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SPANISH VERB

prohibir

to forbid

  • #394 most used
  • Irregular -ir verb
  • Gerund: prohibiendo
  • Past participle: prohibido

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

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

Imperfect

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

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Past subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use prohibir

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

  1. Present

    El médico me prohíbe el café por un mes.

    The doctor forbids me coffee for a month.

  2. Past

    Mis padres me prohibieron salir el fin de semana.

    My parents forbade me from going out on the weekend.

  3. Imperfect

    En mi escuela prohibían los teléfonos en clase.

    At my school they banned phones in class.

  4. Future

    ¿Prohibirán los coches en el centro histórico?

    Will they ban cars in the historic center?

  5. Conditional

    Yo prohibiría fumar en todas las terrazas.

    I would ban smoking on all terraces.

  6. Present subjunctive

    No quiero que le prohíbas jugar con sus amigos.

    I don't want you to forbid him from playing with his friends.

  7. Past subjunctive

    Nadie esperaba que el ayuntamiento prohibiera la fiesta.

    Nobody expected the town hall to ban the party.

  8. Imperative

    ¡No prohíbas los dulces, solo pon un límite!

    Don't ban sweets, just set a limit!

Good to know

  • "Prohibir que" takes the subjunctive: te prohíbo que salgas. "Prohibido fumar" is "No smoking".

Verbs like this one

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