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fluentbyear

SPANISH VERB

enseñar

to teach

  • #148 most used
  • Regular -ar verb
  • Gerund: enseñando
  • Past participle: enseñado

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

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

Imperfect

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

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Past subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use enseñar

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

  1. Present

    Mi mamá enseña inglés en una secundaria.

    My mom teaches English at a middle school.

  2. Past

    Mi abuelo me enseñó a pescar.

    My grandfather taught me to fish.

  3. Imperfect

    Antes enseñaba matemáticas, ahora soy ingeniera.

    I used to teach math, now I'm an engineer.

  4. Future

    Te enseñaré a hacer salsa verde.

    I will teach you to make salsa verde.

  5. Conditional

    Yo te enseñaría a manejar con gusto.

    I would gladly teach you to drive.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Quiero que me enseñes tus fotos del viaje.

    I want you to show me your trip photos.

  7. Past subjunctive

    Le pedí que me enseñara el camino al centro.

    I asked him to show me the way downtown.

  8. Imperative

    Enséñame tu celular nuevo, ¿cómo es?

    Show me your new phone, what's it like?

Good to know

  • Enseñar is to teach, and also to show: enséñame tu foto.

Where you hear enseñar

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

Spanish · Beginner Level 1

  • Enseño a surfear. I teach surfing.
  • Le enseñé inglés a Mateo. I taught Mateo English.
  • Voy a enseñarle español a mi hermana. I'm going to teach my sister Spanish.

Spanish · Beginner Level 2

  • Te enseño a hacer salsa. I'll teach you to make salsa.
  • Elena me enseñó a cocinar. Elena taught me to cook.
  • Te voy a enseñar la ciudad. I'm going to show you the city.
22
Do You Know How to Surf?

Beginner Level 1 · enseño · Yo te enseño. · me enseñas

Needs a subscription 28
When Are You Leaving?

Beginner Level 1 · enseñando

Needs a subscription 10
What Did You Do This Week?

Beginner Level 2 · me enseñó

Needs a subscription 16
We Climbed the Mountain

Beginner Level 2 · te enseñamos

Needs a subscription 17
Two Thousand Years Ago

Beginner Level 2 · me enseñaron

Needs a subscription 24
This Is My Sister

Beginner Level 2 · le va a enseñar

Needs a subscription 29
Always Welcome

Beginner Level 3 · me enseñaron

Needs a subscription 19
The Housewarming

Intermediate Level 1 · que me enseñe

Needs a subscription 21
What Would We Do?

Intermediate Level 1 · enseñarte mi café

Needs a subscription 29
Whatever Happens

Intermediate Level 1 · me enseñaría · te he enseñado

Needs a subscription 20
After They Leave

Intermediate Level 2 · que le enseñara

Needs a subscription 16
It's Your Turn

Intermediate Level 3 · Yo te enseño.

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And 8 more lessons.

Verbs like this one

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