Ella VerbsHow to conjugate Tardar in Spanish
tardar to take (time), to take a long time, to be late Regular AR Verb
At a glance: Tardar (to take (time), to take a long time, to be late) is a regular -AR verb in Spanish. In the present tense: tardo, tardas, tarda, tardamos, tardáis, tardan. Because it is fully regular, its endings apply directly to hundreds of other -AR verbs.
- Past participle
- tardado taken
- Gerund
- tardando taking
Table of contents
- Indicative tenses of Tardar
- Tardar in the Indicative Present
- Tardar in the Indicative Preterite
- Tardar in the Indicative Imperfect
- Tardar in the Indicative Present Continuous
- Tardar in the Indicative Informal Future
- Tardar in the Indicative Future
- Tardar in the Indicative Conditional
- Tardar in the Indicative Present Perfect
- Tardar in the Indicative Past Perfect
- Tardar in the Indicative Future Perfect
- Tardar in the Indicative Conditional Perfect
- Subjunctive tenses of Tardar
- Imperative tenses of Tardar
- Verbs that follow the same patterns
- Frequently asked questions
- Downloadable cheat sheet (PDF)
- Practise Tardar conjugations (free mobile app)
Tardar conjugation tables as a PDF
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Indicative tenses of Tardar
Tardar in the Indicative Present
The Indicative Present of tardar 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, “tardo”, meaning “I take”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Present is known as "El Presente".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | tardo | I take |
| Tú | tardas | you take |
| Ella / Él / Usted | tarda | s/he takes |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | tardamos | we take |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | tardáis | you (plural) take |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | tardan | they take |
How it’s built: Regular: stem tard- plus the -ar endings.
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Tardar in the Indicative Preterite
The Indicative Preterite of tardar is used to talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time. For example, “tardé”, meaning “I took”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Preterite is known as "El Pretérito Indefinido".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | tardé | I took |
| Tú | tardaste | you took |
| Ella / Él / Usted | tardó | s/he took |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | tardamos | we took |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | tardasteis | you (plural) took |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | tardaron | they took |
How it’s built: Regular: stem tard- plus the -ar endings.
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Tardar in the Indicative Imperfect
The Indicative Imperfect of tardar is used to describe regular and repeated actions that happened in the past and descriptions of things you used to do. For example, “tardaba”, meaning “I used to take”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Imperfect is known as "El Pretérito Imperfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | tardaba | I used to take |
| Tú | tardabas | you used to take |
| Ella / Él / Usted | tardaba | s/he used to take |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | tardábamos | we used to take |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | tardabais | you (plural) used to take |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | tardaban | they used to take |
How it’s built: Regular: stem tard- plus the -ar endings.
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Tardar in the Indicative Present Continuous
The Indicative Present Continuous of tardar is used to talk about something that is happening continuously or right now. For example, “estoy tardando”, meaning “I am taking”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Present Continuous is known as "El Presente Progresivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | estoy tardando | I am taking |
| Tú | estás tardando | you are taking |
| Ella / Él / Usted | está tardando | s/he is taking |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | estamos tardando | we are taking |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | estáis tardando | you (plural) are taking |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | están tardando | they are taking |
How it’s built: Estar in the present (estoy, estás, está, estamos, estáis, están) plus the gerund tardando.
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Tardar in the Indicative Informal Future
The Indicative Informal Future of tardar is used to talk about something that will happen in the future, especially in the near future. For example, “voy a tardar”, meaning “I am going to take”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Informal Future is known as "El Futuro Próximo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | voy a tardar | I am going to take |
| Tú | vas a tardar | you are going to take |
| Ella / Él / Usted | va a tardar | s/he is going to take |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | vamos a tardar | we are going to take |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | vais a tardar | you (plural) are going to take |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | van a tardar | they are going to take |
How it’s built: Ir in the present (voy, vas, va, vamos, vais, van), then a, then the infinitive tardar.
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Tardar in the Indicative Future
The Indicative Future of tardar is used to talk about something that will happen in the future. For example, “tardaré”, meaning “I will take”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Future is known as "El Futuro Simple".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | tardaré | I will take |
| Tú | tardarás | you will take |
| Ella / Él / Usted | tardará | s/he will take |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | tardaremos | we will take |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | tardaréis | you (plural) will take |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | tardarán | they will take |
How it’s built: Regular: the infinitive tardar plus the future endings.
