Ella Verbsconstruir to build, to construct Irregular Verb
At a glance: Construir (to build, to construct) is a widely used irregular verbs in Spanish. In the present tense: construyo, construyes, construye, construimos, construís, construyen. Yo, tú, ella/él and ellas/ellos add a y (construyo, construyes, construye, construyen); nosotros and vosotros are regular. It is also irregular in the preterite (construyó), subjunctive and gerund (construyendo).

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The Indicative Present of construir 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, “construyo”, meaning “I build”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Present is known as "El Presente".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | construyo | I build |
| Tú | construyes | you build |
| Ella / Él / Usted | construye | s/he builds |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | construimos | we build |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | construís | you (plural) build |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | construyen | they build |
How it’s built: Yo, tú, ella/él and ellas/ellos add a y (construyo, construyes, construye, construyen); nosotros and vosotros are regular.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
The Indicative Preterite of construir is used to talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time. For example, “construí”, meaning “I built”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Preterite is known as "El Pretérito Indefinido".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | construí | I built |
| Tú | construiste | you built |
| Ella / Él / Usted | construyó | s/he built |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | construimos | we built |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | construisteis | you (plural) built |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | construyeron | they built |
How it’s built: Ella/Él and ellas/ellos change i to y (construyó, construyeron); the other forms are regular.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
The Indicative Imperfect of construir is used to describe regular and repeated actions that happened in the past and descriptions of things you used to do. For example, “construía”, meaning “I used to build”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Imperfect is known as "El Pretérito Imperfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | construía | I used to build |
| Tú | construías | you used to build |
| Ella / Él / Usted | construía | s/he used to build |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | construíamos | we used to build |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | construíais | you (plural) used to build |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | construían | they used to build |
How it’s built: Regular: stem constru- plus the -ir endings.
The Indicative Present Continuous of construir is used to talk about something that is happening continuously or right now. For example, “estoy construyendo”, meaning “I am building”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Present Continuous is known as "El Presente Progresivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | estoy construyendo | I am building |
| Tú | estás construyendo | you are building |
| Ella / Él / Usted | está construyendo | s/he is building |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | estamos construyendo | we are building |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | estáis construyendo | you (plural) are building |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | están construyendo | they are building |
How it’s built: Estar in the present (estoy, estás, está, estamos, estáis, están) plus the irregular gerund construyendo.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
The Indicative Informal Future of construir is used to talk about something that will happen in the future, especially in the near future. For example, “voy a construir”, meaning “I am going to build”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Informal Future is known as "El Futuro Próximo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | voy a construir | I am going to build |
| Tú | vas a construir | you are going to build |
| Ella / Él / Usted | va a construir | s/he is going to build |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | vamos a construir | we are going to build |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | vais a construir | you (plural) are going to build |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | van a construir | they are going to build |
How it’s built: Ir in the present (voy, vas, va, vamos, vais, van), then a, then the infinitive construir.
The Indicative Future of construir is used to talk about something that will happen in the future. For example, “construiré”, meaning “I will build”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Future is known as "El Futuro Simple".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | construiré | I will build |
| Tú | construirás | you will build |
| Ella / Él / Usted | construirá | s/he will build |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | construiremos | we will build |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | construiréis | you (plural) will build |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | construirán | they will build |
How it’s built: Regular: the infinitive construir plus the future endings.
The Indicative Conditional of construir is used to talk about something that may happen in the future, hypothesis and probabilities. For example, “construiría”, meaning “I would build”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional is known as "El Condicional Simple".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | construiría | I would build |
| Tú | construirías | you would build |
| Ella / Él / Usted | construiría | s/he would build |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | construiríamos | we would build |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | construiríais | you (plural) would build |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | construirían | they would build |
How it’s built: Regular: the infinitive construir plus the conditional endings.
The Indicative Present Perfect of construir 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 construido”, meaning “I have built”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | he construido | I have built |
| Tú | has construido | you have built |
| Ella / Él / Usted | ha construido | s/he has built |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hemos construido | we have built |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habéis construido | you (plural) have built |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | han construido | they have built |
How it’s built: Haber in the present (he, has, ha, hemos, habéis, han) plus the past participle construido.
The Indicative Past Perfect of construir is used to talk about actions that happened before another action in the past. For example, “había construido”, meaning “I had built”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | había construido | I had built |
| Tú | habías construido | you had built |
| Ella / Él / Usted | había construido | s/he had built |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habíamos construido | we had built |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habíais construido | you (plural) had built |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habían construido | they had built |
How it’s built: Haber in the imperfect (había, habías, había, habíamos, habíais, habían) plus the past participle construido.
The Indicative Future Perfect of construir is used to talk about something that will have happened in the future after something else has already happened. For example, “habré construido”, meaning “I will have built”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | habré construido | I will have built |
| Tú | habrás construido | you will have built |
| Ella / Él / Usted | habrá construido | s/he will have built |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habremos construido | we will have built |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habréis construido | you (plural) will have built |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habrán construido | they will have built |
How it’s built: Haber in the future (habré, habrás, habrá, habremos, habréis, habrán) plus the past participle construido.
