Ella Verbsalegar to plead, to argue Irregular Verb
At a glance: Alegar (to plead, to argue) is a irregular verb in Spanish. In the present tense: alego, alegas, alega, alegamos, alegáis, alegan. The present tense is regular. In the preterite: yo adds a u (alegué); the other forms are regular. It is also irregular in the present subjunctive (alegue).

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The Indicative Present of alegar 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, “alego”, meaning “I plead”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Present is known as "El Presente".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | alego | I plead |
| Tú | alegas | you plead |
| Ella / Él / Usted | alega | s/he pleads |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | alegamos | we plead |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | alegáis | you (plural) plead |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | alegan | they plead |
How it’s built: Regular: stem aleg- plus the -ar endings.
The Indicative Preterite of alegar is used to talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time. For example, “alegué”, meaning “I pleaded”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Preterite is known as "El Pretérito Indefinido".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | alegué | I pleaded |
| Tú | alegaste | you pleaded |
| Ella / Él / Usted | alegó | s/he pleaded |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | alegamos | we pleaded |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | alegasteis | you (plural) pleaded |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | alegaron | they pleaded |
How it’s built: Yo adds a u (alegué); the other forms are regular.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
The Indicative Imperfect of alegar is used to describe regular and repeated actions that happened in the past and descriptions of things you used to do. For example, “alegaba”, meaning “I used to plead”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Imperfect is known as "El Pretérito Imperfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | alegaba | I used to plead |
| Tú | alegabas | you used to plead |
| Ella / Él / Usted | alegaba | s/he used to plead |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | alegábamos | we used to plead |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | alegabais | you (plural) used to plead |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | alegaban | they used to plead |
How it’s built: Regular: stem aleg- plus the -ar endings.
The Indicative Present Continuous of alegar is used to talk about something that is happening continuously or right now. For example, “estoy alegando”, meaning “I am pleading”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Present Continuous is known as "El Presente Progresivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | estoy alegando | I am pleading |
| Tú | estás alegando | you are pleading |
| Ella / Él / Usted | está alegando | s/he is pleading |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | estamos alegando | we are pleading |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | estáis alegando | you (plural) are pleading |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | están alegando | they are pleading |
How it’s built: Estar in the present (estoy, estás, está, estamos, estáis, están) plus the gerund alegando.
The Indicative Informal Future of alegar is used to talk about something that will happen in the future, especially in the near future. For example, “voy a alegar”, meaning “I am going to plead”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Informal Future is known as "El Futuro Próximo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | voy a alegar | I am going to plead |
| Tú | vas a alegar | you are going to plead |
| Ella / Él / Usted | va a alegar | s/he is going to plead |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | vamos a alegar | we are going to plead |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | vais a alegar | you (plural) are going to plead |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | van a alegar | they are going to plead |
How it’s built: Ir in the present (voy, vas, va, vamos, vais, van), then a, then the infinitive alegar.
The Indicative Future of alegar is used to talk about something that will happen in the future. For example, “alegaré”, meaning “I will plead”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Future is known as "El Futuro Simple".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | alegaré | I will plead |
| Tú | alegarás | you will plead |
| Ella / Él / Usted | alegará | s/he will plead |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | alegaremos | we will plead |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | alegaréis | you (plural) will plead |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | alegarán | they will plead |
How it’s built: Regular: the infinitive alegar plus the future endings.
The Indicative Conditional of alegar is used to talk about something that may happen in the future, hypothesis and probabilities. For example, “alegaría”, meaning “I would plead”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional is known as "El Condicional Simple".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | alegaría | I would plead |
| Tú | alegarías | you would plead |
| Ella / Él / Usted | alegaría | s/he would plead |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | alegaríamos | we would plead |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | alegaríais | you (plural) would plead |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | alegarían | they would plead |
How it’s built: Regular: the infinitive alegar plus the conditional endings.