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Tardar in the Indicative Conditional
The Indicative Conditional of tardar is used to talk about something that may happen in the future, hypothesis and probabilities. For example, “tardaría”, meaning “I would take”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional is known as "El Condicional Simple".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | tardaría | I would take |
| Tú | tardarías | you would take |
| Ella / Él / Usted | tardaría | s/he would take |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | tardaríamos | we would take |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | tardaríais | you (plural) would take |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | tardarían | they would take |
How it’s built: Regular: the infinitive tardar plus the conditional endings.
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Tardar in the Indicative Present Perfect
The Indicative Present Perfect of tardar 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 tardado”, meaning “I have taken”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | he tardado | I have taken |
| Tú | has tardado | you have taken |
| Ella / Él / Usted | ha tardado | s/he has taken |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hemos tardado | we have taken |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habéis tardado | you (plural) have taken |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | han tardado | they have taken |
How it’s built: Haber in the present (he, has, ha, hemos, habéis, han) plus the past participle tardado.
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Tardar in the Indicative Past Perfect
The Indicative Past Perfect of tardar is used to talk about actions that happened before another action in the past. For example, “había tardado”, meaning “I had taken”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | había tardado | I had taken |
| Tú | habías tardado | you had taken |
| Ella / Él / Usted | había tardado | s/he had taken |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habíamos tardado | we had taken |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habíais tardado | you (plural) had taken |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habían tardado | they had taken |
How it’s built: Haber in the imperfect (había, habías, había, habíamos, habíais, habían) plus the past participle tardado.
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Tardar in the Indicative Future Perfect
The Indicative Future Perfect of tardar is used to talk about something that will have happened in the future after something else has already happened. For example, “habré tardado”, meaning “I will have taken”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | habré tardado | I will have taken |
| Tú | habrás tardado | you will have taken |
| Ella / Él / Usted | habrá tardado | s/he will have taken |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habremos tardado | we will have taken |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habréis tardado | you (plural) will have taken |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habrán tardado | they will have taken |
How it’s built: Haber in the future (habré, habrás, habrá, habremos, habréis, habrán) plus the past participle tardado.
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Tardar in the Indicative Conditional Perfect
The Indicative Conditional Perfect of tardar is used to talk about something that would have happened in the past but didn’t due to another action. For example, “habría tardado”, meaning “I would have taken”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional Perfect is known as "El Condicional Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | habría tardado | I would have taken |
| Tú | habrías tardado | you would have taken |
| Ella / Él / Usted | habría tardado | s/he would have taken |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habríamos tardado | we would have taken |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habríais tardado | you (plural) would have taken |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habrían tardado | they would have taken |
How it’s built: Haber in the conditional (habría, habrías, habría, habríamos, habríais, habrían) plus the past participle tardado.
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Subjunctive tenses of Tardar
Tardar 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, “tarde”, meaning “I take”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present is known as "El Presente de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | tarde | I take |
| Tú | tardes | you take |
| Ella / Él / Usted | tarde | s/he takes |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | tardemos | we take |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | tardéis | you (plural) take |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | tarden | they take |
How it’s built: Regular: stem tard- plus the -ar subjunctive endings.
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Tardar 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, “tardara”, meaning “I took”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Imperfect is known as "El Imperfecto Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | tardara | I took |
| Tú | tardaras | you took |
| Ella / Él / Usted | tardara | s/he took |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | tardáramos | we took |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | tardarais | you (plural) took |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | tardaran | they took |
How it’s built: Regular: the ellas/ellos preterite, tardaron, without -ron, plus the -ra endings; nosotros adds an accent (tardáramos).
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Tardar 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, “tardare”, meaning “I will take”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future is known as "El Futuro de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | tardare | I will take |
| Tú | tardares | you will take |
| Ella / Él / Usted | tardare | s/he will take |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | tardáremos | we will take |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | tardareis | you (plural) will take |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | tardaren | they will take |
How it’s built: Regular: the ellas/ellos preterite, tardaron, without -ron, plus the -re endings; nosotros adds an accent (tardáremos).
