Introduction to Indicative Tenses in Spanish
Welcome to your complete revision guide for the Indicative Tenses in A Level Spanish (Pearson Edexcel 9SP0). Whether you are writing essays for Paper 2, translating unseen passages in Paper 1 and Paper 2, or expressing your ideas fluidly in the Paper 3 Speaking exam, mastering the indicative mood is essential. The indicative mood is used to talk about facts, real actions, objective statements, and definite events in the past, present, and future.
Don't worry if keeping track of all nine tenses seems daunting at first. We will break every tense down step by step with clear formation rules, stem changes, irregular forms, and practical examples to ensure you feel fully confident.
---Section 1: Simple Indicative Tenses
Simple tenses consist of a single conjugated verb without an auxiliary verb.
1. Present Indicative (Presente de Indicativo)
The present tense is used for current actions, habitual routines, general truths, near future events with time markers (such as mañana salgo), and ongoing actions using the structure hace + [time period] + que + present tense.
Regular Endings
Remove the infinitive ending (-ar, -er, or -ir) and add the following endings:
-ar verbs: -o, -as, -a, -amos, -áis, -an
-er verbs: -o, -es, -e, -emos, -éis, -en
-ir verbs: -o, -es, -e, -imos, -ís, -en
Core Irregular Categories
1. Radical / Stem-Changing Verbs: The stem changes in all forms except nosotros and vosotros (often called "boot verbs"):
• e \(\to\) ie: pensar (pienso, piensas, piensa, pensamos, pensáis, piensan)
• o \(\to\) ue: poder (puedo, puedes, puede, podemos, podéis, pueden)
• e \(\to\) i: pedir (pido, pides, pide, pedimos, pedís, piden)
• u \(\to\) ue: jugar (juego, juegas, juega, jugamos, jugáis, juegan)
2. Irregular First-Person (yo) Forms:
• hacer \(\to\) hago
• poner \(\to\) pongo
• salir \(\to\) salgo
• traer \(\to\) traigo
• conocer \(\to\) conozco
• saber \(\to\) sé
• dar \(\to\) doy
• ver \(\to\) veo
3. Fully Irregular Verbs:
• ser: soy, eres, es, somos, sois, son
• ir: voy, vas, va, vamos, vais, van
• haber: he, has, ha/hay, hemos, habéis, han
• estar: estoy, estás, está, estamos, estáis, están
2. Preterite Indicative (Pretérito Indefinido / Perfecto Simple)
The preterite is used for completed actions in a closed time period in the past (e.g. ayer, el año pasado, en 1975) or a sequence of consecutive past events.
Regular Endings
-ar verbs: -é, -aste, -ó, -amos, -asteis, -aron
-er / -ir verbs: -í, -iste, -ió, -imos, -isteis, -ieron
Key Irregulars
Irregular stems use special endings (-e, -iste, -o, -imos, -isteis, -ieron / -eron) and never take written accents on the 1st and 3rd person singular.
• U-stems: tener \(\to\) tuv-, estar \(\to\) estuv-, andar \(\to\) anduv-, poder \(\to\) pud-, poner \(\to\) pus-, saber \(\to\) sup-, haber \(\to\) hub-.
• I-stems: hacer \(\to\) hic- (note 3rd person singular: hizo), querer \(\to\) quis-, venir \(\to\) vin-.
• J-stems: decir \(\to\) dij-, traer \(\to\) traj-, conducir \(\to\) conduj-. Note: 3rd person plural ends in -eron, not -ieron (e.g., dijeron, trajeron).
• Twin Verbs (ser & ir): fui, fuiste, fue, fuimos, fuisteis, fueron.
• Y-stem Orthographic Shifts (3rd person singular & plural): leer \(\to\) leyó, leyeron; oír \(\to\) oyó, oyeron; creer \(\to\) creyó, creyeron.
• Third-person Stem Changes in -ir Verbs: pedir \(\to\) pidió, pidieron; dormir \(\to\) durmió, durmieron; morir \(\to\) murió, murieron.
3. Imperfect Indicative (Pretérito Imperfecto)
The imperfect sets the scene. It is used for continuous, habitual, or repeated past actions ("used to" or "would do"), descriptions (age, weather, physical or emotional states), interrupted background actions, and telling time in the past (e.g. eran las cinco).
Regular Endings
-ar verbs: -aba, -abas, -aba, -ábamos, -abais, -aban (Accent mark on the nosotros form!)
-er / -ir verbs: -ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían (Accent mark on the í in every single form!)
The Only Three Irregular Verbs
• ser: era, eras, era, éramos, erais, eran
• ir: iba, ibas, iba, íbamos, ibais, iban
• ver: veía, veías, veía, veíamos, veíais, veían
4. Future Indicative (Futuro Simple)
The future simple refers to events that will happen, or expresses probability/conjecture in the present (e.g., ¿Dónde estará Juan? = "Where can Juan be? / I wonder where Juan is").
Regular Formation
Add the endings directly to the infinitive for all -ar, -er, and -ir verbs:
-é, -ás, -á, -emos, -éis, -án
Irregular Stems
• Drop the -e-: caber \(\to\) cabr-, haber \(\to\) habr-, poder \(\to\) podr-, querer \(\to\) querr-, saber \(\to\) sabr-.
• Replace vowel with -d-: poner \(\to\) pondr-, salir \(\to\) saldr-, tener \(\to\) tendr-, valer \(\to\) valdr-, venir \(\to\) vendr-.
