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SPANISH VERB

perder

to lose

  • #44 most used
  • Irregular -er verb
  • Gerund: perdiendo
  • Past participle: perdido

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

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

Imperfect

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

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Past subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use perder

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

  1. Present

    Siempre pierdo las llaves de la casa.

    I always lose the house keys.

  2. Past

    Perdimos el vuelo por el tráfico.

    We missed the flight because of the traffic.

  3. Imperfect

    Mi equipo perdía todos los partidos ese año.

    My team lost every game that year.

  4. Future

    Si no corres, perderás el tren.

    If you don't run, you'll miss the train.

  5. Conditional

    Yo no perdería tiempo con esa discusión.

    I wouldn't waste time on that argument.

  6. Present subjunctive

    No quiero que pierdas tu boleto.

    I don't want you to lose your ticket.

  7. Past subjunctive

    Si perdiera el celular, no sabría ningún teléfono.

    If I lost my phone, I wouldn't know any numbers.

  8. Imperative

    ¡No pierdas la calma, todo tiene solución!

    Don't lose your cool, everything has a solution!

Good to know

  • "Perder el camión" is to miss the bus; "perderse" is to get lost.

Where you hear perder

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

Spanish · Beginner Level 2

  • Siempre pierdo las llaves. I always lose the keys.
  • Perdí mi llave. I lost my key.
  • El equipo va a perder otra vez. The team is going to lose again.

Spanish · Beginner Level 3

  • Siempre pierdo mis lentes de sol. I always lose my sunglasses.
  • Una vez perdí las llaves de la casa. Once I lost the keys to the house.
  • Esta vez no voy a perder la cartera. This time I'm not going to lose my wallet.
18
They Stole My Phone

Beginner Level 2 · perdí

Needs a subscription 25
Have You Ever Tried Them?

Beginner Level 2 · perdido · pierdes

Needs a subscription 14
I Forgot My Wallet

Beginner Level 3 · se me perdió · se me perdieron

Needs a subscription 23
The Canyon

Intermediate Level 1 · lo perdería

Needs a subscription 25
An Email from Boston

Intermediate Level 1 · perdería

Needs a subscription 21
By Then I'll Have Finished

Intermediate Level 2 · habrá perdido

Needs a subscription 27
As If It Had Always Been Here

Intermediate Level 2 · no nos lo habríamos perdido

Needs a subscription 22
If I Went, If I Stayed

Intermediate Level 3 · De perderte.

Needs a subscription 24
Already Friends

Advanced Level 3 · perdimos

Needs a subscription

Verbs like this one

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