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SPANISH VERB

sustituir

to replace

  • Regular -ir verb
  • Gerund: sustituyendo
  • Past participle: sustituido

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

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

Imperfect

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

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Past subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use sustituir

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

  1. Present

    Hoy sustituyo a una compañera que está enferma.

    Today I'm standing in for a colleague who's ill.

  2. Past

    Sustituyeron las ventanas viejas por unas de aluminio.

    They replaced the old windows with aluminium ones.

  3. Imperfect

    Cuando faltaba el médico, lo sustituía la enfermera.

    When the doctor was away, the nurse stood in for him.

  4. Future

    ¿Quién te sustituirá mientras estés de baja?

    Who will stand in for you while you're on sick leave?

  5. Conditional

    Yo sustituiría el sofá por uno más pequeño.

    I'd replace the sofa with a smaller one.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Buscan a alguien que sustituya al portero en agosto.

    They're looking for someone to replace the doorman in August.

  7. Past subjunctive

    Me pidieron que sustituyera a la profesora de inglés.

    They asked me to stand in for the English teacher.

  8. Imperative

    Sustituye el azúcar por miel, verás qué rico.

    Replace the sugar with honey, you'll see how good it is.

Good to know

  • "Sustituir a alguien" is to stand in for them at work: hoy sustituyo a Carmen.

Where you hear sustituir

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

Spanish · Advanced Level 2

  • A Rosario no la sustituye nadie. Nobody replaces Rosario.
  • En la receta, sustituí el azúcar por miel. In the recipe, I replaced the sugar with honey.
  • ¿Quién la sustituirá en junio? Who will replace her in June?
2
That Remains to Be Seen

Advanced Level 2 · sustituir · que yo la sustituya

Free

Verbs like this one

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