Ella VerbsHow to conjugate Prender in Spanish
prender to turn on, to switch on, to catch Regular ER Verb
At a glance: Prender (to turn on, to switch on, to catch) is a regular -ER verb in Spanish. In the present tense: prendo, prendes, prende, prendemos, prendéis, prenden. Because it is fully regular, its endings apply directly to hundreds of other -ER verbs.
- Past participle
- prendido turned on
- Gerund
- prendiendo turning on
- Similar
- agarrar, atrapar, cachar, coger, pillar, encender
Table of contents
- Indicative tenses of Prender
- Prender in the Indicative Present
- Prender in the Indicative Preterite
- Prender in the Indicative Imperfect
- Prender in the Indicative Present Continuous
- Prender in the Indicative Informal Future
- Prender in the Indicative Future
- Prender in the Indicative Conditional
- Prender in the Indicative Present Perfect
- Prender in the Indicative Past Perfect
- Prender in the Indicative Future Perfect
- Prender in the Indicative Conditional Perfect
- Subjunctive tenses of Prender
- Imperative tenses of Prender
- Verbs that follow the same patterns
- Frequently asked questions
- Downloadable cheat sheet (PDF)
- Practise Prender conjugations (free mobile app)
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Indicative tenses of Prender
Prender in the Indicative Present
The Indicative Present of prender 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, “prendo”, meaning “I turn on”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Present is known as "El Presente".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | prendo | I turn on |
| Tú | prendes | you turn on |
| Ella / Él / Usted | prende | s/he turns on |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | prendemos | we turn on |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | prendéis | you (plural) turn on |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | prenden | they turn on |
How it’s built: Regular: stem prend- plus the -er endings.
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Prender in the Indicative Preterite
The Indicative Preterite of prender is used to talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time. For example, “prendí”, meaning “I turned on”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Preterite is known as "El Pretérito Indefinido".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | prendí | I turned on |
| Tú | prendiste | you turned on |
| Ella / Él / Usted | prendió | s/he turned on |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | prendimos | we turned on |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | prendisteis | you (plural) turned on |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | prendieron | they turned on |
How it’s built: Regular: stem prend- plus the -er endings.
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Prender in the Indicative Imperfect
The Indicative Imperfect of prender is used to describe regular and repeated actions that happened in the past and descriptions of things you used to do. For example, “prendía”, meaning “I used to turn on”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Imperfect is known as "El Pretérito Imperfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | prendía | I used to turn on |
| Tú | prendías | you used to turn on |
| Ella / Él / Usted | prendía | s/he used to turn on |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | prendíamos | we used to turn on |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | prendíais | you (plural) used to turn on |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | prendían | they used to turn on |
How it’s built: Regular: stem prend- plus the -er endings.
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Prender in the Indicative Present Continuous
The Indicative Present Continuous of prender is used to talk about something that is happening continuously or right now. For example, “estoy prendiendo”, meaning “I am turning on”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Present Continuous is known as "El Presente Progresivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | estoy prendiendo | I am turning on |
| Tú | estás prendiendo | you are turning on |
| Ella / Él / Usted | está prendiendo | s/he is turning on |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | estamos prendiendo | we are turning on |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | estáis prendiendo | you (plural) are turning on |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | están prendiendo | they are turning on |
How it’s built: Estar in the present (estoy, estás, está, estamos, estáis, están) plus the gerund prendiendo.
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Prender in the Indicative Informal Future
The Indicative Informal Future of prender is used to talk about something that will happen in the future, especially in the near future. For example, “voy a prender”, meaning “I am going to turn on”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Informal Future is known as "El Futuro Próximo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | voy a prender | I am going to turn on |
| Tú | vas a prender | you are going to turn on |
| Ella / Él / Usted | va a prender | s/he is going to turn on |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | vamos a prender | we are going to turn on |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | vais a prender | you (plural) are going to turn on |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | van a prender | they are going to turn on |
How it’s built: Ir in the present (voy, vas, va, vamos, vais, van), then a, then the infinitive prender.
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Prender in the Indicative Future
The Indicative Future of prender is used to talk about something that will happen in the future. For example, “prenderé”, meaning “I will turn on”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Future is known as "El Futuro Simple".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | prenderé | I will turn on |
| Tú | prenderás | you will turn on |
| Ella / Él / Usted | prenderá | s/he will turn on |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | prenderemos | we will turn on |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | prenderéis | you (plural) will turn on |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | prenderán | they will turn on |
How it’s built: Regular: the infinitive prender plus the future endings.
