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How to conjugate Esperar in Spanish

To wait, to hope Regular AR Verb Top 100

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.

ItemSpanishEnglish
Infinitiveesperarto wait, to hope
Past participleesperadowaited
Gerundesperandowaiting
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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".

PronounSpanishEnglish
YoesperoI wait
esperasyou wait
Ella / Él / Ustedesperas/he waits, you (formal) wait
Nosotras / Nosotrosesperamoswe wait
Vosotras / Vosotrosesperáisyou (plural) wait
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesesperanthey 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".

PronounSpanishEnglish
YoesperéI waited
esperasteyou waited
Ella / Él / Ustedesperós/he waited, you (formal) waited
Nosotras / Nosotrosesperamoswe waited
Vosotras / Vosotrosesperasteisyou (plural) waited
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesesperaronthey 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".

PronounSpanishEnglish
YoesperabaI used to wait
esperabasyou used to wait
Ella / Él / Ustedesperabas/he used to wait, you (formal) used to wait
Nosotras / Nosotrosesperábamoswe used to wait
Vosotras / Vosotrosesperabaisyou (plural) used to wait
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesesperabanthey 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".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yoestoy esperandoI am waiting
estás esperandoyou are waiting
Ella / Él / Ustedestá esperandos/he is waiting, you (formal) are waiting
Nosotras / Nosotrosestamos esperandowe are waiting
Vosotras / Vosotrosestáis esperandoyou (plural) are waiting
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesestán esperandothey 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".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yovoy a esperarI am going to wait
vas a esperaryou are going to wait
Ella / Él / Ustedva a esperars/he is going to wait, you (formal) are going to wait
Nosotras / Nosotrosvamos a esperarwe are going to wait
Vosotras / Vosotrosvais a esperaryou (plural) are going to wait
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesvan a esperarthey 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".

PronounSpanishEnglish
YoesperaréI will wait
esperarásyou will wait
Ella / Él / Ustedesperarás/he will wait, you (formal) will wait
Nosotras / Nosotrosesperaremoswe will wait
Vosotras / Vosotrosesperaréisyou (plural) will wait
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesesperaránthey 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".

PronounSpanishEnglish
YoesperaríaI would wait
esperaríasyou would wait
Ella / Él / Ustedesperarías/he would wait, you (formal) would wait
Nosotras / Nosotrosesperaríamoswe would wait
Vosotras / Vosotrosesperaríaisyou (plural) would wait
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesesperaríanthey 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".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohe esperadoI have waited
has esperadoyou have waited
Ella / Él / Ustedha esperados/he has waited, you (formal) have waited
Nosotras / Nosotroshemos esperadowe have waited
Vosotras / Vosotroshabéis esperadoyou (plural) have waited
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshan esperadothey 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".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohabía esperadoI had waited
habías esperadoyou had waited
Ella / Él / Ustedhabía esperados/he had waited, you (formal) had waited
Nosotras / Nosotroshabíamos esperadowe had waited
Vosotras / Vosotroshabíais esperadoyou (plural) had waited
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshabían esperadothey 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".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohabré esperadoI will have waited
habrás esperadoyou will have waited
Ella / Él / Ustedhabrá esperados/he will have waited, you (formal) will have waited
Nosotras / Nosotroshabremos esperadowe will have waited
Vosotras / Vosotroshabréis esperadoyou (plural) will have waited
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshabrán esperadothey 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".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohabría esperadoI would have waited
habrías esperadoyou would have waited
Ella / Él / Ustedhabría esperados/he would have waited, you (formal) would have waited
Nosotras / Nosotroshabríamos esperadowe would have waited
Vosotras / Vosotroshabríais esperadoyou (plural) would have waited
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshabrían esperadothey 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".

PronounSpanishEnglish
YoespereI wait
esperesyou wait
Ella / Él / Ustedesperes/he waits, you (formal) wait
Nosotras / Nosotrosesperemoswe wait
Vosotras / Vosotrosesperéisyou (plural) wait
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesesperenthey 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".

PronounSpanishEnglish
YoesperaraI waited
esperarasyou waited
Ella / Él / Ustedesperaras/he waited, you (formal) waited
Nosotras / Nosotrosesperáramoswe waited
Vosotras / Vosotrosesperaraisyou (plural) waited
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesesperaranthey 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".

PronounSpanishEnglish
YoesperareI will wait
esperaresyou will wait
Ella / Él / Ustedesperares/he will wait, you (formal) will wait
Nosotras / Nosotrosesperáremoswe will wait
Vosotras / Vosotrosesperareisyou (plural) will wait
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesesperarenthey 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".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohaya esperadoI have waited
hayas esperadoyou have waited
Ella / Él / Ustedhaya esperados/he has waited, you (formal) have waited
Nosotras / Nosotroshayamos esperadowe have waited
Vosotras / Vosotroshayáis esperadoyou (plural) have waited
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshayan esperadothey 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".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohubiera esperadoI had waited
hubieras esperadoyou had waited
Ella / Él / Ustedhubiera esperados/he had waited, you (formal) had waited
Nosotras / Nosotroshubiéramos esperadowe had waited
Vosotras / Vosotroshubierais esperadoyou (plural) had waited
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshubieran esperadothey 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".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohubiere esperadoI will have waited
hubieres esperadoyou will have waited
Ella / Él / Ustedhubiere esperados/he will have waited, you (formal) will have waited
Nosotras / Nosotroshubiéremos esperadowe will have waited
Vosotras / Vosotroshubiereis esperadoyou (plural) will have waited
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshubieren esperadothey 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".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yo--
espera(to you) wait!
Ella / Él / Ustedespere(to you formal) wait!
Nosotras / Nosotrosesperemoslet's wait!
Vosotras / Vosotrosesperad(to you plural) wait!
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesesperen(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".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yo--
no esperes(to you) don't wait!
Ella / Él / Ustedno espere(to you formal) don't wait!
Nosotras / Nosotrosno esperemoslet's not wait!
Vosotras / Vosotrosno esperéis(to you plural) don't wait!
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesno 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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