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SPANISH VERB

faltar

to be missing

  • #145 most used
  • Regular -ar verb
  • Gerund: faltando
  • Past participle: faltado

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

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

Imperfect

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

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Past subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use faltar

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

  1. Present

    Nos faltan dos sillas para la fiesta.

    We're two chairs short for the party.

  2. Past

    Ayer faltó el maestro de inglés.

    Yesterday the English teacher was absent.

  3. Imperfect

    Siempre faltaba sal en la cocina de mi tío.

    There was always salt missing in my uncle's kitchen.

  4. Future

    Con tanta gente, faltará comida.

    With so many people, there won't be enough food.

  5. Conditional

    Sin ti, faltaría la mejor parte de la fiesta.

    Without you, the best part of the party would be missing.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Espero que no falte nadie a la reunión.

    I hope nobody misses the meeting.

  7. Past subjunctive

    Si faltara dinero, mi hermana nos prestaría.

    If money were short, my sister would lend us some.

  8. Imperative

    ¡No faltes mañana a la clase de baile!

    Don't miss dance class tomorrow!

Good to know

  • "Me falta" means I'm missing it or I still need it: "me faltan diez pesos".

Where you hear faltar

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

Spanish · Beginner Level 2

  • Falta un calcetín. A sock is missing.
  • Faltó sal en la sopa. The soup needed salt.
  • No te va a faltar nada. You're not going to need anything.

Spanish · Beginner Level 3

  • Faltan dos horas para llegar a Mérida. There are two hours to go before we get to Merida.
  • Faltaba una llave en la mesa. A key was missing from the table.
  • Nos faltará tiempo para verlo todo. We won't have enough time to see it all.
5
Is My Laundry Ready?

Beginner Level 2 · falta

Needs a subscription 27
Twelve Grapes

Beginner Level 3 · faltan cinco minutos

Needs a subscription 22
Three Hundred Curves

Intermediate Level 2 · faltan

Needs a subscription 5
May You Be Very Happy

Intermediate Level 3 · te falte

Needs a subscription 14
Please Reply

Advanced Level 3 · No faltaremos.

Needs a subscription 26
Do You Take

Advanced Level 3 · que no les falte nada

Needs a subscription 3
The Fish That Bites Its Tail

Fluency Level 1 · Le falta

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Verbs like this one

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