mentir
to liePresentewhat is going on now
Presente
Present — what is happening now, and what happens habitually
| yo | mientoI lie | nosotros | mentimoswe lie |
| tú | mientesyou lie | vosotros | mentísyou all lie |
| él/ella/Ud. | mientehe/she lies | ellos/Uds. | miententhey lie |
Pretérito perfecto
Present perfect — have —ed; a past still touching now. Spain: today, this week. Latin America: mostly the indefinido instead
| yo | he mentidoI have lain | nosotros | hemos mentidowe have lain |
| tú | has mentidoyou have lain | vosotros | habéis mentidoyou all have lain |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha mentidohe/she has lain | ellos/Uds. | han mentidothey have lain |
Presente de subjuntivo
Present subjunctive — after que with wishes, doubt, emotion, ojalá
| yo | mienta(that) I lie | nosotros | mintamos(that) we lie |
| tú | mientas(that) you lie | vosotros | mintáis(that) you all lie |
| él/ella/Ud. | mienta(that) he/she lies | ellos/Uds. | mientan(that) they lie |
Perfecto de subjuntivo
Present perfect subjunctive — have —ed, under doubt or emotion: no creo que haya venido
| yo | haya mentido(that) I have lain | nosotros | hayamos mentido(that) we have lain |
| tú | hayas mentido(that) you have lain | vosotros | hayáis mentido(that) you all have lain |
| él/ella/Ud. | haya mentido(that) he/she has lain | ellos/Uds. | hayan mentido(that) they have lain |
Pasadowhat went on
Pretérito indefinido
Preterite — a finished past action — it started, it ended
| yo | mentíI lay | nosotros | mentimoswe lay |
| tú | mentisteyou lay | vosotros | mentisteisyou all lay |
| él/ella/Ud. | mintióhe/she lay | ellos/Uds. | mintieronthey lay |
Pretérito imperfecto
Imperfect — used to / was —ing; background, habits, descriptions
| yo | mentíaI used to lie | nosotros | mentíamoswe used to lie |
| tú | mentíasyou used to lie | vosotros | mentíaisyou all used to lie |
| él/ella/Ud. | mentíahe/she used to lie | ellos/Uds. | mentíanthey used to lie |
Pretérito pluscuamperfecto
Past perfect — had —ed; further back than another past event
| yo | había mentidoI had lain | nosotros | habíamos mentidowe had lain |
| tú | habías mentidoyou had lain | vosotros | habíais mentidoyou all had lain |
| él/ella/Ud. | había mentidohe/she had lain | ellos/Uds. | habían mentidothey had lain |
Imperfecto de subjuntivo (-ra)
Imperfect subjunctive — si clauses and past-tense wishes: si tuviera, quería que fuera
| yo | mintiera(that) I lay | nosotros | mintiéramos(that) we lay |
| tú | mintieras(that) you lay | vosotros | mintierais(that) you all lay |
| él/ella/Ud. | mintiera(that) he/she lay | ellos/Uds. | mintieran(that) they lay |
Imperfecto de subjuntivo (-se)
Imperfect subjunctive — the same tense, second form; commoner in Spain and in writing
| yo | mintiese(that) I lay | nosotros | mintiésemos(that) we lay |
| tú | mintieses(that) you lay | vosotros | mintieseis(that) you all lay |
| él/ella/Ud. | mintiese(that) he/she lay | ellos/Uds. | mintiesen(that) they lay |
Pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo
Past perfect subjunctive — had —ed, hypothetically: si hubiera sabido
| yo | hubiera mentido(that) I had lain | nosotros | hubiéramos mentido(that) we had lain |
| tú | hubieras mentido(that) you had lain | vosotros | hubierais mentido(that) you all had lain |
| él/ella/Ud. | hubiera mentido(that) he/she had lain | ellos/Uds. | hubieran mentido(that) they had lain |
Pretérito anterior
Preterite perfect — had —ed, immediately before; literary, all but extinct
| yo | hube mentidoI had lain | nosotros | hubimos mentidowe had lain |
| tú | hubiste mentidoyou had lain | vosotros | hubisteis mentidoyou all had lain |
| él/ella/Ud. | hubo mentidohe/she had lain | ellos/Uds. | hubieron mentidothey had lain |
Futurowhat will or would go on
Futuro simple
Future — will — (spoken Spanish often prefers voy a + infinitivo)
| yo | mentiréI will lie | nosotros | mentiremoswe will lie |
| tú | mentirásyou will lie | vosotros | mentiréisyou all will lie |
| él/ella/Ud. | mentiráhe/she will lie | ellos/Uds. | mentiránthey will lie |
Condicional simple
Conditional — would —; also softens a request into politeness
| yo | mentiríaI would lie | nosotros | mentiríamoswe would lie |
| tú | mentiríasyou would lie | vosotros | mentiríaisyou all would lie |
| él/ella/Ud. | mentiríahe/she would lie | ellos/Uds. | mentiríanthey would lie |
Futuro perfecto
Future perfect — will have —ed; done by some future point
| yo | habré mentidoI will have lain | nosotros | habremos mentidowe will have lain |
| tú | habrás mentidoyou will have lain | vosotros | habréis mentidoyou all will have lain |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá mentidohe/she will have lain | ellos/Uds. | habrán mentidothey will have lain |
Condicional perfecto
Conditional perfect — would have —ed; the road not taken
| yo | habría mentidoI would have lain | nosotros | habríamos mentidowe would have lain |
| tú | habrías mentidoyou would have lain | vosotros | habríais mentidoyou all would have lain |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría mentidohe/she would have lain | ellos/Uds. | habrían mentidothey would have lain |
Futuro de subjuntivo
Future subjunctive — legal and proverbial only: adonde fueres, haz lo que vieres
| yo | mintiere(should) I lie | nosotros | mintiéremos(should) we lie |
| tú | mintieres(should) you lie | vosotros | mintiereis(should) you all lie |
| él/ella/Ud. | mintiere(should) he/she lie | ellos/Uds. | mintieren(should) they lie |
Imperativotelling someone to
Imperativo afirmativo
Imperative (do it) — orders and requests; there is no yo form
| yo | — | nosotros | mintamoslet's lie |
| tú | mientelie! | vosotros | mentidlie! |
| él/ella/Ud. | mientalie! | ellos/Uds. | mientanlie! |
Imperativo negativo
Imperative (don't) — no + subjunctive — never the affirmative form with no in front
| yo | — | nosotros | no mintamoslet's not lie |
| tú | no mientasdon't lie | vosotros | no mintáisdon't lie |
| él/ella/Ud. | no mientadon't lie | ellos/Uds. | no mientandon't lie |
Red = the form breaks the regular pattern. Everything in black you could have worked out from the endings alone.