Creer means to believe, to think. Learn five tenses, then practise each person.
Present: creo, crees, cree, creemos, creéis, creen.
Creer 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.
Creo que sí means I think so.
Creer in the preterite tense
Use the preterite for a completed event in the past, viewed as a whole.
Creer in the imperfect tense
Use the imperfect for past habits, ongoing situations and background descriptions, without marking their endpoint.
Creer in the future tense
Use the simple future for what will happen. Spanish also uses this tense for a guess about the present.
Creer 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 | creo | creí | creía | creeré | creería |
| tú | crees | creíste | creías | creerás | creerías |
| él / ella / usted | cree | creyó | creía | creerá | creería |
| nosotros / nosotras | creemos | creímos | creíamos | creeremos | creeríamos |
| vosotros / vosotras | creéis | creísteis | creíais | creeréis | creeríais |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | creen | creyeron | creían | creerán | creerían |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | creo | I believe |
| tú | crees | you believe |
| él / ella / usted | cree | he/she believes |
| nosotros / nosotras | creemos | we believe |
| vosotros / vosotras | creéis | you all (vosotros) believe |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | creen | they believe |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | creí | I believed |
| tú | creíste | you believed |
| él / ella / usted | creyó | he/she believed |
| nosotros / nosotras | creímos | we believed |
| vosotros / vosotras | creísteis | you all (vosotros) believed |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | creyeron | they believed |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | creía | I used to believe |
| tú | creías | you used to believe |
| él / ella / usted | creía | he/she used to believe |
| nosotros / nosotras | creíamos | we used to believe |
| vosotros / vosotras | creíais | you all (vosotros) used to believe |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | creían | they used to believe |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | creeré | I will believe |
| tú | creerás | you will believe |
| él / ella / usted | creerá | he/she will believe |
| nosotros / nosotras | creeremos | we will believe |
| vosotros / vosotras | creeréis | you all (vosotros) will believe |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | creerán | they will believe |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | creería | I would believe |
| tú | creerías | you would believe |
| él / ella / usted | creería | he/she would believe |
| nosotros / nosotras | creeríamos | we would believe |
| vosotros / vosotras | creeríais | you all (vosotros) would believe |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | creerían | they would believe |
Creer differs from the regular endings in the preterite. Changed forms include preterite: creíste, creyó, creímos. Highlighted forms include spelling changes that preserve pronunciation as well as irregular stems and endings.
The present forms are creo, crees, cree, creemos, creéis, creen, in the order yo, tú, él/ella/usted, nosotros, vosotros and ellos/ellas/ustedes.
creí, creíste, creyó, creímos, creísteis, creyeron. For example, creí means “I believed”.
Creer differs from the regular endings in the preterite. Changed forms include preterite: creíste, creyó, creímos. Highlighted forms include spelling changes that preserve pronunciation as well as irregular stems and endings.
The preterite (creí) presents a completed event; the imperfect (creía) gives a past habit or background situation. The English glosses are “I believed” and “I used to believe”, but context determines the best translation.
The yo forms are creeré (“I will believe”) and creería (“I would believe”). The full charts above include every person.
Creer means to believe, to think. Creo que sí means I think so.
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