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SPANISH VERB

encender

to light, to switch on

  • #249 most used
  • Irregular -er verb
  • Gerund: encendiendo
  • Past participle: encendido

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

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

Imperfect

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

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Past subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use encender

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

  1. Present

    Enciendo la luz del pasillo cuando llego de noche.

    I switch on the hall light when I get home at night.

  2. Past

    Encendimos velas porque se fue la luz.

    We lit candles because the power went out.

  3. Imperfect

    Mi abuela encendía la radio cada mañana a las siete.

    My grandma switched on the radio every morning at seven.

  4. Future

    Esta noche encenderán las luces de Navidad del centro.

    Tonight they'll switch on the Christmas lights in the centre.

  5. Conditional

    Yo encendería la calefacción, hace frío en casa.

    I'd turn on the heating, it's cold at home.

  6. Present subjunctive

    No quiero que enciendas el ordenador tan tarde.

    I don't want you to turn on the computer so late.

  7. Past subjunctive

    Le pedí que encendiera el aire, que me asfixiaba.

    I asked him to turn on the air conditioning, I was suffocating.

  8. Imperative

    ¡Enciende la tele, que empieza el partido!

    Turn on the TV, the match is starting!

Where you hear encender

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

Spanish · Advanced Level 3

  • Enciendo la vela. I light the candle.
  • Encendí la vela durante el bautizo. I lit the candle during the baptism.
  • Voy a encender las luces del patio. I'm going to switch on the courtyard lights.
25
Coins, Godmother!

Advanced Level 3 · enciende

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Verbs like this one

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