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SPANISH VERB

mentir

to lie

  • #274 most used
  • Irregular -ir verb
  • Gerund: mintiendo
  • Past participle: mentido

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

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

Imperfect

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

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Past subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use mentir

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

  1. Present

    Mi hermanito miente cuando tiene algo de culpa.

    My little brother lies when he's a bit to blame.

  2. Past

    Diego le mintió a Valeria sobre el anillo.

    Diego lied to Valeria about the ring.

  3. Imperfect

    De niña mentía sobre la tarea para salir a jugar.

    As a girl I lied about my homework to go out and play.

  4. Future

    ¿Crees que te mentirá otra vez si le preguntas?

    Do you think he'll lie to you again if you ask him?

  5. Conditional

    Yo nunca te mentiría sobre algo tan importante.

    I'd never lie to you about something so important.

  6. Present subjunctive

    No quiero que me mientas, prefiero la verdad.

    I don't want you to lie to me, I prefer the truth.

  7. Past subjunctive

    Si mintieras en la entrevista, se darían cuenta.

    If you lied in the interview, they'd notice.

  8. Imperative

    ¡No mientas, yo vi quién se comió el pastel!

    Don't lie, I saw who ate the cake!

Good to know

  • "Mentirle a alguien": no le mientas a tu mamá.

Where you hear mentir

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

Spanish · Intermediate Level 2

  • Mateo, mientes. Mateo, you're lying.
  • Mentí un poquito. I lied a little.
  • Nunca te voy a mentir. I'm never going to lie to you.
23
Do You Remember Me?

Intermediate Level 2 · Mentí.

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Verbs like this one

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