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SPANISH VERB

tardar

to take time

  • #425 most used
  • Regular -ar verb
  • Gerund: tardando
  • Past participle: tardado

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

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

Imperfect

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

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Past subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use tardar

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

  1. Present

    El metro tarda media hora hasta el aeropuerto.

    The subway takes half an hour to the airport.

  2. Past

    El pedido tardó tres semanas en llegar.

    The order took three weeks to arrive.

  3. Imperfect

    Antes las cartas tardaban meses en cruzar el mar.

    Letters used to take months to cross the ocean.

  4. Future

    ¿Cuánto tardará la reparación de mi carro?

    How long will my car repair take?

  5. Conditional

    A pie tardaríamos como cuarenta minutos.

    On foot it would take us about forty minutes.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Ojalá que el doctor no tarde mucho hoy.

    I hope the doctor doesn't take long today.

  7. Past subjunctive

    No pensé que el trámite tardara tanto.

    I didn't think the paperwork would take so long.

  8. Imperative

    No tardes, por favor, el taxi ya está afuera.

    Don't be long, please, the taxi's already outside.

Good to know

  • "Tardar en" plus a verb: tardó dos horas en llegar.

Where you hear tardar

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

Spanish · Intermediate Level 1

  • El camión tarda diez horas. The bus takes ten hours.
  • El viaje tardó mucho. The journey took a long time.
  • Mañana no vamos a tardar mucho. Tomorrow we aren't going to take long.

Spanish · Intermediate Level 2

  • La camioneta tarda seis horas. The van takes six hours.
  • El viaje tardó siete horas, con la parada. The trip took seven hours, with the stop.
  • En avión, el viaje va a tardar media hora. By plane, the trip is going to take half an hour.
12
The Third Flat

Intermediate Level 1 · a veces tarda

Needs a subscription 21
What Would We Do?

Intermediate Level 1 · tardaría

Needs a subscription 6
The Application

Intermediate Level 2 · va a tardar

Needs a subscription 22
Three Hundred Curves

Intermediate Level 2 · tarda

Needs a subscription 1
We've Just Landed

Intermediate Level 3 · tardó

Free 16
Then There's No Wedding

Advanced Level 2 · ¿Cuánto se tarda?

Needs a subscription 9
Comparisons Are Odious

Fluency Level 2 · aunque tarden

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Verbs like this one

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