Ella VerbsHow to conjugate Apretar in Spanish
apretar to press, to squeeze, to tighten, to be too tight (of clothes) Irregular Verb
At a glance: Apretar (to press, to squeeze, to tighten, to be too tight (of clothes)) is a widely used irregular verbs in Spanish. In the present tense: aprieto, aprietas, aprieta, apretamos, apretáis, aprietan. Yo, tú, ella/él and ellas/ellos change e to ie (aprieto, aprietas, aprieta, aprietan); nosotros and vosotros are regular. It is also irregular in the present subjunctive (apriete).
- Past participle
- apretado pressed
- Gerund
- apretando pressing
- Similar
- oprimir, presionar, pulsar, apretujar, estrujar, exprimir, atornillar
Table of contents
- Indicative tenses of Apretar
- Apretar in the Indicative Present
- Apretar in the Indicative Preterite
- Apretar in the Indicative Imperfect
- Apretar in the Indicative Present Continuous
- Apretar in the Indicative Informal Future
- Apretar in the Indicative Future
- Apretar in the Indicative Conditional
- Apretar in the Indicative Present Perfect
- Apretar in the Indicative Past Perfect
- Apretar in the Indicative Future Perfect
- Apretar in the Indicative Conditional Perfect
- Subjunctive tenses of Apretar
- Imperative tenses of Apretar
- Verbs that follow the same patterns
- Frequently asked questions
- Downloadable cheat sheet (PDF)
- Practise Apretar conjugations (free mobile app)
Apretar conjugation tables as a PDF
A printable two-page cheat sheet, sent to your inbox.
Indicative tenses of Apretar
Apretar in the Indicative Present
The Indicative Present of apretar 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, “aprieto”, meaning “I press”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Present is known as "El Presente".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | aprieto | I press |
| Tú | aprietas | you press |
| Ella / Él / Usted | aprieta | s/he presses |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | apretamos | we press |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | apretáis | you (plural) press |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | aprietan | they press |
How it’s built: Yo, tú, ella/él and ellas/ellos change e to ie (aprieto, aprietas, aprieta, aprietan); nosotros and vosotros are regular.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
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Apretar in the Indicative Preterite
The Indicative Preterite of apretar is used to talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time. For example, “apreté”, meaning “I pressed”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Preterite is known as "El Pretérito Indefinido".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | apreté | I pressed |
| Tú | apretaste | you pressed |
| Ella / Él / Usted | apretó | s/he pressed |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | apretamos | we pressed |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | apretasteis | you (plural) pressed |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | apretaron | they pressed |
How it’s built: Regular: stem apret- plus the -ar endings.
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Apretar in the Indicative Imperfect
The Indicative Imperfect of apretar is used to describe regular and repeated actions that happened in the past and descriptions of things you used to do. For example, “apretaba”, meaning “I used to press”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Imperfect is known as "El Pretérito Imperfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | apretaba | I used to press |
| Tú | apretabas | you used to press |
| Ella / Él / Usted | apretaba | s/he used to press |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | apretábamos | we used to press |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | apretabais | you (plural) used to press |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | apretaban | they used to press |
How it’s built: Regular: stem apret- plus the -ar endings.
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Apretar in the Indicative Present Continuous
The Indicative Present Continuous of apretar is used to talk about something that is happening continuously or right now. For example, “estoy apretando”, meaning “I am pressing”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Present Continuous is known as "El Presente Progresivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | estoy apretando | I am pressing |
| Tú | estás apretando | you are pressing |
| Ella / Él / Usted | está apretando | s/he is pressing |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | estamos apretando | we are pressing |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | estáis apretando | you (plural) are pressing |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | están apretando | they are pressing |
How it’s built: Estar in the present (estoy, estás, está, estamos, estáis, están) plus the gerund apretando.
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Apretar in the Indicative Informal Future
The Indicative Informal Future of apretar is used to talk about something that will happen in the future, especially in the near future. For example, “voy a apretar”, meaning “I am going to press”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Informal Future is known as "El Futuro Próximo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | voy a apretar | I am going to press |
| Tú | vas a apretar | you are going to press |
| Ella / Él / Usted | va a apretar | s/he is going to press |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | vamos a apretar | we are going to press |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | vais a apretar | you (plural) are going to press |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | van a apretar | they are going to press |
How it’s built: Ir in the present (voy, vas, va, vamos, vais, van), then a, then the infinitive apretar.
