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SPANISH VERB

hervir

to boil

  • #325 most used
  • Irregular -ir verb
  • Gerund: hirviendo
  • Past participle: hervido

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

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

Imperfect

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

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Past subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use hervir

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

  1. Present

    El agua hierve a cien grados al nivel del mar.

    Water boils at a hundred degrees at sea level.

  2. Past

    Herví los huevos durante diez minutos exactos.

    I boiled the eggs for exactly ten minutes.

  3. Imperfect

    Mi abuela hervía la leche cada mañana.

    My grandmother boiled the milk every morning.

  4. Future

    ¿Hervirás la pasta o la hago yo?

    Will you boil the pasta or shall I?

  5. Conditional

    Yo herviría el agua antes de beberla en el campo.

    I would boil the water before drinking it in the countryside.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Cuando hierva el agua, añade el arroz.

    When the water boils, add the rice.

  7. Past subjunctive

    La receta pedía que hirviera la salsa media hora.

    The recipe called for boiling the sauce for half an hour.

  8. Imperative

    ¡Hierve las verduras solo cinco minutos!

    Boil the vegetables for only five minutes!

Verbs like this one

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