Present
Presente · now, habits and facts
- yo I express
- tú you express
- usted, él, ella he/she expresses
- nosotros we express
- vosotros Spain you all express
- ustedes, ellos, ellas they express
Conjugation
Tap any form to hear it. The part that changes is in colour.
Past
Pretérito indefinido · finished actions
- yo I expressed
- tú you expressed
- usted, él, ella he/she expressed
- nosotros we expressed
- vosotros Spain you all expressed
- ustedes, ellos, ellas they expressed
Imperfect
Pretérito imperfecto · “used to” and “was …ing”
- yo I used to express
- tú you used to express
- usted, él, ella he/she used to express
- nosotros we used to express
- vosotros Spain you all used to express
- ustedes, ellos, ellas they used to express
Future
Futuro · plans and promises; in speech, “voy a hablar” is just as common
- yo I will express
- tú you will express
- usted, él, ella he/she will express
- nosotros we will express
- vosotros Spain you all will express
- ustedes, ellos, ellas they will express
Conditional
Condicional · “would”
- yo I would express
- tú you would express
- usted, él, ella he/she would express
- nosotros we would express
- vosotros Spain you all would express
- ustedes, ellos, ellas they would express
Present subjunctive
Presente de subjuntivo · wishes, doubts, “que …”
- yo (that) I express
- tú (that) you express
- usted, él, ella (that) he/she express
- nosotros (that) we express
- vosotros Spain (that) you all express
- ustedes, ellos, ellas (that) they express
Past subjunctive
Imperfecto de subjuntivo · “if I were”, “si …”
- yo (if) I expressed
- tú (if) you expressed
- usted, él, ella (if) he/she expressed
- nosotros (if) we expressed
- vosotros Spain (if) you all expressed
- ustedes, ellos, ellas (if) they expressed
Imperative
Imperativo · requests and orders; a negative one uses the subjunctive (no hables)
- tú express!
- usted express! (formal)
- nosotros express! (let’s)
- vosotros Spain express! (all of you)
- ustedes express! (all of you)
How to use expresar
One sentence for each tense, the way people say it.
-
Present
Mi hijo expresa sus emociones mejor que yo.
My son expresses his emotions better than I do.
-
Past
¿Expresó el alcalde su apoyo a los vecinos?
Did the mayor express his support for the residents?
-
Imperfect
Mi padre nunca expresaba lo que sentía.
My dad never expressed what he felt.
-
Future
En la carta expresaré mi agradecimiento a todos.
In the letter I'll express my gratitude to everyone.
-
Conditional
Yo expresaría la queja por escrito, no por teléfono.
I'd express the complaint in writing, not by phone.
-
Present subjunctive
Es sano que expreses tu enojo sin gritar.
It's healthy that you express your anger without shouting.
-
Past subjunctive
La terapeuta quería que expresara mis miedos en voz alta.
The therapist wanted me to express my fears out loud.
-
Imperative
¡Expresa tu opinión, aquí nadie te juzga!
Express your opinion, nobody judges you here!
Good to know
- "Expresarse" is to express yourself: se expresa muy bien en inglés.
Verbs like this one
The same pattern, on other verbs: regular -ar verb.