Skip to content
fluentbyear

SPANISH VERB

existir

to exist

  • #498 most used
  • Regular -ir verb
  • Gerund: existiendo
  • Past participle: existido

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

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

Imperfect

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

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Past subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use existir

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

  1. Present

    ¿Existe algún bar abierto a estas horas?

    Is there any bar open at this hour?

  2. Past

    Aquí existió una mezquita antes de la catedral.

    A mosque stood here before the cathedral.

  3. Imperfect

    Cuando yo era niño no existían los móviles.

    When I was a boy mobile phones didn't exist.

  4. Future

    Dentro de cien años existirán coches que vuelen.

    In a hundred years there'll be cars that fly.

  5. Conditional

    Sin el río, Sevilla no existiría como la conocemos.

    Without the river, Seville wouldn't exist as we know it.

  6. Present subjunctive

    No creo que exista un sitio mejor para vivir.

    I don't think there's a better place to live.

  7. Past subjunctive

    Dudaba que existiera una tapa tan buena.

    I doubted such a good tapa existed.

  8. Imperative

    ¡Existe, mesa libre, que tenemos mucha hambre!

    Exist, free table, we're starving!

Where you hear existir

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

Spanish · Advanced Level 3

  • Existen otras maneras de contar la historia. There are other ways of telling the story.
  • El español ya existía antes de ese encuentro. Spanish already existed before that meeting.
  • En el futuro seguirán existiendo preguntas. In the future there will still be questions.
16
Both Things

Advanced Level 3 · ya existía

Needs a subscription

Verbs like this one

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