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How to conjugate Sustituir in Spanish

sustituir to substitute Irregular Verb

At a glance: Sustituir (to substitute) is a irregular verb in Spanish. In the present tense: sustituyo, sustituyes, sustituye, sustituimos, sustituís, sustituyen. Yo, tú, ella/él and ellas/ellos add a y (sustituyo, sustituyes, sustituye, sustituyen); nosotros and vosotros are regular. It is also irregular in the preterite (sustituyó), subjunctive and gerund (sustituyendo).

Past participle
sustituido substituted
Gerund
sustituyendo substituting

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Indicative tenses of Sustituir

Sustituir in the Indicative Present

The Indicative Present of sustituir 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, “sustituyo”, meaning “I substitute”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
YosustituyoI substitute
Túsustituyesyou substitute
Ella / Él / Ustedsustituyes/he substitutes
Nosotras / Nosotrossustituimoswe substitute
Vosotras / Vosotrossustituísyou (plural) substitute
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedessustituyenthey substitute

How it’s built: Yo, tú, ella/él and ellas/ellos add a y (sustituyo, sustituyes, sustituye, sustituyen); nosotros and vosotros are regular.

Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.

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Sustituir in the Indicative Preterite

The Indicative Preterite of sustituir is used to talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time. For example, “sustituí”, meaning “I substituted”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
YosustituíI substituted
Túsustituisteyou substituted
Ella / Él / Ustedsustituyós/he substituted
Nosotras / Nosotrossustituimoswe substituted
Vosotras / Vosotrossustituisteisyou (plural) substituted
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedessustituyeronthey substituted

How it’s built: Ella/Él and ellas/ellos change i to y (sustituyó, sustituyeron); the other forms are regular.

Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.

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Sustituir in the Indicative Imperfect

The Indicative Imperfect of sustituir is used to describe regular and repeated actions that happened in the past and descriptions of things you used to do. For example, “sustituía”, meaning “I used to substitute”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
YosustituíaI used to substitute
Túsustituíasyou used to substitute
Ella / Él / Ustedsustituías/he used to substitute
Nosotras / Nosotrossustituíamoswe used to substitute
Vosotras / Vosotrossustituíaisyou (plural) used to substitute
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedessustituíanthey used to substitute

How it’s built: Regular: stem sustitu- plus the -ir endings.

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Sustituir in the Indicative Present Continuous

The Indicative Present Continuous of sustituir is used to talk about something that is happening continuously or right now. For example, “estoy sustituyendo”, meaning “I am substituting”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yoestoy sustituyendoI am substituting
Túestás sustituyendoyou are substituting
Ella / Él / Ustedestá sustituyendos/he is substituting
Nosotras / Nosotrosestamos sustituyendowe are substituting
Vosotras / Vosotrosestáis sustituyendoyou (plural) are substituting
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesestán sustituyendothey are substituting

How it’s built: Estar in the present (estoy, estás, está, estamos, estáis, están) plus the irregular gerund sustituyendo.

Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.

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Sustituir in the Indicative Informal Future

The Indicative Informal Future of sustituir is used to talk about something that will happen in the future, especially in the near future. For example, “voy a sustituir”, meaning “I am going to substitute”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yovoy a sustituirI am going to substitute
Túvas a sustituiryou are going to substitute
Ella / Él / Ustedva a sustituirs/he is going to substitute
Nosotras / Nosotrosvamos a sustituirwe are going to substitute
Vosotras / Vosotrosvais a sustituiryou (plural) are going to substitute
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesvan a sustituirthey are going to substitute

How it’s built: Ir in the present (voy, vas, va, vamos, vais, van), then a, then the infinitive sustituir.

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Sustituir in the Indicative Future

The Indicative Future of sustituir is used to talk about something that will happen in the future. For example, “sustituiré”, meaning “I will substitute”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
YosustituiréI will substitute
Túsustituirásyou will substitute
Ella / Él / Ustedsustituirás/he will substitute
Nosotras / Nosotrossustituiremoswe will substitute
Vosotras / Vosotrossustituiréisyou (plural) will substitute
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedessustituiránthey will substitute

How it’s built: Regular: the infinitive sustituir plus the future endings.

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Sustituir in the Indicative Conditional

The Indicative Conditional of sustituir is used to talk about something that may happen in the future, hypothesis and probabilities. For example, “sustituiría”, meaning “I would substitute”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
YosustituiríaI would substitute
Túsustituiríasyou would substitute
Ella / Él / Ustedsustituirías/he would substitute
Nosotras / Nosotrossustituiríamoswe would substitute
Vosotras / Vosotrossustituiríaisyou (plural) would substitute
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedessustituiríanthey would substitute

How it’s built: Regular: the infinitive sustituir plus the conditional endings.

