tense. Examples of this tense are: “I would have eaten” or “She would have studied”. First you conjugate “haber” or “have” in the “would” or “conditional” tense:

Have Verbs + Would

Haber (would have)

habría	habríamos
habrías	habríais
habría	habrían

ar verb stem +ado
OR
er/ir verb stem +ido

Then you put the appropriate “a-d-o” or “i-d-o” ending on the verbs.

A few examples are:

She would have spoken (Ella hablar)                          Habría hablado  
I would have eaten (Yo comer)                                  Habría comido
We would have washed our hands (nosotros)            Nos habríamos lavado las manos

Finally in this lesson we’ll cover future “have” verbs. Examples of this tense are. “I will have eaten” or “She will have studied”. First you conjugate “haber” or “have” in the “will” or “future” tense:

Have Verbs + Will

Haber (will have)

habré	habremos
habrás	habréis
habrá	habrán

ar verb stem +ado
OR
er/ir verb stem +ido

Then you put the appropriate “a-d-o” or “i-d-o” ending on the verbs.

A few examples are:

She will have spoken (Ella hablar)                              Habrá hablado  
I will have eaten (Yo comer)                                      Habré comido
We will have washed our hands (nosotros)                Nos habremos lavado las manos

Have Explanation

Now we’ve gone through all the core verb tenses in Spanish, there are a few more things we need to hit. First of all, it’s important to note that the verb “haber” or “have” can be used with every verb tense in Spanish giving you even more flexibility when speaking.

For example, you can say:

I have finished
I had finished
Having finished…
I would have finished
I will have finished
I hope he has finished (subjunctive) using the subjunctive tense
I wished he had finished (past subjunctive) using the past subjunctive tense

The rest of this lesson will gradually go through each of those conjugations.

Briefly, here’s a quick review of how the present perfect tense works. First you conjugate “haber” or “have” in its present tense form:

he	hemos
has	habéis
ha	han

Then you add…ar verb stem + ado
Or
er/ir verb stem +ido.

Then you put on the past participle form of a verb afterward which means, for “ar” verbs, you put on “-a-d-o” and for “er/ir” verbs, you put on “-i-d-o”.

A few examples are:
She has spoken (Ella hablar)                           Ha hablado  
I have eaten (Yo comer)                                 He comido
We have washed our hands (nosotros)           Nos hemos lavado las manos

Present Progressive Irregular

Let’s take a look at the irregulars:
This first group all add a “y”.

Creer becomes	Creyendo
Leer becomes	Leyendo
Ir becomes	Yendo
Destruir becomes	Destruyendo
Incluir becomes	Incluyendo
Oír becomes	Oyendo
Traer becomes	Trayendo
Caerse (a reflexive verb) becomes	Cayéndose

This next group of irregulars are stem changers and change from “o” to “u”.

Morir becomes	Muriendo
Dormir becomes	Durmiendo

This final group of irregulars are also stem changers and change from “e” to “i”.

Pedir becomes	Pidiendo
Seguir becomes	Siguiendo
Conseguir becomes	Consiguiendo
Repetir becomes	Repitiendo
Servir becomes	Sirviendo
Sentir becomes	Sintiendo
Preferir becomes	Prefiriendo
Requerir becomes	Requiriendo
Venir becomes	Viniendo
Decir becomes	Diciendo

And now a few reflexives in the same group:

Vestirse becomes	Vistiéndose
Despedirse becomes	Despidiéndose
Sentirse becomes	Sintiéndose
Divertirse becomes	Divirtiéndose

Before you go on to the practice session, there are a few new vocabulary words to go over. Here they are:

the book	el libro
sick	enfermo
The problem	El problema
The door	La puerta
The window	La ventana

Present Progressive ER/IR

Remember that “ando” and “iendo” are similar to the “ing” ending in English.

