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SPANISH VERB

volver

to come back; to do again

  • #30 most used
  • Irregular -er verb
  • Gerund: volviendo
  • Past participle: vuelto

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

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

Imperfect

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

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Past subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use volver

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

  1. Present

    Vuelvo a casa de mis papás cada Navidad.

    I go back to my parents' house every Christmas.

  2. Past

    Volvimos del mercado con tres bolsas de mangos.

    We came back from the market with three bags of mangoes.

  3. Imperfect

    Mi papá volvía del trabajo siempre a las ocho.

    My dad always came home from work at eight.

  4. Future

    Volveré a intentarlo el año que viene.

    I'll try again next year.

  5. Conditional

    Yo volvería a Oaxaca solo por el mole.

    I'd go back to Oaxaca just for the mole.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Espero que vuelvan pronto a visitarnos.

    I hope you come back to visit us soon.

  7. Past subjunctive

    Le pedí que no volviera a llegar tarde.

    I asked him not to be late again.

  8. Imperative

    Vuelve cuando quieras, aquí tienes tu casa.

    Come back whenever you want, this is your home.

Good to know

  • "Volver a" plus a verb is to do it again: volví a llamar. In Mexico "regresar" is the everyday word for coming back.

Where you hear volver

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

Spanish · Intermediate Level 1

  • Andrés siempre vuelve tarde de la universidad. Andres always comes back late from the university.
  • Volví a leer ese libro. I read that book again.
  • No va a volver a pasar. It isn't going to happen again.

Spanish · Intermediate Level 2

  • Andrés siempre vuelve tarde del futbol. Andres always comes back late from football.
  • Volví a la clínica el miércoles. I went back to the clinic on Wednesday.
  • Van a volver a Puerto Escondido, ¿verdad? You're going to come back to Puerto Escondido, right?
18
No Water

Intermediate Level 1 · que no vuelva a pasar

Needs a subscription 26
I Wish I'd Come Sooner

Intermediate Level 2 · volvamos

Needs a subscription 15
I Wish I'd Come Sooner

Advanced Level 1 · volved

Needs a subscription 26
It's Not Wrong, It's Different

Advanced Level 1 · volved

Needs a subscription 27
Look After Yourselves

Advanced Level 1 · Volved pronto.

Needs a subscription 6
In Honour of a Nun

Advanced Level 2 · vuelvas · cuando vuelvas

Needs a subscription 2
You Said You'd Come Back

Advanced Level 3 · volverías · no volvería a aceptar una gira

Free 8
The Last Birth

Advanced Level 3 · ha vuelto a llorar

Needs a subscription 17
Just in Case

Advanced Level 3 · volverás

Needs a subscription 21
Not That Bad

Advanced Level 3 · que volviéramos a nuestros asientos

Needs a subscription

Verbs like this one

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