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Sustituir in the Indicative Present Perfect

The Indicative Present Perfect of sustituir 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 sustituido”, meaning “I have substituted”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohe sustituidoI have substituted
Túhas sustituidoyou have substituted
Ella / Él / Ustedha sustituidos/he has substituted
Nosotras / Nosotroshemos sustituidowe have substituted
Vosotras / Vosotroshabéis sustituidoyou (plural) have substituted
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshan sustituidothey have substituted

How it’s built: Haber in the present (he, has, ha, hemos, habéis, han) plus the past participle sustituido.

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Sustituir in the Indicative Past Perfect

The Indicative Past Perfect of sustituir is used to talk about actions that happened before another action in the past. For example, “había sustituido”, meaning “I had substituted”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohabía sustituidoI had substituted
Túhabías sustituidoyou had substituted
Ella / Él / Ustedhabía sustituidos/he had substituted
Nosotras / Nosotroshabíamos sustituidowe had substituted
Vosotras / Vosotroshabíais sustituidoyou (plural) had substituted
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshabían sustituidothey had substituted

How it’s built: Haber in the imperfect (había, habías, había, habíamos, habíais, habían) plus the past participle sustituido.

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Sustituir in the Indicative Future Perfect

The Indicative Future Perfect of sustituir is used to talk about something that will have happened in the future after something else has already happened. For example, “habré sustituido”, meaning “I will have substituted”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohabré sustituidoI will have substituted
Túhabrás sustituidoyou will have substituted
Ella / Él / Ustedhabrá sustituidos/he will have substituted
Nosotras / Nosotroshabremos sustituidowe will have substituted
Vosotras / Vosotroshabréis sustituidoyou (plural) will have substituted
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshabrán sustituidothey will have substituted

How it’s built: Haber in the future (habré, habrás, habrá, habremos, habréis, habrán) plus the past participle sustituido.

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Sustituir in the Indicative Conditional Perfect

The Indicative Conditional Perfect of sustituir is used to talk about something that would have happened in the past but didn’t due to another action. For example, “habría sustituido”, meaning “I would have substituted”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohabría sustituidoI would have substituted
Túhabrías sustituidoyou would have substituted
Ella / Él / Ustedhabría sustituidos/he would have substituted
Nosotras / Nosotroshabríamos sustituidowe would have substituted
Vosotras / Vosotroshabríais sustituidoyou (plural) would have substituted
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshabrían sustituidothey would have substituted

How it’s built: Haber in the conditional (habría, habrías, habría, habríamos, habríais, habrían) plus the past participle sustituido.

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Subjunctive tenses of Sustituir

Sustituir 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, “sustituya”, meaning “I substitute”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
YosustituyaI substitute
Túsustituyasyou substitute
Ella / Él / Ustedsustituyas/he substitutes
Nosotras / Nosotrossustituyamoswe substitute
Vosotras / Vosotrossustituyáisyou (plural) substitute
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedessustituyanthey substitute

How it’s built: Every form follows the yo present, sustituyo (sustituya, sustituyas, sustituya, sustituyamos, sustituyáis, sustituyan).

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Sustituir 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, “sustituyera”, meaning “I substituted”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
YosustituyeraI substituted
Túsustituyerasyou substituted
Ella / Él / Ustedsustituyeras/he substituted
Nosotras / Nosotrossustituyéramoswe substituted
Vosotras / Vosotrossustituyeraisyou (plural) substituted
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedessustituyeranthey substituted

How it’s built: Built on the irregular ellas/ellos preterite, sustituyeron: drop -ron and add the -ra endings; nosotros adds an accent (sustituyéramos).

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Sustituir 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, “sustituyere”, meaning “I will substitute”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
YosustituyereI will substitute
Túsustituyeresyou will substitute
Ella / Él / Ustedsustituyeres/he will substitute
Nosotras / Nosotrossustituyéremoswe will substitute
Vosotras / Vosotrossustituyereisyou (plural) will substitute
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedessustituyerenthey will substitute

How it’s built: Built on the irregular ellas/ellos preterite, sustituyeron: drop -ron and add the -re endings; nosotros adds an accent (sustituyéremos).

Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.

