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SPANISH VERB

dedicarse

to do for a living

  • #128 most used
  • Regular -ar verb
  • Gerund: dedicándose
  • Past participle: dedicado

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

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

Imperfect

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

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Past subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use dedicarse

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

  1. Present

    ¿A qué se dedica tu papá?

    What does your dad do for a living?

  2. Past

    Después de la universidad, me dediqué a la enseñanza.

    After university, I went into teaching.

  3. Imperfect

    Mi abuelo se dedicaba a la pesca en la costa.

    My grandfather made a living fishing on the coast.

  4. Future

    Cuando termine, me dedicaré a la fotografía.

    When I finish, I'll devote myself to photography.

  5. Conditional

    Con esa voz, yo me dedicaría a cantar.

    With that voice, I'd sing for a living.

  6. Present subjunctive

    No importa a qué te dediques, hazlo con ganas.

    It doesn't matter what you do, do it with enthusiasm.

  7. Past subjunctive

    Mis padres querían que me dedicara a la medicina.

    My parents wanted me to go into medicine.

  8. Imperative

    ¡Dedícate a lo que te gusta, la vida es corta!

    Do what you love, life is short!

Good to know

  • "¿A qué te dedicas?" is "what do you do?", the question about someone's job.

Verbs like this one

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