1. Home>
  2. verbs>
  3. elegir

How to conjugate Elegir in Spanish

elegir 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).

Past participle
elegido chosen
Gerund
eligiendo choosing
Similar
escoger, seleccionar

Elegir conjugation tables as a PDF

A printable two-page cheat sheet, sent to your inbox.

Indicative tenses of Elegir

Elegir in the Indicative Present

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".

PronounSpanishEnglish
YoelijoI choose
Túeligesyou choose
Ella / Él / Ustedeliges/he chooses
Nosotras / Nosotroselegimoswe choose
Vosotras / Vosotroselegísyou (plural) choose
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeseligenthey 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.

Or use our app:


Back to top

Elegir in the Indicative Preterite

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".

PronounSpanishEnglish
YoelegíI chose
Túelegisteyou chose
Ella / Él / Ustedeligiós/he chose
Nosotras / Nosotroselegimoswe chose
Vosotras / Vosotroselegisteisyou (plural) chose
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeseligieronthey 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.

Or use our app:


Back to top

Elegir in the Indicative Imperfect

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".

PronounSpanishEnglish
YoelegíaI used to choose
Túelegíasyou used to choose
Ella / Él / Ustedelegías/he used to choose
Nosotras / Nosotroselegíamoswe used to choose
Vosotras / Vosotroselegíaisyou (plural) used to choose
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeselegíanthey used to choose

How it’s built: Regular: stem eleg- plus the -ir endings.

Or use our app:


Back to top

Elegir in the Indicative Present Continuous

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".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yoestoy eligiendoI am choosing
Túestás eligiendoyou are choosing
Ella / Él / Ustedestá eligiendos/he is choosing
Nosotras / Nosotrosestamos eligiendowe are choosing
Vosotras / Vosotrosestáis eligiendoyou (plural) are choosing
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesestán eligiendothey 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.

Or use our app:


Back to top

Elegir in the Indicative Informal Future

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".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yovoy a elegirI am going to choose
Túvas a elegiryou are going to choose
Ella / Él / Ustedva a elegirs/he is going to choose
Nosotras / Nosotrosvamos a elegirwe are going to choose
Vosotras / Vosotrosvais a elegiryou (plural) are going to choose
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesvan a elegirthey are going to choose

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

Or use our app:


Back to top

Elegir in the Indicative Future

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".

PronounSpanishEnglish
YoelegiréI will choose
Túelegirásyou will choose
Ella / Él / Ustedelegirás/he will choose
Nosotras / Nosotroselegiremoswe will choose
Vosotras / Vosotroselegiréisyou (plural) will choose
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeselegiránthey will choose

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

Or use our app:


Back to top

Elegir in the Indicative Conditional

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".

PronounSpanishEnglish
YoelegiríaI would choose
Túelegiríasyou would choose
Ella / Él / Ustedelegirías/he would choose
Nosotras / Nosotroselegiríamoswe would choose
Vosotras / Vosotroselegiríaisyou (plural) would choose
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeselegiríanthey would choose

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

Or use our app:


Back to top

Elegir in the Indicative Present Perfect

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".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohe elegidoI have chosen
Túhas elegidoyou have chosen
Ella / Él / Ustedha elegidos/he has chosen
Nosotras / Nosotroshemos elegidowe have chosen
Vosotras / Vosotroshabéis elegidoyou (plural) have chosen
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshan elegidothey have chosen

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

Or use our app:


Back to top

Elegir in the Indicative Past Perfect

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".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohabía elegidoI had chosen
Túhabías elegidoyou had chosen
Ella / Él / Ustedhabía elegidos/he had chosen
Nosotras / Nosotroshabíamos elegidowe had chosen
Vosotras / Vosotroshabíais elegidoyou (plural) had chosen
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshabían elegidothey had chosen

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

Or use our app:


Back to top

Elegir in the Indicative Future Perfect

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".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohabré elegidoI will have chosen
Túhabrás elegidoyou will have chosen
Ella / Él / Ustedhabrá elegidos/he will have chosen
Nosotras / Nosotroshabremos elegidowe will have chosen
Vosotras / Vosotroshabréis elegidoyou (plural) will have chosen
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshabrán elegidothey will have chosen

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

Or use our app:


Back to top

Elegir in the Indicative Conditional Perfect

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".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohabría elegidoI would have chosen
Túhabrías elegidoyou would have chosen
Ella / Él / Ustedhabría elegidos/he would have chosen
Nosotras / Nosotroshabríamos elegidowe would have chosen
Vosotras / Vosotroshabríais elegidoyou (plural) would have chosen
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshabrían elegidothey would have chosen

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

Or use our app:


Back to top

Want elegir to come out without thinking?

The app teaches the “E to I” pattern step by step, then quizzes you until forms like elijo are automatic.

