Ella Verbselegir to choose, to select, to elect Irregular Verb
At a glance: Elegir (to choose, to select, to elect) is a widely used irregular verbs in Spanish. In the present tense: elijo, eliges, elige, elegimos, elegís, eligen. Yo changes e to i and g to j (elijo); tú, ella/él and ellas/ellos change e to i (eliges, elige, eligen); nosotros and vosotros are regular. It is also irregular in the preterite (eligió), subjunctive and gerund (eligiendo).

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The Indicative Present of elegir 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, “elijo”, meaning “I choose”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Present is known as "El Presente".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | elijo | I choose |
| Tú | eliges | you choose |
| Ella / Él / Usted | elige | s/he chooses |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | elegimos | we choose |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | elegís | you (plural) choose |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | eligen | they choose |
How it’s built: Yo changes e to i and g to j (elijo); tú, ella/él and ellas/ellos change e to i (eliges, elige, eligen); nosotros and vosotros are regular.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
The Indicative Preterite of elegir is used to talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time. For example, “elegí”, meaning “I chose”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Preterite is known as "El Pretérito Indefinido".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | elegí | I chose |
| Tú | elegiste | you chose |
| Ella / Él / Usted | eligió | s/he chose |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | elegimos | we chose |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | elegisteis | you (plural) chose |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | eligieron | they chose |
How it’s built: Ella/Él and ellas/ellos change e to i (eligió, eligieron); the other forms are regular.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
The Indicative Imperfect of elegir is used to describe regular and repeated actions that happened in the past and descriptions of things you used to do. For example, “elegía”, meaning “I used to choose”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Imperfect is known as "El Pretérito Imperfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | elegía | I used to choose |
| Tú | elegías | you used to choose |
| Ella / Él / Usted | elegía | s/he used to choose |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | elegíamos | we used to choose |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | elegíais | you (plural) used to choose |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | elegían | they used to choose |
How it’s built: Regular: stem eleg- plus the -ir endings.
The Indicative Present Continuous of elegir is used to talk about something that is happening continuously or right now. For example, “estoy eligiendo”, meaning “I am choosing”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Present Continuous is known as "El Presente Progresivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | estoy eligiendo | I am choosing |
| Tú | estás eligiendo | you are choosing |
| Ella / Él / Usted | está eligiendo | s/he is choosing |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | estamos eligiendo | we are choosing |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | estáis eligiendo | you (plural) are choosing |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | están eligiendo | they are choosing |
How it’s built: Estar in the present (estoy, estás, está, estamos, estáis, están) plus the irregular gerund eligiendo.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
The Indicative Informal Future of elegir is used to talk about something that will happen in the future, especially in the near future. For example, “voy a elegir”, meaning “I am going to choose”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Informal Future is known as "El Futuro Próximo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | voy a elegir | I am going to choose |
| Tú | vas a elegir | you are going to choose |
| Ella / Él / Usted | va a elegir | s/he is going to choose |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | vamos a elegir | we are going to choose |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | vais a elegir | you (plural) are going to choose |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | van a elegir | they are going to choose |
How it’s built: Ir in the present (voy, vas, va, vamos, vais, van), then a, then the infinitive elegir.
The Indicative Future of elegir is used to talk about something that will happen in the future. For example, “elegiré”, meaning “I will choose”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Future is known as "El Futuro Simple".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | elegiré | I will choose |
| Tú | elegirás | you will choose |
| Ella / Él / Usted | elegirá | s/he will choose |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | elegiremos | we will choose |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | elegiréis | you (plural) will choose |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | elegirán | they will choose |
How it’s built: Regular: the infinitive elegir plus the future endings.
The Indicative Conditional of elegir is used to talk about something that may happen in the future, hypothesis and probabilities. For example, “elegiría”, meaning “I would choose”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional is known as "El Condicional Simple".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | elegiría | I would choose |
| Tú | elegirías | you would choose |
| Ella / Él / Usted | elegiría | s/he would choose |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | elegiríamos | we would choose |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | elegiríais | you (plural) would choose |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | elegirían | they would choose |
How it’s built: Regular: the infinitive elegir plus the conditional endings.
The Indicative Present Perfect of elegir 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 elegido”, meaning “I have chosen”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | he elegido | I have chosen |
| Tú | has elegido | you have chosen |
| Ella / Él / Usted | ha elegido | s/he has chosen |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hemos elegido | we have chosen |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habéis elegido | you (plural) have chosen |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | han elegido | they have chosen |
How it’s built: Haber in the present (he, has, ha, hemos, habéis, han) plus the past participle elegido.
The Indicative Past Perfect of elegir is used to talk about actions that happened before another action in the past. For example, “había elegido”, meaning “I had chosen”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | había elegido | I had chosen |
| Tú | habías elegido | you had chosen |
| Ella / Él / Usted | había elegido | s/he had chosen |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habíamos elegido | we had chosen |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habíais elegido | you (plural) had chosen |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habían elegido | they had chosen |
How it’s built: Haber in the imperfect (había, habías, había, habíamos, habíais, habían) plus the past participle elegido.
The Indicative Future Perfect of elegir is used to talk about something that will have happened in the future after something else has already happened. For example, “habré elegido”, meaning “I will have chosen”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | habré elegido | I will have chosen |
| Tú | habrás elegido | you will have chosen |
| Ella / Él / Usted | habrá elegido | s/he will have chosen |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habremos elegido | we will have chosen |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habréis elegido | you (plural) will have chosen |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habrán elegido | they will have chosen |
How it’s built: Haber in the future (habré, habrás, habrá, habremos, habréis, habrán) plus the past participle elegido.
