How to conjugate Esperar in Spanish

Introduction

Esperar is the Spanish verb for "to wait, to hope". It is a regular AR verb, and one of the most popular 100 Spanish verbs. Read on below to see how it is conjugated in the 18 major Spanish tenses!

Similar verbs to esperar include: aguardar.

Indicative Tenses of Esperar

Esperar in the Indicative Present

The Indicative Present of esperar 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, "espero", meaning "I wait".

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

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	espero	I wait
Tú	esperas	you wait
Ella / Él / Usted	espera	s/he waits, you (formal) wait
Nosotras / Nosotros	esperamos	we wait
Vosotras / Vosotros	esperáis	you (plural) wait
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes	esperan	they wait, you (plural formal) wait

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Esperar in the Indicative Preterite

The Indicative Preterite of esperar is used to talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time. For example, "esperé", meaning "I waited".

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

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	esperé	I waited
Tú	esperaste	you waited
Ella / Él / Usted	esperó	s/he waited, you (formal) waited
Nosotras / Nosotros	esperamos	we waited
Vosotras / Vosotros	esperasteis	you (plural) waited
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes	esperaron	they waited, you (plural formal) waited

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Esperar in the Indicative Imperfect

The Indicative Imperfect of esperar is used to describe regular and repeated actions that happened in the past and descriptions of things you used to do. For example, "esperaba", meaning "I used to wait".

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

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	esperaba	I used to wait
Tú	esperabas	you used to wait
Ella / Él / Usted	esperaba	s/he used to wait, you (formal) used to wait
Nosotras / Nosotros	esperábamos	we used to wait
Vosotras / Vosotros	esperabais	you (plural) used to wait
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes	esperaban	they used to wait, you (plural formal) used to wait

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Esperar in the Indicative Present Continuous

The Indicative Present Continuous of esperar is used to talk about something that is happening continuously or right now. For example, "estoy esperando", meaning "I am waiting".

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

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	estoy esperando	I am waiting
Tú	estás esperando	you are waiting
Ella / Él / Usted	está esperando	s/he is waiting, you (formal) are waiting
Nosotras / Nosotros	estamos esperando	we are waiting
Vosotras / Vosotros	estáis esperando	you (plural) are waiting
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes	están esperando	they are waiting, you (plural formal) are waiting

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Esperar in the Indicative Informal Future

The Indicative Informal Future of esperar is used to talk about something that will happen in the future, especially in the near future. For example, "voy a esperar", meaning "I am going to wait".

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

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	voy a esperar	I am going to wait
Tú	vas a esperar	you are going to wait
Ella / Él / Usted	va a esperar	s/he is going to wait, you (formal) are going to wait
Nosotras / Nosotros	vamos a esperar	we are going to wait
Vosotras / Vosotros	vais a esperar	you (plural) are going to wait
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes	van a esperar	they are going to wait, you (plural formal) are going to wait

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Esperar in the Indicative Future

The Indicative Future of esperar is used to talk about something that will happen in the future. For example, "esperaré", meaning "I will wait".

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

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	esperaré	I will wait
Tú	esperarás	you will wait
Ella / Él / Usted	esperará	s/he will wait, you (formal) will wait
Nosotras / Nosotros	esperaremos	we will wait
Vosotras / Vosotros	esperaréis	you (plural) will wait
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes	esperarán	they will wait, you (plural formal) will wait

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Esperar in the Indicative Conditional

The Indicative Conditional of esperar is used to talk about something that may happen in the future, hypothesis and probabilities. For example, "esperaría", meaning "I would wait".

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

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	esperaría	I would wait
Tú	esperarías	you would wait
Ella / Él / Usted	esperaría	s/he would wait, you (formal) would wait
Nosotras / Nosotros	esperaríamos	we would wait
Vosotras / Vosotros	esperaríais	you (plural) would wait
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes	esperarían	they would wait, you (plural formal) would wait

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Esperar in the Indicative Present Perfect

The Indicative Present Perfect of esperar 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 esperado", meaning "I have waited".

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

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	he esperado	I have waited
Tú	has esperado	you have waited
Ella / Él / Usted	ha esperado	s/he has waited, you (formal) have waited
Nosotras / Nosotros	hemos esperado	we have waited
Vosotras / Vosotros	habéis esperado	you (plural) have waited
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes	han esperado	they have waited, you (plural formal) have waited

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Esperar in the Indicative Past Perfect

The Indicative Past Perfect of esperar is used to talk about actions that happened before another action in the past. For example, "había esperado", meaning "I had waited".

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

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	había esperado	I had waited
Tú	habías esperado	you had waited
Ella / Él / Usted	había esperado	s/he had waited, you (formal) had waited
Nosotras / Nosotros	habíamos esperado	we had waited
Vosotras / Vosotros	habíais esperado	you (plural) had waited
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes	habían esperado	they had waited, you (plural formal) had waited

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Esperar in the Indicative Future Perfect

The Indicative Future Perfect of esperar is used to talk about something that will have happened in the future after something else has already happened. For example, "habré esperado", meaning "I will have waited".

