Skip to content
fluentbyear

SPANISH VERB

superar

to surpass, to outdo, to get over

  • Regular -ar verb
  • Gerund: superando
  • Past participle: superado

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

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

Imperfect

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

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Past subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use superar

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

  1. Present

    Emily supera a Curro en todos los exámenes.

    Emily outdoes Curro in every exam.

  2. Past

    Superé el miedo a volar con cuarenta años.

    I got over my fear of flying at forty.

  3. Imperfect

    Cada año el Betis superaba las expectativas, y luego no.

    Every year Betis surpassed expectations, and then didn't.

  4. Future

    Superarás esto, como superaste lo de tu padre.

    You'll get over this, like you got over your father.

  5. Conditional

    Sin presión, superaría la prueba sin problema.

    Without pressure, she'd get through the test no problem.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Ojalá supere la operación sin complicaciones.

    I hope he gets through the operation without complications.

  7. Past subjunctive

    Nadie creía que superáramos el primer año.

    Nobody believed we'd get through the first year.

  8. Imperative

    Supera el orgullo y llama a tu hermano.

    Get over your pride and call your brother.

Good to know

  • "Superar" is to get over something hard: superó la enfermedad; "superarse" is to outdo yourself. "Está superado" means it's behind me now.

Where you hear superar

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

Spanish · Fluency Level 3

  • Este libro supera al primero. Sin ninguna duda. This book beats the first one. No doubt about it.
  • En el examen, Álvaro superó el miedo. In the exam, Alvaro got over his fear.
  • El año que viene, voy a superar a Curro. Next year, I'm going to outdo Curro.
21
A Dance and a Toast

Fluency Level 3 · La alumna ha superado a la maestra. · El alumno ha superado al maestro.

Needs a subscription

Verbs like this one

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