Caer means to fall. Learn five tenses, then practise each person.
Present: caigo, caes, cae, caemos, caéis, caen.
Caer in the present tense
Use the present for current states, habits and actions. The subject can be omitted when the verb makes it clear.
Vosotros is informal plural you in Spain. Ustedes uses the ellos/ellas form and is the usual plural you in Latin America.
Caer in the preterite tense
Use the preterite for a completed event in the past, viewed as a whole.
Caer in the imperfect tense
Use the imperfect for past habits, ongoing situations and background descriptions, without marking their endpoint.
Caer in the future tense
Use the simple future for what will happen. Spanish also uses this tense for a guess about the present.
Caer in the conditional tense
Use the conditional for what would happen, a polite request or a hypothetical situation.
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All six persons. Blue, bold forms differ from regular endings, including spelling changes that preserve pronunciation.
| Person | Present | Preterite | Imperfect | Future | Conditional |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| yo | caigo | caí | caía | caeré | caería |
| tú | caes | caíste | caías | caerás | caerías |
| él / ella / usted | cae | cayó | caía | caerá | caería |
| nosotros / nosotras | caemos | caímos | caíamos | caeremos | caeríamos |
| vosotros / vosotras | caéis | caísteis | caíais | caeréis | caeríais |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | caen | cayeron | caían | caerán | caerían |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | caigo | I fall |
| tú | caes | you fall |
| él / ella / usted | cae | he/she falls |
| nosotros / nosotras | caemos | we fall |
| vosotros / vosotras | caéis | you all (vosotros) fall |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | caen | they fall |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | caí | I fell |
| tú | caíste | you fell |
| él / ella / usted | cayó | he/she fell |
| nosotros / nosotras | caímos | we fell |
| vosotros / vosotras | caísteis | you all (vosotros) fell |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | cayeron | they fell |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | caía | I used to fall |
| tú | caías | you used to fall |
| él / ella / usted | caía | he/she used to fall |
| nosotros / nosotras | caíamos | we used to fall |
| vosotros / vosotras | caíais | you all (vosotros) used to fall |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | caían | they used to fall |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | caeré | I will fall |
| tú | caerás | you will fall |
| él / ella / usted | caerá | he/she will fall |
| nosotros / nosotras | caeremos | we will fall |
| vosotros / vosotras | caeréis | you all (vosotros) will fall |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | caerán | they will fall |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | caería | I would fall |
| tú | caerías | you would fall |
| él / ella / usted | caería | he/she would fall |
| nosotros / nosotras | caeríamos | we would fall |
| vosotros / vosotras | caeríais | you all (vosotros) would fall |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | caerían | they would fall |
Caer differs from the regular endings in the present, preterite. Changed forms include present: caigo; preterite: caíste, cayó, caímos. Highlighted forms include spelling changes that preserve pronunciation as well as irregular stems and endings.
The present forms are caigo, caes, cae, caemos, caéis, caen, in the order yo, tú, él/ella/usted, nosotros, vosotros and ellos/ellas/ustedes.
caí, caíste, cayó, caímos, caísteis, cayeron. For example, caí means “I fell”.
Caer differs from the regular endings in the present, preterite. Changed forms include present: caigo; preterite: caíste, cayó, caímos. Highlighted forms include spelling changes that preserve pronunciation as well as irregular stems and endings.
The preterite (caí) presents a completed event; the imperfect (caía) gives a past habit or background situation. The English glosses are “I fell” and “I used to fall”, but context determines the best translation.
The yo forms are caeré (“I will fall”) and caería (“I would fall”). The full charts above include every person.
Caer means to fall.
Updated · English prompts, Spanish answers.