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Prender in the Indicative Conditional
The Indicative Conditional of prender is used to talk about something that may happen in the future, hypothesis and probabilities. For example, “prendería”, meaning “I would turn on”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional is known as "El Condicional Simple".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | prendería | I would turn on |
| Tú | prenderías | you would turn on |
| Ella / Él / Usted | prendería | s/he would turn on |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | prenderíamos | we would turn on |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | prenderíais | you (plural) would turn on |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | prenderían | they would turn on |
How it’s built: Regular: the infinitive prender plus the conditional endings.
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Prender in the Indicative Present Perfect
The Indicative Present Perfect of prender 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 prendido”, meaning “I have turned on”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | he prendido | I have turned on |
| Tú | has prendido | you have turned on |
| Ella / Él / Usted | ha prendido | s/he has turned on |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hemos prendido | we have turned on |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habéis prendido | you (plural) have turned on |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | han prendido | they have turned on |
How it’s built: Haber in the present (he, has, ha, hemos, habéis, han) plus the past participle prendido.
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Prender in the Indicative Past Perfect
The Indicative Past Perfect of prender is used to talk about actions that happened before another action in the past. For example, “había prendido”, meaning “I had turned on”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | había prendido | I had turned on |
| Tú | habías prendido | you had turned on |
| Ella / Él / Usted | había prendido | s/he had turned on |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habíamos prendido | we had turned on |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habíais prendido | you (plural) had turned on |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habían prendido | they had turned on |
How it’s built: Haber in the imperfect (había, habías, había, habíamos, habíais, habían) plus the past participle prendido.
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Prender in the Indicative Future Perfect
The Indicative Future Perfect of prender is used to talk about something that will have happened in the future after something else has already happened. For example, “habré prendido”, meaning “I will have turned on”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | habré prendido | I will have turned on |
| Tú | habrás prendido | you will have turned on |
| Ella / Él / Usted | habrá prendido | s/he will have turned on |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habremos prendido | we will have turned on |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habréis prendido | you (plural) will have turned on |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habrán prendido | they will have turned on |
How it’s built: Haber in the future (habré, habrás, habrá, habremos, habréis, habrán) plus the past participle prendido.
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Prender in the Indicative Conditional Perfect
The Indicative Conditional Perfect of prender is used to talk about something that would have happened in the past but didn’t due to another action. For example, “habría prendido”, meaning “I would have turned on”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional Perfect is known as "El Condicional Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | habría prendido | I would have turned on |
| Tú | habrías prendido | you would have turned on |
| Ella / Él / Usted | habría prendido | s/he would have turned on |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habríamos prendido | we would have turned on |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habríais prendido | you (plural) would have turned on |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habrían prendido | they would have turned on |
How it’s built: Haber in the conditional (habría, habrías, habría, habríamos, habríais, habrían) plus the past participle prendido.
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Subjunctive tenses of Prender
Prender 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, “prenda”, meaning “I turn on”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present is known as "El Presente de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | prenda | I turn on |
| Tú | prendas | you turn on |
| Ella / Él / Usted | prenda | s/he turns on |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | prendamos | we turn on |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | prendáis | you (plural) turn on |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | prendan | they turn on |
How it’s built: Regular: stem prend- plus the -er subjunctive endings.
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Prender 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, “prendiera”, meaning “I turned on”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Imperfect is known as "El Imperfecto Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | prendiera | I turned on |
| Tú | prendieras | you turned on |
| Ella / Él / Usted | prendiera | s/he turned on |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | prendiéramos | we turned on |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | prendierais | you (plural) turned on |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | prendieran | they turned on |
How it’s built: Regular: the ellas/ellos preterite, prendieron, without -ron, plus the -ra endings; nosotros adds an accent (prendiéramos).
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Prender 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, “prendiere”, meaning “I will turn on”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future is known as "El Futuro de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | prendiere | I will turn on |
| Tú | prendieres | you will turn on |
| Ella / Él / Usted | prendiere | s/he will turn on |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | prendiéremos | we will turn on |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | prendiereis | you (plural) will turn on |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | prendieren | they will turn on |
How it’s built: Regular: the ellas/ellos preterite, prendieron, without -ron, plus the -re endings; nosotros adds an accent (prendiéremos).
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Prender 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 prendido”, meaning “I have turned on”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | haya prendido | I have turned on |
| Tú | hayas prendido | you have turned on |
| Ella / Él / Usted | haya prendido | s/he has turned on |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hayamos prendido | we have turned on |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hayáis prendido | you (plural) have turned on |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hayan prendido | they have turned on |
How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive present (haya, hayas, haya, hayamos, hayáis, hayan) plus the past participle prendido.
