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How to conjugate Abrir in Spanish

abrir to open Irregular Verb Top 100

At a glance: Abrir (to open) is one of the most common irregular verbs in Spanish. In the present tense: abro, abres, abre, abrimos, abrís, abren. Every simple tense is regular; only the past participle (abierto) changes, which carries into the compound tenses.

Past participle
abierto opened
Gerund
abriendo opening

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Indicative tenses of Abrir

Abrir in the Indicative Present

The Indicative Present of abrir is used to talk about situations, events or thoughts that are happening now or in the near future. It is also used to talk about facts and truths. For example, “abro la puerta”, meaning “I open the door”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Present is known as "El Presente".

PronounSpanishEnglish
YoabroI open
Túabresyou open
Ella / Él / Ustedabres/he opens
Nosotras / Nosotrosabrimoswe open
Vosotras / Vosotrosabrísyou (plural) open
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesabrenthey open

How it’s built: Regular: stem abr- plus the -ir endings.

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Abrir in the Indicative Preterite

The Indicative Preterite of abrir is used to talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time. For example, “abrí la puerta”, meaning “I opened the door”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Preterite is known as "El Pretérito Indefinido".

PronounSpanishEnglish
YoabríI opened
Túabristeyou opened
Ella / Él / Ustedabriós/he opened
Nosotras / Nosotrosabrimoswe opened
Vosotras / Vosotrosabristeisyou (plural) opened
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesabrieronthey opened

How it’s built: Regular: stem abr- plus the -ir endings.

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Abrir in the Indicative Imperfect

The Indicative Imperfect of abrir is used to describe regular and repeated actions that happened in the past and descriptions of things you used to do. For example, “abría la puerta”, meaning “I used to open the door”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Imperfect is known as "El Pretérito Imperfecto".

PronounSpanishEnglish
YoabríaI used to open
Túabríasyou used to open
Ella / Él / Ustedabrías/he used to open
Nosotras / Nosotrosabríamoswe used to open
Vosotras / Vosotrosabríaisyou (plural) used to open
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesabríanthey used to open

How it’s built: Regular: stem abr- plus the -ir endings.

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Abrir in the Indicative Present Continuous

The Indicative Present Continuous of abrir is used to talk about something that is happening continuously or right now. For example, “estoy abriendo la puerta”, meaning “I am opening the door”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Present Continuous is known as "El Presente Progresivo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yoestoy abriendoI am opening
Túestás abriendoyou are opening
Ella / Él / Ustedestá abriendos/he is opening
Nosotras / Nosotrosestamos abriendowe are opening
Vosotras / Vosotrosestáis abriendoyou (plural) are opening
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesestán abriendothey are opening

How it’s built: Estar in the present (estoy, estás, está, estamos, estáis, están) plus the gerund abriendo.

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Abrir in the Indicative Informal Future

The Indicative Informal Future of abrir is used to talk about something that will happen in the future, especially in the near future. For example, “voy a abrir la puerta”, meaning “I am going to open the door”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Informal Future is known as "El Futuro Próximo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yovoy a abrirI am going to open
Túvas a abriryou are going to open
Ella / Él / Ustedva a abrirs/he is going to open
Nosotras / Nosotrosvamos a abrirwe are going to open
Vosotras / Vosotrosvais a abriryou (plural) are going to open
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesvan a abrirthey are going to open

How it’s built: Ir in the present (voy, vas, va, vamos, vais, van), then a, then the infinitive abrir.

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Abrir in the Indicative Future

The Indicative Future of abrir is used to talk about something that will happen in the future. For example, “abriré la puerta”, meaning “I will open the door”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Future is known as "El Futuro Simple".

PronounSpanishEnglish
YoabriréI will open
Túabrirásyou will open
Ella / Él / Ustedabrirás/he will open
Nosotras / Nosotrosabriremoswe will open
Vosotras / Vosotrosabriréisyou (plural) will open
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesabriránthey will open

How it’s built: Regular: the infinitive abrir plus the future endings.

