creer
to believePresentewhat is going on now
Presente
Present — what is happening now, and what happens habitually
| yo | creoI believe | nosotros | creemoswe believe |
| tú | creesyou believe | vosotros | creéisyou all believe |
| él/ella/Ud. | creehe/she believes | ellos/Uds. | creenthey believe |
Pretérito perfecto
Present perfect — have —ed; a past still touching now. Spain: today, this week. Latin America: mostly the indefinido instead
| yo | he creídoI have believed | nosotros | hemos creídowe have believed |
| tú | has creídoyou have believed | vosotros | habéis creídoyou all have believed |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha creídohe/she has believed | ellos/Uds. | han creídothey have believed |
Presente de subjuntivo
Present subjunctive — after que with wishes, doubt, emotion, ojalá
| yo | crea(that) I believe | nosotros | creamos(that) we believe |
| tú | creas(that) you believe | vosotros | creáis(that) you all believe |
| él/ella/Ud. | crea(that) he/she believes | ellos/Uds. | crean(that) they believe |
Perfecto de subjuntivo
Present perfect subjunctive — have —ed, under doubt or emotion: no creo que haya venido
| yo | haya creído(that) I have believed | nosotros | hayamos creído(that) we have believed |
| tú | hayas creído(that) you have believed | vosotros | hayáis creído(that) you all have believed |
| él/ella/Ud. | haya creído(that) he/she has believed | ellos/Uds. | hayan creído(that) they have believed |
Pasadowhat went on
Pretérito indefinido
Preterite — a finished past action — it started, it ended
| yo | creíI believed | nosotros | creímoswe believed |
| tú | creísteyou believed | vosotros | creísteisyou all believed |
| él/ella/Ud. | creyóhe/she believed | ellos/Uds. | creyeronthey believed |
Pretérito imperfecto
Imperfect — used to / was —ing; background, habits, descriptions
| yo | creíaI used to believe | nosotros | creíamoswe used to believe |
| tú | creíasyou used to believe | vosotros | creíaisyou all used to believe |
| él/ella/Ud. | creíahe/she used to believe | ellos/Uds. | creíanthey used to believe |
Pretérito pluscuamperfecto
Past perfect — had —ed; further back than another past event
| yo | había creídoI had believed | nosotros | habíamos creídowe had believed |
| tú | habías creídoyou had believed | vosotros | habíais creídoyou all had believed |
| él/ella/Ud. | había creídohe/she had believed | ellos/Uds. | habían creídothey had believed |
Imperfecto de subjuntivo (-ra)
Imperfect subjunctive — si clauses and past-tense wishes: si tuviera, quería que fuera
| yo | creyera(that) I believed | nosotros | creyéramos(that) we believed |
| tú | creyeras(that) you believed | vosotros | creyerais(that) you all believed |
| él/ella/Ud. | creyera(that) he/she believed | ellos/Uds. | creyeran(that) they believed |
Imperfecto de subjuntivo (-se)
Imperfect subjunctive — the same tense, second form; commoner in Spain and in writing
| yo | creyese(that) I believed | nosotros | creyésemos(that) we believed |
| tú | creyeses(that) you believed | vosotros | creyeseis(that) you all believed |
| él/ella/Ud. | creyese(that) he/she believed | ellos/Uds. | creyesen(that) they believed |
Pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo
Past perfect subjunctive — had —ed, hypothetically: si hubiera sabido
| yo | hubiera creído(that) I had believed | nosotros | hubiéramos creído(that) we had believed |
| tú | hubieras creído(that) you had believed | vosotros | hubierais creído(that) you all had believed |
| él/ella/Ud. | hubiera creído(that) he/she had believed | ellos/Uds. | hubieran creído(that) they had believed |
Pretérito anterior
Preterite perfect — had —ed, immediately before; literary, all but extinct
| yo | hube creídoI had believed | nosotros | hubimos creídowe had believed |
| tú | hubiste creídoyou had believed | vosotros | hubisteis creídoyou all had believed |
| él/ella/Ud. | hubo creídohe/she had believed | ellos/Uds. | hubieron creídothey had believed |
Futurowhat will or would go on
Futuro simple
Future — will — (spoken Spanish often prefers voy a + infinitivo)
| yo | creeréI will believe | nosotros | creeremoswe will believe |
| tú | creerásyou will believe | vosotros | creeréisyou all will believe |
| él/ella/Ud. | creeráhe/she will believe | ellos/Uds. | creeránthey will believe |
Condicional simple
Conditional — would —; also softens a request into politeness
| yo | creeríaI would believe | nosotros | creeríamoswe would believe |
| tú | creeríasyou would believe | vosotros | creeríaisyou all would believe |
| él/ella/Ud. | creeríahe/she would believe | ellos/Uds. | creeríanthey would believe |
Futuro perfecto
Future perfect — will have —ed; done by some future point
| yo | habré creídoI will have believed | nosotros | habremos creídowe will have believed |
| tú | habrás creídoyou will have believed | vosotros | habréis creídoyou all will have believed |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá creídohe/she will have believed | ellos/Uds. | habrán creídothey will have believed |
Condicional perfecto
Conditional perfect — would have —ed; the road not taken
| yo | habría creídoI would have believed | nosotros | habríamos creídowe would have believed |
| tú | habrías creídoyou would have believed | vosotros | habríais creídoyou all would have believed |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría creídohe/she would have believed | ellos/Uds. | habrían creídothey would have believed |
Futuro de subjuntivo
Future subjunctive — legal and proverbial only: adonde fueres, haz lo que vieres
| yo | creyere(should) I believe | nosotros | creyéremos(should) we believe |
| tú | creyeres(should) you believe | vosotros | creyereis(should) you all believe |
| él/ella/Ud. | creyere(should) he/she believe | ellos/Uds. | creyeren(should) they believe |
Imperativotelling someone to
Imperativo afirmativo
Imperative (do it) — orders and requests; there is no yo form
| yo | — | nosotros | creamoslet's believe |
| tú | creebelieve! | vosotros | creedbelieve! |
| él/ella/Ud. | creabelieve! | ellos/Uds. | creanbelieve! |
Imperativo negativo
Imperative (don't) — no + subjunctive — never the affirmative form with no in front
| yo | — | nosotros | no creamoslet's not believe |
| tú | no creasdon't believe | vosotros | no creáisdon't believe |
| él/ella/Ud. | no creadon't believe | ellos/Uds. | no creandon't believe |
