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How to conjugate Escribir in Spanish

escribir to write Irregular Verb Top 100

At a glance: Escribir (to write) is one of the most common irregular verbs in Spanish. In the present tense: escribo, escribes, escribe, escribimos, escribís, escriben. Every simple tense is regular; only the past participle (escrito) changes, which carries into the compound tenses.

Past participle
escrito written
Gerund
escribiendo writing
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Indicative tenses of Escribir

Escribir in the Indicative Present

The Indicative Present of escribir 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, “escribo un libro”, meaning “I write a book”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
YoescriboI write
Túescribesyou write
Ella / Él / Ustedescribes/he writes
Nosotras / Nosotrosescribimoswe write
Vosotras / Vosotrosescribísyou (plural) write
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesescribenthey write

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

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Escribir in the Indicative Preterite

The Indicative Preterite of escribir is used to talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time. For example, “escribí un libro”, meaning “I wrote a book”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
YoescribíI wrote
Túescribisteyou wrote
Ella / Él / Ustedescribiós/he wrote
Nosotras / Nosotrosescribimoswe wrote
Vosotras / Vosotrosescribisteisyou (plural) wrote
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesescribieronthey wrote

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

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Escribir in the Indicative Imperfect

The Indicative Imperfect of escribir is used to describe regular and repeated actions that happened in the past and descriptions of things you used to do. For example, “escribía un libro”, meaning “I used to write a book”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
YoescribíaI used to write
Túescribíasyou used to write
Ella / Él / Ustedescribías/he used to write
Nosotras / Nosotrosescribíamoswe used to write
Vosotras / Vosotrosescribíaisyou (plural) used to write
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesescribíanthey used to write

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

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Escribir in the Indicative Present Continuous

The Indicative Present Continuous of escribir is used to talk about something that is happening continuously or right now. For example, “estoy escribiendo un libro”, meaning “I am writing a book”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yoestoy escribiendoI am writing
Túestás escribiendoyou are writing
Ella / Él / Ustedestá escribiendos/he is writing
Nosotras / Nosotrosestamos escribiendowe are writing
Vosotras / Vosotrosestáis escribiendoyou (plural) are writing
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesestán escribiendothey are writing

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

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Escribir in the Indicative Informal Future

The Indicative Informal Future of escribir is used to talk about something that will happen in the future, especially in the near future. For example, “voy a escribir un libro”, meaning “I am going to write a book”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yovoy a escribirI am going to write
Túvas a escribiryou are going to write
Ella / Él / Ustedva a escribirs/he is going to write
Nosotras / Nosotrosvamos a escribirwe are going to write
Vosotras / Vosotrosvais a escribiryou (plural) are going to write
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesvan a escribirthey are going to write

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

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Escribir in the Indicative Future

The Indicative Future of escribir is used to talk about something that will happen in the future. For example, “escribiré un libro”, meaning “I will write a book”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
YoescribiréI will write
Túescribirásyou will write
Ella / Él / Ustedescribirás/he will write
Nosotras / Nosotrosescribiremoswe will write
Vosotras / Vosotrosescribiréisyou (plural) will write
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesescribiránthey will write

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

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Escribir in the Indicative Conditional

The Indicative Conditional of escribir is used to talk about something that may happen in the future, hypothesis and probabilities. For example, “escribiría un libro”, meaning “I would write a book”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
YoescribiríaI would write
Túescribiríasyou would write
Ella / Él / Ustedescribirías/he would write
Nosotras / Nosotrosescribiríamoswe would write
Vosotras / Vosotrosescribiríaisyou (plural) would write
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesescribiríanthey would write

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

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Escribir in the Indicative Present Perfect

The Indicative Present Perfect of escribir 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 escrito un libro”, meaning “I have written a book”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohe escritoI have written
Túhas escritoyou have written
Ella / Él / Ustedha escritos/he has written
Nosotras / Nosotroshemos escritowe have written
Vosotras / Vosotroshabéis escritoyou (plural) have written
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshan escritothey have written

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

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

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Escribir in the Indicative Past Perfect

The Indicative Past Perfect of escribir is used to talk about actions that happened before another action in the past. For example, “había escrito un libro”, meaning “I had written a book”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohabía escritoI had written
Túhabías escritoyou had written
Ella / Él / Ustedhabía escritos/he had written
Nosotras / Nosotroshabíamos escritowe had written
Vosotras / Vosotroshabíais escritoyou (plural) had written
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshabían escritothey had written

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

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

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Escribir in the Indicative Future Perfect

The Indicative Future Perfect of escribir is used to talk about something that will have happened in the future after something else has already happened. For example, “habré escrito un libro”, meaning “I will have written a book”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohabré escritoI will have written
Túhabrás escritoyou will have written
Ella / Él / Ustedhabrá escritos/he will have written
Nosotras / Nosotroshabremos escritowe will have written
Vosotras / Vosotroshabréis escritoyou (plural) will have written
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshabrán escritothey will have written

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

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

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Escribir in the Indicative Conditional Perfect

The Indicative Conditional Perfect of escribir is used to talk about something that would have happened in the past but didn’t due to another action. For example, “habría escrito un libro”, meaning “I would have written a book”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohabría escritoI would have written
Túhabrías escritoyou would have written
Ella / Él / Ustedhabría escritos/he would have written
Nosotras / Nosotroshabríamos escritowe would have written
Vosotras / Vosotroshabríais escritoyou (plural) would have written
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshabrían escritothey would have written

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

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

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Subjunctive tenses of Escribir

Escribir 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, “escriba”, meaning “I write”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
YoescribaI write
Túescribasyou write
Ella / Él / Ustedescribas/he writes
Nosotras / Nosotrosescribamoswe write
Vosotras / Vosotrosescribáisyou (plural) write
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesescribanthey write

