How to conjugate Intentar in Spanish

Introduction

Intentar is the Spanish verb for "to try, to attempt". 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 intentar include: probar, tratar.

Indicative Tenses of Intentar

Intentar in the Indicative Present

The Indicative Present of intentar 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, "intento tocar el piano", meaning "I try to play the piano".

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

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	intento	I try
Tú	intentas	you try
Ella / Él / Usted	intenta	s/he tries, you (formal) try
Nosotras / Nosotros	intentamos	we try
Vosotras / Vosotros	intentáis	you (plural) try
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes	intentan	they try,

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Intentar in the Indicative Preterite

The Indicative Preterite of intentar is used to talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time. For example, "intenté tocar el piano", meaning "I tried to play the piano".

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

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	intenté	I tried
Tú	intentaste	you tried
Ella / Él / Usted	intentó	s/he tried, you (formal) tried
Nosotras / Nosotros	intentamos	we tried
Vosotras / Vosotros	intentasteis	you (plural) tried
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes	intentaron	they tried,

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Intentar in the Indicative Imperfect

The Indicative Imperfect of intentar is used to describe regular and repeated actions that happened in the past and descriptions of things you used to do. For example, "intentaba tocar el piano", meaning "I used to try to play the piano".

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

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	intentaba	I used to try
Tú	intentabas	you used to try
Ella / Él / Usted	intentaba	s/he used to try, you (formal) used to try
Nosotras / Nosotros	intentábamos	we used to try
Vosotras / Vosotros	intentabais	you (plural) used to try
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes	intentaban	they used to try,

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Intentar in the Indicative Present Continuous

The Indicative Present Continuous of intentar is used to talk about something that is happening continuously or right now. For example, "estoy intentando tocar el piano", meaning "I am trying to play the piano".

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

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

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Intentar in the Indicative Informal Future

The Indicative Informal Future of intentar is used to talk about something that will happen in the future, especially in the near future. For example, "voy a intentar tocar el piano", meaning "I am going to try to play the piano".

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

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

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Intentar in the Indicative Future

The Indicative Future of intentar is used to talk about something that will happen in the future. For example, "intentaré tocar el piano", meaning "I will try to play the piano".

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

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	intentaré	I will try
Tú	intentarás	you will try
Ella / Él / Usted	intentará	s/he will try, you (formal) will try
Nosotras / Nosotros	intentaremos	we will try
Vosotras / Vosotros	intentaréis	you (plural) will try
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes	intentarán	they will try,

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Intentar in the Indicative Conditional

The Indicative Conditional of intentar is used to talk about something that may happen in the future, hypothesis and probabilities. For example, "intentaría tocar el piano", meaning "I would try to play the piano".

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

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	intentaría	I would try
Tú	intentarías	you would try
Ella / Él / Usted	intentaría	s/he would try, you (formal) would try
Nosotras / Nosotros	intentaríamos	we would try
Vosotras / Vosotros	intentaríais	you (plural) would try
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes	intentarían	they would try,

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Intentar in the Indicative Present Perfect

The Indicative Present Perfect of intentar 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 intentado tocar el piano", meaning "I have tried to play the piano".

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

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

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Intentar in the Indicative Past Perfect

The Indicative Past Perfect of intentar is used to talk about actions that happened before another action in the past. For example, "había intentado tocar el piano", meaning "I had tried to play the piano".

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

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

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Intentar in the Indicative Future Perfect

The Indicative Future Perfect of intentar is used to talk about something that will have happened in the future after something else has already happened. For example, "habré intentado tocar el piano", meaning "I will have tried to play the piano".

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

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

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Intentar in the Indicative Conditional Perfect

The Indicative Conditional Perfect of intentar is used to talk about something that would have happened in the past but didn’t due to another action. For example, "habría intentado tocar el piano", meaning "I would have tried to play the piano".

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

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

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Subjunctive Tenses of Intentar

Intentar 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, "intente", meaning "I try".

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

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	intente	I try
Tú	intentes	you try
Ella / Él / Usted	intente	s/he tries, you (formal) try
Nosotras / Nosotros	intentemos	we try
Vosotras / Vosotros	intentéis	you (plural) try
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes	intenten	they try,

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Intentar 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, "intentara", meaning "I tried".

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

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	intentara	I tried
Tú	intentaras	you tried
Ella / Él / Usted	intentara	s/he tried, you (formal) tried
Nosotras / Nosotros	intentáramos	we tried
Vosotras / Vosotros	intentarais	you (plural) tried
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes	intentaran	they tried,

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Intentar 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, "intentare", meaning "I will try".

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

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	intentare	I will try
Tú	intentares	you will try
Ella / Él / Usted	intentare	s/he will try, you (formal) will try
Nosotras / Nosotros	intentáremos	we will try
Vosotras / Vosotros	intentareis	you (plural) will try
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes	intentaren	they will try,

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Intentar 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 intentado", meaning "I have tried".

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

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

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Intentar 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 intentado", meaning "I had tried".

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

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

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Intentar 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 intentado", meaning "I will have tried".

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

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

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Imperative Tenses of Intentar

Intentar in the Imperative Affirmative

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

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

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	-	-
Tú	intenta	(to you) try!
Ella / Él / Usted	intente	(to you formal) try!
Nosotras / Nosotros	intentemos	let's try!
Vosotras / Vosotros	intentad	(to you plural) try!
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes	intenten	(to you plural formal) try!

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Intentar in the Imperative Negative

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

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

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	-	-
Tú	no intentes	(to you) don't try!
Ella / Él / Usted	no intente	(to you formal) don't try!
Nosotras / Nosotros	no intentemos	let's not try!
Vosotras / Vosotros	no intentéis	(to you plural) don't try!
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes	no intenten	(to you plural formal) don't try!

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Example sentences and usage

• ¿Por qué intentaste escapar? Why did you try to run away?
• Yo intentaba perder tiempo. I was trying to kill time.
• Puedes sentirte decepcionado si fallas, pero estarás condenado si no lo intentas. You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don't try.
• ¿Por qué intentaste escapar? Why did you try to run away?

Downloadable cheat sheets

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