Present
Presente · now, habits and facts
- yo I turn on
- tú you turn on
- usted, él, ella he/she turns on
- nosotros we turn on
- vosotros Spain you all turn on
- ustedes, ellos, ellas they turn on
SPANISH VERB
prender
to turn on
- #250 most used
- Regular -er verb
- Gerund: prendiendo
- Past participle: prendido
Conjugation
Tap any form to hear it. The part that changes is in colour.
Past
Pretérito indefinido · finished actions
- yo I turned on
- tú you turned on
- usted, él, ella he/she turned on
- nosotros we turned on
- vosotros Spain you all turned on
- ustedes, ellos, ellas they turned on
Imperfect
Pretérito imperfecto · “used to” and “was …ing”
- yo I used to turn on
- tú you used to turn on
- usted, él, ella he/she used to turn on
- nosotros we used to turn on
- vosotros Spain you all used to turn on
- ustedes, ellos, ellas they used to turn on
Future
Futuro · plans and promises; in speech, “voy a hablar” is just as common
- yo I will turn on
- tú you will turn on
- usted, él, ella he/she will turn on
- nosotros we will turn on
- vosotros Spain you all will turn on
- ustedes, ellos, ellas they will turn on
Conditional
Condicional · “would”
- yo I would turn on
- tú you would turn on
- usted, él, ella he/she would turn on
- nosotros we would turn on
- vosotros Spain you all would turn on
- ustedes, ellos, ellas they would turn on
Present subjunctive
Presente de subjuntivo · wishes, doubts, “que …”
- yo (that) I turn on
- tú (that) you turn on
- usted, él, ella (that) he/she turn on
- nosotros (that) we turn on
- vosotros Spain (that) you all turn on
- ustedes, ellos, ellas (that) they turn on
Past subjunctive
Imperfecto de subjuntivo · “if I were”, “si …”
- yo (if) I turned on
- tú (if) you turned on
- usted, él, ella (if) he/she turned on
- nosotros (if) we turned on
- vosotros Spain (if) you all turned on
- ustedes, ellos, ellas (if) they turned on
Imperative
Imperativo · requests and orders; a negative one uses the subjunctive (no hables)
- tú turn on!
- usted turn on! (formal)
- nosotros turn on! (let’s)
- vosotros Spain turn on! (all of you)
- ustedes turn on! (all of you)
How to use prender
One sentence for each tense, the way people say it.
-
Present
¿Cómo se prende esta lavadora tan moderna?
How do you turn on this fancy washing machine?
-
Past
Prendí la calefacción porque los niños tenían frío.
I turned on the heating because the kids were cold.
-
Imperfect
Mi abuelo prendía el radio todas las mañanas.
My grandfather used to turn on the radio every morning.
-
Future
Prenderemos las luces del árbol en Nochebuena.
We'll turn on the tree lights on Christmas Eve.
-
Conditional
Yo prendería el ventilador, pero hace ruido.
I'd turn on the fan, but it makes noise.
-
Present subjunctive
No quiero que prendas la tele tan temprano.
I don't want you to turn on the TV so early.
-
Past subjunctive
Si prendieras la luz, verías mejor el camino.
If you turned on the light, you'd see the path better.
-
Imperative
Prende el carro, ya nos vamos.
Start the car, we're leaving now.
Good to know
- In Mexico you "prende" the light or the TV; in Spain they say "encender".
Where you hear prender
The lessons that teach a form of it, and how they say it.
Spanish · Beginner Level 3
- ¿Cómo se prende el aire acondicionado? How do you turn on the air conditioning?
- Prendí una vela. I lit a candle.
- Voy a prender la camioneta. I'm going to start the minibus.
Spanish · Advanced Level 1
- Prendo una veladora junto a la foto. I light a candle beside the photograph.
- Prendí una veladora para Paco. I lit a candle for Paco.
- Mañana voy a prender otra veladora. Tomorrow I'm going to light another candle.
Verbs like this one
The same pattern, on other verbs: regular -er verb.