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SPANISH VERB

establecer

to establish

  • #162 most used
  • Regular -er verb
  • Gerund: estableciendo
  • Past participle: establecido

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

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

Imperfect

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

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Past subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use establecer

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

  1. Present

    El contrato establece un pago cada mes.

    The contract sets out a payment every month.

  2. Past

    Mis abuelos se establecieron aquí hace cincuenta años.

    My grandparents settled here fifty years ago.

  3. Imperfect

    Las reglas establecían una hora de llegada.

    The rules set an arrival time.

  4. Future

    La ciudad establecerá nuevas rutas de autobús.

    The city will set up new bus routes.

  5. Conditional

    Yo establecería un horario fijo para estudiar.

    I'd set a fixed schedule for studying.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Es necesario que establezcan límites claros con los niños.

    It's necessary that you set clear limits with the kids.

  7. Past subjunctive

    El jefe pidió que estableciéramos metas para el año.

    The boss asked us to set goals for the year.

  8. Imperative

    ¡Establece un presupuesto antes de salir de compras!

    Set a budget before going shopping!

Good to know

  • "Establecerse" is to settle somewhere: "se establecieron en Lima".

Verbs like this one

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