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SPANISH VERB

apretar

to press, to tighten

  • Irregular -ar verb
  • Gerund: apretando
  • Past participle: apretado

Conjugation

Tap any form to hear it. The part that changes is in colour.

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

  1. yo I press
  2. tú you press
  3. usted, él, ella he/she presses
  4. nosotros we press
  5. vosotros Spain you all press
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they press

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

  1. yo I pressed
  2. tú you pressed
  3. usted, él, ella he/she pressed
  4. nosotros we pressed
  5. vosotros Spain you all pressed
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they pressed

Imperfect

Pretérito imperfecto · “used to” and “was …ing”

  1. yo I used to press
  2. tú you used to press
  3. usted, él, ella he/she used to press
  4. nosotros we used to press
  5. vosotros Spain you all used to press
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they used to press

Future

Futuro · plans and promises; in speech, “voy a hablar” is just as common

  1. yo I will press
  2. tú you will press
  3. usted, él, ella he/she will press
  4. nosotros we will press
  5. vosotros Spain you all will press
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they will press

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

  1. yo I would press
  2. tú you would press
  3. usted, él, ella he/she would press
  4. nosotros we would press
  5. vosotros Spain you all would press
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they would press

Present subjunctive

Presente de subjuntivo · wishes, doubts, “que …”

  1. yo (that) I press
  2. tú (that) you press
  3. usted, él, ella (that) he/she press
  4. nosotros (that) we press
  5. vosotros Spain (that) you all press
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas (that) they press

Past subjunctive

Imperfecto de subjuntivo · “if I were”, “si …”

  1. yo (if) I pressed
  2. tú (if) you pressed
  3. usted, él, ella (if) he/she pressed
  4. nosotros (if) we pressed
  5. vosotros Spain (if) you all pressed
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas (if) they pressed

Imperative

Imperativo · requests and orders; a negative one uses the subjunctive (no hables)

  1. tú press!
  2. usted press! (formal)
  3. nosotros press! (let’s)
  4. vosotros Spain press! (all of you)
  5. ustedes press! (all of you)

How to use apretar

One sentence for each tense, the way people say it.

  1. Present

    Estos zapatos nuevos me aprietan un montón.

    These new shoes pinch a lot.

  2. Past

    Apreté el botón equivocado y se borró todo.

    I pressed the wrong button and everything got deleted.

  3. Imperfect

    El cinturón me apretaba después de la comida.

    The belt was tight on me after lunch.

  4. Future

    El fontanero apretará la tubería que gotea.

    The plumber will tighten the pipe that's leaking.

  5. Conditional

    Yo apretaría más ese tornillo, se va a caer.

    I'd tighten that screw more, it's going to fall off.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Cuando aprietes el botón rojo, la máquina arranca.

    When you press the red button, the machine starts.

  7. Past subjunctive

    Me dijo que no apretara tanto el nudo.

    He told me not to tighten the knot so much.

  8. Imperative

    ¡Aprieta fuerte, que la tapa no cierra!

    Press hard, the lid won't close!

Good to know

  • Apretar un botón is to press a button; "estos zapatos me aprietan" is these shoes pinch.

Where you hear apretar

The lessons that teach a form of it, and how they say it.

Spanish · Advanced Level 3

  • Aprieto la lana para que quede bien. I press the wool so that it sits properly.
  • Apreté demasiado fuerte al principio. I pressed too hard at first.
  • Esta vez vas a apretar un poco menos. This time you're going to press a little less.
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Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: irregular -ar verb.