Ella Verbsesforzarse to make an effort, to try hard, to strive Irregular Verb
At a glance: Esforzarse (to make an effort, to try hard, to strive) is a reflexive irregular verb in Spanish. In the present tense: me esfuerzo, te esfuerzas, se esfuerza, nos esforzamos, os esforzáis, se esfuerzan. Yo, tú, ella/él and ellas/ellos change o to ue (esfuerzo, esfuerzas, esfuerza, esfuerzan); nosotros and vosotros are regular. It is also irregular in the preterite (me esforcé) and present subjunctive (me esfuerce).

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The Indicative Present of esforzarse 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, “me esfuerzo”, meaning “I make an effort”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Present is known as "El Presente".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me esfuerzo | I make an effort |
| Tú | te esfuerzas | you make an effort |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se esfuerza | s/he makes an effort |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos esforzamos | we make an effort |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os esforzáis | you (plural) make an effort |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se esfuerzan | they make an effort |
How it’s built: Yo, tú, ella/él and ellas/ellos change o to ue (esfuerzo, esfuerzas, esfuerza, esfuerzan); nosotros and vosotros are regular. The reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes in front.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
The Indicative Preterite of esforzarse is used to talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time. For example, “me esforcé”, meaning “I made an effort”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Preterite is known as "El Pretérito Indefinido".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me esforcé | I made an effort |
| Tú | te esforzaste | you made an effort |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se esforzó | s/he made an effort |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos esforzamos | we made an effort |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os esforzasteis | you (plural) made an effort |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se esforzaron | they made an effort |
How it’s built: Yo changes z to c (esforcé); the other forms are regular. The reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes in front.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
The Indicative Imperfect of esforzarse is used to describe regular and repeated actions that happened in the past and descriptions of things you used to do. For example, “me esforzaba”, meaning “I used to make an effort”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Imperfect is known as "El Pretérito Imperfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me esforzaba | I used to make an effort |
| Tú | te esforzabas | you used to make an effort |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se esforzaba | s/he used to make an effort |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos esforzábamos | we used to make an effort |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os esforzabais | you (plural) used to make an effort |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se esforzaban | they used to make an effort |
How it’s built: Regular: stem esforz- plus the -ar endings. The reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes in front.
The Indicative Present Continuous of esforzarse is used to talk about something that is happening continuously or right now. For example, “me estoy esforzando”, meaning “I am making an effort”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Present Continuous is known as "El Presente Progresivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me estoy esforzando | I am making an effort |
| Tú | te estás esforzando | you are making an effort |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se está esforzando | s/he is making an effort |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos estamos esforzando | we are making an effort |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os estáis esforzando | you (plural) are making an effort |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se están esforzando | they are making an effort |
How it’s built: Estar in the present (estoy, estás, está, estamos, estáis, están) plus the gerund esforzando. The reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes in front.
The Indicative Informal Future of esforzarse is used to talk about something that will happen in the future, especially in the near future. For example, “me voy a esforzar”, meaning “I am going to make an effort”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Informal Future is known as "El Futuro Próximo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me voy a esforzar | I am going to make an effort |
| Tú | te vas a esforzar | you are going to make an effort |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se va a esforzar | s/he is going to make an effort |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos vamos a esforzar | we are going to make an effort |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os vais a esforzar | you (plural) are going to make an effort |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se van a esforzar | they are going to make an effort |
How it’s built: Ir in the present (voy, vas, va, vamos, vais, van), then a, then the infinitive esforzar. The reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes in front.
The Indicative Future of esforzarse is used to talk about something that will happen in the future. For example, “me esforzaré”, meaning “I will make an effort”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Future is known as "El Futuro Simple".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me esforzaré | I will make an effort |
| Tú | te esforzarás | you will make an effort |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se esforzará | s/he will make an effort |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos esforzaremos | we will make an effort |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os esforzaréis | you (plural) will make an effort |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se esforzarán | they will make an effort |
How it’s built: Regular: the infinitive esforzar plus the future endings. The reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes in front.
The Indicative Conditional of esforzarse is used to talk about something that may happen in the future, hypothesis and probabilities. For example, “me esforzaría”, meaning “I would make an effort”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional is known as "El Condicional Simple".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me esforzaría | I would make an effort |
| Tú | te esforzarías | you would make an effort |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se esforzaría | s/he would make an effort |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos esforzaríamos | we would make an effort |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os esforzaríais | you (plural) would make an effort |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se esforzarían | they would make an effort |
How it’s built: Regular: the infinitive esforzar plus the conditional endings. The reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes in front.
