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SPANISH VERB

esperar

to wait

  • #39 most used
  • Regular -ar verb
  • Gerund: esperando
  • Past participle: esperado

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

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

Imperfect

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

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Past subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use esperar

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

  1. Present

    Te espero en la entrada del cine.

    I'll wait for you at the cinema entrance.

  2. Past

    Esperamos el camión casi una hora.

    We waited for the bus almost an hour.

  3. Imperfect

    Mientras esperaba, leía las noticias en el celular.

    While I waited, I read the news on my phone.

  4. Future

    Los niños esperarán aquí con su abuela.

    The kids will wait here with their grandmother.

  5. Conditional

    ¿Me esperarías cinco minutos más?

    Would you wait five more minutes for me?

  6. Present subjunctive

    El doctor quiere que espere afuera, señora.

    The doctor wants you to wait outside, ma'am.

  7. Past subjunctive

    Si esperáramos un poco, pagaríamos menos por los boletos.

    If we waited a little, we'd pay less for the tickets.

  8. Imperative

    ¡Espérame, que todavía no termino!

    Wait for me, I'm not done yet!

Good to know

  • "Esperar" is also to hope: "espero que sí" is "I hope so".

Where you hear esperar

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

Spanish · Beginner Level 2

  • Te espero afuera. I'll wait for you outside.
  • Esperé una hora en el banco. I waited an hour at the bank.
  • La vamos a esperar a las ocho. We're going to wait for you at eight.

Spanish · Intermediate Level 1

  • Los pacientes esperan en la sala de espera. The patients wait in the waiting room.
  • Esperé el camión una hora. I waited an hour for the bus.
  • Te voy a esperar afuera. I'm going to wait for you outside.
4
The Machine Ate My Card

Beginner Level 2 · esperar · te espero · esperé

Needs a subscription 5
Is My Laundry Ready?

Beginner Level 2 · esperando

Needs a subscription 9
First, Cut the Onion

Beginner Level 2 · ¡Espera!

Needs a subscription 12
What Hurts?

Beginner Level 2 · lo espera

Needs a subscription 28
On the One Hand

Beginner Level 2 · me espera

Needs a subscription 2
The First Day

Intermediate Level 1 · que espere · que esperes

Free 18
No Water

Intermediate Level 1 · esperen

Needs a subscription 3
The Weavers' Village

Intermediate Level 2 · estarán esperando

Needs a subscription 23
Do You Remember Me?

Intermediate Level 2 · está esperando

Needs a subscription 1
Are You Mexican?

Advanced Level 1 · esperad

Free 19
Had I Known

Advanced Level 1 · esperaría unos días

Needs a subscription 20
A Widow From Seville

Advanced Level 1 · no esperó

Needs a subscription

And 4 more lessons.

Verbs like this one

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