The Indicative Present Perfect of alegar 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 alegado”, meaning “I have pleaded”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | he alegado | I have pleaded |
| Tú | has alegado | you have pleaded |
| Ella / Él / Usted | ha alegado | s/he has pleaded |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hemos alegado | we have pleaded |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habéis alegado | you (plural) have pleaded |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | han alegado | they have pleaded |
How it’s built: Haber in the present (he, has, ha, hemos, habéis, han) plus the past participle alegado.
The Indicative Past Perfect of alegar is used to talk about actions that happened before another action in the past. For example, “había alegado”, meaning “I had pleaded”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | había alegado | I had pleaded |
| Tú | habías alegado | you had pleaded |
| Ella / Él / Usted | había alegado | s/he had pleaded |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habíamos alegado | we had pleaded |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habíais alegado | you (plural) had pleaded |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habían alegado | they had pleaded |
How it’s built: Haber in the imperfect (había, habías, había, habíamos, habíais, habían) plus the past participle alegado.
The Indicative Future Perfect of alegar is used to talk about something that will have happened in the future after something else has already happened. For example, “habré alegado”, meaning “I will have pleaded”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | habré alegado | I will have pleaded |
| Tú | habrás alegado | you will have pleaded |
| Ella / Él / Usted | habrá alegado | s/he will have pleaded |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habremos alegado | we will have pleaded |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habréis alegado | you (plural) will have pleaded |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habrán alegado | they will have pleaded |
How it’s built: Haber in the future (habré, habrás, habrá, habremos, habréis, habrán) plus the past participle alegado.
The Indicative Conditional Perfect of alegar is used to talk about something that would have happened in the past but didn’t due to another action. For example, “habría alegado”, meaning “I would have pleaded”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional Perfect is known as "El Condicional Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | habría alegado | I would have pleaded |
| Tú | habrías alegado | you would have pleaded |
| Ella / Él / Usted | habría alegado | s/he would have pleaded |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habríamos alegado | we would have pleaded |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habríais alegado | you (plural) would have pleaded |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habrían alegado | they would have pleaded |
How it’s built: Haber in the conditional (habría, habrías, habría, habríamos, habríais, habrían) plus the past participle alegado.
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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, “alegue”, meaning “I plead”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present is known as "El Presente de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | alegue | I plead |
| Tú | alegues | you plead |
| Ella / Él / Usted | alegue | s/he pleads |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | aleguemos | we plead |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | aleguéis | you (plural) plead |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | aleguen | they plead |
How it’s built: Every form adds a u (alegue, alegues, alegue, aleguemos, aleguéis, aleguen).
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
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, “alegara”, meaning “I pleaded”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Imperfect is known as "El Imperfecto Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | alegara | I pleaded |
| Tú | alegaras | you pleaded |
| Ella / Él / Usted | alegara | s/he pleaded |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | alegáramos | we pleaded |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | alegarais | you (plural) pleaded |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | alegaran | they pleaded |
How it’s built: Regular: the ellas/ellos preterite, alegaron, without -ron, plus the -ra endings; nosotros adds an accent (alegáramos).
The Subjunctive Future is used to speak about hypothetical situations, and actions/events that may happen in the future. For example, “alegare”, meaning “I will plead”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future is known as "El Futuro de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | alegare | I will plead |
| Tú | alegares | you will plead |
| Ella / Él / Usted | alegare | s/he will plead |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | alegáremos | we will plead |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | alegareis | you (plural) will plead |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | alegaren | they will plead |
How it’s built: Regular: the ellas/ellos preterite, alegaron, without -ron, plus the -re endings; nosotros adds an accent (alegáremos).
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 alegado”, meaning “I have pleaded”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | haya alegado | I have pleaded |
| Tú | hayas alegado | you have pleaded |
| Ella / Él / Usted | haya alegado | s/he has pleaded |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hayamos alegado | we have pleaded |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hayáis alegado | you (plural) have pleaded |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hayan alegado | they have pleaded |
How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive present (haya, hayas, haya, hayamos, hayáis, hayan) plus the past participle alegado.
