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SPANISH VERB

sorprender

to surprise

  • #406 most used
  • Regular -er verb
  • Gerund: sorprendiendo
  • Past participle: sorprendido

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

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

Imperfect

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

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Past subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use sorprender

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

  1. Present

    Me sorprende que todavía no hayan llegado.

    It surprises me that they still haven't arrived.

  2. Past

    Mis amigos me sorprendieron con una fiesta el sábado.

    My friends surprised me with a party on Saturday.

  3. Imperfect

    De niña, los magos me sorprendían con cualquier truco.

    As a girl, magicians amazed me with any trick.

  4. Future

    Este final de la película te sorprenderá, ya verás.

    This movie ending will surprise you, you'll see.

  5. Conditional

    Nada de lo que haga Pedro me sorprendería.

    Nothing Pedro does would surprise me.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Quiero que mi regalo sorprenda a mi esposa.

    I want my gift to surprise my wife.

  7. Past subjunctive

    No esperaba que la comida me sorprendiera tanto.

    I didn't expect the food to surprise me so much.

  8. Imperative

    ¡Sorpréndeme con tu mejor platillo, chef!

    Surprise me with your best dish, chef!

Where you hear sorprender

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

Spanish · Intermediate Level 1

  • Me sorprende que no tenga novia. I'm surprised he doesn't have a girlfriend.
  • Mi mamá me sorprendió. My mom surprised me.
  • Te va a sorprender Chiapas. Chiapas is going to surprise you.

Spanish · Intermediate Level 3

  • Me sorprende que Diego no tenga pasaporte. It surprises me that Diego doesn't have a passport.
  • Me sorprendió que mi papá no se enojara. It surprised me that my dad didn't get angry.
  • Te va a sorprender lo bonita que es Sevilla. You're going to be surprised how beautiful Seville is.
8
Elena's Plan

Intermediate Level 1 · me sorprende que

Needs a subscription 30
Here I Am

Intermediate Level 1 · sorprendido

Needs a subscription 24
Don't Take It the Wrong Way

Intermediate Level 3 · Me sorprende que

Needs a subscription

Verbs like this one

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