The Indicative Conditional Perfect of elegir is used to talk about something that would have happened in the past but didn’t due to another action. For example, “habría elegido”, meaning “I would have chosen”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional Perfect is known as "El Condicional Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | habría elegido | I would have chosen |
| Tú | habrías elegido | you would have chosen |
| Ella / Él / Usted | habría elegido | s/he would have chosen |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habríamos elegido | we would have chosen |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habríais elegido | you (plural) would have chosen |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habrían elegido | they would have chosen |
How it’s built: Haber in the conditional (habría, habrías, habría, habríamos, habríais, habrían) plus the past participle elegido.
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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, “elija”, meaning “I choose”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present is known as "El Presente de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | elija | I choose |
| Tú | elijas | you choose |
| Ella / Él / Usted | elija | s/he chooses |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | elijamos | we choose |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | elijáis | you (plural) choose |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | elijan | they choose |
How it’s built: Every form follows the yo present, elijo (elija, elijas, elija, elijamos, elijáis, elijan).
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, “eligiera”, meaning “I chose”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Imperfect is known as "El Imperfecto Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | eligiera | I chose |
| Tú | eligieras | you chose |
| Ella / Él / Usted | eligiera | s/he chose |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | eligiéramos | we chose |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | eligierais | you (plural) chose |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | eligieran | they chose |
How it’s built: Built on the irregular ellas/ellos preterite, eligieron: drop -ron and add the -ra endings; nosotros adds an accent (eligiéramos).
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, “eligiere”, meaning “I will choose”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future is known as "El Futuro de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | eligiere | I will choose |
| Tú | eligieres | you will choose |
| Ella / Él / Usted | eligiere | s/he will choose |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | eligiéremos | we will choose |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | eligiereis | you (plural) will choose |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | eligieren | they will choose |
How it’s built: Built on the irregular ellas/ellos preterite, eligieron: drop -ron and add the -re endings; nosotros adds an accent (eligiéremos).
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 elegido”, meaning “I have chosen”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | haya elegido | I have chosen |
| Tú | hayas elegido | you have chosen |
| Ella / Él / Usted | haya elegido | s/he has chosen |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hayamos elegido | we have chosen |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hayáis elegido | you (plural) have chosen |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hayan elegido | they have chosen |
How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive present (haya, hayas, haya, hayamos, hayáis, hayan) plus the past participle elegido.
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 elegido”, meaning “I had chosen”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | hubiera elegido | I had chosen |
| Tú | hubieras elegido | you had chosen |
| Ella / Él / Usted | hubiera elegido | s/he had chosen |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hubiéramos elegido | we had chosen |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hubierais elegido | you (plural) had chosen |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hubieran elegido | they had chosen |
How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive imperfect (hubiera, hubieras, hubiera, hubiéramos, hubierais, hubieran) plus the past participle elegido.
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 elegido”, meaning “I will have chosen”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | hubiere elegido | I will have chosen |
| Tú | hubieres elegido | you will have chosen |
| Ella / Él / Usted | hubiere elegido | s/he will have chosen |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hubiéremos elegido | we will have chosen |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hubiereis elegido | you (plural) will have chosen |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hubieren elegido | they will have chosen |
How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive future (hubiere, hubieres, hubiere, hubiéremos, hubiereis, hubieren) plus the past participle elegido.
The Imperative Affirmative is used to give orders and commands, to tell someone to do something. For example, “elija”, meaning “(to you formal) choose!”.
In Spanish, the Imperative Affirmative is known as "El Imperativo Afirmativo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | - | - |
| Tú | elige | (to you) choose! |
| Ella / Él / Usted | elija | (to you formal) choose! |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | elijamos | let's choose! |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | elegid | (to you plural) choose! |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | elijan | (to you plural formal) choose! |
How it’s built: Tú takes the ella/él present (elige); usted, nosotros and ustedes take the subjunctive present (elija, elijamos, elijan); vosotros swaps the final r of the infinitive for a d (elegid).
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 elija”, meaning “(to you formal) don't choose!”.
In Spanish, the Imperative Negative is known as "El Imperativo Negativo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | - | - |
| Tú | no elijas | (to you) don't choose! |
| Ella / Él / Usted | no elija | (to you formal) don't choose! |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | no elijamos | let's not choose! |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | no elijáis | (to you plural) don't choose! |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | no elijan | (to you plural formal) don't choose! |
How it’s built: No plus the subjunctive present: no elijas, no elija, no elijamos, no elijáis, no elijan.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
Elegir is an irregular Spanish verb. In the present tense: yo changes e to i and g to j (elijo); tú, ella/él and ellas/ellos change e to i (eliges, elige, eligen); nosotros and vosotros are regular. It is also irregular in the preterite (eligió), subjunctive and gerund (eligiendo).
In the present tense (presente), elegir is conjugated as: yo elijo, tú eliges, él/ella/usted elige, nosotros elegimos, vosotros elegís, ellos/ellas/ustedes eligen. 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), elegir is conjugated as: yo elegí, tú elegiste, él/ella/usted eligió, nosotros elegimos, vosotros elegisteis, ellos/ellas/ustedes eligieron. The preterite is used To talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time.
In the imperfect (pretérito imperfecto), elegir is conjugated as: yo elegía, tú elegías, él/ella/usted elegía, nosotros elegíamos, vosotros elegíais, ellos/ellas/ustedes elegían. 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), elegir is conjugated as: yo elegiré, tú elegirás, él/ella/usted elegirá, nosotros elegiremos, vosotros elegiréis, ellos/ellas/ustedes elegirán. The future tense is used To talk about something that will happen in the future.
In the present subjunctive (subjuntivo presente), elegir is conjugated as: yo elija, tú elijas, él/ella/usted elija, nosotros elijamos, vosotros elijáis, ellos/ellas/ustedes elijan. 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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