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SPANISH VERB

parar

to stop

  • #372 most used
  • Regular -ar verb
  • Gerund: parando
  • Past participle: parado

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

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

Imperfect

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

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Past subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use parar

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

  1. Present

    Este autobús para delante de la catedral.

    This bus stops in front of the cathedral.

  2. Past

    Paré en una gasolinera para tomar un café.

    I stopped at a petrol station to have a coffee.

  3. Imperfect

    El tren paraba en todos los pueblos del camino.

    The train stopped in every village on the way.

  4. Future

    La lluvia parará por la tarde, según el tiempo.

    The rain will stop in the afternoon, according to the forecast.

  5. Conditional

    Yo pararía a comer algo antes de seguir.

    I'd stop to eat something before carrying on.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Espera a que pare de llover para salir.

    Wait for the rain to stop before going out.

  7. Past subjunctive

    Le pedí al taxista que parara en la esquina.

    I asked the taxi driver to stop at the corner.

  8. Imperative

    ¡Para ya, que me duele la tripa de reír!

    Stop it, my belly hurts from laughing!

Good to know

  • "Sin parar" is nonstop; "ir a parar" is to end up somewhere.

Where you hear parar

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

Spanish · Intermediate Level 3

  • El teléfono de la clínica no para de sonar. The clinic phone never stops ringing.
  • Paramos a comer en el camino. We stopped to eat on the way.
  • La lluvia va a parar en la tarde. The rain is going to stop in the afternoon.

Spanish · Advanced Level 3

  • Manolo no para de hablar. Manolo never stops talking.
  • La alta no paraba de hablarme. The tall one never stopped talking to me.
  • Hoy no voy a parar de hablar. Today I'm not going to stop talking.
2
Twenty Years Without Speaking

Intermediate Level 3 · sin parar

Free 13
Don't Look at the Clock

Advanced Level 3 · no paraba de hablarme

Needs a subscription

Verbs like this one

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