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Apretar in the Indicative Future
The Indicative Future of apretar is used to talk about something that will happen in the future. For example, “apretaré”, meaning “I will press”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Future is known as "El Futuro Simple".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | apretaré | I will press |
| Tú | apretarás | you will press |
| Ella / Él / Usted | apretará | s/he will press |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | apretaremos | we will press |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | apretaréis | you (plural) will press |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | apretarán | they will press |
How it’s built: Regular: the infinitive apretar plus the future endings.
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Apretar in the Indicative Conditional
The Indicative Conditional of apretar is used to talk about something that may happen in the future, hypothesis and probabilities. For example, “apretaría”, meaning “I would press”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional is known as "El Condicional Simple".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | apretaría | I would press |
| Tú | apretarías | you would press |
| Ella / Él / Usted | apretaría | s/he would press |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | apretaríamos | we would press |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | apretaríais | you (plural) would press |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | apretarían | they would press |
How it’s built: Regular: the infinitive apretar plus the conditional endings.
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Apretar in the Indicative Present Perfect
The Indicative Present Perfect of apretar 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 apretado”, meaning “I have pressed”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | he apretado | I have pressed |
| Tú | has apretado | you have pressed |
| Ella / Él / Usted | ha apretado | s/he has pressed |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hemos apretado | we have pressed |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habéis apretado | you (plural) have pressed |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | han apretado | they have pressed |
How it’s built: Haber in the present (he, has, ha, hemos, habéis, han) plus the past participle apretado.
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Apretar in the Indicative Past Perfect
The Indicative Past Perfect of apretar is used to talk about actions that happened before another action in the past. For example, “había apretado”, meaning “I had pressed”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | había apretado | I had pressed |
| Tú | habías apretado | you had pressed |
| Ella / Él / Usted | había apretado | s/he had pressed |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habíamos apretado | we had pressed |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habíais apretado | you (plural) had pressed |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habían apretado | they had pressed |
How it’s built: Haber in the imperfect (había, habías, había, habíamos, habíais, habían) plus the past participle apretado.
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Apretar in the Indicative Future Perfect
The Indicative Future Perfect of apretar is used to talk about something that will have happened in the future after something else has already happened. For example, “habré apretado”, meaning “I will have pressed”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | habré apretado | I will have pressed |
| Tú | habrás apretado | you will have pressed |
| Ella / Él / Usted | habrá apretado | s/he will have pressed |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habremos apretado | we will have pressed |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habréis apretado | you (plural) will have pressed |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habrán apretado | they will have pressed |
How it’s built: Haber in the future (habré, habrás, habrá, habremos, habréis, habrán) plus the past participle apretado.
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Apretar in the Indicative Conditional Perfect
The Indicative Conditional Perfect of apretar is used to talk about something that would have happened in the past but didn’t due to another action. For example, “habría apretado”, meaning “I would have pressed”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional Perfect is known as "El Condicional Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | habría apretado | I would have pressed |
| Tú | habrías apretado | you would have pressed |
| Ella / Él / Usted | habría apretado | s/he would have pressed |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habríamos apretado | we would have pressed |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habríais apretado | you (plural) would have pressed |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habrían apretado | they would have pressed |
How it’s built: Haber in the conditional (habría, habrías, habría, habríamos, habríais, habrían) plus the past participle apretado.
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Subjunctive tenses of Apretar
Apretar 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, “apriete”, meaning “I press”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present is known as "El Presente de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | apriete | I press |
| Tú | aprietes | you press |
| Ella / Él / Usted | apriete | s/he presses |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | apretemos | we press |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | apretéis | you (plural) press |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | aprieten | they press |
How it’s built: Yo, tú, ella/él and ellas/ellos follow the yo present, aprieto (apriete, aprietes, apriete, aprieten); nosotros and vosotros are regular.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
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Apretar 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, “apretara”, meaning “I pressed”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Imperfect is known as "El Imperfecto Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | apretara | I pressed |
| Tú | apretaras | you pressed |
| Ella / Él / Usted | apretara | s/he pressed |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | apretáramos | we pressed |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | apretarais | you (plural) pressed |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | apretaran | they pressed |
How it’s built: Regular: the ellas/ellos preterite, apretaron, without -ron, plus the -ra endings; nosotros adds an accent (apretáramos).
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Apretar 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, “apretare”, meaning “I will press”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future is known as "El Futuro de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | apretare | I will press |
| Tú | apretares | you will press |
| Ella / Él / Usted | apretare | s/he will press |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | apretáremos | we will press |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | apretareis | you (plural) will press |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | apretaren | they will press |
How it’s built: Regular: the ellas/ellos preterite, apretaron, without -ron, plus the -re endings; nosotros adds an accent (apretáremos).
