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SPANISH VERB

pensar

to think

  • #28 most used
  • Irregular -ar verb
  • Gerund: pensando
  • Past participle: pensado

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

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

Imperfect

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

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Past subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use pensar

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

  1. Present

    Pienso mucho en mi familia cuando viajo.

    I think about my family a lot when I travel.

  2. Past

    Pensé que la tienda cerraba a las nueve.

    I thought the store closed at nine.

  3. Imperfect

    Pensábamos ir a la playa, pero llovió.

    We were planning to go to the beach, but it rained.

  4. Future

    Lo pensaré y te aviso mañana.

    I'll think about it and let you know tomorrow.

  5. Conditional

    Yo pensaría dos veces antes de renunciar.

    I'd think twice before quitting.

  6. Present subjunctive

    No quiero que pienses mal de mí.

    I don't want you to think badly of me.

  7. Past subjunctive

    Si pensaras con calma, encontrarías la solución.

    If you thought calmly, you'd find the solution.

  8. Imperative

    ¡Piensa en algo bonito y duérmete!

    Think of something nice and go to sleep!

Good to know

  • "Pensar en" is to think about someone or something; "pensar" plus a verb is to plan to: "pienso viajar".

Where you hear pensar

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

Spanish · Beginner Level 2

  • Estoy pensando en quedarme más tiempo. I'm thinking of staying longer.
  • Pensé mucho anoche. I thought a lot last night.
  • Lo voy a pensar. I'm going to think about it.

Spanish · Beginner Level 3

  • Pienso en ti. I think about you.
  • Mis papás pensaban que estaba loca. My parents thought I was crazy.
  • ¿Qué van a pensar? What are they going to think?
28
On the One Hand

Beginner Level 2 · pensando · estoy pensando en · piénsalo · piénselo

Needs a subscription 18
Camila's Story

Beginner Level 3 · pensaban · pensaba

Needs a subscription 21
What Would We Do?

Intermediate Level 1 · piensas

Needs a subscription 25
An Email from Boston

Intermediate Level 1 · Piénselo.

Needs a subscription 28
A Call to Boston

Intermediate Level 1 · pensé · pensaste

Needs a subscription 1
Finally

Intermediate Level 2 · había pensado

Free 8
Little Kisses

Intermediate Level 2 · pienso en

Needs a subscription 19
Had I Known

Advanced Level 1 · que lo pensara

Needs a subscription 24
When Are You Due?

Advanced Level 1 · me lo pensaré

Needs a subscription 7
The More I Think About It

Advanced Level 3 · cuanto más lo pienso

Needs a subscription 17
Just in Case

Advanced Level 3 · eso pienso

Needs a subscription 4
Putting Down Roots

Fluency Level 1 · Pensándolo bien

Needs a subscription

And 2 more lessons.

Verbs like this one

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