Yo estoy	Nosotros estamos	+ (ar verb)ando +(er verb)iendo
Tú estás	Vosotros estáis (Spain)
El, Ella, or Ud. está	Uds. Están

Before we move on and practice with “er/ir” dioing verbs, we need to review an important item. As we discussed briefly in the last lesson, to put on the “ing” ending you can either use a “doing verb”, with the “ando” or “iendo” ending, or “present tense”. For example, if you asked someone, “What are you looking for?”, you could either say “¿Qué buscas?” or “¿Qué estás buscando?”. Another example is the phrase, “What are you doing?”, where you can either say “¿Qué haces?” or “¿Qué estás haciendo?” In these cases, the present tense (or “¿Qué haces?”) is usually preferred by native speakers, but the progressive or doing tense “¿Qué estás haciendo?” can also be used.

Now, if want you say “What are you doing tomorrow at 3:00?”, you should not use a “doing verb”, since you aren’t doing it “right now”. Instead, you should use present tense, “¿Qué haces mañana a las tres?”

Before we go have a practice session, we need to learn a few new vocabulary words:

Gifts	regalos
a plan	un plan
you are exercising	esta hacienda ejercicio
The door	La puerta

Practice Session

Now we’ll practice a few er and ir doing verbs. Are you ready to try a few? Just remember that you can only use this tense if you are doing the action right when you are talking about it.

I am learning a lot	Estoy aprendiendo mucho
(Rosa) You are running	Estás corriendo
He is selling cars	Está vendiendo carros
She is deciding	Está decidiendo
I am living in Texas	Estoy viviendo en Texas
Julio is exercising	Julio está haciendo ejercicio
(Mr. Rodriguez) You are opening the door	Está abriendo la puerta
We are writing letters	Estamos escribiendo cartas
They are moving	Están moviendo
Are all of you returning? (starts with ‘v’)	¿Están volviendo?
She is choosing the team	Está escogiendo el equipo
He is returning the book	Está devolviendo el libro
We are making cookies	Estamos haciendo galletas.
They are receiving the gifts	Están recibiendo los regalos.
María is making the plan	María está haciendo el plan.

Present Progressive AR

Now we’ll take it one step farther so you can learn how to say phrases like “I am living” and “She is eating”. All you have to do is conjugate a form of the verb “estar”, then add the “ing” ending on the verbs.

First, let’s review the forms of estar:

Yo estoy	Nosotros estamos	As I mentioned before, after choosing the correct form of “estar”, you simply add “ando” on the end of “ar” verbs and “iendo” on the end of “er” and “ir” verbs.
Tú estás	Vosotros estáis (Remember, this is only used in Spain)
El, Ella, or Ud. está	And finally, ellos, ellas or Uds. Están

Take a look at a few examples of doing verbs:

The phrase “I am eating” would be “Estoy comiendo”.
“She is studying” would be “Está estudiando”
“They are dancing” would be “Están bailando”
“We are preparing” would be “Estamos preparando”
“I am writing” would be “Estoy escribiendo”
And finally, “Juan, you are eating lunch” would be “(Juan) Estás almorzando”.

Now a key to the “progressive tense” or “doing verbs” is that the person has to be doing the action at the very moment, it’s being said. For example, if I say “I am eating” or “Estoy comiendo”, I would have to actually be eating right when I say it. In other words, if I say, “He is eating more lately”, I wouldn’t automatically use a “doing verb” or the “progressive tense”, because he isn’t necessarily eating, right now. 

Practice Session

To begin our practice session, first have someone say the phrases in English, and you say them out loud in Spanish.

I am dancing	Estoy bailando
He is drawing	Está dibujando
She is studying	Está estudiando
(Juan) Are you eating breakfast?	¿Estás desayunando?
Pedro is fixing the car	Pedro está arreglando el carro
(Mr. Garcia) You are helping a lot	Está ayundando mucho
We are jumping	Estamos saltando
They aren’t listening	No está escuchando
He is looking for his keys	Está buscando sus llaves
Are all of you painting the house?	¿Están pintando la casa?
I am practicing.	Estoy practicando
She is swimming	Está nadando

Video: Spanish Reflexive Verbs

Spanish Reflexive Verbs Conjugation

Moving on with reflexive conjugation, now we’ll try conjugating the Spanish verb “Bañarse” which means “to bathe (oneself)”

I bathe (myself) would be:  me baño	We bathe (ourselves) would be: nos bañamos
(Juan) you bathe (yourself) would be: te bañas	You bathe (yourselves) – if you are on a first-name basis with a group of people in Spain- would be: os bañáis
He, she or Dr. Garcia, you bathe (yourself) would be:    se baña	And finally: They or all of you bathe (yourselves) would be: se bañan

Spanish Reflexive Verbs

reflexives would be:

I bathe myself              which in Spanish would be Me baño
And
I wash myself              which in Spanish would be Me lavo

Let’s see how we conjugate a complete reflexive verb. We’ll use the verb “to wash” or “lavarse”.