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Tardar 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 tardado”, meaning “I have taken”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | haya tardado | I have taken |
| Tú | hayas tardado | you have taken |
| Ella / Él / Usted | haya tardado | s/he has taken |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hayamos tardado | we have taken |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hayáis tardado | you (plural) have taken |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hayan tardado | they have taken |
How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive present (haya, hayas, haya, hayamos, hayáis, hayan) plus the past participle tardado.
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Tardar 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 tardado”, meaning “I had taken”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | hubiera tardado | I had taken |
| Tú | hubieras tardado | you had taken |
| Ella / Él / Usted | hubiera tardado | s/he had taken |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hubiéramos tardado | we had taken |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hubierais tardado | you (plural) had taken |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hubieran tardado | they had taken |
How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive imperfect (hubiera, hubieras, hubiera, hubiéramos, hubierais, hubieran) plus the past participle tardado.
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Tardar 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 tardado”, meaning “I will have taken”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | hubiere tardado | I will have taken |
| Tú | hubieres tardado | you will have taken |
| Ella / Él / Usted | hubiere tardado | s/he will have taken |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hubiéremos tardado | we will have taken |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hubiereis tardado | you (plural) will have taken |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hubieren tardado | they will have taken |
How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive future (hubiere, hubieres, hubiere, hubiéremos, hubiereis, hubieren) plus the past participle tardado.
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Imperative tenses of Tardar
Tardar in the Imperative Affirmative
The Imperative Affirmative is used to give orders and commands, to tell someone to do something. For example, “tarde”, meaning “(to you formal) take!”.
In Spanish, the Imperative Affirmative is known as "El Imperativo Afirmativo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | - | - |
| Tú | tarda | (to you) take! |
| Ella / Él / Usted | tarde | (to you formal) take! |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | tardemos | let's take! |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | tardad | (to you plural) take! |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | tarden | (to you plural formal) take! |
How it’s built: Tú takes the ella/él present (tarda); usted, nosotros and ustedes take the subjunctive present (tarde, tardemos, tarden); vosotros swaps the final r of the infinitive for a d (tardad).
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Tardar in the Imperative Negative
The Imperative Negative is used to give orders and commands, telling someone not to do something. For example, “no tarde”, meaning “(to you formal) don't take!”.
In Spanish, the Imperative Negative is known as "El Imperativo Negativo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | - | - |
| Tú | no tardes | (to you) don't take! |
| Ella / Él / Usted | no tarde | (to you formal) don't take! |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | no tardemos | let's not take! |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | no tardéis | (to you plural) don't take! |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | no tarden | (to you plural formal) don't take! |
How it’s built: No plus the subjunctive present: no tardes, no tarde, no tardemos, no tardéis, no tarden.
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Frequently asked questions about Tardar
Is tardar a regular or irregular verb?
Tardar is a fully regular -AR verb. It follows the standard -AR 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 -AR conjugation system.
How do you conjugate tardar in the present tense (presente)?
In the present tense (presente), tardar is conjugated as: yo tardo, tú tardas, él/ella/usted tarda, nosotros tardamos, vosotros tardáis, ellos/ellas/ustedes tardan. 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 tardar in the preterite (pretérito indefinido)?
In the preterite (pretérito indefinido), tardar is conjugated as: yo tardé, tú tardaste, él/ella/usted tardó, nosotros tardamos, vosotros tardasteis, ellos/ellas/ustedes tardaron. The preterite is used To talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time.
How do you conjugate tardar in the imperfect (pretérito imperfecto)?
In the imperfect (pretérito imperfecto), tardar is conjugated as: yo tardaba, tú tardabas, él/ella/usted tardaba, nosotros tardábamos, vosotros tardabais, ellos/ellas/ustedes tardaban. 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 tardar in the future tense (futuro simple)?
In the future tense (futuro simple), tardar is conjugated as: yo tardaré, tú tardarás, él/ella/usted tardará, nosotros tardaremos, vosotros tardaréis, ellos/ellas/ustedes tardarán. The future tense is used To talk about something that will happen in the future.
How do you conjugate tardar in the present subjunctive (subjuntivo presente)?
In the present subjunctive (subjuntivo presente), tardar is conjugated as: yo tarde, tú tardes, él/ella/usted tarde, nosotros tardemos, vosotros tardéis, ellos/ellas/ustedes tarden. 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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Downloadable cheat sheets
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Want to explore other verb conjugations?
Why not check out Temblar – to tremble or see the complete list of verbs here.
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