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How to conjugate Caer in Spanish

caer to fall, to fall down Irregular Verb Top 100

At a glance: Caer (to fall, to fall down) is one of the most common irregular verbs in Spanish. In the present tense: caigo, caes, cae, caemos, caéis, caen. Yo adds ig (caigo); the other forms are regular. It is also irregular in the preterite (caíste), subjunctive, gerund (cayendo) and past participle (caído).

Past participle
caído fallen
Gerund
cayendo falling
Similar
caerse

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Indicative tenses of Caer

Caer in the Indicative Present

The Indicative Present of caer 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, “caigo en el suelo”, meaning “I fall on the ground”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
YocaigoI fall
Túcaesyou fall
Ella / Él / Ustedcaes/he falls
Nosotras / Nosotroscaemoswe fall
Vosotras / Vosotroscaéisyou (plural) fall
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedescaenthey fall

How it’s built: Yo adds ig (caigo); the other forms are regular.

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Caer in the Indicative Preterite

The Indicative Preterite of caer is used to talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time. For example, “caí en el suelo”, meaning “I fell on the ground”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
YocaíI fell
Túcaísteyou fell
Ella / Él / Ustedcayós/he fell
Nosotras / Nosotroscaímoswe fell
Vosotras / Vosotroscaísteisyou (plural) fell
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedescayeronthey fell

How it’s built: Tú, nosotros and vosotros change i to í (caíste, caímos, caísteis); ella/él and ellas/ellos change i to y (cayó, cayeron); yo is regular.

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Caer in the Indicative Imperfect

The Indicative Imperfect of caer is used to describe regular and repeated actions that happened in the past and descriptions of things you used to do. For example, “caía en el suelo”, meaning “I used to fall on the ground”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
YocaíaI used to fall
Túcaíasyou used to fall
Ella / Él / Ustedcaías/he used to fall
Nosotras / Nosotroscaíamoswe used to fall
Vosotras / Vosotroscaíaisyou (plural) used to fall
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedescaíanthey used to fall

How it’s built: Regular: stem ca- plus the -er endings.

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Caer in the Indicative Present Continuous

The Indicative Present Continuous of caer is used to talk about something that is happening continuously or right now. For example, “estoy cayendo en el suelo”, meaning “I am falling on the ground”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yoestoy cayendoI am falling
Túestás cayendoyou are falling
Ella / Él / Ustedestá cayendos/he is falling
Nosotras / Nosotrosestamos cayendowe are falling
Vosotras / Vosotrosestáis cayendoyou (plural) are falling
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesestán cayendothey are falling

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

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Caer in the Indicative Informal Future

The Indicative Informal Future of caer is used to talk about something that will happen in the future, especially in the near future. For example, “voy a caer en el suelo”, meaning “I am going to fall on the ground”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yovoy a caerI am going to fall
Túvas a caeryou are going to fall
Ella / Él / Ustedva a caers/he is going to fall
Nosotras / Nosotrosvamos a caerwe are going to fall
Vosotras / Vosotrosvais a caeryou (plural) are going to fall
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesvan a caerthey are going to fall

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

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Caer in the Indicative Future

The Indicative Future of caer is used to talk about something that will happen in the future. For example, “caeré en el suelo”, meaning “I will fall on the ground”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
YocaeréI will fall
Túcaerásyou will fall
Ella / Él / Ustedcaerás/he will fall
Nosotras / Nosotroscaeremoswe will fall
Vosotras / Vosotroscaeréisyou (plural) will fall
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedescaeránthey will fall

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

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Caer in the Indicative Conditional

The Indicative Conditional of caer is used to talk about something that may happen in the future, hypothesis and probabilities. For example, “caería en el suelo”, meaning “I would fall on the ground”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
YocaeríaI would fall
Túcaeríasyou would fall
Ella / Él / Ustedcaerías/he would fall
Nosotras / Nosotroscaeríamoswe would fall
Vosotras / Vosotroscaeríaisyou (plural) would fall
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedescaeríanthey would fall

