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SPANISH VERB

elegir

to choose

  • #139 most used
  • Irregular -ir verb
  • Gerund: eligiendo
  • Past participle: elegido

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

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

Imperfect

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

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Past subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use elegir

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

  1. Present

    Siempre elijo la mesa de la terraza, al sol.

    I always choose the table on the terrace, in the sun.

  2. Past

    Elegimos el hotel por las vistas a la Giralda.

    We chose the hotel for the views of the Giralda.

  3. Imperfect

    De niña elegía siempre el helado de fresa.

    As a girl I always chose strawberry ice cream.

  4. Future

    ¿Elegirás tú el restaurante o lo elijo yo?

    Will you choose the restaurant or shall I?

  5. Conditional

    Yo elegiría el vestido azul para la boda.

    I'd choose the blue dress for the wedding.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Es importante que elijas bien a tus compañeros de piso.

    It's important that you choose your flatmates well.

  7. Past subjunctive

    Me dejaron que eligiera yo la película del sábado.

    They let me choose Saturday's film.

  8. Imperative

    Elige tú el postre, que yo ya he elegido el vino.

    You choose the dessert, I've already chosen the wine.

Good to know

  • "Elegir" and "escoger" mean the same; "elegir" is the more common one in Spain, also for elections.

Where you hear elegir

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

Spanish · Advanced Level 1

  • Elijo las palabras con cuidado. I choose my words carefully.
  • Ayer elegimos una mesa cerca de la ventana. Yesterday we chose a table near the window.
  • Voy a elegir un regalo para mi amiga. I'm going to choose a present for my friend.
30
The Morning After

Advanced Level 1 · elegido fecha

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Verbs like this one

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