• Shortened stems: decir \(\to\) dir-, hacer \(\to\) har-.
5. Conditional Indicative (Condicional Simple)
The conditional expresses hypothetical actions ("would"), polite requests (e.g. ¿Podría ayudarme?), future-in-the-past reported speech (e.g. dijo que vendría), and probability/conjecture about the past (e.g. Serían las ocho = "It must have been about eight o'clock").
Regular Formation
Add the following endings directly to the infinitive for all verbs:
-ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían
Irregular Stems
The conditional uses the exact same irregular stems as the Future Simple (e.g. tendría, haría, diría, podría, sabría).
Key Takeaway: Simple Tenses
• Preterite = Completed, pinpointed past event.
• Imperfect = Ongoing background, description, or habit.
• Future and Conditional share identical irregular stems and attach endings directly to the stem/infinitive.
Section 2: Compound Indicative Tenses (Tiempos Compuestos)
All compound tenses in Spanish follow a strict formula:
[Conjugated form of auxiliary verb HABER] + [Past Participle]
Forming Past Participles
• -ar verbs: replace ending with -ado (e.g. hablar \(\to\) hablado)
• -er / -ir verbs: replace ending with -ido (e.g. comer \(\to\) comido, vivir \(\to\) vivido)
Core Irregular Past Participles
• abrir \(\to\) abierto
• cubrir \(\to\) cubierto
• decir \(\to\) dicho
• escribir \(\to\) escrito
• hacer \(\to\) hecho
• morir \(\to\) muerto
• poner \(\to\) puesto
• resolver \(\to\) resuelto
• romper \(\to\) roto
• ver \(\to\) visto
• volver \(\to\) vuelto
1. Perfect Indicative (Pretérito Perfecto Compuesto)
Formula: Present of haber + Past Participle
Forms: he, has, ha, hemos, habéis, han + participio
Usage: Actions completed within an unfinished timeframe (e.g., hoy, esta semana, este año, últimamente) or past events with immediate relevance to the present.
Example: Este año hemos estudiado mucho. (This year we have studied a lot.)
2. Pluperfect Indicative (Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto)
Formula: Imperfect of haber + Past Participle
Forms: había, habías, había, habíamos, habíais, habían + participio
Usage: An action that took place prior to another past event or point in time ("had done").
Example: Cuando llegué, el tren ya había salido. (When I arrived, the train had already left.)
3. Future Perfect Indicative (Futuro Perfecto)
Formula: Future of haber + Past Participle
Forms: habré, habrás, habrá, habremos, habréis, habrán + participio
Usage: An action that will have been completed by a specific point in the future (e.g. Para 2030, habremos alcanzado...), or conjecture/probability about an action completed in the past (e.g. Habrá salido ya = "He has probably left already").
Example: Para mañana, habré terminado el informe. (By tomorrow, I will have finished the report.)
4. Conditional Perfect Indicative (Condicional Perfecto)
Formula: Conditional of haber + Past Participle
Forms: habría, habrías, habría, habríamos, habríais, habrían + participio
Usage: A hypothetical past action that did not occur (e.g., in counterfactual 'si' clauses paired with the pluperfect subjunctive: Si hubiera sabido, habría ido), or polite conjecture about past-prior actions.
Example: Yo habría ayudado, pero no tuve tiempo. (I would have helped, but I didn't have time.)
Key Takeaway: Compound Tenses
The past participle never changes its ending when used after haber, and the auxiliary verb haber determines the tense.
---Section 3: Summary Table of Indicative Tenses
Here is a quick-glance comparison using the verb hablar (to speak) for all nine tenses in the first person singular (yo):
• Present: hablo ("I speak / I am speaking")
• Preterite: hablé ("I spoke")
• Imperfect: hablaba ("I was speaking / I used to speak")
• Future: hablaré ("I will speak")
• Conditional: hablaría ("I would speak")
• Perfect: he hablado ("I have spoken")
• Pluperfect: había hablado ("I had spoken")
• Future Perfect: habré hablado ("I will have spoken")
• Conditional Perfect: habría hablado ("I would have spoken")
Section 4: Common Pitfalls & Examiner Tips
Review this checklist to avoid the most frequent errors identified in Pearson Edexcel examiners' reports:
1. Separating the Compound Tense:
In Spanish, never put pronouns, adverbs, or the word no between haber and the past participle.
Incorrect: He no visto / He siempre dicho
Correct: No he visto / Siempre he dicho
2. Making the Participle Agree:
When forming compound tenses with haber, the participle is invariable. It must always end in -o.
Incorrect: Ellas han llegadas
Correct: Ellas han llegado
3. Wrong Auxiliary Verb:
Always use haber to form compound tenses, never tener or estar.
Incorrect: Tengo terminado el trabajo (for "I have finished")
Correct: He terminado el trabajo
4. Accenting Irregular Preterites:
Irregular preterite stems (such as tuv-, pus-, dij-, sup-) do not carry accent marks in the 1st and 3rd person singular.
Incorrect: tuvó, dijó, pusé
Correct: tuvo, dijo, puse
5. Dropping Stems in the Future and Conditional:
Remember to apply root changes for irregulars rather than attaching endings to the standard infinitive.
Incorrect: haceré, tenería
Correct: haré, tendría
6. Missing Accent Marks on Imperfect and Conditional:
Remember that all -er / -ir verbs in the imperfect (-ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían) and all verbs in the conditional require a written accent on the í across every form, and -ar imperfect verbs require an accent on the nosotros form (-ábamos).