The Indicative Conditional Perfect of construir is used to talk about something that would have happened in the past but didn’t due to another action. For example, “habría construido”, meaning “I would have built”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional Perfect is known as "El Condicional Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | habría construido | I would have built |
| Tú | habrías construido | you would have built |
| Ella / Él / Usted | habría construido | s/he would have built |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habríamos construido | we would have built |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habríais construido | you (plural) would have built |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habrían construido | they would have built |
How it’s built: Haber in the conditional (habría, habrías, habría, habríamos, habríais, habrían) plus the past participle construido.
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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, “construya”, meaning “I build”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present is known as "El Presente de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | construya | I build |
| Tú | construyas | you build |
| Ella / Él / Usted | construya | s/he builds |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | construyamos | we build |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | construyáis | you (plural) build |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | construyan | they build |
How it’s built: Every form follows the yo present, construyo (construya, construyas, construya, construyamos, construyáis, construyan).
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, “construyera”, meaning “I built”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Imperfect is known as "El Imperfecto Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | construyera | I built |
| Tú | construyeras | you built |
| Ella / Él / Usted | construyera | s/he built |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | construyéramos | we built |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | construyerais | you (plural) built |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | construyeran | they built |
How it’s built: Built on the irregular ellas/ellos preterite, construyeron: drop -ron and add the -ra endings; nosotros adds an accent (construyéramos).
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
The Subjunctive Future is used to speak about hypothetical situations, and actions/events that may happen in the future. For example, “construyere”, meaning “I will build”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future is known as "El Futuro de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | construyere | I will build |
| Tú | construyeres | you will build |
| Ella / Él / Usted | construyere | s/he will build |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | construyéremos | we will build |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | construyereis | you (plural) will build |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | construyeren | they will build |
How it’s built: Built on the irregular ellas/ellos preterite, construyeron: drop -ron and add the -re endings; nosotros adds an accent (construyéremos).
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
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 construido”, meaning “I have built”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | haya construido | I have built |
| Tú | hayas construido | you have built |
| Ella / Él / Usted | haya construido | s/he has built |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hayamos construido | we have built |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hayáis construido | you (plural) have built |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hayan construido | they have built |
How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive present (haya, hayas, haya, hayamos, hayáis, hayan) plus the past participle construido.
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 construido”, meaning “I had built”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | hubiera construido | I had built |
| Tú | hubieras construido | you had built |
| Ella / Él / Usted | hubiera construido | s/he had built |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hubiéramos construido | we had built |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hubierais construido | you (plural) had built |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hubieran construido | they had built |
How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive imperfect (hubiera, hubieras, hubiera, hubiéramos, hubierais, hubieran) plus the past participle construido.
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 construido”, meaning “I will have built”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | hubiere construido | I will have built |
| Tú | hubieres construido | you will have built |
| Ella / Él / Usted | hubiere construido | s/he will have built |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hubiéremos construido | we will have built |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hubiereis construido | you (plural) will have built |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hubieren construido | they will have built |
How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive future (hubiere, hubieres, hubiere, hubiéremos, hubiereis, hubieren) plus the past participle construido.
The Imperative Affirmative is used to give orders and commands, to tell someone to do something. For example, “construya”, meaning “(to you formal) build!”.
In Spanish, the Imperative Affirmative is known as "El Imperativo Afirmativo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | - | - |
| Tú | construye | (to you) build! |
| Ella / Él / Usted | construya | (to you formal) build! |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | construyamos | let's build! |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | construid | (to you plural) build! |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | construyan | (to you plural formal) build! |
How it’s built: Tú takes the ella/él present (construye); usted, nosotros and ustedes take the subjunctive present (construya, construyamos, construyan); vosotros swaps the final r of the infinitive for a d (construid).
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 construya”, meaning “(to you formal) don't build!”.
In Spanish, the Imperative Negative is known as "El Imperativo Negativo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | - | - |
| Tú | no construyas | (to you) don't build! |
| Ella / Él / Usted | no construya | (to you formal) don't build! |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | no construyamos | let's not build! |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | no construyáis | (to you plural) don't build! |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | no construyan | (to you plural formal) don't build! |
How it’s built: No plus the subjunctive present: no construyas, no construya, no construyamos, no construyáis, no construyan.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
Construir is an irregular Spanish verb. In the present tense: yo, tú, ella/él and ellas/ellos add a y (construyo, construyes, construye, construyen); nosotros and vosotros are regular. It is also irregular in the preterite (construyó), subjunctive and gerund (construyendo).
In the present tense (presente), construir is conjugated as: yo construyo, tú construyes, él/ella/usted construye, nosotros construimos, vosotros construís, ellos/ellas/ustedes construyen. 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), construir is conjugated as: yo construí, tú construiste, él/ella/usted construyó, nosotros construimos, vosotros construisteis, ellos/ellas/ustedes construyeron. The preterite is used To talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time.
In the imperfect (pretérito imperfecto), construir is conjugated as: yo construía, tú construías, él/ella/usted construía, nosotros construíamos, vosotros construíais, ellos/ellas/ustedes construían. 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), construir is conjugated as: yo construiré, tú construirás, él/ella/usted construirá, nosotros construiremos, vosotros construiréis, ellos/ellas/ustedes construirán. The future tense is used To talk about something that will happen in the future.
In the present subjunctive (subjuntivo presente), construir is conjugated as: yo construya, tú construyas, él/ella/usted construya, nosotros construyamos, vosotros construyáis, ellos/ellas/ustedes construyan. 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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