Conjugation of the Spanish Verb Hablar

Hablar, meaning to speak, is often one of the first verbs that Spanish students learn to conjugate, and for good reason: It is a regular verb ending in -ar, meaning that most other verbs ending in -ar, the most common verb type, are conjugated the same way. Conjugation is simply the process of changing a verb to reflect  its application, such as to indicate its tense or mood. We conjugate verbs in English, such as by using forms such as speak, spoke, speaks and spoken. But in Spanish its much more complicated, since most verbs have at least 50 conjugated simple forms, compared with a handful in English. Below are the most important conjugated forms of hablar: Present Indicative of Hablar The present form of the verb hablar means that the verb is expressing an action that is happening now or is current. Indicative means the verb is a statement of fact. In Spanish, this is called the presente del indicativo. An example is, He speaks Spanish, or  Ãƒâ€°l habla espaà ±ol. In English, the present indicative form of hablar is speak, speaks or am/is/are speaking. Person/Number Verb Change Yo (I) Hablo T (you) Hablas Usted, l, ella (he, she, it) Habla Nosotros (we) Hablamos Vosotros (you) Hablis Ustedes, ellos, ellas (they) Hablan Preterite Indicative of Hablar The preterite indicative form is used for past actions that are completed. In Spanish, this is called the  pretà ©rito. For example, No one spoke, is translated to  Nadie hablà ³.  In English, the preterite indicative form of hablar is spoke. Person/Number Verb Change Yo (I) Habl T (you) Hablaste Usted, l, ella (he, she, it) Habl Nosotros (we) Hablamos Vosotros (you) Hablasteis Ustedes, ellos, ellas (they) Hablaron Imperfect Indicative of Hablar The imperfect indicative form, or imperfecto del indicativo,  is used to talk about a past action or state of being without specifying when it began or ended. It is often equivalent to was speaking in English. As an example, I was speaking slowly is translated to  Yo hablaba lentamente. In English, the imperfect indicative form of hablar is was speaking. Person/Number Verb Change Yo (I) Hablaba T (you) Hablabas Usted, l, ella (he, she, it) Hablaba Nosotros (we) Hablbamos Vosotros (you) Hablais Ustedes, ellos, ellas (they) Hablaban Future Indicative of Hablar The future indicative form, or futuro del indicativo in Spanish, is used to tell what will or shall happen.   It means will speak in English. For example,  Hablarà © contigo maà ±ana,  means I will speak with you tomorrow. Person/Number Verb Change Yo (I) Hablar T (you) Hablars Usted, l, ella (he, she, it) Hablar Nosotros (we) Hablaremos Vosotros (you) Hablaris Ustedes, ellos, ellas (they) Hablarn Conditional Indicative of Hablar The conditional  form, or el condicional,  is used to express probability, possibility, wonder or conjecture, and is usually translated into English as would, could, must have or probably. For example, Would you speak English in Spain, would translate to  Ã¢â‚¬â€¹Ã‚ ¿Hablarà ­as  inglà ©s en Espaà ±a? Person/Number Verb Change Yo (I) Hablara T (you) Hablaras Usted, l, ella (he, she, it) Hablara Nosotros (we) Hablaramos Vosotros (you) Hablarais Ustedes, ellos, ellas (they) Hablaran Present Subjunctive Form of Hablar The present subjunctive, or presente subjuntivo,  functions much like the  present indicative  timewise, except it deals with mood and is used in situations of doubt, desire, or emotion and is generally  subjective. For example, I want you to speak Spanish, would be said, Yo quiero  que usted hable  espaà ±ol. Person/Number Verb Change Que Yo (I) Hable Que T (you) Hables Que Usted, l, ella (he, she, it) Hable Que Nosotros (we) Hablemos Que Vosotros (you) Hablis Que Ustedes, ellos, ellas (they) Hablen Imperfect Subjunctive of Hablar The imperfect subjunctive, or  imperfecto del subjuntivo, is used as a clause describing something in the past and is used in situations of doubt, desire, emotion and is generally  subjective. You also use que with the pronoun and verb. For example, Did you want me to talk about the book? which translates to,  Ã‚ ¿Querà ­a usted que yo  hablara  del libro?   Person/Number Verb Change Que Yo (I) Hablara Que T (you) Hablaras Que Usted, l, ella (he, she, it) Hablara Que Nosotros (we) Hablramos Que Vosotros (you) Hablarais Que Ustedes, ellos, ellas (they) Hablaran Imperative Form of Hablar The imperative, or imperativo in Spanish, is used to give commands or orders. Since a person orders others, the first person is not used. For example, (You) Speak more slowly, translates to  Habla mà ¡s lentamente. Person/Number Verb Change Yo (I) -- T (you) Habla Usted, l, ella (he, she, it) Hable Nosotros (we) Hablemos Vosotros (you) Hablad Ustedes, ellos, ellas (they) Hablen Gerund of Hablar The gerund, or gerundio in Spanish,  refers to the  -ing  form of the verb, but in Spanish the gerund behaves more like an adverb. To form the gerund, like in English, all words take on the same ending, in this case, the ing becomes  -ando. The -ar verb,  hablar, becomes hablando.  The active verb in the sentence is the verb that conjugates or changes. The gerund stays the same no matter how the subject and verb changes. For example, She is talking, translates to, Ella esta hablando. Or, if talking in the past tense, She was the person who was talking, would translate to, Ella era la persona que estaba hablando. Past Participle of Hablar The past participle corresponds to the English  -en  or  -ed  form of the verb. It is created by dropping the -ar and adding -ado. The verb, hablar, become hablado. For example, I have spoken, translates to  Ha hablado.