esperar
to wait for, to hopePresentewhat is going on now
Presente
Present — what is happening now, and what happens habitually
| yo | esperoI wait for | nosotros | esperamoswe wait for |
| tú | esperasyou wait for | vosotros | esperáisyou all wait for |
| él/ella/Ud. | esperahe/she waits for | ellos/Uds. | esperanthey wait for |
Pretérito perfecto
Present perfect — have —ed; a past still touching now. Spain: today, this week. Latin America: mostly the indefinido instead
| yo | he esperadoI have waited for | nosotros | hemos esperadowe have waited for |
| tú | has esperadoyou have waited for | vosotros | habéis esperadoyou all have waited for |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha esperadohe/she has waited for | ellos/Uds. | han esperadothey have waited for |
Presente de subjuntivo
Present subjunctive — after que with wishes, doubt, emotion, ojalá
| yo | espere(that) I wait for | nosotros | esperemos(that) we wait for |
| tú | esperes(that) you wait for | vosotros | esperéis(that) you all wait for |
| él/ella/Ud. | espere(that) he/she waits for | ellos/Uds. | esperen(that) they wait for |
Perfecto de subjuntivo
Present perfect subjunctive — have —ed, under doubt or emotion: no creo que haya venido
| yo | haya esperado(that) I have waited for | nosotros | hayamos esperado(that) we have waited for |
| tú | hayas esperado(that) you have waited for | vosotros | hayáis esperado(that) you all have waited for |
| él/ella/Ud. | haya esperado(that) he/she has waited for | ellos/Uds. | hayan esperado(that) they have waited for |
Pasadowhat went on
Pretérito indefinido
Preterite — a finished past action — it started, it ended
| yo | esperéI waited for | nosotros | esperamoswe waited for |
| tú | esperasteyou waited for | vosotros | esperasteisyou all waited for |
| él/ella/Ud. | esperóhe/she waited for | ellos/Uds. | esperaronthey waited for |
Pretérito imperfecto
Imperfect — used to / was —ing; background, habits, descriptions
| yo | esperabaI used to wait for | nosotros | esperábamoswe used to wait for |
| tú | esperabasyou used to wait for | vosotros | esperabaisyou all used to wait for |
| él/ella/Ud. | esperabahe/she used to wait for | ellos/Uds. | esperabanthey used to wait for |
Pretérito pluscuamperfecto
Past perfect — had —ed; further back than another past event
| yo | había esperadoI had waited for | nosotros | habíamos esperadowe had waited for |
| tú | habías esperadoyou had waited for | vosotros | habíais esperadoyou all had waited for |
| él/ella/Ud. | había esperadohe/she had waited for | ellos/Uds. | habían esperadothey had waited for |
Imperfecto de subjuntivo (-ra)
Imperfect subjunctive — si clauses and past-tense wishes: si tuviera, quería que fuera
| yo | esperara(that) I waited for | nosotros | esperáramos(that) we waited for |
| tú | esperaras(that) you waited for | vosotros | esperarais(that) you all waited for |
| él/ella/Ud. | esperara(that) he/she waited for | ellos/Uds. | esperaran(that) they waited for |
Imperfecto de subjuntivo (-se)
Imperfect subjunctive — the same tense, second form; commoner in Spain and in writing
| yo | esperase(that) I waited for | nosotros | esperásemos(that) we waited for |
| tú | esperases(that) you waited for | vosotros | esperaseis(that) you all waited for |
| él/ella/Ud. | esperase(that) he/she waited for | ellos/Uds. | esperasen(that) they waited for |
Pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo
Past perfect subjunctive — had —ed, hypothetically: si hubiera sabido
| yo | hubiera esperado(that) I had waited for | nosotros | hubiéramos esperado(that) we had waited for |
| tú | hubieras esperado(that) you had waited for | vosotros | hubierais esperado(that) you all had waited for |
| él/ella/Ud. | hubiera esperado(that) he/she had waited for | ellos/Uds. | hubieran esperado(that) they had waited for |
Pretérito anterior
Preterite perfect — had —ed, immediately before; literary, all but extinct
| yo | hube esperadoI had waited for | nosotros | hubimos esperadowe had waited for |
| tú | hubiste esperadoyou had waited for | vosotros | hubisteis esperadoyou all had waited for |
| él/ella/Ud. | hubo esperadohe/she had waited for | ellos/Uds. | hubieron esperadothey had waited for |
Futurowhat will or would go on
Futuro simple
Future — will — (spoken Spanish often prefers voy a + infinitivo)
| yo | esperaréI will wait for | nosotros | esperaremoswe will wait for |
| tú | esperarásyou will wait for | vosotros | esperaréisyou all will wait for |
| él/ella/Ud. | esperaráhe/she will wait for | ellos/Uds. | esperaránthey will wait for |
Condicional simple
Conditional — would —; also softens a request into politeness
| yo | esperaríaI would wait for | nosotros | esperaríamoswe would wait for |
| tú | esperaríasyou would wait for | vosotros | esperaríaisyou all would wait for |
| él/ella/Ud. | esperaríahe/she would wait for | ellos/Uds. | esperaríanthey would wait for |
Futuro perfecto
Future perfect — will have —ed; done by some future point
| yo | habré esperadoI will have waited for | nosotros | habremos esperadowe will have waited for |
| tú | habrás esperadoyou will have waited for | vosotros | habréis esperadoyou all will have waited for |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá esperadohe/she will have waited for | ellos/Uds. | habrán esperadothey will have waited for |
Condicional perfecto
Conditional perfect — would have —ed; the road not taken
| yo | habría esperadoI would have waited for | nosotros | habríamos esperadowe would have waited for |
| tú | habrías esperadoyou would have waited for | vosotros | habríais esperadoyou all would have waited for |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría esperadohe/she would have waited for | ellos/Uds. | habrían esperadothey would have waited for |
Futuro de subjuntivo
Future subjunctive — legal and proverbial only: adonde fueres, haz lo que vieres
| yo | esperare(should) I wait for | nosotros | esperáremos(should) we wait for |
| tú | esperares(should) you wait for | vosotros | esperareis(should) you all wait for |
| él/ella/Ud. | esperare(should) he/she wait for | ellos/Uds. | esperaren(should) they wait for |
Imperativotelling someone to
Imperativo afirmativo
Imperative (do it) — orders and requests; there is no yo form
| yo | — | nosotros | esperemoslet's wait for |
| tú | esperawait for! | vosotros | esperadwait for! |
| él/ella/Ud. | esperewait for! | ellos/Uds. | esperenwait for! |
Imperativo negativo
Imperative (don't) — no + subjunctive — never the affirmative form with no in front
| yo | — | nosotros | no esperemoslet's not wait for |
| tú | no esperesdon't wait for | vosotros | no esperéisdon't wait for |
| él/ella/Ud. | no esperedon't wait for | ellos/Uds. | no esperendon't wait for |