I wash myself would be: me lavo	We wash ourselves would be: nos lavamos
María you wash yourself would be: te lavas	With “vosotros” used only in Spain “You wash yourselves” would be: os laváis
He, she, or you (formal) wash yourself would be: se lava	And finally, they or all of you wash yourselves would be:   se lavan

Preterite Two Verbs

The first verb is conjugated in the spine tense, and the second verb is left in its infinitive form. (In other words, it isn’t conjugated.) For example, if you wanted to say “I went to eat”, you would say “(Yo) fui a comer”. Remember the “yo” is optional.

The phrase “I had to go” would be “Tuve que ir”.

And finally, the phrase “I couldn’t hear” would be “No pude oír”.

Notice that in each of these examples, the first verb is conjugated in the spine tense and the second verb is not conjugated.

Now, we’ll take a look at a unique irregular verb before we practice. It’s the verb “gustar”. To say, “I liked the book” we would say “Me gustó el libro”. As I’ve mentioned before, “gustar” is an irregular verb. Because it’s conjugated backwards, you are literally saying “the book pleased me”. Even if you said, “I, you, he, she we, or they liked the book”, you would always use “gustó”.  

Me
Te
Le                                gustó el libro 
Nos
Les

Just like you learned in the present tense section, if we’re talking about liking more than one thing, we have to change gustar. For the past or spine tense, we change it to: “gustaron”. For example if I said, “I, you, he, she we, or they liked the books (plural)”, you would use “gustaron”.

Me
Te
Le                                gustaron los libros 
Nos
Les 

Preterite Reflexive Verbs

Remember, if you’re taking a class, your teacher will call “spine” verbs “preterite” verbs. Reflexive Spine verbs are conjugated just like normal spine verbs and as usual, when there’s just one verb, the reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, or nos) goes in front.

Let’s take a look at a few examples:

I bathed yesterday	Me bañé ayer
She got tired last night	Se cansó anoche
They brushed their hair	Se cepillaron el pelo
We dried our hands	Nos secamos las manos
They shaved earlier	Se afeitaron más temprano
She worried about him	Se preocupó por él

Before we have an official practice, there are a few irregulars in the reflexive spine group that you need to know about. They have stem changes. Let’s take a look at them here. As with other irregulars, the best way to remember them is to hear them enough that you tune your ear to the right way of saying them. As with other irregular spine verbs, they are just irregular on the bottom row of conjugations.

Are you ready? We’ll start with the verb despedirse (to say goodbye)

(Yo)	me despedí	(Nosotros)	nos despedimos
(Tú)	te despediste	(Vosotros-Spain)	os despedisteis
(El, Ella, Ud.)	se despidió	(Ellos, Ellas, Uds)	se despidieron

The second reflexive verb is sentirse (to feel well or ill)

(Yo)	me sentí	(Nosotros)	nos sentimos
(Tú)	te sentiste	(Vosotros)	os sentisteis
(El, Ella, Ud.)	se sintió	(Ellos, Ellas, Uds)	se sintieron

The third reflexive verb of this type is divertirse (to have fun)

(Yo)	me divertí	(Nosotros)	nos divertimos
(Tú)	te divertiste	(Vosotros)	os divertisteis
(El, Ella, Ud.)	se divirtió	(Ellos, Ellas, Uds)	se divertieron

The fourth irregular reflexive verb of this type is caerse (to fall down)

(Yo)	me caí	(Nosotros)	nos caímos
(Tú)	te caíste	(Vosotros)	os caísteis
(El, Ella, Ud.)	se cayó	(Ellos, Ellas, Uds)	se cayeron

