Present
Presente · now, habits and facts
- yo I write
- tú you write
- usted, él, ella he/she writes
- nosotros we write
- vosotros Spain you all write
- ustedes, ellos, ellas they write
SPANISH VERB
escribir
to write
- #43 most used
- Irregular -ir verb
- Gerund: escribiendo
- Past participle: escrito
Conjugation
Tap any form to hear it. The part that changes is in colour.
Past
Pretérito indefinido · finished actions
- yo I wrote
- tú you wrote
- usted, él, ella he/she wrote
- nosotros we wrote
- vosotros Spain you all wrote
- ustedes, ellos, ellas they wrote
Imperfect
Pretérito imperfecto · “used to” and “was …ing”
- yo I used to write
- tú you used to write
- usted, él, ella he/she used to write
- nosotros we used to write
- vosotros Spain you all used to write
- ustedes, ellos, ellas they used to write
Future
Futuro · plans and promises; in speech, “voy a hablar” is just as common
- yo I will write
- tú you will write
- usted, él, ella he/she will write
- nosotros we will write
- vosotros Spain you all will write
- ustedes, ellos, ellas they will write
Conditional
Condicional · “would”
- yo I would write
- tú you would write
- usted, él, ella he/she would write
- nosotros we would write
- vosotros Spain you all would write
- ustedes, ellos, ellas they would write
Present subjunctive
Presente de subjuntivo · wishes, doubts, “que …”
- yo (that) I write
- tú (that) you write
- usted, él, ella (that) he/she write
- nosotros (that) we write
- vosotros Spain (that) you all write
- ustedes, ellos, ellas (that) they write
Past subjunctive
Imperfecto de subjuntivo · “if I were”, “si …”
- yo (if) I wrote
- tú (if) you wrote
- usted, él, ella (if) he/she wrote
- nosotros (if) we wrote
- vosotros Spain (if) you all wrote
- ustedes, ellos, ellas (if) they wrote
Imperative
Imperativo · requests and orders; a negative one uses the subjunctive (no hables)
- tú write!
- usted write! (formal)
- nosotros write! (let’s)
- vosotros Spain write! (all of you)
- ustedes write! (all of you)
How to use escribir
One sentence for each tense, the way people say it.
-
Present
Le escribo a mi abuela cada semana.
I write to my grandmother every week.
-
Past
Escribí mi nombre en la lista de espera.
I wrote my name on the waiting list.
-
Imperfect
De joven escribía poemas en un cuaderno.
When I was young I wrote poems in a notebook.
-
Future
Te escribiré cuando llegue a Cancún.
I'll write to you when I get to Cancún.
-
Conditional
Yo escribiría la carta a mano.
I'd write the letter by hand.
-
Present subjunctive
Quiero que escribas tu dirección aquí.
I want you to write your address here.
-
Past subjunctive
Si escribieras más claro, entendería tu letra.
If you wrote more clearly, I'd understand your handwriting.
-
Imperative
¡Escríbeme cuando aterrices, por favor!
Write to me when you land, please!
Where you hear escribir
The lessons that teach a form of it, and how they say it.
Spanish · Beginner Level 2
- Les escribo todos los días. I write to you every day.
- Te escribí un mensaje. I wrote you a message.
- Les voy a escribir desde Yucatán. I'm going to write to you from the Yucatan.
Spanish · Beginner Level 3
- Te escribo desde Chiapas. I'm writing to you from Chiapas.
- Le escribí a Valeria. I wrote to Valeria.
- Te voy a escribir cada semana. I'm going to write to you every week.
29
I've Decided
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28
Beginner Level 2 · Escríbenos. · ¡Escríbeme!
Keep in Touch
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13
Beginner Level 3 · escribirme
It Was Written in Oaxaca
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20
Advanced Level 1 · Fue escrita.
A Widow From Seville
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3
Advanced Level 1 · Fue escrita.
Forty Bundles
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15
Advanced Level 2 · escritas
In Her Own Hand
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29
Advanced Level 3 · escrito · en este libro se escriben
The Turkey Dance
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30
Advanced Level 3 · la escribí
The Day After
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18
Advanced Level 3 · lo escribía cada vez
In My Day
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Fluency Level 1 · escribíamos
Verbs like this one
The same pattern, on other verbs: irregular -ir verb.