Ella Verbsinvestigar to research, to investigate Irregular Verb
At a glance: Investigar (to research, to investigate) is a irregular verb in Spanish. In the present tense: investigo, investigas, investiga, investigamos, investigáis, investigan. The present tense is regular. In the preterite: yo adds a u (investigué); the other forms are regular. It is also irregular in the present subjunctive (investigue).

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The Indicative Present of investigar 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, “investigo”, meaning “I research”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Present is known as "El Presente".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | investigo | I research |
| Tú | investigas | you research |
| Ella / Él / Usted | investiga | s/he researches |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | investigamos | we research |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | investigáis | you (plural) research |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | investigan | they research |
How it’s built: Regular: stem investig- plus the -ar endings.
The Indicative Preterite of investigar is used to talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time. For example, “investigué”, meaning “I researched”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Preterite is known as "El Pretérito Indefinido".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | investigué | I researched |
| Tú | investigaste | you researched |
| Ella / Él / Usted | investigó | s/he researched |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | investigamos | we researched |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | investigasteis | you (plural) researched |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | investigaron | they researched |
How it’s built: Yo adds a u (investigué); the other forms are regular.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
The Indicative Imperfect of investigar is used to describe regular and repeated actions that happened in the past and descriptions of things you used to do. For example, “investigaba”, meaning “I used to research”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Imperfect is known as "El Pretérito Imperfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | investigaba | I used to research |
| Tú | investigabas | you used to research |
| Ella / Él / Usted | investigaba | s/he used to research |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | investigábamos | we used to research |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | investigabais | you (plural) used to research |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | investigaban | they used to research |
How it’s built: Regular: stem investig- plus the -ar endings.
The Indicative Present Continuous of investigar is used to talk about something that is happening continuously or right now. For example, “estoy investigando”, meaning “I am researching”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Present Continuous is known as "El Presente Progresivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | estoy investigando | I am researching |
| Tú | estás investigando | you are researching |
| Ella / Él / Usted | está investigando | s/he is researching |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | estamos investigando | we are researching |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | estáis investigando | you (plural) are researching |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | están investigando | they are researching |
How it’s built: Estar in the present (estoy, estás, está, estamos, estáis, están) plus the gerund investigando.
The Indicative Informal Future of investigar is used to talk about something that will happen in the future, especially in the near future. For example, “voy a investigar”, meaning “I am going to research”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Informal Future is known as "El Futuro Próximo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | voy a investigar | I am going to research |
| Tú | vas a investigar | you are going to research |
| Ella / Él / Usted | va a investigar | s/he is going to research |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | vamos a investigar | we are going to research |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | vais a investigar | you (plural) are going to research |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | van a investigar | they are going to research |
How it’s built: Ir in the present (voy, vas, va, vamos, vais, van), then a, then the infinitive investigar.
The Indicative Future of investigar is used to talk about something that will happen in the future. For example, “investigaré”, meaning “I will research”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Future is known as "El Futuro Simple".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | investigaré | I will research |
| Tú | investigarás | you will research |
| Ella / Él / Usted | investigará | s/he will research |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | investigaremos | we will research |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | investigaréis | you (plural) will research |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | investigarán | they will research |
How it’s built: Regular: the infinitive investigar plus the future endings.
The Indicative Conditional of investigar is used to talk about something that may happen in the future, hypothesis and probabilities. For example, “investigaría”, meaning “I would research”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional is known as "El Condicional Simple".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | investigaría | I would research |
| Tú | investigarías | you would research |
| Ella / Él / Usted | investigaría | s/he would research |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | investigaríamos | we would research |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | investigaríais | you (plural) would research |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | investigarían | they would research |
How it’s built: Regular: the infinitive investigar plus the conditional endings.
The Indicative Present Perfect of investigar 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 investigado”, meaning “I have researched”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | he investigado | I have researched |
| Tú | has investigado | you have researched |
| Ella / Él / Usted | ha investigado | s/he has researched |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hemos investigado | we have researched |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habéis investigado | you (plural) have researched |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | han investigado | they have researched |
How it’s built: Haber in the present (he, has, ha, hemos, habéis, han) plus the past participle investigado.
The Indicative Past Perfect of investigar is used to talk about actions that happened before another action in the past. For example, “había investigado”, meaning “I had researched”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | había investigado | I had researched |
| Tú | habías investigado | you had researched |
| Ella / Él / Usted | había investigado | s/he had researched |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habíamos investigado | we had researched |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habíais investigado | you (plural) had researched |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habían investigado | they had researched |
How it’s built: Haber in the imperfect (había, habías, había, habíamos, habíais, habían) plus the past participle investigado.
The Indicative Future Perfect of investigar is used to talk about something that will have happened in the future after something else has already happened. For example, “habré investigado”, meaning “I will have researched”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | habré investigado | I will have researched |
| Tú | habrás investigado | you will have researched |
| Ella / Él / Usted | habrá investigado | s/he will have researched |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habremos investigado | we will have researched |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habréis investigado | you (plural) will have researched |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habrán investigado | they will have researched |
How it’s built: Haber in the future (habré, habrás, habrá, habremos, habréis, habrán) plus the past participle investigado.