4.9 stars from 15,000+ ratings
Start free – no card needed

Subjunctive tenses of Elegir

Elegir 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, “elija”, meaning “I choose”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
YoelijaI choose
Túelijasyou choose
Ella / Él / Ustedelijas/he chooses
Nosotras / Nosotroselijamoswe choose
Vosotras / Vosotroselijáisyou (plural) choose
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeselijanthey 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.

Or use our app:


Back to top

Elegir 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, “eligiera”, meaning “I chose”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
YoeligieraI chose
Túeligierasyou chose
Ella / Él / Ustedeligieras/he chose
Nosotras / Nosotroseligiéramoswe chose
Vosotras / Vosotroseligieraisyou (plural) chose
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeseligieranthey 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.

Or use our app:


Back to top

Elegir 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, “eligiere”, meaning “I will choose”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
YoeligiereI will choose
Túeligieresyou will choose
Ella / Él / Ustedeligieres/he will choose
Nosotras / Nosotroseligiéremoswe will choose
Vosotras / Vosotroseligiereisyou (plural) will choose
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeseligierenthey 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.

Or use our app:


Back to top

Elegir 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 elegido”, meaning “I have chosen”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohaya elegidoI have chosen
Túhayas elegidoyou have chosen
Ella / Él / Ustedhaya elegidos/he has chosen
Nosotras / Nosotroshayamos elegidowe have chosen
Vosotras / Vosotroshayáis elegidoyou (plural) have chosen
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshayan elegidothey have chosen

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

Or use our app:


Back to top

Elegir 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 elegido”, meaning “I had chosen”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohubiera elegidoI had chosen
Túhubieras elegidoyou had chosen
Ella / Él / Ustedhubiera elegidos/he had chosen
Nosotras / Nosotroshubiéramos elegidowe had chosen
Vosotras / Vosotroshubierais elegidoyou (plural) had chosen
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshubieran elegidothey had chosen

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

Or use our app:


Back to top

Elegir 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 elegido”, meaning “I will have chosen”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohubiere elegidoI will have chosen
Túhubieres elegidoyou will have chosen
Ella / Él / Ustedhubiere elegidos/he will have chosen
Nosotras / Nosotroshubiéremos elegidowe will have chosen
Vosotras / Vosotroshubiereis elegidoyou (plural) will have chosen
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshubieren elegidothey will have chosen

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

Or use our app:


Back to top

Imperative tenses of Elegir

Elegir in the Imperative Affirmative

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".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yo--
Túelige(to you) choose!
Ella / Él / Ustedelija(to you formal) choose!
Nosotras / Nosotroselijamoslet's choose!
Vosotras / Vosotroselegid(to you plural) choose!
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeselijan(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.

Or use our app:


Back to top

Elegir in the Imperative Negative

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".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yo--
Túno elijas(to you) don't choose!
Ella / Él / Ustedno elija(to you formal) don't choose!
Nosotras / Nosotrosno elijamoslet's not choose!
Vosotras / Vosotrosno elijáis(to you plural) don't choose!
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesno 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.

Or use our app:


Back to top

Frequently asked questions about Elegir

Is elegir a regular or irregular verb?

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).

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

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.

How do you conjugate elegir in the preterite (pretérito indefinido)?

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.

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

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.

How do you conjugate elegir in the future tense (futuro simple)?

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.

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

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.


Back to top

Downloadable cheat sheets

Download and print a cheat sheet of Elegir Spanish conjugation tables in image or PDF format:

Download image
elegir conjugation in Spanish
Back to top

Practise Elegir conjugations (free mobile & web app)

Get full conjugation tables for Elegir and 2,500+ other verbs on-the-go with Ella Verbs for iOS, Android, and web.

We also guide you through learning all Spanish tenses and test your knowledge with conjugation quizzes. Download it for free!

verb-library.png conjugation-empezar-1.png
4.9 stars from 15,000+ ratings

Back to top

About Ella Verbs

👋 Hola! We built Ella Verbs to help people (and ourselves!) master one of the hardest parts of Spanish – verb conjugation. It guides you through learning all tenses in an easy-to-follow way, giving you levels of bite-sized lessons and fun quizzes. Here is a 6 minute overview of all of the app’s features:

It has changed a lot over the 9+ years we have been working on it, but the goal remains the same – to help you master Spanish conjugation! You can download and try it for free, and, if you do, please send any and all feedback our way!

– Jane & Brian

4.9 stars from 15,000+ ratings

Back to top

Want to explore other verb conjugations?

Why not check out Elevar – to raise, to elevate or see the complete list of verbs here.


Back to top
Logo

Download for free now

Join 250,000+ others and master your Spanish conjugation with the top-rated verb app, Ella Verbs

4.9 stars from 15,000+ ratings

Great program that has and is helping me immensely. Four years [studying Spanish] and after just a couple of days with this app I finally am 'getting' the verb thing into my head. After the first couple of lessons I finally feel comfortable conversing with the natives here in Panama. I still have a long way to go but this application was the key for me. Thank you!

Google Play Store