Ella Verbscrecer to grow (get bigger), to grow up, to rise, to increase Irregular Verb
At a glance: Crecer (to grow (get bigger), to grow up, to rise, to increase) is a widely used irregular verbs in Spanish. In the present tense: crezco, creces, crece, crecemos, crecéis, crecen. Yo adds a z (crezco); the other forms are regular. It is also irregular in the present subjunctive (crezca).

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The Indicative Present of crecer 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, “crezco”, meaning “I grow”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Present is known as "El Presente".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | crezco | I grow |
| Tú | creces | you grow |
| Ella / Él / Usted | crece | s/he grows |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | crecemos | we grow |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | crecéis | you (plural) grow |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | crecen | they grow |
How it’s built: Yo adds a z (crezco); the other forms are regular.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
The Indicative Preterite of crecer is used to talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time. For example, “crecí”, meaning “I grew”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Preterite is known as "El Pretérito Indefinido".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | crecí | I grew |
| Tú | creciste | you grew |
| Ella / Él / Usted | creció | s/he grew |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | crecimos | we grew |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | crecisteis | you (plural) grew |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | crecieron | they grew |
How it’s built: Regular: stem crec- plus the -er endings.
The Indicative Imperfect of crecer is used to describe regular and repeated actions that happened in the past and descriptions of things you used to do. For example, “crecía”, meaning “I used to grow”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Imperfect is known as "El Pretérito Imperfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | crecía | I used to grow |
| Tú | crecías | you used to grow |
| Ella / Él / Usted | crecía | s/he used to grow |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | crecíamos | we used to grow |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | crecíais | you (plural) used to grow |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | crecían | they used to grow |
How it’s built: Regular: stem crec- plus the -er endings.
The Indicative Present Continuous of crecer is used to talk about something that is happening continuously or right now. For example, “estoy creciendo”, meaning “I am growing”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Present Continuous is known as "El Presente Progresivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | estoy creciendo | I am growing |
| Tú | estás creciendo | you are growing |
| Ella / Él / Usted | está creciendo | s/he is growing |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | estamos creciendo | we are growing |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | estáis creciendo | you (plural) are growing |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | están creciendo | they are growing |
How it’s built: Estar in the present (estoy, estás, está, estamos, estáis, están) plus the gerund creciendo.
The Indicative Informal Future of crecer is used to talk about something that will happen in the future, especially in the near future. For example, “voy a crecer”, meaning “I am going to grow”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Informal Future is known as "El Futuro Próximo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | voy a crecer | I am going to grow |
| Tú | vas a crecer | you are going to grow |
| Ella / Él / Usted | va a crecer | s/he is going to grow |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | vamos a crecer | we are going to grow |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | vais a crecer | you (plural) are going to grow |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | van a crecer | they are going to grow |
How it’s built: Ir in the present (voy, vas, va, vamos, vais, van), then a, then the infinitive crecer.
The Indicative Future of crecer is used to talk about something that will happen in the future. For example, “creceré”, meaning “I will grow”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Future is known as "El Futuro Simple".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | creceré | I will grow |
| Tú | crecerás | you will grow |
| Ella / Él / Usted | crecerá | s/he will grow |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | creceremos | we will grow |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | creceréis | you (plural) will grow |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | crecerán | they will grow |
How it’s built: Regular: the infinitive crecer plus the future endings.
The Indicative Conditional of crecer is used to talk about something that may happen in the future, hypothesis and probabilities. For example, “crecería”, meaning “I would grow”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional is known as "El Condicional Simple".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | crecería | I would grow |
| Tú | crecerías | you would grow |
| Ella / Él / Usted | crecería | s/he would grow |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | creceríamos | we would grow |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | creceríais | you (plural) would grow |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | crecerían | they would grow |
How it’s built: Regular: the infinitive crecer plus the conditional endings.
The Indicative Present Perfect of crecer 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 crecido”, meaning “I have grown”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | he crecido | I have grown |
| Tú | has crecido | you have grown |
| Ella / Él / Usted | ha crecido | s/he has grown |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hemos crecido | we have grown |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habéis crecido | you (plural) have grown |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | han crecido | they have grown |
How it’s built: Haber in the present (he, has, ha, hemos, habéis, han) plus the past participle crecido.
The Indicative Past Perfect of crecer is used to talk about actions that happened before another action in the past. For example, “había crecido”, meaning “I had grown”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | había crecido | I had grown |
| Tú | habías crecido | you had grown |
| Ella / Él / Usted | había crecido | s/he had grown |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habíamos crecido | we had grown |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habíais crecido | you (plural) had grown |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habían crecido | they had grown |
How it’s built: Haber in the imperfect (había, habías, había, habíamos, habíais, habían) plus the past participle crecido.
The Indicative Future Perfect of crecer is used to talk about something that will have happened in the future after something else has already happened. For example, “habré crecido”, meaning “I will have grown”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | habré crecido | I will have grown |
| Tú | habrás crecido | you will have grown |
| Ella / Él / Usted | habrá crecido | s/he will have grown |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habremos crecido | we will have grown |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habréis crecido | you (plural) will have grown |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habrán crecido | they will have grown |
How it’s built: Haber in the future (habré, habrás, habrá, habremos, habréis, habrán) plus the past participle crecido.