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

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Escribir 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, “escribiera”, meaning “I wrote”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
YoescribieraI wrote
Túescribierasyou wrote
Ella / Él / Ustedescribieras/he wrote
Nosotras / Nosotrosescribiéramoswe wrote
Vosotras / Vosotrosescribieraisyou (plural) wrote
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesescribieranthey wrote

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

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Escribir 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, “escribiere”, meaning “I will write”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
YoescribiereI will write
Túescribieresyou will write
Ella / Él / Ustedescribieres/he will write
Nosotras / Nosotrosescribiéremoswe will write
Vosotras / Vosotrosescribiereisyou (plural) will write
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesescribierenthey will write

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

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Escribir 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 escrito”, meaning “I have written”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohaya escritoI have written
Túhayas escritoyou have written
Ella / Él / Ustedhaya escritos/he has written
Nosotras / Nosotroshayamos escritowe have written
Vosotras / Vosotroshayáis escritoyou (plural) have written
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshayan escritothey have written

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

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

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Escribir 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 escrito”, meaning “I had written”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohubiera escritoI had written
Túhubieras escritoyou had written
Ella / Él / Ustedhubiera escritos/he had written
Nosotras / Nosotroshubiéramos escritowe had written
Vosotras / Vosotroshubierais escritoyou (plural) had written
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshubieran escritothey had written

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

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

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Escribir 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 escrito”, meaning “I will have written”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohubiere escritoI will have written
Túhubieres escritoyou will have written
Ella / Él / Ustedhubiere escritos/he will have written
Nosotras / Nosotroshubiéremos escritowe will have written
Vosotras / Vosotroshubiereis escritoyou (plural) will have written
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshubieren escritothey will have written

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

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

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Imperative tenses of Escribir

Escribir in the Imperative Affirmative

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

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yo--
Túescribe(to you) write!
Ella / Él / Ustedescriba(to you formal) write!
Nosotras / Nosotrosescribamoslet's write!
Vosotras / Vosotrosescribid(to you plural) write!
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesescriban(to you plural formal) write!

How it’s built: Tú takes the ella/él present (escribe); usted, nosotros and ustedes take the subjunctive present (escriba, escribamos, escriban); vosotros swaps the final r of the infinitive for a d (escribid).

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Escribir in the Imperative Negative

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

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yo--
Túno escribas(to you) don't write!
Ella / Él / Ustedno escriba(to you formal) don't write!
Nosotras / Nosotrosno escribamoslet's not write!
Vosotras / Vosotrosno escribáis(to you plural) don't write!
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesno escriban(to you plural formal) don't write!

How it’s built: No plus the subjunctive present: no escribas, no escriba, no escribamos, no escribáis, no escriban.

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Example sentences and usage

  • La mayoría de la gente escribe sobre su vida cotidiana. Most people write about their daily life.
  • ¿Cómo se escribe "pretty"? How do you spell "pretty"?
  • ¿Cuántas veces al mes escribes a casa? How many times a month do you write home?
  • Escriba su nombre en mayúsculas. Write your name in capitals.
  • Escriba aquí su dirección. Write your address here.
  • Mi amigo me escribió informándome de su regreso del extranjero. My old friend wrote to me, informing me of his return from abroad.

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Frequently asked questions about Escribir

Is escribir a regular or irregular verb?

Escribir is an irregular Spanish verb. Every simple tense is regular; only the past participle (escrito) changes, which carries into the compound tenses.

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

In the present tense (presente), escribir is conjugated as: yo escribo, tú escribes, él/ella/usted escribe, nosotros escribimos, vosotros escribís, ellos/ellas/ustedes escriben. 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 escribir in the preterite (pretérito indefinido)?

In the preterite (pretérito indefinido), escribir is conjugated as: yo escribí, tú escribiste, él/ella/usted escribió, nosotros escribimos, vosotros escribisteis, ellos/ellas/ustedes escribieron. The preterite is used To talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time.

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

In the imperfect (pretérito imperfecto), escribir is conjugated as: yo escribía, tú escribías, él/ella/usted escribía, nosotros escribíamos, vosotros escribíais, ellos/ellas/ustedes escribían. 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 escribir in the future tense (futuro simple)?

In the future tense (futuro simple), escribir is conjugated as: yo escribiré, tú escribirás, él/ella/usted escribirá, nosotros escribiremos, vosotros escribiréis, ellos/ellas/ustedes escribirán. The future tense is used To talk about something that will happen in the future.

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

In the present subjunctive (subjuntivo presente), escribir is conjugated as: yo escriba, tú escribas, él/ella/usted escriba, nosotros escribamos, vosotros escribáis, ellos/ellas/ustedes escriban. 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.

What’s the difference between escribir and escribirse?

Escribir means ‘to write’ and escribirse means ‘to write (to oneself, to each other)’. Escribirse is the reflexive form of escribir, so it always takes a reflexive pronoun – me, te, se, nos, os or se – that matches the subject. The verb itself is conjugated the same way: in the present tense, yo escribo becomes me escribo. In the affirmative tú imperative the pronoun attaches to the end of the verb, so escribe becomes escríbete.

What are some common example sentences using escribir?

Here are everyday sentences using escribir: La mayoría de la gente escribe sobre su vida cotidiana. (Most people write about their daily life.) ¿Cómo se escribe "pretty"? (How do you spell "pretty"?) ¿Cuántas veces al mes escribes a casa? (How many times a month do you write home?) Escriba su nombre en mayúsculas. (Write your name in capitals.) Escriba aquí su dirección. (Write your address here.)


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Want to explore other verb conjugations?

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