Present
Presente · now, habits and facts
- yo I serve
- tú you serve
- usted, él, ella he/she serves
- nosotros we serve
- vosotros Spain you all serve
- ustedes, ellos, ellas they serve
SPANISH VERB
servir
to serve
- #55 most used
- Irregular -ir verb
- Gerund: sirviendo
- Past participle: servido
Conjugation
Tap any form to hear it. The part that changes is in colour.
Past
Pretérito indefinido · finished actions
- yo I served
- tú you served
- usted, él, ella he/she served
- nosotros we served
- vosotros Spain you all served
- ustedes, ellos, ellas they served
Imperfect
Pretérito imperfecto · “used to” and “was …ing”
- yo I used to serve
- tú you used to serve
- usted, él, ella he/she used to serve
- nosotros we used to serve
- vosotros Spain you all used to serve
- ustedes, ellos, ellas they used to serve
Future
Futuro · plans and promises; in speech, “voy a hablar” is just as common
- yo I will serve
- tú you will serve
- usted, él, ella he/she will serve
- nosotros we will serve
- vosotros Spain you all will serve
- ustedes, ellos, ellas they will serve
Conditional
Condicional · “would”
- yo I would serve
- tú you would serve
- usted, él, ella he/she would serve
- nosotros we would serve
- vosotros Spain you all would serve
- ustedes, ellos, ellas they would serve
Present subjunctive
Presente de subjuntivo · wishes, doubts, “que …”
- yo (that) I serve
- tú (that) you serve
- usted, él, ella (that) he/she serve
- nosotros (that) we serve
- vosotros Spain (that) you all serve
- ustedes, ellos, ellas (that) they serve
Past subjunctive
Imperfecto de subjuntivo · “if I were”, “si …”
- yo (if) I served
- tú (if) you served
- usted, él, ella (if) he/she served
- nosotros (if) we served
- vosotros Spain (if) you all served
- ustedes, ellos, ellas (if) they served
Imperative
Imperativo · requests and orders; a negative one uses the subjunctive (no hables)
- tú serve!
- usted serve! (formal)
- nosotros serve! (let’s)
- vosotros Spain serve! (all of you)
- ustedes serve! (all of you)
How to use servir
One sentence for each tense, the way people say it.
-
Present
En ese restaurante sirven el mejor pozole.
That restaurant serves the best pozole.
-
Past
La mesera nos sirvió el café frío.
The waitress served us cold coffee.
-
Imperfect
Mi mamá servía la comida a las tres en punto.
My mom used to serve lunch at three sharp.
-
Future
¿Servirán comida en el vuelo a Monterrey?
Will they serve food on the flight to Monterrey?
-
Conditional
Yo serviría el vino antes de la cena.
I'd serve the wine before dinner.
-
Present subjunctive
Espero que te sirva la receta de mi abuela.
I hope my grandmother's recipe is useful to you.
-
Past subjunctive
Si sirvieran postre, me quedaría otro rato.
If they served dessert, I'd stay a while longer.
-
Imperative
Sirve los tamales mientras yo preparo el atole.
Serve the tamales while I make the atole.
Good to know
- "No sirve" means it doesn't work: "El elevador no sirve."
- "Servirse" is to help yourself: "Sírvete más."
Where you hear servir
The lessons that teach a form of it, and how they say it.
Spanish · Beginner Level 3
- Sirvo el desayuno a las ocho. I serve breakfast at eight.
- Ya les serví las horchatas. I've already served you the horchatas.
- Mañana serviré papaya en el desayuno. Tomorrow I'll serve papaya at breakfast.
Spanish · Advanced Level 3
- Aquí se sirve la cena a las nueve. Dinner is served here at nine.
- Nos sirvieron una cena estupenda. They served us a wonderful dinner.
- En la boda se servirá mole negro. Black mole will be served at the wedding.
Verbs like this one
The same pattern, on other verbs: irregular -ir verb.