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SPANISH VERB

suspender

to fail (an exam)

  • Regular -er verb
  • Gerund: suspendiendo
  • Past participle: suspendido

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

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

Imperfect

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

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Past subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use suspender

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

  1. Present

    Si no estudio esta semana, suspendo seguro.

    If I don't study this week, I'll fail for sure.

  2. Past

    Suspendí el examen de conducir dos veces.

    I failed my driving test twice.

  3. Imperfect

    En el instituto siempre suspendía matemáticas.

    At secondary school I always failed maths.

  4. Future

    Si sigues así, suspenderás la oposición en junio.

    If you carry on like this, you'll fail the exam in June.

  5. Conditional

    Sin tu ayuda, suspendería el examen de inglés.

    Without your help, I'd fail the English exam.

  6. Present subjunctive

    No quiero que suspendas por mi culpa.

    I don't want you to fail because of me.

  7. Past subjunctive

    Mi madre tenía miedo de que suspendiera otra vez.

    My mother was afraid I'd fail again.

  8. Imperative

    Suspende al que copie, sin contemplaciones.

    Fail anyone who cheats, no exceptions.

Good to know

  • "Suspender" is to fail an exam, or to fail a student; a fail is "un suspenso", and to pass is "aprobar".
  • "Suspender" is also to cancel or call off: han suspendido el concierto.

Where you hear suspender

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

Spanish · Fluency Level 3

  • En mi facultad, casi nadie suspende esta asignatura. At my faculty, hardly anyone fails this subject.
  • En el instituto suspendí química una vez. At school I failed chemistry once.
  • Con tres habas, no vas a suspender. With three beans, you're not going to fail.
1
A Coincidence or a Sign

Fluency Level 3 · ¿Y si suspendo?

Free 2
What Have You Got to Lose?

Fluency Level 3 · No puedo suspender una tercera vez. · Que suspenda otra vez.

Free

Verbs like this one

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