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Abrir in the Indicative Conditional

The Indicative Conditional of abrir is used to talk about something that may happen in the future, hypothesis and probabilities. For example, “abriría la puerta”, meaning “I would open the door”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional is known as "El Condicional Simple".

PronounSpanishEnglish
YoabriríaI would open
Túabriríasyou would open
Ella / Él / Ustedabrirías/he would open
Nosotras / Nosotrosabriríamoswe would open
Vosotras / Vosotrosabriríaisyou (plural) would open
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesabriríanthey would open

How it’s built: Regular: the infinitive abrir plus the conditional endings.

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Abrir in the Indicative Present Perfect

The Indicative Present Perfect of abrir is used to describe actions that started recently (in the past) and are still happening now or things that have been done recently. For example, “he abierto la puerta”, meaning “I have opened the door”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohe abiertoI have opened
Túhas abiertoyou have opened
Ella / Él / Ustedha abiertos/he has opened
Nosotras / Nosotroshemos abiertowe have opened
Vosotras / Vosotroshabéis abiertoyou (plural) have opened
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshan abiertothey have opened

How it’s built: Haber in the present (he, has, ha, hemos, habéis, han) plus the irregular past participle abierto.

Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.

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Abrir in the Indicative Past Perfect

The Indicative Past Perfect of abrir is used to talk about actions that happened before another action in the past. For example, “había abierto la puerta”, meaning “I had opened the door”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohabía abiertoI had opened
Túhabías abiertoyou had opened
Ella / Él / Ustedhabía abiertos/he had opened
Nosotras / Nosotroshabíamos abiertowe had opened
Vosotras / Vosotroshabíais abiertoyou (plural) had opened
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshabían abiertothey had opened

How it’s built: Haber in the imperfect (había, habías, había, habíamos, habíais, habían) plus the irregular past participle abierto.

Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.

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Abrir in the Indicative Future Perfect

The Indicative Future Perfect of abrir is used to talk about something that will have happened in the future after something else has already happened. For example, “habré abierto la puerta”, meaning “I will have opened the door”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohabré abiertoI will have opened
Túhabrás abiertoyou will have opened
Ella / Él / Ustedhabrá abiertos/he will have opened
Nosotras / Nosotroshabremos abiertowe will have opened
Vosotras / Vosotroshabréis abiertoyou (plural) will have opened
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshabrán abiertothey will have opened

How it’s built: Haber in the future (habré, habrás, habrá, habremos, habréis, habrán) plus the irregular past participle abierto.

Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.

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Abrir in the Indicative Conditional Perfect

The Indicative Conditional Perfect of abrir is used to talk about something that would have happened in the past but didn’t due to another action. For example, “habría abierto la puerta”, meaning “I would have opened the door”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional Perfect is known as "El Condicional Perfecto".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohabría abiertoI would have opened
Túhabrías abiertoyou would have opened
Ella / Él / Ustedhabría abiertos/he would have opened
Nosotras / Nosotroshabríamos abiertowe would have opened
Vosotras / Vosotroshabríais abiertoyou (plural) would have opened
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshabrían abiertothey would have opened

How it’s built: Haber in the conditional (habría, habrías, habría, habríamos, habríais, habrían) plus the irregular past participle abierto.

Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.

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Subjunctive tenses of Abrir

Abrir in the Subjunctive Present

The Subjunctive Present is used to talk about situations of uncertainty, or emotions such as wishes, desires and hopes. It differs from the indicative mood due to the uncertainty of the events which are being spoken about. For example, “abra”, meaning “I open”.

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present is known as "El Presente de Subjuntivo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
YoabraI open
Túabrasyou open
Ella / Él / Ustedabras/he opens
Nosotras / Nosotrosabramoswe open
Vosotras / Vosotrosabráisyou (plural) open
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesabranthey open

How it’s built: Regular: stem abr- plus the -ir subjunctive endings.

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Abrir in the Subjunctive Imperfect

The Subjunctive Imperfect is used to speak about unlikely or uncertain events in the past or to cast an opinion (emotional) about something that happened in the past. For example, “abriera”, meaning “I opened”.

