Presente
Present
What happens now or regularly: hablo español, trabajo en un banco.
Spanish verb conjugation
Conjugation of ser
Ser — “to be”. Every tense with audio: tap a form to hear it, or the speaker to hear the whole tense.
- Translation
- to be
- Group
- key verb
- Participio
- sido
- Present perfect with haber
- yo he sido
Ser in every tense
Él / ella / usted and ellos / ellas / ustedes share their forms. Spanish usually drops the subject pronoun.
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Pretérito indefinido
Preterite
A completed action in a past cut off from now: ayer, el año pasado — Ayer hablé con Ana.
Pretérito imperfecto
Imperfect
Description, habit or background in the past: De niño vivía en Odesa y jugaba al fútbol.
Pretérito perfecto
Present perfect
An action in an unfinished period, or experience: Hoy he trabajado mucho. ¿Has estado en España?
Pluscuamperfecto
Pluperfect
What happened before another past action: Cuando llegué, ya habían cenado.
Futuro simple
Future
What will happen: Mañana lloverá. In speech, ir a + infinitive is common: Voy a llamar.
Condicional simple
Conditional
Polite requests and hypotheticals: ¿Podría ayudarme? Yo en tu lugar no iría.
Subjuntivo presente
Present subjunctive
After expressions of wishes, doubt, feelings and advice: Quiero que vengas. Ojalá haga sol.
Imperativo afirmativo
Imperative
Requests, advice, orders: ¡Habla más alto! ¡Venid aquí!
What to know
Ser is “to be” for permanent traits: who you are, where you’re from, your job, character, time and date. It’s irregular in almost every tense, and its preterite is identical to ir: fui, fuiste, fue.
Examples
- Soy de Ucrania.I’m from Ukraine.
- Fue un día maravilloso.It was a wonderful day.
- De niño era muy tímido.As a child I was very shy.
Practice
A person and a tense — choose the right form of ser. 10 questions.
Choose the form
FAQ
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How is ser conjugated in the present?
yo soy, tú eres, él/ella/Ud. es, nosotros somos, vosotros sois, ellos/ellas/Uds. son.
What is ser in the preterite (indefinido)?
yo fui, tú fuiste, él/ella/Ud. fue, nosotros fuimos, vosotros fuisteis, ellos/ellas/Uds. fueron.
How is the present perfect of ser formed?
Haber in the present + the participle: yo he sido, tú has sido, él/ella/Ud. ha sido, nosotros hemos sido, vosotros habéis sido, ellos/ellas/Uds. han sido.
What is ser in the future?
yo seré, tú serás, él/ella/Ud. será, nosotros seremos, vosotros seréis, ellos/ellas/Uds. serán.
What’s next
Spanish irregular verbs
The present, preterite and participle of irregular verbs in one table — with search and a trainer.
See the table50 most common Spanish words
The 50 most common Spanish words with audio, examples and exercises.
See the wordsSpanish level test
Grammar, vocabulary and reading from A1 to C1 — and your Spanish level.
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Grammar for this topic
Rules in plain words — with tables, examples and a quiz in every topic.
The present tense (presente)
Hablo, como, vivo — the endings of the three conjugations, pienso and puedo, tengo and conozco.
Level A1Pretérito indefinido: hablé, comí
Ayer hablé con Ana, el año pasado fui a Madrid — completed actions in the past.
Level A2Pretérito imperfecto: hablaba, comía
De niño vivía en Odesa y jugaba al fútbol — habits, descriptions and background in the past.
Level A2The present subjunctive: quiero que vengas
Quiero que vengas, ojalá llueva, cuando llegues: forming the subjunctive and when you need it.
Level B1
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