Present
Presente · now, habits and facts
- yo I am worth it
- tú you are worth it
- usted, él, ella he/she is worth it
- nosotros we are worth it
- vosotros Spain you all are worth it
- ustedes, ellos, ellas they are worth it
SPANISH VERB
valer la pena
to be worth it
- #229 most used
- Irregular -er verb
- Gerund: valiendo la pena
- Past participle: valido la pena
Conjugation
Tap any form to hear it. The part that changes is in colour.
Past
Pretérito indefinido · finished actions
- yo I was worth it
- tú you were worth it
- usted, él, ella he/she was worth it
- nosotros we were worth it
- vosotros Spain you all were worth it
- ustedes, ellos, ellas they were worth it
Imperfect
Pretérito imperfecto · “used to” and “was …ing”
- yo I used to be worth it
- tú you used to be worth it
- usted, él, ella he/she used to be worth it
- nosotros we used to be worth it
- vosotros Spain you all used to be worth it
- ustedes, ellos, ellas they used to be worth it
Future
Futuro · plans and promises; in speech, “voy a hablar” is just as common
- yo I will be worth it
- tú you will be worth it
- usted, él, ella he/she will be worth it
- nosotros we will be worth it
- vosotros Spain you all will be worth it
- ustedes, ellos, ellas they will be worth it
Conditional
Condicional · “would”
- yo I would be worth it
- tú you would be worth it
- usted, él, ella he/she would be worth it
- nosotros we would be worth it
- vosotros Spain you all would be worth it
- ustedes, ellos, ellas they would be worth it
Present subjunctive
Presente de subjuntivo · wishes, doubts, “que …”
- yo (that) I be worth it
- tú (that) you be worth it
- usted, él, ella (that) he/she be worth it
- nosotros (that) we be worth it
- vosotros Spain (that) you all be worth it
- ustedes, ellos, ellas (that) they be worth it
Past subjunctive
Imperfecto de subjuntivo · “if I were”, “si …”
- yo (if) I were worth it
- tú (if) you were worth it
- usted, él, ella (if) he/she were worth it
- nosotros (if) we were worth it
- vosotros Spain (if) you all were worth it
- ustedes, ellos, ellas (if) they were worth it
Imperative
Imperativo · requests and orders; a negative one uses the subjunctive (no hables)
- tú be worth it!
- usted be worth it! (formal)
- nosotros be worth it! (let’s)
- vosotros Spain be worth it! (all of you)
- ustedes be worth it! (all of you)
How to use valer la pena
One sentence for each tense, the way people say it.
-
Present
El viaje a Chiapas vale mucho la pena.
The trip to Chiapas is really worth it.
-
Past
¿Valió la pena esperar tanto por la mesa?
Was it worth waiting so long for the table?
-
Imperfect
Antes valía la pena ir hasta ese mercado.
It used to be worth going all the way to that market.
-
Future
Verás que el esfuerzo valdrá la pena.
You'll see that the effort will be worth it.
-
Conditional
Valdría la pena preguntar el precio primero.
It would be worth asking the price first.
-
Present subjunctive
Espero que valga la pena levantarse tan temprano.
I hope getting up so early is worth it.
-
Past subjunctive
Si valiera la pena, yo pagaría el doble.
If it were worth it, I'd pay double.
-
Imperative
¡Valga la pena tanto trabajo, por favor!
Let all this work be worth it, please!
Good to know
- "Valer la pena" is almost always said in the third person: "vale la pena", "valió la pena".
Where you hear valer la pena
The lessons that teach a form of it, and how they say it.
Spanish · Beginner Level 2
- El museo vale la pena. The museum is worth it.
- ¡Claro que valió la pena! Of course it was worth it!
- Va a valer la pena. It's going to be worth it.
Spanish · Beginner Level 3
- Este viaje vale la pena. This trip is worth it.
- El paseo en lancha valió la pena. The boat trip was worth it.
- Valdrá la pena levantarse temprano. It will be worth getting up early.
Verbs like this one
The same pattern, on other verbs: irregular -er verb.