ayudar
to helpPresentewhat is going on now
Presente
Present — what is happening now, and what happens habitually
| yo | ayudoI help | nosotros | ayudamoswe help |
| tú | ayudasyou help | vosotros | ayudáisyou all help |
| él/ella/Ud. | ayudahe/she helps | ellos/Uds. | ayudanthey help |
Pretérito perfecto
Present perfect — have —ed; a past still touching now. Spain: today, this week. Latin America: mostly the indefinido instead
| yo | he ayudadoI have helped | nosotros | hemos ayudadowe have helped |
| tú | has ayudadoyou have helped | vosotros | habéis ayudadoyou all have helped |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha ayudadohe/she has helped | ellos/Uds. | han ayudadothey have helped |
Presente de subjuntivo
Present subjunctive — after que with wishes, doubt, emotion, ojalá
| yo | ayude(that) I help | nosotros | ayudemos(that) we help |
| tú | ayudes(that) you help | vosotros | ayudéis(that) you all help |
| él/ella/Ud. | ayude(that) he/she helps | ellos/Uds. | ayuden(that) they help |
Perfecto de subjuntivo
Present perfect subjunctive — have —ed, under doubt or emotion: no creo que haya venido
| yo | haya ayudado(that) I have helped | nosotros | hayamos ayudado(that) we have helped |
| tú | hayas ayudado(that) you have helped | vosotros | hayáis ayudado(that) you all have helped |
| él/ella/Ud. | haya ayudado(that) he/she has helped | ellos/Uds. | hayan ayudado(that) they have helped |
Pasadowhat went on
Pretérito indefinido
Preterite — a finished past action — it started, it ended
| yo | ayudéI helped | nosotros | ayudamoswe helped |
| tú | ayudasteyou helped | vosotros | ayudasteisyou all helped |
| él/ella/Ud. | ayudóhe/she helped | ellos/Uds. | ayudaronthey helped |
Pretérito imperfecto
Imperfect — used to / was —ing; background, habits, descriptions
| yo | ayudabaI used to help | nosotros | ayudábamoswe used to help |
| tú | ayudabasyou used to help | vosotros | ayudabaisyou all used to help |
| él/ella/Ud. | ayudabahe/she used to help | ellos/Uds. | ayudabanthey used to help |
Pretérito pluscuamperfecto
Past perfect — had —ed; further back than another past event
| yo | había ayudadoI had helped | nosotros | habíamos ayudadowe had helped |
| tú | habías ayudadoyou had helped | vosotros | habíais ayudadoyou all had helped |
| él/ella/Ud. | había ayudadohe/she had helped | ellos/Uds. | habían ayudadothey had helped |
Imperfecto de subjuntivo (-ra)
Imperfect subjunctive — si clauses and past-tense wishes: si tuviera, quería que fuera
| yo | ayudara(that) I helped | nosotros | ayudáramos(that) we helped |
| tú | ayudaras(that) you helped | vosotros | ayudarais(that) you all helped |
| él/ella/Ud. | ayudara(that) he/she helped | ellos/Uds. | ayudaran(that) they helped |
Imperfecto de subjuntivo (-se)
Imperfect subjunctive — the same tense, second form; commoner in Spain and in writing
| yo | ayudase(that) I helped | nosotros | ayudásemos(that) we helped |
| tú | ayudases(that) you helped | vosotros | ayudaseis(that) you all helped |
| él/ella/Ud. | ayudase(that) he/she helped | ellos/Uds. | ayudasen(that) they helped |
Pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo
Past perfect subjunctive — had —ed, hypothetically: si hubiera sabido
| yo | hubiera ayudado(that) I had helped | nosotros | hubiéramos ayudado(that) we had helped |
| tú | hubieras ayudado(that) you had helped | vosotros | hubierais ayudado(that) you all had helped |
| él/ella/Ud. | hubiera ayudado(that) he/she had helped | ellos/Uds. | hubieran ayudado(that) they had helped |
Pretérito anterior
Preterite perfect — had —ed, immediately before; literary, all but extinct
| yo | hube ayudadoI had helped | nosotros | hubimos ayudadowe had helped |
| tú | hubiste ayudadoyou had helped | vosotros | hubisteis ayudadoyou all had helped |
| él/ella/Ud. | hubo ayudadohe/she had helped | ellos/Uds. | hubieron ayudadothey had helped |
Futurowhat will or would go on
Futuro simple
Future — will — (spoken Spanish often prefers voy a + infinitivo)
| yo | ayudaréI will help | nosotros | ayudaremoswe will help |
| tú | ayudarásyou will help | vosotros | ayudaréisyou all will help |
| él/ella/Ud. | ayudaráhe/she will help | ellos/Uds. | ayudaránthey will help |
Condicional simple
Conditional — would —; also softens a request into politeness
| yo | ayudaríaI would help | nosotros | ayudaríamoswe would help |
| tú | ayudaríasyou would help | vosotros | ayudaríaisyou all would help |
| él/ella/Ud. | ayudaríahe/she would help | ellos/Uds. | ayudaríanthey would help |
Futuro perfecto
Future perfect — will have —ed; done by some future point
| yo | habré ayudadoI will have helped | nosotros | habremos ayudadowe will have helped |
| tú | habrás ayudadoyou will have helped | vosotros | habréis ayudadoyou all will have helped |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá ayudadohe/she will have helped | ellos/Uds. | habrán ayudadothey will have helped |
Condicional perfecto
Conditional perfect — would have —ed; the road not taken
| yo | habría ayudadoI would have helped | nosotros | habríamos ayudadowe would have helped |
| tú | habrías ayudadoyou would have helped | vosotros | habríais ayudadoyou all would have helped |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría ayudadohe/she would have helped | ellos/Uds. | habrían ayudadothey would have helped |
Futuro de subjuntivo
Future subjunctive — legal and proverbial only: adonde fueres, haz lo que vieres
| yo | ayudare(should) I help | nosotros | ayudáremos(should) we help |
| tú | ayudares(should) you help | vosotros | ayudareis(should) you all help |
| él/ella/Ud. | ayudare(should) he/she help | ellos/Uds. | ayudaren(should) they help |
Imperativotelling someone to
Imperativo afirmativo
Imperative (do it) — orders and requests; there is no yo form
| yo | — | nosotros | ayudemoslet's help |
| tú | ayudahelp! | vosotros | ayudadhelp! |
| él/ella/Ud. | ayudehelp! | ellos/Uds. | ayudenhelp! |
Imperativo negativo
Imperative (don't) — no + subjunctive — never the affirmative form with no in front
| yo | — | nosotros | no ayudemoslet's not help |
| tú | no ayudesdon't help | vosotros | no ayudéisdon't help |
| él/ella/Ud. | no ayudedon't help | ellos/Uds. | no ayudendon't help |
