Ella Verbsescribir 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.

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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".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | escribo | I write |
| Tú | escribes | you write |
| Ella / Él / Usted | escribe | s/he writes |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | escribimos | we write |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | escribís | you (plural) write |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | escriben | they write |
How it’s built: Regular: stem escrib- plus the -ir endings.
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".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | escribí | I wrote |
| Tú | escribiste | you wrote |
| Ella / Él / Usted | escribió | s/he wrote |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | escribimos | we wrote |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | escribisteis | you (plural) wrote |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | escribieron | they wrote |
How it’s built: Regular: stem escrib- plus the -ir endings.
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".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | escribía | I used to write |
| Tú | escribías | you used to write |
| Ella / Él / Usted | escribía | s/he used to write |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | escribíamos | we used to write |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | escribíais | you (plural) used to write |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | escribían | they used to write |
How it’s built: Regular: stem escrib- plus the -ir endings.
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".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | estoy escribiendo | I am writing |
| Tú | estás escribiendo | you are writing |
| Ella / Él / Usted | está escribiendo | s/he is writing |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | estamos escribiendo | we are writing |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | estáis escribiendo | you (plural) are writing |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | están escribiendo | they are writing |
How it’s built: Estar in the present (estoy, estás, está, estamos, estáis, están) plus the gerund escribiendo.
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".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | voy a escribir | I am going to write |
| Tú | vas a escribir | you are going to write |
| Ella / Él / Usted | va a escribir | s/he is going to write |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | vamos a escribir | we are going to write |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | vais a escribir | you (plural) are going to write |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | van a escribir | they are going to write |
How it’s built: Ir in the present (voy, vas, va, vamos, vais, van), then a, then the infinitive escribir.
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".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | escribiré | I will write |
| Tú | escribirás | you will write |
| Ella / Él / Usted | escribirá | s/he will write |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | escribiremos | we will write |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | escribiréis | you (plural) will write |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | escribirán | they will write |
How it’s built: Regular: the infinitive escribir plus the future endings.
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".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | escribiría | I would write |
| Tú | escribirías | you would write |
| Ella / Él / Usted | escribiría | s/he would write |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | escribiríamos | we would write |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | escribiríais | you (plural) would write |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | escribirían | they would write |
How it’s built: Regular: the infinitive escribir plus the conditional endings.
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".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | he escrito | I have written |
| Tú | has escrito | you have written |
| Ella / Él / Usted | ha escrito | s/he has written |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hemos escrito | we have written |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habéis escrito | you (plural) have written |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | han escrito | they 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.
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".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | había escrito | I had written |
| Tú | habías escrito | you had written |
| Ella / Él / Usted | había escrito | s/he had written |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habíamos escrito | we had written |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habíais escrito | you (plural) had written |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habían escrito | they 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.
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".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | habré escrito | I will have written |
| Tú | habrás escrito | you will have written |
| Ella / Él / Usted | habrá escrito | s/he will have written |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habremos escrito | we will have written |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habréis escrito | you (plural) will have written |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habrán escrito | they 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.
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".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | habría escrito | I would have written |
| Tú | habrías escrito | you would have written |
| Ella / Él / Usted | habría escrito | s/he would have written |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habríamos escrito | we would have written |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habríais escrito | you (plural) would have written |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habrían escrito | they 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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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".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | escriba | I write |
| Tú | escribas | you write |
| Ella / Él / Usted | escriba | s/he writes |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | escribamos | we write |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | escribáis | you (plural) write |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | escriban | they write |
How it’s built: Regular: stem escrib- plus the -ir subjunctive endings.
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".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | escribiera | I wrote |
| Tú | escribieras | you wrote |
| Ella / Él / Usted | escribiera | s/he wrote |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | escribiéramos | we wrote |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | escribierais | you (plural) wrote |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | escribieran | they wrote |
How it’s built: Regular: the ellas/ellos preterite, escribieron, without -ron, plus the -ra endings; nosotros adds an accent (escribiéramos).
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".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | escribiere | I will write |
| Tú | escribieres | you will write |
| Ella / Él / Usted | escribiere | s/he will write |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | escribiéremos | we will write |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | escribiereis | you (plural) will write |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | escribieren | they will write |
How it’s built: Regular: the ellas/ellos preterite, escribieron, without -ron, plus the -re endings; nosotros adds an accent (escribiéremos).
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".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | haya escrito | I have written |
| Tú | hayas escrito | you have written |
| Ella / Él / Usted | haya escrito | s/he has written |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hayamos escrito | we have written |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hayáis escrito | you (plural) have written |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hayan escrito | they 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.
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".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | hubiera escrito | I had written |
| Tú | hubieras escrito | you had written |
| Ella / Él / Usted | hubiera escrito | s/he had written |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hubiéramos escrito | we had written |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hubierais escrito | you (plural) had written |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hubieran escrito | they 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.
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".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | hubiere escrito | I will have written |
| Tú | hubieres escrito | you will have written |
| Ella / Él / Usted | hubiere escrito | s/he will have written |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hubiéremos escrito | we will have written |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hubiereis escrito | you (plural) will have written |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hubieren escrito | they 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.
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".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | - | - |
| Tú | escribe | (to you) write! |
| Ella / Él / Usted | escriba | (to you formal) write! |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | escribamos | let's write! |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | escribid | (to you plural) write! |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | escriban | (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).
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".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | - | - |
| Tú | no escribas | (to you) don't write! |
| Ella / Él / Usted | no escriba | (to you formal) don't write! |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | no escribamos | let's not write! |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | no escribáis | (to you plural) don't write! |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | no 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.
Escribir is an irregular Spanish verb. Every simple tense is regular; only the past participle (escrito) changes, which carries into the compound tenses.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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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