Skip to content
fluentbyear

SPANISH VERB

preguntar

to ask

  • #72 most used
  • Regular -ar verb
  • Gerund: preguntando
  • Past participle: preguntado

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

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

Imperfect

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

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Past subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use preguntar

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

  1. Present

    Mi hijo pregunta por qué todo el tiempo.

    My son asks why all the time.

  2. Past

    Le pregunté al policía dónde estaba el museo.

    I asked the police officer where the museum was.

  3. Imperfect

    Siempre me preguntaban por mi acento.

    They always asked me about my accent.

  4. Future

    Preguntaré en la recepción si hay toallas.

    I'll ask at the front desk if there are towels.

  5. Conditional

    Yo preguntaría el precio antes de pedirlo.

    I'd ask the price before ordering it.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Es mejor que preguntes antes de tocar nada.

    It's better that you ask before touching anything.

  7. Past subjunctive

    Si me preguntaras, te diría la verdad.

    If you asked me, I'd tell you the truth.

  8. Imperative

    ¡Pregúntele al mesero si tienen agua de jamaica!

    Ask the waiter if they have hibiscus water!

Good to know

  • "Preguntar" is to ask a question; to ask for something is "pedir".

Where you hear preguntar

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

Spanish · Beginner Level 2

  • Pregúntale si tiene hambre. Ask her if she's hungry.
  • Le pregunté a la doctora. I asked the doctor.
  • Le voy a preguntar a Elena. I'm going to ask Elena.

Spanish · Beginner Level 3

  • Siempre pregunto cuando no sé. I always ask when I don't know.
  • Pregunté por el precio. I asked about the price.
  • Voy a preguntarle mañana. I'm going to ask him tomorrow.
24
This Is My Sister

Beginner Level 2 · Pregúntale.

Needs a subscription 3
What Will You Do?

Beginner Level 3 · preguntarle

Needs a subscription 20
The Whole Trip

Beginner Level 3 · preguntamos

Needs a subscription 23
Plans for Christmas

Beginner Level 3 · le pregunté

Needs a subscription 3
The Rules

Intermediate Level 1 · que me pregunten · que le preguntemos

Needs a subscription 18
No Water

Intermediate Level 1 · pregúntele · no me preguntó

Needs a subscription 20
The Morning After

Intermediate Level 1 · preguntó

Needs a subscription 10
Valeria's News

Intermediate Level 2 · cuando me lo preguntó

Needs a subscription 18
Old Friends

Intermediate Level 2 · me preguntaste · no preguntes

Needs a subscription 19
Had I Known

Advanced Level 1 · de habérmelo preguntado

Needs a subscription 27
Look After Yourselves

Advanced Level 1 · Pregúntame lo que quieras.

Needs a subscription 2
You Said You'd Come Back

Advanced Level 3 · sin preguntarle

Free

And 1 more lessons.

Verbs like this one

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