How to conjugate Pensar in Spanish
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Indicative tenses of Pensar
- Pensar in the Indicative Present
- Pensar in the Indicative Preterite
- Pensar in the Indicative Imperfect
- Pensar in the Indicative Future
- Pensar in the Indicative Conditional
- Pensar in the Indicative Present Perfect
- Pensar in the Indicative Past Perfect
- Pensar in the Indicative Future Perfect
- Pensar in the Indicative Conditional Perfect
- Subjunctive tenses of Pensar
- Pensar in the Subjunctive Present
- Pensar in the Subjunctive Imperfect
- Pensar in the Subjunctive Future
- Pensar in the Subjunctive Present Perfect
- Pensar in the Subjunctive Past Perfect
- Pensar in the Subjunctive Future Perfect
- Imperative tenses of Pensar
- Pensar in the Imperative Affirmative
- Pensar in the Imperative Negative
- Example sentences and usage
Introduction
Pensar is the Spanish verb meaning "to think". It is very simple to use, with a small number of use cases. For example: To reflect about something, to believe/ to think about something, to intend to do, or to plan something (estoy pensando empezar clases de español).
Similar verbs to pensar include: considerar (to consider).
Spanish | Spanish | English |
---|---|---|
Infinitive | pensar | to think |
Past participle | pensado | thought |
Gerund | pensando | thinking |
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Indicative Tenses of Pensar
Pensar in the Indicative Present
The Indicative Present of pensar 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, "pienso", meaning "I think".
Pronoun | Spanish | English |
---|---|---|
Yo | pienso | I think |
Tú | piensas | you think |
Ella / Él / Usted | piensa | s/he think, you (formal) think |
Nosotras / Nosotros | pensamos | we think |
Vosotras / Vosotros | pensáis | you (plural) think |
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | piensan | they think, you (plural formal) think |
Pensar in the Indicative Preterite
The Indicative Preterite of pensar is used to talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time. For example, "pensé", meaning "I thought".
Pronoun | Spanish | English |
---|---|---|
Yo | pensé | I thought |
Tú | pensaste | you thought |
Ella / Él / Usted | pensó | s/he thought, you (formal) thought |
Nosotras / Nosotros | pensamos | we thought |
Vosotras / Vosotros | pensasteis | you (plural) thought |
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | pensaron | they thought, you (plural formal) thought |
Pensar in the Indicative Imperfect
The Indicative Imperfect of pensar is used to describe regular and repeated actions that happened in the past and descriptions of things you used to do. For example, "pensaba", meaning "I used to think".
Pronoun | Spanish | English |
---|---|---|
Yo | pensaba | I used to think |
Tú | pensabas | you used to think |
Ella / Él / Usted | pensaba | s/he used to think, you (formal) used to think |
Nosotras / Nosotros | pensábamos | we used to think |
Vosotras / Vosotros | pensabais | you (plural) used to think |
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | pensaban | they used to think, you (plural formal) used to think |
Pensar in the Indicative Future
The Indicative Future of pensar is used to talk about something that will happen in the future. For example, "pensaré", meaning "I will think".
Pronoun | Spanish | English |
---|---|---|
Yo | pensaré | I will think |
Tú | pensarás | you will think |
Ella / Él / Usted | pensará | s/he will think, you (formal) will think |
Nosotras / Nosotros | pensaremos | we will think |
Vosotras / Vosotros | pensaréis | you (plural) will think |
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | pensarán | they will think, you (plural formal) will think |
Pensar in the Indicative Conditional
The Indicative Conditional of pensar is used to talk about something that may happen in the future, hypothesis and probabilities. For example, "pensaría", meaning "I would think".