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Apretar 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 apretado”, meaning “I have pressed”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | haya apretado | I have pressed |
| Tú | hayas apretado | you have pressed |
| Ella / Él / Usted | haya apretado | s/he has pressed |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hayamos apretado | we have pressed |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hayáis apretado | you (plural) have pressed |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hayan apretado | they have pressed |
How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive present (haya, hayas, haya, hayamos, hayáis, hayan) plus the past participle apretado.
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Apretar 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 apretado”, meaning “I had pressed”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | hubiera apretado | I had pressed |
| Tú | hubieras apretado | you had pressed |
| Ella / Él / Usted | hubiera apretado | s/he had pressed |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hubiéramos apretado | we had pressed |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hubierais apretado | you (plural) had pressed |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hubieran apretado | they had pressed |
How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive imperfect (hubiera, hubieras, hubiera, hubiéramos, hubierais, hubieran) plus the past participle apretado.
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Apretar 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 apretado”, meaning “I will have pressed”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | hubiere apretado | I will have pressed |
| Tú | hubieres apretado | you will have pressed |
| Ella / Él / Usted | hubiere apretado | s/he will have pressed |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hubiéremos apretado | we will have pressed |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hubiereis apretado | you (plural) will have pressed |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hubieren apretado | they will have pressed |
How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive future (hubiere, hubieres, hubiere, hubiéremos, hubiereis, hubieren) plus the past participle apretado.
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Imperative tenses of Apretar
Apretar in the Imperative Affirmative
The Imperative Affirmative is used to give orders and commands, to tell someone to do something. For example, “apriete”, meaning “(to you formal) press!”.
In Spanish, the Imperative Affirmative is known as "El Imperativo Afirmativo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | - | - |
| Tú | aprieta | (to you) press! |
| Ella / Él / Usted | apriete | (to you formal) press! |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | apretemos | let's press! |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | apretad | (to you plural) press! |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | aprieten | (to you plural formal) press! |
How it’s built: Tú takes the ella/él present (aprieta); usted, nosotros and ustedes take the subjunctive present (apriete, apretemos, aprieten); vosotros swaps the final r of the infinitive for a d (apretad).
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
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Apretar in the Imperative Negative
The Imperative Negative is used to give orders and commands, telling someone not to do something. For example, “no apriete”, meaning “(to you formal) don't press!”.
In Spanish, the Imperative Negative is known as "El Imperativo Negativo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | - | - |
| Tú | no aprietes | (to you) don't press! |
| Ella / Él / Usted | no apriete | (to you formal) don't press! |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | no apretemos | let's not press! |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | no apretéis | (to you plural) don't press! |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | no aprieten | (to you plural formal) don't press! |
How it’s built: No plus the subjunctive present: no aprietes, no apriete, no apretemos, no apretéis, no aprieten.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
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Frequently asked questions about Apretar
Is apretar a regular or irregular verb?
Apretar is an irregular Spanish verb. In the present tense: yo, tú, ella/él and ellas/ellos change e to ie (aprieto, aprietas, aprieta, aprietan); nosotros and vosotros are regular. It is also irregular in the present subjunctive (apriete).
How do you conjugate apretar in the present tense (presente)?
In the present tense (presente), apretar is conjugated as: yo aprieto, tú aprietas, él/ella/usted aprieta, nosotros apretamos, vosotros apretáis, ellos/ellas/ustedes aprietan. 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 apretar in the preterite (pretérito indefinido)?
In the preterite (pretérito indefinido), apretar is conjugated as: yo apreté, tú apretaste, él/ella/usted apretó, nosotros apretamos, vosotros apretasteis, ellos/ellas/ustedes apretaron. The preterite is used To talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time.
How do you conjugate apretar in the imperfect (pretérito imperfecto)?
In the imperfect (pretérito imperfecto), apretar is conjugated as: yo apretaba, tú apretabas, él/ella/usted apretaba, nosotros apretábamos, vosotros apretabais, ellos/ellas/ustedes apretaban. 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 apretar in the future tense (futuro simple)?
In the future tense (futuro simple), apretar is conjugated as: yo apretaré, tú apretarás, él/ella/usted apretará, nosotros apretaremos, vosotros apretaréis, ellos/ellas/ustedes apretarán. The future tense is used To talk about something that will happen in the future.
How do you conjugate apretar in the present subjunctive (subjuntivo presente)?
In the present subjunctive (subjuntivo presente), apretar is conjugated as: yo apriete, tú aprietes, él/ella/usted apriete, nosotros apretemos, vosotros apretéis, ellos/ellas/ustedes aprieten. 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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Downloadable cheat sheets
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