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

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	habré esperado	I will have waited
Tú	habrás esperado	you will have waited
Ella / Él / Usted	habrá esperado	s/he will have waited, you (formal) will have waited
Nosotras / Nosotros	habremos esperado	we will have waited
Vosotras / Vosotros	habréis esperado	you (plural) will have waited
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes	habrán esperado	they will have waited, you (plural formal) will have waited

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Esperar in the Indicative Conditional Perfect

The Indicative Conditional Perfect of esperar is used to talk about something that would have happened in the past but didn’t due to another action. For example, "habría esperado", meaning "I would have waited".

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

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	habría esperado	I would have waited
Tú	habrías esperado	you would have waited
Ella / Él / Usted	habría esperado	s/he would have waited, you (formal) would have waited
Nosotras / Nosotros	habríamos esperado	we would have waited
Vosotras / Vosotros	habríais esperado	you (plural) would have waited
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes	habrían esperado	they would have waited, you (plural formal) would have waited

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Subjunctive Tenses of Esperar

Esperar 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, "espere", meaning "I wait".

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

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	espere	I wait
Tú	esperes	you wait
Ella / Él / Usted	espere	s/he waits, you (formal) wait
Nosotras / Nosotros	esperemos	we wait
Vosotras / Vosotros	esperéis	you (plural) wait
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes	esperen	they wait, you (plural formal) wait

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Esperar 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, "esperara", meaning "I waited".

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

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	esperara	I waited
Tú	esperaras	you waited
Ella / Él / Usted	esperara	s/he waited, you (formal) waited
Nosotras / Nosotros	esperáramos	we waited
Vosotras / Vosotros	esperarais	you (plural) waited
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes	esperaran	they waited, you (plural formal) waited

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Esperar 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, "esperare", meaning "I will wait".

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

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	esperare	I will wait
Tú	esperares	you will wait
Ella / Él / Usted	esperare	s/he will wait, you (formal) will wait
Nosotras / Nosotros	esperáremos	we will wait
Vosotras / Vosotros	esperareis	you (plural) will wait
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes	esperaren	they will wait, you (plural formal) will wait

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Esperar 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 esperado", meaning "I have waited".

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

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	haya esperado	I have waited
Tú	hayas esperado	you have waited
Ella / Él / Usted	haya esperado	s/he has waited, you (formal) have waited
Nosotras / Nosotros	hayamos esperado	we have waited
Vosotras / Vosotros	hayáis esperado	you (plural) have waited
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes	hayan esperado	they have waited, you (plural formal) have waited

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Esperar 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 esperado", meaning "I had waited".

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

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	hubiera esperado	I had waited
Tú	hubieras esperado	you had waited
Ella / Él / Usted	hubiera esperado	s/he had waited, you (formal) had waited
Nosotras / Nosotros	hubiéramos esperado	we had waited
Vosotras / Vosotros	hubierais esperado	you (plural) had waited
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes	hubieran esperado	they had waited, you (plural formal) had waited

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Esperar 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 esperado", meaning "I will have waited".

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

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	hubiere esperado	I will have waited
Tú	hubieres esperado	you will have waited
Ella / Él / Usted	hubiere esperado	s/he will have waited, you (formal) will have waited
Nosotras / Nosotros	hubiéremos esperado	we will have waited
Vosotras / Vosotros	hubiereis esperado	you (plural) will have waited
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes	hubieren esperado	they will have waited, you (plural formal) will have waited

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Imperative Tenses of Esperar

Esperar in the Imperative Affirmative

The Imperative Affirmative is used to give orders and commands, to tell someone to do something. For example, "espere", meaning "(to you formal) wait!".

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

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	-	-
Tú	espera	(to you) wait!
Ella / Él / Usted	espere	(to you formal) wait!
Nosotras / Nosotros	esperemos	let's wait!
Vosotras / Vosotros	esperad	(to you plural) wait!
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes	esperen	(to you plural formal) wait!

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Esperar in the Imperative Negative

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

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

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	-	-
Tú	no esperes	(to you) don't wait!
Ella / Él / Usted	no espere	(to you formal) don't wait!
Nosotras / Nosotros	no esperemos	let's not wait!
Vosotras / Vosotros	no esperéis	(to you plural) don't wait!
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes	no esperen	(to you plural formal) don't wait!

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Example sentences and usage

• ¡No esperes que los demás piensen por ti! Don't expect others to think for you!
• La vida empieza cuando decides lo que esperas de ella. Life starts when you decide what you are expecting from it.
• Realmente no esperaba eso de vos. I really wasn't expecting that from you.
• ¡Espero que pueda venir! Me gustaría verlo. I hope he'll be able to come! I'd like to see him.
• Espero que tus esfuerzos sean fructíferos. I hope your efforts will bear fruit.
• Espero vivir cerca de tu casa. I wish I could live near your house.
• Espero que seas puntual. I expect you to be punctual.
• Esperaré hasta que hayas escrito la carta. I will wait till you have written the letter.

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