The Indicative Conditional Perfect of crecer is used to talk about something that would have happened in the past but didn’t due to another action. For example, “habría crecido”, meaning “I would have grown”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional Perfect is known as "El Condicional Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | habría crecido | I would have grown |
| Tú | habrías crecido | you would have grown |
| Ella / Él / Usted | habría crecido | s/he would have grown |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habríamos crecido | we would have grown |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habríais crecido | you (plural) would have grown |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habrían crecido | they would have grown |
How it’s built: Haber in the conditional (habría, habrías, habría, habríamos, habríais, habrían) plus the past participle crecido.
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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, “crezca”, meaning “I grow”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present is known as "El Presente de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | crezca | I grow |
| Tú | crezcas | you grow |
| Ella / Él / Usted | crezca | s/he grows |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | crezcamos | we grow |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | crezcáis | you (plural) grow |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | crezcan | they grow |
How it’s built: Every form follows the yo present, crezco (crezca, crezcas, crezca, crezcamos, crezcáis, crezcan).
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, “creciera”, meaning “I grew”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Imperfect is known as "El Imperfecto Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | creciera | I grew |
| Tú | crecieras | you grew |
| Ella / Él / Usted | creciera | s/he grew |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | creciéramos | we grew |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | crecierais | you (plural) grew |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | crecieran | they grew |
How it’s built: Regular: the ellas/ellos preterite, crecieron, without -ron, plus the -ra endings; nosotros adds an accent (creciéramos).
The Subjunctive Future is used to speak about hypothetical situations, and actions/events that may happen in the future. For example, “creciere”, meaning “I will grow”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future is known as "El Futuro de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | creciere | I will grow |
| Tú | crecieres | you will grow |
| Ella / Él / Usted | creciere | s/he will grow |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | creciéremos | we will grow |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | creciereis | you (plural) will grow |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | crecieren | they will grow |
How it’s built: Regular: the ellas/ellos preterite, crecieron, without -ron, plus the -re endings; nosotros adds an accent (creciéremos).
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 crecido”, meaning “I have grown”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | haya crecido | I have grown |
| Tú | hayas crecido | you have grown |
| Ella / Él / Usted | haya crecido | s/he has grown |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hayamos crecido | we have grown |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hayáis crecido | you (plural) have grown |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hayan crecido | they have grown |
How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive present (haya, hayas, haya, hayamos, hayáis, hayan) plus the past participle crecido.
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 crecido”, meaning “I had grown”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | hubiera crecido | I had grown |
| Tú | hubieras crecido | you had grown |
| Ella / Él / Usted | hubiera crecido | s/he had grown |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hubiéramos crecido | we had grown |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hubierais crecido | you (plural) had grown |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hubieran crecido | they had grown |
How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive imperfect (hubiera, hubieras, hubiera, hubiéramos, hubierais, hubieran) plus the past participle crecido.
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 crecido”, meaning “I will have grown”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | hubiere crecido | I will have grown |
| Tú | hubieres crecido | you will have grown |
| Ella / Él / Usted | hubiere crecido | s/he will have grown |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hubiéremos crecido | we will have grown |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hubiereis crecido | you (plural) will have grown |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hubieren crecido | they will have grown |
How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive future (hubiere, hubieres, hubiere, hubiéremos, hubiereis, hubieren) plus the past participle crecido.
The Imperative Affirmative is used to give orders and commands, to tell someone to do something. For example, “crezca”, meaning “(to you formal) grow!”.
In Spanish, the Imperative Affirmative is known as "El Imperativo Afirmativo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | - | - |
| Tú | crece | (to you) grow! |
| Ella / Él / Usted | crezca | (to you formal) grow! |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | crezcamos | let's grow! |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | creced | (to you plural) grow! |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | crezcan | (to you plural formal) grow! |
How it’s built: Tú takes the ella/él present (crece); usted, nosotros and ustedes take the subjunctive present (crezca, crezcamos, crezcan); vosotros swaps the final r of the infinitive for a d (creced).
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 crezca”, meaning “(to you formal) don't grow!”.
In Spanish, the Imperative Negative is known as "El Imperativo Negativo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | - | - |
| Tú | no crezcas | (to you) don't grow! |
| Ella / Él / Usted | no crezca | (to you formal) don't grow! |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | no crezcamos | let's not grow! |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | no crezcáis | (to you plural) don't grow! |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | no crezcan | (to you plural formal) don't grow! |
How it’s built: No plus the subjunctive present: no crezcas, no crezca, no crezcamos, no crezcáis, no crezcan.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
Crecer is an irregular Spanish verb. In the present tense: yo adds a z (crezco); the other forms are regular. It is also irregular in the present subjunctive (crezca).
In the present tense (presente), crecer is conjugated as: yo crezco, tú creces, él/ella/usted crece, nosotros crecemos, vosotros crecéis, ellos/ellas/ustedes crecen. 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), crecer is conjugated as: yo crecí, tú creciste, él/ella/usted creció, nosotros crecimos, vosotros crecisteis, ellos/ellas/ustedes crecieron. The preterite is used To talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time.
In the imperfect (pretérito imperfecto), crecer is conjugated as: yo crecía, tú crecías, él/ella/usted crecía, nosotros crecíamos, vosotros crecíais, ellos/ellas/ustedes crecían. 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), crecer is conjugated as: yo creceré, tú crecerás, él/ella/usted crecerá, nosotros creceremos, vosotros creceréis, ellos/ellas/ustedes crecerán. The future tense is used To talk about something that will happen in the future.
In the present subjunctive (subjuntivo presente), crecer is conjugated as: yo crezca, tú crezcas, él/ella/usted crezca, nosotros crezcamos, vosotros crezcáis, ellos/ellas/ustedes crezcan. 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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