Comprar means to buy. Learn five tenses, then practise each person.
Present: compro, compras, compra, compramos, compráis, compran.
Comprar 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.
Comprar in the preterite tense
Use the preterite for a completed event in the past, viewed as a whole.
Comprar in the imperfect tense
Use the imperfect for past habits, ongoing situations and background descriptions, without marking their endpoint.
Comprar in the future tense
Use the simple future for what will happen. Spanish also uses this tense for a guess about the present.
Comprar 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 | compro | compré | compraba | compraré | compraría |
| tú | compras | compraste | comprabas | comprarás | comprarías |
| él / ella / usted | compra | compró | compraba | comprará | compraría |
| nosotros / nosotras | compramos | compramos | comprábamos | compraremos | compraríamos |
| vosotros / vosotras | compráis | comprasteis | comprabais | compraréis | compraríais |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | compran | compraron | compraban | comprarán | comprarían |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | compro | I buy |
| tú | compras | you buy |
| él / ella / usted | compra | he/she buys |
| nosotros / nosotras | compramos | we buy |
| vosotros / vosotras | compráis | you all (vosotros) buy |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | compran | they buy |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | compré | I bought |
| tú | compraste | you bought |
| él / ella / usted | compró | he/she bought |
| nosotros / nosotras | compramos | we bought |
| vosotros / vosotras | comprasteis | you all (vosotros) bought |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | compraron | they bought |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | compraba | I used to buy |
| tú | comprabas | you used to buy |
| él / ella / usted | compraba | he/she used to buy |
| nosotros / nosotras | comprábamos | we used to buy |
| vosotros / vosotras | comprabais | you all (vosotros) used to buy |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | compraban | they used to buy |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | compraré | I will buy |
| tú | comprarás | you will buy |
| él / ella / usted | comprará | he/she will buy |
| nosotros / nosotras | compraremos | we will buy |
| vosotros / vosotras | compraréis | you all (vosotros) will buy |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | comprarán | they will buy |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | compraría | I would buy |
| tú | comprarías | you would buy |
| él / ella / usted | compraría | he/she would buy |
| nosotros / nosotras | compraríamos | we would buy |
| vosotros / vosotras | compraríais | you all (vosotros) would buy |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | comprarían | they would buy |
Comprar follows the regular ar pattern in these five tenses.
The present forms are compro, compras, compra, compramos, compráis, compran, in the order yo, tú, él/ella/usted, nosotros, vosotros and ellos/ellas/ustedes.
compré, compraste, compró, compramos, comprasteis, compraron. For example, compré means “I bought”.
Comprar follows the regular ar pattern in these five tenses.
The preterite (compré) presents a completed event; the imperfect (compraba) gives a past habit or background situation. The English glosses are “I bought” and “I used to buy”, but context determines the best translation.
The yo forms are compraré (“I will buy”) and compraría (“I would buy”). The full charts above include every person.
Comprar means to buy.
Updated · English prompts, Spanish answers.