The fifth irregular reflexive verb is vestirse (to get dressed)

(Yo)	me vestí	(Nosotros)	nos vestimos
(Tú)	te vestiste	(Vosotros)	os vestisteis
(El, Ella, Ud.)	se vistió	(Ellos, Ellas, Uds)	se vistieron

There is actually one more irregular reflexive verb. It is the verb “darse cuenta” or “to realize”.  You already learned earlier how to conjugate “dar” in the spine, or preterite tense earlier, but we’ll take another quick look at it to help refresh your memory.

(Yo)	me dí cuenta	(Nosotros)	nos dimos cuenta
(Tú)	te diste cuenta	(Vosotros)	os disteis cuenta
(El, Ella, Ud.)	se dio cuenta	(Ellos, Ellas, Uds)	se dieron cuenta

Preterite Very irregular Verbs

Let’s take a look at each verb and its irregular stem. Are you ready?

venir becomes             vin- 
hacer becomes             hic- 
estar becomes              estuv-  
poder becomes            pud-
poner becomes            pus-
tener becomes             tuv-
saber becomes             sup-
querer becomes           quis-

Now let’s look at the endings that go along with these verbs:

yo	-e	nosotros	-imos
tú	-iste	vosotros (used only in Spain)	-isteis
él, ella, usted	-o	and finally, ellos, ellas, ustedes	-ieron

Now watch and see how it works. If I wanted to say “I came.” I would say “vine”

The phrase “She came” would be “vino”

 “We came” would be “vinimos”.

This works the same for every verb, but I’ll show you a few examples to help you better retain the concept.

The phrase “They put” would be “pusieron” and “Juana, you put” would be “pusiste”.

Now, we’ll look at four more verbs that have a slight variation. They are the verbs “traer”, “decir”, “conducir” and “traducir” which means “to translate”.

The stems of these words are: traduj-, traj-, dij-, and conduj-.  The variation I was talking about with these verbs is for “ellos, ellas, and uds.” instead of the “i-e-r-o-n” ending, it’s simply “e-r-o-n” or “eron”.

Let’s try a few. The phrase “I said” would be “dije”. The phrase “they said” would be “dijeron”.

To say “I translated” would be “traduje”  and “they, or all of you translated” would be “tradujeron”.

Now, let’s run through the irregular stems one more time and the endings. As we go over them, try to memorize them.

venir becomes	vin
Hacer becomes	hic
Estar becomes	estuv
Poder becomes	pud
poner becomes	pus
tener becomes	tuv
saber becomes	sup
querer becomes	quis
traer becomes	traj
decir becomes	dij
conducir becomes	conduj
traducir becomes	traduj

Now let’s take another look at the endings.

yo	-e	nosotros	-imos
tú	-iste	vosotros (used only in Spain)	-isteis
él, ella, usted	-o	ellos, ellas, ustedes	-ieron

Now, before we go to the practice session, we need to learn two more verbs that don’t fit into any category. They are the preterite, or “spine” form of the verbs “ir” and “ser”. Remember that “ir” means “to go” and “ser” means “to be”. The great thing is that the spine, or preterite conjugation of these verbs is the same. The only way to tell them apart is by the context in which they’re used.

Let’s take a look:

I was / I went is:	(yo)	fui	We were /  We went is:	(nosotros)	fuimos
(Juana) You were / You went is:	(tú)	fuiste	You were / You went (used only in Spain) is:	(vosotros)	fuisteis
He, she or you were / went is:	(él, ella, usted)	fue	They / All of you were or went is:	(ellos, ellas, ustedes)	fueron

As you just saw, the verb “fui” means either “I went” or “I was” depending on the context. Take one more look at these verbs and continue when you’re ready,

Moving on now, you can continue to the practice session. Otherwise, you can continue to review this section until you feel like you have a good grasp on it. Before we begin our practice session, there are a few new words that you need to learn.

The first one is

late,                             tarde 
early                           temprano 
earlier                         más temprano 
on time                        a tiempo
far                                lejos
fast                              rápido