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SPANISH VERB

pedir

to order, to ask for

  • #46 most used
  • Irregular -ir verb
  • Gerund: pidiendo
  • Past participle: pedido

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

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

Imperfect

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

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Past subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use pedir

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

  1. Present

    Siempre pido agua de horchata con mis tacos.

    I always order horchata with my tacos.

  2. Past

    Pedimos la cuenta hace veinte minutos.

    We asked for the check twenty minutes ago.

  3. Imperfect

    Mi hermano pedía dinero prestado cada semana.

    My brother borrowed money every week.

  4. Future

    Yo pediré el pescado, ¿y tú?

    I will order the fish, and you?

  5. Conditional

    Pediría otro café, pero ya es tarde.

    I would order another coffee, but it's late.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Es mejor que pidas ayuda si no entiendes.

    You had better ask for help if you don't understand.

  7. Past subjunctive

    Me dijeron que pidiera cita por teléfono.

    They told me to make an appointment by phone.

  8. Imperative

    Pide lo que quieras, yo invito.

    Order whatever you want, my treat.

Good to know

  • Pedir is to ask for something or to order; preguntar is to ask a question.

Where you hear pedir

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

Spanish · Beginner Level 1

  • Siempre pido tacos de pescado. I always order fish tacos.
  • Pedí los camarones. I ordered the shrimp.
  • Voy a pedir la cuenta. I'm going to ask for the bill.

Spanish · Beginner Level 3

  • Siempre pido tacos de pescado. I always order fish tacos.
  • Pedí más tiempo en el hospital. I asked the hospital for more time.
  • Voy a pedir un taxi. I'm going to order a taxi.
23
A Table for Three

Beginner Level 1 · pedir

Needs a subscription 18
Camila's Story

Beginner Level 3 · pedí

Needs a subscription 24
The Posada

Beginner Level 3 · piden

Needs a subscription 27
Twelve Grapes

Beginner Level 3 · pides un deseo

Needs a subscription 5
For Your Own Good

Intermediate Level 1 · le pido que

Needs a subscription 6
What Did She Say?

Intermediate Level 1 · me pidió que

Needs a subscription 26
Whatever You Decide

Intermediate Level 1 · le pedí que me hablara

Needs a subscription 27
As If It Had Always Been Here

Intermediate Level 2 · para pedir más

Needs a subscription 28
He Asked Me to Marry Him

Intermediate Level 2 · se lo pediste

Needs a subscription 10
An Email from Seville

Intermediate Level 3 · La pedí.

Needs a subscription 26
They Asked Me to Bring

Intermediate Level 3 · Me pidieron que trajera

Needs a subscription 3
Welcome to Spain

Advanced Level 1 · se pide

Needs a subscription

And 9 more lessons.

Verbs like this one

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