The Indicative Present Perfect of esforzarse 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, “me he esforzado”, meaning “I have made an effort”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me he esforzado | I have made an effort |
| Tú | te has esforzado | you have made an effort |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se ha esforzado | s/he has made an effort |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos hemos esforzado | we have made an effort |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os habéis esforzado | you (plural) have made an effort |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se han esforzado | they have made an effort |
How it’s built: Haber in the present (he, has, ha, hemos, habéis, han) plus the past participle esforzado. The reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes in front.
The Indicative Past Perfect of esforzarse is used to talk about actions that happened before another action in the past. For example, “me había esforzado”, meaning “I had made an effort”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me había esforzado | I had made an effort |
| Tú | te habías esforzado | you had made an effort |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se había esforzado | s/he had made an effort |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos habíamos esforzado | we had made an effort |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os habíais esforzado | you (plural) had made an effort |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se habían esforzado | they had made an effort |
How it’s built: Haber in the imperfect (había, habías, había, habíamos, habíais, habían) plus the past participle esforzado. The reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes in front.
The Indicative Future Perfect of esforzarse is used to talk about something that will have happened in the future after something else has already happened. For example, “me habré esforzado”, meaning “I will have made an effort”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me habré esforzado | I will have made an effort |
| Tú | te habrás esforzado | you will have made an effort |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se habrá esforzado | s/he will have made an effort |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos habremos esforzado | we will have made an effort |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os habréis esforzado | you (plural) will have made an effort |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se habrán esforzado | they will have made an effort |
How it’s built: Haber in the future (habré, habrás, habrá, habremos, habréis, habrán) plus the past participle esforzado. The reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes in front.
The Indicative Conditional Perfect of esforzarse is used to talk about something that would have happened in the past but didn’t due to another action. For example, “me habría esforzado”, meaning “I would have made an effort”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional Perfect is known as "El Condicional Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me habría esforzado | I would have made an effort |
| Tú | te habrías esforzado | you would have made an effort |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se habría esforzado | s/he would have made an effort |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos habríamos esforzado | we would have made an effort |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os habríais esforzado | you (plural) would have made an effort |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se habrían esforzado | they would have made an effort |
How it’s built: Haber in the conditional (habría, habrías, habría, habríamos, habríais, habrían) plus the past participle esforzado. The reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes in front.
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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, “me esfuerce”, meaning “I make an effort”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present is known as "El Presente de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me esfuerce | I make an effort |
| Tú | te esfuerces | you make an effort |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se esfuerce | s/he makes an effort |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos esforcemos | we make an effort |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os esforcéis | you (plural) make an effort |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se esfuercen | they make an effort |
How it’s built: Yo, tú, ella/él and ellas/ellos change o to ue and z to c (esfuerce, esfuerces, esfuerce, esfuercen); nosotros and vosotros change z to c (esforcemos, esforcéis). The reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes in front.
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, “me esforzara”, meaning “I made an effort”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Imperfect is known as "El Imperfecto Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me esforzara | I made an effort |
| Tú | te esforzaras | you made an effort |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se esforzara | s/he made an effort |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos esforzáramos | we made an effort |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os esforzarais | you (plural) made an effort |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se esforzaran | they made an effort |
How it’s built: Regular: the ellas/ellos preterite, esforzaron, without -ron, plus the -ra endings; nosotros adds an accent (esforzáramos). The reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes in front.
The Subjunctive Future is used to speak about hypothetical situations, and actions/events that may happen in the future. For example, “me esforzare”, meaning “I will make an effort”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future is known as "El Futuro de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me esforzare | I will make an effort |
| Tú | te esforzares | you will make an effort |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se esforzare | s/he will make an effort |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos esforzáremos | we will make an effort |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os esforzareis | you (plural) will make an effort |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se esforzaren | they will make an effort |
How it’s built: Regular: the ellas/ellos preterite, esforzaron, without -ron, plus the -re endings; nosotros adds an accent (esforzáremos). The reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes in front.
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, “me haya esforzado”, meaning “I have made an effort”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me haya esforzado | I have made an effort |
| Tú | te hayas esforzado | you have made an effort |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se haya esforzado | s/he has made an effort |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos hayamos esforzado | we have made an effort |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os hayáis esforzado | you (plural) have made an effort |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se hayan esforzado | they have made an effort |
How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive present (haya, hayas, haya, hayamos, hayáis, hayan) plus the past participle esforzado. The reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes in front.