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

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Caer in the Indicative Present Perfect

The Indicative Present Perfect of caer 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 caído en el suelo”, meaning “I have fallen on the ground”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohe caídoI have fallen
Túhas caídoyou have fallen
Ella / Él / Ustedha caídos/he has fallen
Nosotras / Nosotroshemos caídowe have fallen
Vosotras / Vosotroshabéis caídoyou (plural) have fallen
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshan caídothey have fallen

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

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Caer in the Indicative Past Perfect

The Indicative Past Perfect of caer is used to talk about actions that happened before another action in the past. For example, “había caído en el suelo”, meaning “I had fallen on the ground”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohabía caídoI had fallen
Túhabías caídoyou had fallen
Ella / Él / Ustedhabía caídos/he had fallen
Nosotras / Nosotroshabíamos caídowe had fallen
Vosotras / Vosotroshabíais caídoyou (plural) had fallen
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshabían caídothey had fallen

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

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Caer in the Indicative Future Perfect

The Indicative Future Perfect of caer is used to talk about something that will have happened in the future after something else has already happened. For example, “habré caído en el suelo”, meaning “I will have fallen on the ground”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohabré caídoI will have fallen
Túhabrás caídoyou will have fallen
Ella / Él / Ustedhabrá caídos/he will have fallen
Nosotras / Nosotroshabremos caídowe will have fallen
Vosotras / Vosotroshabréis caídoyou (plural) will have fallen
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshabrán caídothey will have fallen

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

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Caer in the Indicative Conditional Perfect

The Indicative Conditional Perfect of caer is used to talk about something that would have happened in the past but didn’t due to another action. For example, “habría caído en el suelo”, meaning “I would have fallen on the ground”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohabría caídoI would have fallen
Túhabrías caídoyou would have fallen
Ella / Él / Ustedhabría caídos/he would have fallen
Nosotras / Nosotroshabríamos caídowe would have fallen
Vosotras / Vosotroshabríais caídoyou (plural) would have fallen
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshabrían caídothey would have fallen

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

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Subjunctive tenses of Caer

Caer 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, “caiga”, meaning “I fall”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
YocaigaI fall
Túcaigasyou fall
Ella / Él / Ustedcaigas/he falls
Nosotras / Nosotroscaigamoswe fall
Vosotras / Vosotroscaigáisyou (plural) fall
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedescaiganthey fall

How it’s built: Every form follows the yo present, caigo (caiga, caigas, caiga, caigamos, caigáis, caigan).

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Caer 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, “cayera”, meaning “I fell”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
YocayeraI fell
Túcayerasyou fell
Ella / Él / Ustedcayeras/he fell
Nosotras / Nosotroscayéramoswe fell
Vosotras / Vosotroscayeraisyou (plural) fell
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedescayeranthey fell

How it’s built: Built on the irregular ellas/ellos preterite, cayeron: drop -ron and add the -ra endings; nosotros adds an accent (cayéramos).

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Caer 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, “cayere”, meaning “I will fall”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
YocayereI will fall
Túcayeresyou will fall
Ella / Él / Ustedcayeres/he will fall
Nosotras / Nosotroscayéremoswe will fall
Vosotras / Vosotroscayereisyou (plural) will fall
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedescayerenthey will fall

How it’s built: Built on the irregular ellas/ellos preterite, cayeron: drop -ron and add the -re endings; nosotros adds an accent (cayéremos).

