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SPANISH VERB

temer

to fear

  • #470 most used
  • Regular -er verb
  • Gerund: temiendo
  • Past participle: temido

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

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

Imperfect

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

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Past subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use temer

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

  1. Present

    Me temo que el vuelo saldrá con retraso.

    I'm afraid the flight will leave late.

  2. Past

    Temí lo peor cuando no contestó el teléfono.

    I feared the worst when she didn't answer the phone.

  3. Imperfect

    De pequeña temía a los perros grandes.

    As a girl I was afraid of big dogs.

  4. Future

    Con esa noticia, nadie temerá quedarse sin trabajo.

    With that news, nobody will fear losing their job.

  5. Conditional

    Yo temería conducir de noche por esa carretera.

    I'd be afraid to drive on that road at night.

  6. Present subjunctive

    No hay nada que temas aquí, estás seguro.

    There's nothing to fear here, you're safe.

  7. Past subjunctive

    Hablé despacio para que el niño no temiera nada.

    I spoke slowly so the boy wouldn't be afraid of anything.

  8. Imperative

    No temas, el perro solo quiere jugar.

    Don't be afraid, the dog just wants to play.

Good to know

  • "Me temo que" is "I'm afraid that", the polite way to give bad news: me temo que no hay mesa.

Verbs like this one

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