Pronoun | Spanish | English |
---|---|---|
Yo | pensaría | I would think |
Tú | pensarías | you would think |
Ella / Él / Usted | pensaría | s/he would think, you (formal) would think |
Nosotras / Nosotros | pensaríamos | we would think |
Vosotras / Vosotros | pensaríais | you (plural) would think |
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | pensarían | they would think, you (plural formal) would think |
Pensar in the Indicative Present Perfect
The Indicative Present Perfect of pensar 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 pensado", meaning "I have thought".
Pronoun | Spanish | English |
---|---|---|
Yo | he pensado | I have thought |
Tú | has pensado | you have thought |
Ella / Él / Usted | ha pensado | s/he has thought, you (formal) have thought |
Nosotras / Nosotros | hemos pensado | we have thought |
Vosotras / Vosotros | habéis pensado | you (plural) have thought |
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | han pensado | they have thought, you (plural formal) have thought |
Pensar in the Indicative Past Perfect
The Indicative Past Perfect of pensar is used to talk about actions that happened before another action in the past. For example, "había pensado", meaning "I had thought".
Pronoun | Spanish | English |
---|---|---|
Yo | había pensado | I had thought |
Tú | habías pensado | you had thought |
Ella / Él / Usted | había pensado | s/he had thought, you (formal) had thought |
Nosotras / Nosotros | habíamos pensado | we had thought |
Vosotras / Vosotros | habíais pensado | you (plural) had thought |
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habían pensado | they had thought, you (plural formal) had thought |
Pensar in the Indicative Future Perfect
The Indicative Future Perfect of pensar is used to talk about something that will have happened in the future after something else has already happened. For example, "habré pensado", meaning "I will have thought".
Pronoun | Spanish | English |
---|---|---|
Yo | habré pensado | I will have thought |
Tú | habrás pensado | you will have thought |
Ella / Él / Usted | habrá pensado | s/he will have thought, you (formal) will have thought |
Nosotras / Nosotros | habremos pensado | we will have thought |
Vosotras / Vosotros | habréis pensado | you (plural) will have thought |
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habrán pensado | they will have thought, you (plural formal) will have thought |
Pensar in the Indicative Conditional Perfect
The Indicative Conditional Perfect of pensar is used to talk about something that would have happened in the future but didn’t due to another action. For example, "habría pensado", meaning "I would have thought".
Pronoun | Spanish | English |
---|---|---|
Yo | habría pensado | I would have thought |
Tú | habrías pensado | you would have thought |
Ella / Él / Usted | habría pensado | s/he would have thought, you (formal) would have thought |
Nosotras / Nosotros | habríamos pensado | we would have thought |
Vosotras / Vosotros | habríais pensado | you (plural) would have thought |
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habrían pensado | they would have thought, you (plural formal) would have thought |
Want a better way to learn conjugations?
Ella Verbs guides you through 30 levels of bite sized lessons and verb drills, helping you to master the 16 main Spanish tenses from our verb library of over 1,000 verbs.


Subjunctive Tenses of Pensar
Pensar 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, "piense", meaning "I think".
Pronoun | Spanish | English |
---|---|---|
Yo | piense | I think |
Tú | pienses | you think |
Ella / Él / Usted | piense | s/he think, you (formal) think |
Nosotras / Nosotros | pensemos | we think |
Vosotras / Vosotros | penséis | you (plural) think |
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | piensen | they think, you (plural formal) think |
Pensar 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, "pensara", meaning "I thought".
Pronoun | Spanish | English |
---|---|---|
Yo | pensara | I thought |
Tú | pensaras | you thought |
Ella / Él / Usted | pensara | s/he thought, you (formal) thought |
Nosotras / Nosotros | pensáramos | we thought |
Vosotras / Vosotros | pensarais | you (plural) thought |
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | pensaran | they thought, you (plural formal) thought |
Pensar in the Subjunctive Future
The Subjunctive Future is used For example, "pensare", meaning "I will think".