The Indicative Conditional Perfect of investigar is used to talk about something that would have happened in the past but didn’t due to another action. For example, “habría investigado”, meaning “I would have researched”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional Perfect is known as "El Condicional Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | habría investigado | I would have researched |
| Tú | habrías investigado | you would have researched |
| Ella / Él / Usted | habría investigado | s/he would have researched |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habríamos investigado | we would have researched |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habríais investigado | you (plural) would have researched |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habrían investigado | they would have researched |
How it’s built: Haber in the conditional (habría, habrías, habría, habríamos, habríais, habrían) plus the past participle investigado.
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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, “investigue”, meaning “I research”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present is known as "El Presente de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | investigue | I research |
| Tú | investigues | you research |
| Ella / Él / Usted | investigue | s/he researches |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | investiguemos | we research |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | investiguéis | you (plural) research |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | investiguen | they research |
How it’s built: Every form adds a u (investigue, investigues, investigue, investiguemos, investiguéis, investiguen).
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, “investigara”, meaning “I researched”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Imperfect is known as "El Imperfecto Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | investigara | I researched |
| Tú | investigaras | you researched |
| Ella / Él / Usted | investigara | s/he researched |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | investigáramos | we researched |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | investigarais | you (plural) researched |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | investigaran | they researched |
How it’s built: Regular: the ellas/ellos preterite, investigaron, without -ron, plus the -ra endings; nosotros adds an accent (investigáramos).
The Subjunctive Future is used to speak about hypothetical situations, and actions/events that may happen in the future. For example, “investigare”, meaning “I will research”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future is known as "El Futuro de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | investigare | I will research |
| Tú | investigares | you will research |
| Ella / Él / Usted | investigare | s/he will research |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | investigáremos | we will research |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | investigareis | you (plural) will research |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | investigaren | they will research |
How it’s built: Regular: the ellas/ellos preterite, investigaron, without -ron, plus the -re endings; nosotros adds an accent (investigáremos).
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 investigado”, meaning “I have researched”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | haya investigado | I have researched |
| Tú | hayas investigado | you have researched |
| Ella / Él / Usted | haya investigado | s/he has researched |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hayamos investigado | we have researched |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hayáis investigado | you (plural) have researched |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hayan investigado | they have researched |
How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive present (haya, hayas, haya, hayamos, hayáis, hayan) plus the past participle investigado.
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 investigado”, meaning “I had researched”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | hubiera investigado | I had researched |
| Tú | hubieras investigado | you had researched |
| Ella / Él / Usted | hubiera investigado | s/he had researched |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hubiéramos investigado | we had researched |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hubierais investigado | you (plural) had researched |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hubieran investigado | they had researched |
How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive imperfect (hubiera, hubieras, hubiera, hubiéramos, hubierais, hubieran) plus the past participle investigado.
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 investigado”, meaning “I will have researched”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | hubiere investigado | I will have researched |
| Tú | hubieres investigado | you will have researched |
| Ella / Él / Usted | hubiere investigado | s/he will have researched |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hubiéremos investigado | we will have researched |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hubiereis investigado | you (plural) will have researched |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hubieren investigado | they will have researched |
How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive future (hubiere, hubieres, hubiere, hubiéremos, hubiereis, hubieren) plus the past participle investigado.
The Imperative Affirmative is used to give orders and commands, to tell someone to do something. For example, “investigue”, meaning “(to you formal) research!”.
In Spanish, the Imperative Affirmative is known as "El Imperativo Afirmativo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | - | - |
| Tú | investiga | (to you) research! |
| Ella / Él / Usted | investigue | (to you formal) research! |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | investiguemos | let's research! |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | investigad | (to you plural) research! |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | investiguen | (to you plural formal) research! |
How it’s built: Tú takes the ella/él present (investiga); usted, nosotros and ustedes take the subjunctive present (investigue, investiguemos, investiguen); vosotros swaps the final r of the infinitive for a d (investigad).
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 investigue”, meaning “(to you formal) don't research!”.
In Spanish, the Imperative Negative is known as "El Imperativo Negativo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | - | - |
| Tú | no investigues | (to you) don't research! |
| Ella / Él / Usted | no investigue | (to you formal) don't research! |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | no investiguemos | let's not research! |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | no investiguéis | (to you plural) don't research! |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | no investiguen | (to you plural formal) don't research! |
How it’s built: No plus the subjunctive present: no investigues, no investigue, no investiguemos, no investiguéis, no investiguen.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
Investigar is an irregular Spanish verb. The present tense is regular. In the preterite: yo adds a u (investigué); the other forms are regular. It is also irregular in the present subjunctive (investigue).
In the present tense (presente), investigar is conjugated as: yo investigo, tú investigas, él/ella/usted investiga, nosotros investigamos, vosotros investigáis, ellos/ellas/ustedes investigan. 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), investigar is conjugated as: yo investigué, tú investigaste, él/ella/usted investigó, nosotros investigamos, vosotros investigasteis, ellos/ellas/ustedes investigaron. The preterite is used To talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time.
In the imperfect (pretérito imperfecto), investigar is conjugated as: yo investigaba, tú investigabas, él/ella/usted investigaba, nosotros investigábamos, vosotros investigabais, ellos/ellas/ustedes investigaban. 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), investigar is conjugated as: yo investigaré, tú investigarás, él/ella/usted investigará, nosotros investigaremos, vosotros investigaréis, ellos/ellas/ustedes investigarán. The future tense is used To talk about something that will happen in the future.
In the present subjunctive (subjuntivo presente), investigar is conjugated as: yo investigue, tú investigues, él/ella/usted investigue, nosotros investiguemos, vosotros investiguéis, ellos/ellas/ustedes investiguen. 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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