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Imperfect is known as "El Imperfecto Subjuntivo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
YoabrieraI opened
Túabrierasyou opened
Ella / Él / Ustedabrieras/he opened
Nosotras / Nosotrosabriéramoswe opened
Vosotras / Vosotrosabrieraisyou (plural) opened
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesabrieranthey opened

How it’s built: Regular: the ellas/ellos preterite, abrieron, without -ron, plus the -ra endings; nosotros adds an accent (abriéramos).

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Abrir in the Subjunctive Future

The Subjunctive Future is used to speak about hypothetical situations, and actions/events that may happen in the future. For example, “abriere”, meaning “I will open”.

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future is known as "El Futuro de Subjuntivo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
YoabriereI will open
Túabrieresyou will open
Ella / Él / Ustedabrieres/he will open
Nosotras / Nosotrosabriéremoswe will open
Vosotras / Vosotrosabriereisyou (plural) will open
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesabrierenthey will open

How it’s built: Regular: the ellas/ellos preterite, abrieron, without -ron, plus the -re endings; nosotros adds an accent (abriéremos).

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Abrir in the Subjunctive Present Perfect

The Subjunctive Present Perfect is used to describe past actions or events that are still connected to the present day and to speak about an action that will have happened by a certain time in the future. For example, “haya abierto”, meaning “I have opened”.

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto de Subjuntivo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohaya abiertoI have opened
Túhayas abiertoyou have opened
Ella / Él / Ustedhaya abiertos/he has opened
Nosotras / Nosotroshayamos abiertowe have opened
Vosotras / Vosotroshayáis abiertoyou (plural) have opened
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshayan abiertothey have opened

How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive present (haya, hayas, haya, hayamos, hayáis, hayan) plus the irregular past participle abierto.

Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.

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Abrir in the Subjunctive Past Perfect

The Subjunctive Past Perfect is used to speak about hypothetical situations, and actions/events that occurred before other actions/events in the past. For example, “hubiera abierto”, meaning “I had opened”.

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto de Subjuntivo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohubiera abiertoI had opened
Túhubieras abiertoyou had opened
Ella / Él / Ustedhubiera abiertos/he had opened
Nosotras / Nosotroshubiéramos abiertowe had opened
Vosotras / Vosotroshubierais abiertoyou (plural) had opened
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshubieran abiertothey had opened

How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive imperfect (hubiera, hubieras, hubiera, hubiéramos, hubierais, hubieran) plus the irregular past participle abierto.

Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.

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Abrir in the Subjunctive Future Perfect

The Subjunctive Future Perfect is used to speak about something that will have happened if a hypothetical situations occurs in the future. For example, “hubiere abierto”, meaning “I will have opened”.

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto de Subjuntivo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohubiere abiertoI will have opened
Túhubieres abiertoyou will have opened
Ella / Él / Ustedhubiere abiertos/he will have opened
Nosotras / Nosotroshubiéremos abiertowe will have opened
Vosotras / Vosotroshubiereis abiertoyou (plural) will have opened
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshubieren abiertothey will have opened

How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive future (hubiere, hubieres, hubiere, hubiéremos, hubiereis, hubieren) plus the irregular past participle abierto.

Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.

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Imperative tenses of Abrir

Abrir in the Imperative Affirmative

The Imperative Affirmative is used to give orders and commands, to tell someone to do something. For example, “abra”, meaning “(to you formal) open!”.

In Spanish, the Imperative Affirmative is known as "El Imperativo Afirmativo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yo--
Túabre(to you) open!
Ella / Él / Ustedabra(to you formal) open!
Nosotras / Nosotrosabramoslet's open!
Vosotras / Vosotrosabrid(to you plural) open!
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesabran(to you plural formal) open!

How it’s built: Tú takes the ella/él present (abre); usted, nosotros and ustedes take the subjunctive present (abra, abramos, abran); vosotros swaps the final r of the infinitive for a d (abrid).