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 alegado”, meaning “I had pleaded”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | hubiera alegado | I had pleaded |
| Tú | hubieras alegado | you had pleaded |
| Ella / Él / Usted | hubiera alegado | s/he had pleaded |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hubiéramos alegado | we had pleaded |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hubierais alegado | you (plural) had pleaded |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hubieran alegado | they had pleaded |
How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive imperfect (hubiera, hubieras, hubiera, hubiéramos, hubierais, hubieran) plus the past participle alegado.
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 alegado”, meaning “I will have pleaded”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | hubiere alegado | I will have pleaded |
| Tú | hubieres alegado | you will have pleaded |
| Ella / Él / Usted | hubiere alegado | s/he will have pleaded |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hubiéremos alegado | we will have pleaded |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hubiereis alegado | you (plural) will have pleaded |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hubieren alegado | they will have pleaded |
How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive future (hubiere, hubieres, hubiere, hubiéremos, hubiereis, hubieren) plus the past participle alegado.
The Imperative Affirmative is used to give orders and commands, to tell someone to do something. For example, “alegue”, meaning “(to you formal) plead!”.
In Spanish, the Imperative Affirmative is known as "El Imperativo Afirmativo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | - | - |
| Tú | alega | (to you) plead! |
| Ella / Él / Usted | alegue | (to you formal) plead! |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | aleguemos | let's plead! |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | alegad | (to you plural) plead! |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | aleguen | (to you plural formal) plead! |
How it’s built: Tú takes the ella/él present (alega); usted, nosotros and ustedes take the subjunctive present (alegue, aleguemos, aleguen); vosotros swaps the final r of the infinitive for a d (alegad).
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
The Imperative Negative is used to give orders and commands, telling someone not to do something. For example, “no alegue”, meaning “(to you formal) don't plead!”.
In Spanish, the Imperative Negative is known as "El Imperativo Negativo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | - | - |
| Tú | no alegues | (to you) don't plead! |
| Ella / Él / Usted | no alegue | (to you formal) don't plead! |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | no aleguemos | let's not plead! |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | no aleguéis | (to you plural) don't plead! |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | no aleguen | (to you plural formal) don't plead! |
How it’s built: No plus the subjunctive present: no alegues, no alegue, no aleguemos, no aleguéis, no aleguen.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
Alegar is an irregular Spanish verb. The present tense is regular. In the preterite: yo adds a u (alegué); the other forms are regular. It is also irregular in the present subjunctive (alegue).
In the present tense (presente), alegar is conjugated as: yo alego, tú alegas, él/ella/usted alega, nosotros alegamos, vosotros alegáis, ellos/ellas/ustedes alegan. 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.
In the preterite (pretérito indefinido), alegar is conjugated as: yo alegué, tú alegaste, él/ella/usted alegó, nosotros alegamos, vosotros alegasteis, ellos/ellas/ustedes alegaron. The preterite is used To talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time.
In the imperfect (pretérito imperfecto), alegar is conjugated as: yo alegaba, tú alegabas, él/ella/usted alegaba, nosotros alegábamos, vosotros alegabais, ellos/ellas/ustedes alegaban. The imperfect is used To describe regular and repeated actions that happened in the past and descriptions of things you used to do.
In the future tense (futuro simple), alegar is conjugated as: yo alegaré, tú alegarás, él/ella/usted alegará, nosotros alegaremos, vosotros alegaréis, ellos/ellas/ustedes alegarán. The future tense is used To talk about something that will happen in the future.
In the present subjunctive (subjuntivo presente), alegar is conjugated as: yo alegue, tú alegues, él/ella/usted alegue, nosotros aleguemos, vosotros aleguéis, ellos/ellas/ustedes aleguen. 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.
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