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Caer 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 caído”, meaning “I have fallen”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohaya caídoI have fallen
Túhayas caídoyou have fallen
Ella / Él / Ustedhaya caídos/he has fallen
Nosotras / Nosotroshayamos caídowe have fallen
Vosotras / Vosotroshayáis caídoyou (plural) have fallen
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshayan caídothey have fallen

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

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Caer 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 caído”, meaning “I had fallen”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohubiera caídoI had fallen
Túhubieras caídoyou had fallen
Ella / Él / Ustedhubiera caídos/he had fallen
Nosotras / Nosotroshubiéramos caídowe had fallen
Vosotras / Vosotroshubierais caídoyou (plural) had fallen
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshubieran caídothey had fallen

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

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Caer 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 caído”, meaning “I will have fallen”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohubiere caídoI will have fallen
Túhubieres caídoyou will have fallen
Ella / Él / Ustedhubiere caídos/he will have fallen
Nosotras / Nosotroshubiéremos caídowe will have fallen
Vosotras / Vosotroshubiereis caídoyou (plural) will have fallen
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshubieren caídothey will have fallen

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

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Imperative tenses of Caer

Caer in the Imperative Affirmative

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

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yo--
Túcae(to you) fall!
Ella / Él / Ustedcaiga(to you formal) fall!
Nosotras / Nosotroscaigamoslet's fall!
Vosotras / Vosotroscaed(to you plural) fall!
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedescaigan(to you plural formal) fall!

How it’s built: Tú takes the ella/él present (cae); usted, nosotros and ustedes take the subjunctive present (caiga, caigamos, caigan); vosotros swaps the final r of the infinitive for a d (caed).

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Caer in the Imperative Negative

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

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yo--
Túno caigas(to you) don't fall!
Ella / Él / Ustedno caiga(to you formal) don't fall!
Nosotras / Nosotrosno caigamoslet's not fall!
Vosotras / Vosotrosno caigáis(to you plural) don't fall!
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesno caigan(to you plural formal) don't fall!

How it’s built: No plus the subjunctive present: no caigas, no caiga, no caigamos, no caigáis, no caigan.

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Example sentences and usage

  • Tus lentes se cayeron al suelo. Your glasses fell on the floor.
  • La temperatura cayó repentinamente. The temperature has suddenly dropped.

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Frequently asked questions about Caer

Is caer a regular or irregular verb?

Caer is an irregular Spanish verb. In the present tense: yo adds ig (caigo); the other forms are regular. It is also irregular in the preterite (caíste), subjunctive, gerund (cayendo) and past participle (caído).

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

In the present tense (presente), caer is conjugated as: yo caigo, tú caes, él/ella/usted cae, nosotros caemos, vosotros caéis, ellos/ellas/ustedes caen. 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 caer in the preterite (pretérito indefinido)?

In the preterite (pretérito indefinido), caer is conjugated as: yo caí, tú caíste, él/ella/usted cayó, nosotros caímos, vosotros caísteis, ellos/ellas/ustedes cayeron. The preterite is used To talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time.

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

In the imperfect (pretérito imperfecto), caer is conjugated as: yo caía, tú caías, él/ella/usted caía, nosotros caíamos, vosotros caíais, ellos/ellas/ustedes caían. 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 caer in the future tense (futuro simple)?

In the future tense (futuro simple), caer is conjugated as: yo caeré, tú caerás, él/ella/usted caerá, nosotros caeremos, vosotros caeréis, ellos/ellas/ustedes caerán. The future tense is used To talk about something that will happen in the future.

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

In the present subjunctive (subjuntivo presente), caer is conjugated as: yo caiga, tú caigas, él/ella/usted caiga, nosotros caigamos, vosotros caigáis, ellos/ellas/ustedes caigan. 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 caer and caerse?

Caer and caerse both mean ‘to fall, to fall down’. Caerse is the reflexive form of caer, 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 caigo becomes me caigo. In the affirmative tú imperative the pronoun attaches to the end of the verb, so cae becomes cáete.

What are some common example sentences using caer?

Here are everyday sentences using caer: Tus lentes se cayeron al suelo. (Your glasses fell on the floor.) La temperatura cayó repentinamente. (The temperature has suddenly dropped.)


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Want to explore other verb conjugations?

Why not check out Caerse – to fall, to fall down or see the complete list of verbs here.


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