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How to conjugate Encender in Spanish

encender to turn on, to switch on, to ignite, to light up Irregular Verb

At a glance: Encender (to turn on, to switch on, to ignite, to light up) is a widely used irregular verbs in Spanish. In the present tense: enciendo, enciendes, enciende, encendemos, encendéis, encienden. Yo, tú, ella/él and ellas/ellos change e to ie (enciendo, enciendes, enciende, encienden); nosotros and vosotros are regular. It is also irregular in the present subjunctive (encienda).

Past participle
encendido turned on
Gerund
encendiendo turning on
Similar
prender

Encender conjugation tables as a PDF

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Indicative tenses of Encender

Encender in the Indicative Present

The Indicative Present of encender 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, “enciendo”, meaning “I turn on”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
YoenciendoI turn on
Túenciendesyou turn on
Ella / Él / Ustedenciendes/he turns on
Nosotras / Nosotrosencendemoswe turn on
Vosotras / Vosotrosencendéisyou (plural) turn on
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesenciendenthey turn on

How it’s built: Yo, tú, ella/él and ellas/ellos change e to ie (enciendo, enciendes, enciende, encienden); nosotros and vosotros are regular.

Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.

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Encender in the Indicative Preterite

The Indicative Preterite of encender is used to talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time. For example, “encendí”, meaning “I turned on”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
YoencendíI turned on
Túencendisteyou turned on
Ella / Él / Ustedencendiós/he turned on
Nosotras / Nosotrosencendimoswe turned on
Vosotras / Vosotrosencendisteisyou (plural) turned on
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesencendieronthey turned on

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

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Encender in the Indicative Imperfect

The Indicative Imperfect of encender is used to describe regular and repeated actions that happened in the past and descriptions of things you used to do. For example, “encendía”, meaning “I used to turn on”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
YoencendíaI used to turn on
Túencendíasyou used to turn on
Ella / Él / Ustedencendías/he used to turn on
Nosotras / Nosotrosencendíamoswe used to turn on
Vosotras / Vosotrosencendíaisyou (plural) used to turn on
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesencendíanthey used to turn on

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

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Encender in the Indicative Present Continuous

The Indicative Present Continuous of encender is used to talk about something that is happening continuously or right now. For example, “estoy encendiendo”, meaning “I am turning on”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yoestoy encendiendoI am turning on
Túestás encendiendoyou are turning on
Ella / Él / Ustedestá encendiendos/he is turning on
Nosotras / Nosotrosestamos encendiendowe are turning on
Vosotras / Vosotrosestáis encendiendoyou (plural) are turning on
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesestán encendiendothey are turning on

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

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Encender in the Indicative Informal Future

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

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yovoy a encenderI am going to turn on
Túvas a encenderyou are going to turn on
Ella / Él / Ustedva a encenders/he is going to turn on
Nosotras / Nosotrosvamos a encenderwe are going to turn on
Vosotras / Vosotrosvais a encenderyou (plural) are going to turn on
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesvan a encenderthey are going to turn on

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

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Encender in the Indicative Future

The Indicative Future of encender is used to talk about something that will happen in the future. For example, “encenderé”, meaning “I will turn on”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
YoencenderéI will turn on
Túencenderásyou will turn on
Ella / Él / Ustedencenderás/he will turn on
Nosotras / Nosotrosencenderemoswe will turn on
Vosotras / Vosotrosencenderéisyou (plural) will turn on
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesencenderánthey will turn on

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

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Encender in the Indicative Conditional

The Indicative Conditional of encender is used to talk about something that may happen in the future, hypothesis and probabilities. For example, “encendería”, meaning “I would turn on”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
YoencenderíaI would turn on
Túencenderíasyou would turn on
Ella / Él / Ustedencenderías/he would turn on
Nosotras / Nosotrosencenderíamoswe would turn on
Vosotras / Vosotrosencenderíaisyou (plural) would turn on
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesencenderíanthey would turn on

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

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Encender in the Indicative Present Perfect

The Indicative Present Perfect of encender 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 encendido”, meaning “I have turned on”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohe encendidoI have turned on
Túhas encendidoyou have turned on
Ella / Él / Ustedha encendidos/he has turned on
Nosotras / Nosotroshemos encendidowe have turned on
Vosotras / Vosotroshabéis encendidoyou (plural) have turned on
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshan encendidothey have turned on

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

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Encender in the Indicative Past Perfect

The Indicative Past Perfect of encender is used to talk about actions that happened before another action in the past. For example, “había encendido”, meaning “I had turned on”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohabía encendidoI had turned on
Túhabías encendidoyou had turned on
Ella / Él / Ustedhabía encendidos/he had turned on
Nosotras / Nosotroshabíamos encendidowe had turned on
Vosotras / Vosotroshabíais encendidoyou (plural) had turned on
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshabían encendidothey had turned on

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

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Encender in the Indicative Future Perfect

The Indicative Future Perfect of encender is used to talk about something that will have happened in the future after something else has already happened. For example, “habré encendido”, meaning “I will have turned on”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohabré encendidoI will have turned on
Túhabrás encendidoyou will have turned on
Ella / Él / Ustedhabrá encendidos/he will have turned on
Nosotras / Nosotroshabremos encendidowe will have turned on
Vosotras / Vosotroshabréis encendidoyou (plural) will have turned on
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshabrán encendidothey will have turned on

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

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Encender in the Indicative Conditional Perfect

The Indicative Conditional Perfect of encender is used to talk about something that would have happened in the past but didn’t due to another action. For example, “habría encendido”, meaning “I would have turned on”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohabría encendidoI would have turned on
Túhabrías encendidoyou would have turned on
Ella / Él / Ustedhabría encendidos/he would have turned on
Nosotras / Nosotroshabríamos encendidowe would have turned on
Vosotras / Vosotroshabríais encendidoyou (plural) would have turned on
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshabrían encendidothey would have turned on

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

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Subjunctive tenses of Encender

Encender 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, “encienda”, meaning “I turn on”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
YoenciendaI turn on
Túenciendasyou turn on
Ella / Él / Ustedenciendas/he turns on
Nosotras / Nosotrosencendamoswe turn on
Vosotras / Vosotrosencendáisyou (plural) turn on
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesenciendanthey turn on

How it’s built: Yo, tú, ella/él and ellas/ellos follow the yo present, enciendo (encienda, enciendas, encienda, enciendan); nosotros and vosotros are regular.

Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.

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Encender 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, “encendiera”, meaning “I turned on”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
YoencendieraI turned on
Túencendierasyou turned on
Ella / Él / Ustedencendieras/he turned on
Nosotras / Nosotrosencendiéramoswe turned on
Vosotras / Vosotrosencendieraisyou (plural) turned on
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesencendieranthey turned on

How it’s built: Regular: the ellas/ellos preterite, encendieron, without -ron, plus the -ra endings; nosotros adds an accent (encendiéramos).

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Encender 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, “encendiere”, meaning “I will turn on”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
YoencendiereI will turn on
Túencendieresyou will turn on
Ella / Él / Ustedencendieres/he will turn on
Nosotras / Nosotrosencendiéremoswe will turn on
Vosotras / Vosotrosencendiereisyou (plural) will turn on
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesencendierenthey will turn on

How it’s built: Regular: the ellas/ellos preterite, encendieron, without -ron, plus the -re endings; nosotros adds an accent (encendiéremos).

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Encender 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 encendido”, meaning “I have turned on”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohaya encendidoI have turned on
Túhayas encendidoyou have turned on
Ella / Él / Ustedhaya encendidos/he has turned on
Nosotras / Nosotroshayamos encendidowe have turned on
Vosotras / Vosotroshayáis encendidoyou (plural) have turned on
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshayan encendidothey have turned on

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

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Encender 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 encendido”, meaning “I had turned on”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohubiera encendidoI had turned on
Túhubieras encendidoyou had turned on
Ella / Él / Ustedhubiera encendidos/he had turned on
Nosotras / Nosotroshubiéramos encendidowe had turned on
Vosotras / Vosotroshubierais encendidoyou (plural) had turned on
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshubieran encendidothey had turned on

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

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Encender 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 encendido”, meaning “I will have turned on”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohubiere encendidoI will have turned on
Túhubieres encendidoyou will have turned on
Ella / Él / Ustedhubiere encendidos/he will have turned on
Nosotras / Nosotroshubiéremos encendidowe will have turned on
Vosotras / Vosotroshubiereis encendidoyou (plural) will have turned on
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshubieren encendidothey will have turned on

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

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Imperative tenses of Encender

Encender in the Imperative Affirmative

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

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yo--
Túenciende(to you) turn on!
Ella / Él / Ustedencienda(to you formal) turn on!
Nosotras / Nosotrosencendamoslet's turn on!
Vosotras / Vosotrosencended(to you plural) turn on!
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesenciendan(to you plural formal) turn on!

How it’s built: Tú takes the ella/él present (enciende); usted, nosotros and ustedes take the subjunctive present (encienda, encendamos, enciendan); vosotros swaps the final r of the infinitive for a d (encended).

Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.

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Encender in the Imperative Negative

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

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yo--
Túno enciendas(to you) don't turn on!
Ella / Él / Ustedno encienda(to you formal) don't turn on!
Nosotras / Nosotrosno encendamoslet's not turn on!
Vosotras / Vosotrosno encendáis(to you plural) don't turn on!
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesno enciendan(to you plural formal) don't turn on!

How it’s built: No plus the subjunctive present: no enciendas, no encienda, no encendamos, no encendáis, no enciendan.

Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.

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Frequently asked questions about Encender

Is encender a regular or irregular verb?

Encender is an irregular Spanish verb. In the present tense: yo, tú, ella/él and ellas/ellos change e to ie (enciendo, enciendes, enciende, encienden); nosotros and vosotros are regular. It is also irregular in the present subjunctive (encienda).

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

In the present tense (presente), encender is conjugated as: yo enciendo, tú enciendes, él/ella/usted enciende, nosotros encendemos, vosotros encendéis, ellos/ellas/ustedes encienden. 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 encender in the preterite (pretérito indefinido)?

In the preterite (pretérito indefinido), encender is conjugated as: yo encendí, tú encendiste, él/ella/usted encendió, nosotros encendimos, vosotros encendisteis, ellos/ellas/ustedes encendieron. The preterite is used To talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time.

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

In the imperfect (pretérito imperfecto), encender is conjugated as: yo encendía, tú encendías, él/ella/usted encendía, nosotros encendíamos, vosotros encendíais, ellos/ellas/ustedes encendían. 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 encender in the future tense (futuro simple)?

In the future tense (futuro simple), encender is conjugated as: yo encenderé, tú encenderás, él/ella/usted encenderá, nosotros encenderemos, vosotros encenderéis, ellos/ellas/ustedes encenderán. The future tense is used To talk about something that will happen in the future.

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

In the present subjunctive (subjuntivo presente), encender is conjugated as: yo encienda, tú enciendas, él/ella/usted encienda, nosotros encendamos, vosotros encendáis, ellos/ellas/ustedes enciendan. 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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Want to explore other verb conjugations?

Why not check out Encerrar – to lock up, to shut in, to enclose (an area) or see the complete list of verbs here.


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