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SPANISH VERB

sobrevivir

to survive

  • #497 most used
  • Regular -ir verb
  • Gerund: sobreviviendo
  • Past participle: sobrevivido

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

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

Imperfect

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

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Past subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use sobrevivir

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

  1. Present

    Sobrevivo con café hasta la hora de la comida.

    I survive on coffee until lunchtime.

  2. Past

    Mi abuelo sobrevivió al temblor del ochenta y cinco.

    My grandpa survived the eighty-five earthquake.

  3. Imperfect

    En la universidad sobrevivía con tortas y refrescos.

    In college I survived on tortas and sodas.

  4. Future

    ¿Sobrevivirás una semana sin internet en la sierra?

    Will you survive a week without internet up in the mountains?

  5. Conditional

    Ninguna planta sobreviviría en mi departamento, créeme.

    No plant would survive in my apartment, believe me.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Ojalá que mis plantas sobrevivan a las vacaciones.

    I hope my plants survive the vacation.

  7. Past subjunctive

    Si sobreviviera un mes sin azúcar, me daría un premio.

    If I survived a month without sugar, I'd give myself a prize.

  8. Imperative

    ¡Sobrevive la junta de hoy y te invito una cerveza!

    Survive today's meeting and I'll buy you a beer!

Good to know

  • "Sobrevivir a" something: sobrevivió al temblor. "Sobreviví" also sums up a hard day, with a smile.

Where you hear sobrevivir

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

Spanish · Intermediate Level 2

  • Sobrevivo con tres cafés al día. I survive on three coffees a day.
  • Sobreviví a las trescientas curvas. I survived the three hundred curves.
  • Vamos a sobrevivir al primer examen. We're going to survive the first exam.
22
Three Hundred Curves

Intermediate Level 2 · sobrevivo

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Verbs like this one

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