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, “me hubiera esforzado”, meaning “I had made an effort”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me hubiera esforzado | I had made an effort |
| Tú | te hubieras esforzado | you had made an effort |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se hubiera esforzado | s/he had made an effort |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos hubiéramos esforzado | we had made an effort |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os hubierais esforzado | you (plural) had made an effort |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se hubieran esforzado | they had made an effort |
How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive imperfect (hubiera, hubieras, hubiera, hubiéramos, hubierais, hubieran) plus the past participle esforzado. The reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes in front.
The Subjunctive Future Perfect is used to speak about something that will have happened if a hypothetical situations occurs in the future. For example, “me hubiere esforzado”, meaning “I will have made an effort”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me hubiere esforzado | I will have made an effort |
| Tú | te hubieres esforzado | you will have made an effort |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se hubiere esforzado | s/he will have made an effort |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos hubiéremos esforzado | we will have made an effort |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os hubiereis esforzado | you (plural) will have made an effort |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se hubieren esforzado | they will have made an effort |
How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive future (hubiere, hubieres, hubiere, hubiéremos, hubiereis, hubieren) plus the past participle esforzado. The reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes in front.
The Imperative Affirmative is used to give orders and commands, to tell someone to do something. For example, “esfuércese”, meaning “(to you formal) make an effort!”.
In Spanish, the Imperative Affirmative is known as "El Imperativo Afirmativo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | - | - |
| Tú | esfuérzate | (to you) make an effort! |
| Ella / Él / Usted | esfuércese | (to you formal) make an effort! |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | esforcémonos | let's make an effort! |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | esforzaos | (to you plural) make an effort! |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | esfuércense | (to you plural formal) make an effort! |
How it’s built: Tú takes the ella/él present and attaches te (esfuérzate); usted and ustedes take the subjunctive present and attach se (esfuércese, esfuércense); nosotros takes the subjunctive present, drops the s and attaches nos (esforcémonos); vosotros drops the final r of the infinitive and attaches os (esforzaos).
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 se esfuerce”, meaning “(to you formal) don't make an effort!”.
In Spanish, the Imperative Negative is known as "El Imperativo Negativo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | - | - |
| Tú | no te esfuerces | (to you) don't make an effort! |
| Ella / Él / Usted | no se esfuerce | (to you formal) don't make an effort! |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | no nos esforcemos | let's not make an effort! |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | no os esforcéis | (to you plural) don't make an effort! |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | no se esfuercen | (to you plural formal) don't make an effort! |
How it’s built: No plus the subjunctive present: no te esfuerces, no se esfuerce, no nos esforcemos, no os esforcéis, no se esfuercen.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
Esforzarse is an irregular Spanish verb. In the present tense: yo, tú, ella/él and ellas/ellos change o to ue (esfuerzo, esfuerzas, esfuerza, esfuerzan); nosotros and vosotros are regular. It is also irregular in the preterite (me esforcé) and present subjunctive (me esfuerce).
In the present tense (presente), esforzarse is conjugated as: yo me esfuerzo, tú te esfuerzas, él/ella/usted se esfuerza, nosotros nos esforzamos, vosotros os esforzáis, ellos/ellas/ustedes se esfuerzan. 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), esforzarse is conjugated as: yo me esforcé, tú te esforzaste, él/ella/usted se esforzó, nosotros nos esforzamos, vosotros os esforzasteis, ellos/ellas/ustedes se esforzaron. The preterite is used To talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time.
In the imperfect (pretérito imperfecto), esforzarse is conjugated as: yo me esforzaba, tú te esforzabas, él/ella/usted se esforzaba, nosotros nos esforzábamos, vosotros os esforzabais, ellos/ellas/ustedes se esforzaban. 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), esforzarse is conjugated as: yo me esforzaré, tú te esforzarás, él/ella/usted se esforzará, nosotros nos esforzaremos, vosotros os esforzaréis, ellos/ellas/ustedes se esforzarán. The future tense is used To talk about something that will happen in the future.
In the present subjunctive (subjuntivo presente), esforzarse is conjugated as: yo me esfuerce, tú te esfuerces, él/ella/usted se esfuerce, nosotros nos esforcemos, vosotros os esforcéis, ellos/ellas/ustedes se esfuercen. 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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