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Sustituir 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 sustituido”, meaning “I have substituted”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohaya sustituidoI have substituted
Túhayas sustituidoyou have substituted
Ella / Él / Ustedhaya sustituidos/he has substituted
Nosotras / Nosotroshayamos sustituidowe have substituted
Vosotras / Vosotroshayáis sustituidoyou (plural) have substituted
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshayan sustituidothey have substituted

How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive present (haya, hayas, haya, hayamos, hayáis, hayan) plus the past participle sustituido.

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Sustituir 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 sustituido”, meaning “I had substituted”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohubiera sustituidoI had substituted
Túhubieras sustituidoyou had substituted
Ella / Él / Ustedhubiera sustituidos/he had substituted
Nosotras / Nosotroshubiéramos sustituidowe had substituted
Vosotras / Vosotroshubierais sustituidoyou (plural) had substituted
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshubieran sustituidothey had substituted

How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive imperfect (hubiera, hubieras, hubiera, hubiéramos, hubierais, hubieran) plus the past participle sustituido.

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Sustituir 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 sustituido”, meaning “I will have substituted”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohubiere sustituidoI will have substituted
Túhubieres sustituidoyou will have substituted
Ella / Él / Ustedhubiere sustituidos/he will have substituted
Nosotras / Nosotroshubiéremos sustituidowe will have substituted
Vosotras / Vosotroshubiereis sustituidoyou (plural) will have substituted
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshubieren sustituidothey will have substituted

How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive future (hubiere, hubieres, hubiere, hubiéremos, hubiereis, hubieren) plus the past participle sustituido.

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Imperative tenses of Sustituir

Sustituir in the Imperative Affirmative

The Imperative Affirmative is used to give orders and commands, to tell someone to do something. For example, “sustituya”, meaning “(to you formal) substitute!”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yo--
Túsustituye(to you) substitute!
Ella / Él / Ustedsustituya(to you formal) substitute!
Nosotras / Nosotrossustituyamoslet's substitute!
Vosotras / Vosotrossustituid(to you plural) substitute!
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedessustituyan(to you plural formal) substitute!

How it’s built: Tú takes the ella/él present (sustituye); usted, nosotros and ustedes take the subjunctive present (sustituya, sustituyamos, sustituyan); vosotros swaps the final r of the infinitive for a d (sustituid).

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Sustituir in the Imperative Negative

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

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yo--
Túno sustituyas(to you) don't substitute!
Ella / Él / Ustedno sustituya(to you formal) don't substitute!
Nosotras / Nosotrosno sustituyamoslet's not substitute!
Vosotras / Vosotrosno sustituyáis(to you plural) don't substitute!
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesno sustituyan(to you plural formal) don't substitute!

How it’s built: No plus the subjunctive present: no sustituyas, no sustituya, no sustituyamos, no sustituyáis, no sustituyan.

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Frequently asked questions about Sustituir

Is sustituir a regular or irregular verb?

Sustituir is an irregular Spanish verb. In the present tense: yo, tú, ella/él and ellas/ellos add a y (sustituyo, sustituyes, sustituye, sustituyen); nosotros and vosotros are regular. It is also irregular in the preterite (sustituyó), subjunctive and gerund (sustituyendo).

How do you conjugate sustituir in the present tense (presente)?

In the present tense (presente), sustituir is conjugated as: yo sustituyo, tú sustituyes, él/ella/usted sustituye, nosotros sustituimos, vosotros sustituís, ellos/ellas/ustedes sustituyen. 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 sustituir in the preterite (pretérito indefinido)?

In the preterite (pretérito indefinido), sustituir is conjugated as: yo sustituí, tú sustituiste, él/ella/usted sustituyó, nosotros sustituimos, vosotros sustituisteis, ellos/ellas/ustedes sustituyeron. The preterite is used To talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time.

How do you conjugate sustituir in the imperfect (pretérito imperfecto)?

In the imperfect (pretérito imperfecto), sustituir is conjugated as: yo sustituía, tú sustituías, él/ella/usted sustituía, nosotros sustituíamos, vosotros sustituíais, ellos/ellas/ustedes sustituían. 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 sustituir in the future tense (futuro simple)?

In the future tense (futuro simple), sustituir is conjugated as: yo sustituiré, tú sustituirás, él/ella/usted sustituirá, nosotros sustituiremos, vosotros sustituiréis, ellos/ellas/ustedes sustituirán. The future tense is used To talk about something that will happen in the future.

How do you conjugate sustituir in the present subjunctive (subjuntivo presente)?

In the present subjunctive (subjuntivo presente), sustituir is conjugated as: yo sustituya, tú sustituyas, él/ella/usted sustituya, nosotros sustituyamos, vosotros sustituyáis, ellos/ellas/ustedes sustituyan. 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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