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SPANISH VERB

competir

to compete

  • #446 most used
  • Irregular -ir verb
  • Gerund: compitiendo
  • Past participle: competido

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

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

Imperfect

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

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Past subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use competir

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

  1. Present

    Mi hijo compite en natación desde los ocho años.

    My son has competed in swimming since he was eight.

  2. Past

    El año pasado competí contra mi mejor amigo.

    Last year I competed against my best friend.

  3. Imperfect

    Las dos tiendas competían por los mismos clientes.

    The two shops competed for the same customers.

  4. Future

    España y México competirán en la final del domingo.

    Spain and Mexico will compete in Sunday's final.

  5. Conditional

    Yo no competiría con él, es demasiado rápido.

    I wouldn't compete with him, he's too fast.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Quiero que compitas por diversión, no por ganar.

    I want you to compete for fun, not to win.

  7. Past subjunctive

    Nadie pensó que compitiera a ese nivel tan joven.

    Nobody thought she'd compete at that level so young.

  8. Imperative

    ¡Compite limpio y disfruta la carrera!

    Compete clean and enjoy the race!

Good to know

  • "Competir con" or "competir contra" someone; "competir por" a prize.

Verbs like this one

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