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Prender 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 prendido”, meaning “I had turned on”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | hubiera prendido | I had turned on |
| Tú | hubieras prendido | you had turned on |
| Ella / Él / Usted | hubiera prendido | s/he had turned on |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hubiéramos prendido | we had turned on |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hubierais prendido | you (plural) had turned on |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hubieran prendido | they had turned on |
How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive imperfect (hubiera, hubieras, hubiera, hubiéramos, hubierais, hubieran) plus the past participle prendido.
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Prender 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 prendido”, meaning “I will have turned on”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | hubiere prendido | I will have turned on |
| Tú | hubieres prendido | you will have turned on |
| Ella / Él / Usted | hubiere prendido | s/he will have turned on |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hubiéremos prendido | we will have turned on |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hubiereis prendido | you (plural) will have turned on |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hubieren prendido | they will have turned on |
How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive future (hubiere, hubieres, hubiere, hubiéremos, hubiereis, hubieren) plus the past participle prendido.
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Imperative tenses of Prender
Prender in the Imperative Affirmative
The Imperative Affirmative is used to give orders and commands, to tell someone to do something. For example, “prenda”, meaning “(to you formal) turn on!”.
In Spanish, the Imperative Affirmative is known as "El Imperativo Afirmativo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | - | - |
| Tú | prende | (to you) turn on! |
| Ella / Él / Usted | prenda | (to you formal) turn on! |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | prendamos | let's turn on! |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | prended | (to you plural) turn on! |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | prendan | (to you plural formal) turn on! |
How it’s built: Tú takes the ella/él present (prende); usted, nosotros and ustedes take the subjunctive present (prenda, prendamos, prendan); vosotros swaps the final r of the infinitive for a d (prended).
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Prender in the Imperative Negative
The Imperative Negative is used to give orders and commands, telling someone not to do something. For example, “no prenda”, meaning “(to you formal) don't turn on!”.
In Spanish, the Imperative Negative is known as "El Imperativo Negativo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | - | - |
| Tú | no prendas | (to you) don't turn on! |
| Ella / Él / Usted | no prenda | (to you formal) don't turn on! |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | no prendamos | let's not turn on! |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | no prendáis | (to you plural) don't turn on! |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | no prendan | (to you plural formal) don't turn on! |
How it’s built: No plus the subjunctive present: no prendas, no prenda, no prendamos, no prendáis, no prendan.
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Frequently asked questions about Prender
Is prender a regular or irregular verb?
Prender is a fully regular -ER verb. It follows the standard -ER conjugation pattern in every tense and mood without any stem changes, spelling changes, or irregular forms. This makes it a model verb for learning the -ER conjugation system.
How do you conjugate prender in the present tense (presente)?
In the present tense (presente), prender is conjugated as: yo prendo, tú prendes, él/ella/usted prende, nosotros prendemos, vosotros prendéis, ellos/ellas/ustedes prenden. 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.
How do you conjugate prender in the preterite (pretérito indefinido)?
In the preterite (pretérito indefinido), prender is conjugated as: yo prendí, tú prendiste, él/ella/usted prendió, nosotros prendimos, vosotros prendisteis, ellos/ellas/ustedes prendieron. The preterite is used To talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time.
How do you conjugate prender in the imperfect (pretérito imperfecto)?
In the imperfect (pretérito imperfecto), prender is conjugated as: yo prendía, tú prendías, él/ella/usted prendía, nosotros prendíamos, vosotros prendíais, ellos/ellas/ustedes prendían. The imperfect is used To describe regular and repeated actions that happened in the past and descriptions of things you used to do.
How do you conjugate prender in the future tense (futuro simple)?
In the future tense (futuro simple), prender is conjugated as: yo prenderé, tú prenderás, él/ella/usted prenderá, nosotros prenderemos, vosotros prenderéis, ellos/ellas/ustedes prenderán. The future tense is used To talk about something that will happen in the future.
How do you conjugate prender in the present subjunctive (subjuntivo presente)?
In the present subjunctive (subjuntivo presente), prender is conjugated as: yo prenda, tú prendas, él/ella/usted prenda, nosotros prendamos, vosotros prendáis, ellos/ellas/ustedes prendan. 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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Want to explore other verb conjugations?
Why not check out Preocuparse – to worry, to concern or see the complete list of verbs here.
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