Pronoun | Spanish | English |
---|---|---|
Yo | pensare | I will think |
Tú | pensares | you will think |
Ella / Él / Usted | pensare | s/he will think, you (formal) will think |
Nosotras / Nosotros | pensáremos | we will think |
Vosotras / Vosotros | pensareis | you (plural) will think |
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | pensaren | they will think, you (plural formal) will think |
Pensar 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 pensado", meaning "I have thought".
Pronoun | Spanish | English |
---|---|---|
Yo | haya pensado | I have thought |
Tú | hayas pensado | you have thought |
Ella / Él / Usted | haya pensado | s/he has thought, you (formal) have thought |
Nosotras / Nosotros | hayamos pensado | we have thought |
Vosotras / Vosotros | hayáis pensado | you (plural) have thought |
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hayan pensado | they have thought, you (plural formal) have thought |
Pensar 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 pensado", meaning "I had thought".
Pronoun | Spanish | English |
---|---|---|
Yo | hubiera pensado | I had thought |
Tú | hubieras pensado | you had thought |
Ella / Él / Usted | hubiera pensado | s/he had thought, you (formal) had thought |
Nosotras / Nosotros | hubiéramos pensado | we had thought |
Vosotras / Vosotros | hubierais pensado | you (plural) had thought |
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hubieran pensado | they had thought, you (plural formal) had thought |
Pensar in the Subjunctive Future Perfect
The Subjunctive Future Perfect is used For example, "hubiere pensado", meaning "I will have thought".
Pronoun | Spanish | English |
---|---|---|
Yo | hubiere pensado | I will have thought |
Tú | hubieres pensado | you will have thought |
Ella / Él / Usted | hubiere pensado | s/he will have thought, you (formal) will have thought |
Nosotras / Nosotros | hubiéremos pensado | we will have thought |
Vosotras / Vosotros | hubiereis pensado | you (plural) will have thought |
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hubieren pensado | they will have thought, you (plural formal) will have thought |
Imperative Tenses of Pensar
Pensar in the Imperative Affirmative
The Imperative Affirmative is used to give orders and commands, to tell someone to do something. For example, "piense", meaning "(to you formal) think!".
Pronoun | Spanish | English |
---|---|---|
Yo | - | - |
Tú | piensa | (to you) think! |
Ella / Él / Usted | piense | (to you formal) think! |
Nosotras / Nosotros | pensemos | (to we) think! |
Vosotras / Vosotros | pensad | (to you plural) think! |
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | piensen | (to you plural formal) think! |
Pensar in the Imperative Negative
The Imperative Negative is used to give orders and commands, telling someone not to do something. For example, "no piense", meaning "(to you formal) don't think!".
Pronoun | Spanish | English |
---|---|---|
Yo | - | - |
Tú | no pienses | (to you) don't think! |
Ella / Él / Usted | no piense | (to you formal) don't think! |
Nosotras / Nosotros | no pensemos | (to we) don't think! |
Vosotras / Vosotros | no penséis | (to you plural) don't think! |
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | no piensen | (to you plural formal) don't think! |
Example sentences and usage
- Pensemos en lo peor que podría pasar. Let's consider the worst that could happen.
- ¡No puedes esperar de mí que yo siempre piense en todo! You can't expect me to always think of everything!
- ¡Ni siquiera pienses en comerte mi chocolate! Don't you even think of eating my chocolate!
- No pienso, luego no existo. I don't think, therefore I am not.
- Estoy impaciente por escuchar qué piensas de este tema. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this matter.
- Yo pensé que era cierto. I thought it was true.
- Yo pienso que mejor hubieras tomado un descanso. I think you had better take a rest.
- A menudo pienso en el lugar donde te encontré. I often think about the place where I met you.
Want to explore other verb conjugations?
Why not check out esperar – to wait, to hope or see the complete list of verbs here.
Back to topWant a better way to learn conjugations?
Ella Verbs guides you through 30 levels of bite sized lessons and verb drills, helping you to master the 16 main Spanish tenses from our verb library of over 1,000 verbs.