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Abrir in the Imperative Negative

The Imperative Negative is used to give orders and commands, telling someone not to do something. For example, “no abra”, meaning “(to you formal) don't open!”.

In Spanish, the Imperative Negative is known as "El Imperativo Negativo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yo--
Túno abras(to you) don't open!
Ella / Él / Ustedno abra(to you formal) don't open!
Nosotras / Nosotrosno abramoslet's not open!
Vosotras / Vosotrosno abráis(to you plural) don't open!
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesno abran(to you plural formal) don't open!

How it’s built: No plus the subjunctive present: no abras, no abra, no abramos, no abráis, no abran.

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Example sentences and usage

  • ¿Con qué lo abriste? What did you open it with?
  • Abre el armario de la izquierda, allí están las botellas. Open the cupboard to the left, the bottles are in there.
  • ¿Con qué lo abriste? What did you open it with?
  • Abre tu libro por la página nueve. Open your book to page nine.
  • Abrid vuestros textos en la página 50. Open your texts to page 50.

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Frequently asked questions about Abrir

Is abrir a regular or irregular verb?

Abrir is an irregular Spanish verb. Every simple tense is regular; only the past participle (abierto) changes, which carries into the compound tenses.

How do you conjugate abrir in the present tense (presente)?

In the present tense (presente), abrir is conjugated as: yo abro, tú abres, él/ella/usted abre, nosotros abrimos, vosotros abrís, ellos/ellas/ustedes abren. The present tense is used To talk about situations, events or thoughts that are happening now or in the near future. It is also used to talk about facts and truths.

How do you conjugate abrir in the preterite (pretérito indefinido)?

In the preterite (pretérito indefinido), abrir is conjugated as: yo abrí, tú abriste, él/ella/usted abrió, nosotros abrimos, vosotros abristeis, ellos/ellas/ustedes abrieron. The preterite is used To talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time.

How do you conjugate abrir in the imperfect (pretérito imperfecto)?

In the imperfect (pretérito imperfecto), abrir is conjugated as: yo abría, tú abrías, él/ella/usted abría, nosotros abríamos, vosotros abríais, ellos/ellas/ustedes abrían. The imperfect is used To describe regular and repeated actions that happened in the past and descriptions of things you used to do.

How do you conjugate abrir in the future tense (futuro simple)?

In the future tense (futuro simple), abrir is conjugated as: yo abriré, tú abrirás, él/ella/usted abrirá, nosotros abriremos, vosotros abriréis, ellos/ellas/ustedes abrirán. The future tense is used To talk about something that will happen in the future.

How do you conjugate abrir in the present subjunctive (subjuntivo presente)?

In the present subjunctive (subjuntivo presente), abrir is conjugated as: yo abra, tú abras, él/ella/usted abra, nosotros abramos, vosotros abráis, ellos/ellas/ustedes abran. The present subjunctive is used To talk about situations of uncertainty, or emotions such as wishes, desires and hopes. It differs from the indicative mood due to the uncertainty of the events which are being spoken about.

What’s the difference between abrir and abrirse?

Abrir means ‘to open’ and abrirse means ‘to open (e.g. a window), to open up’. Abrirse is the reflexive form of abrir, so it always takes a reflexive pronoun – me, te, se, nos, os or se – that matches the subject. The verb itself is conjugated the same way: in the present tense, yo abro becomes me abro. In the affirmative tú imperative the pronoun attaches to the end of the verb, so abre becomes ábrete.

What are some common example sentences using abrir?

Here are everyday sentences using abrir: ¿Con qué lo abriste? (What did you open it with?) Abre el armario de la izquierda, allí están las botellas. (Open the cupboard to the left, the bottles are in there.) ¿Con qué lo abriste? (What did you open it with?) Abre tu libro por la página nueve. (Open your book to page nine.) Abrid vuestros textos en la página 50. (Open your texts to page 50.)


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Want to explore other verb conjugations?

Why not check out Abrirse – to open (e.g. a window), to open up or see the complete list of verbs here.


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