Elegir means to choose. Learn five tenses, then practise each person.
Present: elijo, eliges, elige, elegimos, elegís, eligen.
Elegir 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.
Elegir in the preterite tense
Use the preterite for a completed event in the past, viewed as a whole.
Elegir in the imperfect tense
Use the imperfect for past habits, ongoing situations and background descriptions, without marking their endpoint.
Elegir in the future tense
Use the simple future for what will happen. Spanish also uses this tense for a guess about the present.
Elegir in the conditional tense
Use the conditional for what would happen, a polite request or a hypothetical situation.
Learning Learnt Mastered Struggling
Pick a word to hear it and see when it's due next.
All six persons. Blue, bold forms differ from regular endings, including spelling changes that preserve pronunciation.
| Person | Present | Preterite | Imperfect | Future | Conditional |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| yo | elijo | elegí | elegía | elegiré | elegiría |
| tú | eliges | elegiste | elegías | elegirás | elegirías |
| él / ella / usted | elige | eligió | elegía | elegirá | elegiría |
| nosotros / nosotras | elegimos | elegimos | elegíamos | elegiremos | elegiríamos |
| vosotros / vosotras | elegís | elegisteis | elegíais | elegiréis | elegiríais |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | eligen | eligieron | elegían | elegirán | elegirían |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | elijo | I choose |
| tú | eliges | you choose |
| él / ella / usted | elige | he/she chooses |
| nosotros / nosotras | elegimos | we choose |
| vosotros / vosotras | elegís | you all (vosotros) choose |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | eligen | they choose |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | elegí | I chose |
| tú | elegiste | you chose |
| él / ella / usted | eligió | he/she chose |
| nosotros / nosotras | elegimos | we chose |
| vosotros / vosotras | elegisteis | you all (vosotros) chose |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | eligieron | they chose |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | elegía | I used to choose |
| tú | elegías | you used to choose |
| él / ella / usted | elegía | he/she used to choose |
| nosotros / nosotras | elegíamos | we used to choose |
| vosotros / vosotras | elegíais | you all (vosotros) used to choose |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | elegían | they used to choose |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | elegiré | I will choose |
| tú | elegirás | you will choose |
| él / ella / usted | elegirá | he/she will choose |
| nosotros / nosotras | elegiremos | we will choose |
| vosotros / vosotras | elegiréis | you all (vosotros) will choose |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | elegirán | they will choose |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | elegiría | I would choose |
| tú | elegirías | you would choose |
| él / ella / usted | elegiría | he/she would choose |
| nosotros / nosotras | elegiríamos | we would choose |
| vosotros / vosotras | elegiríais | you all (vosotros) would choose |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | elegirían | they would choose |
Elegir differs from the regular endings in the present, preterite. Changed forms include present: elijo, eliges, elige; preterite: eligió, eligieron. Highlighted forms include spelling changes that preserve pronunciation as well as irregular stems and endings.
The present forms are elijo, eliges, elige, elegimos, elegís, eligen, in the order yo, tú, él/ella/usted, nosotros, vosotros and ellos/ellas/ustedes.
elegí, elegiste, eligió, elegimos, elegisteis, eligieron. For example, elegí means “I chose”.
Elegir differs from the regular endings in the present, preterite. Changed forms include present: elijo, eliges, elige; preterite: eligió, eligieron. Highlighted forms include spelling changes that preserve pronunciation as well as irregular stems and endings.
The preterite (elegí) presents a completed event; the imperfect (elegía) gives a past habit or background situation. The English glosses are “I chose” and “I used to choose”, but context determines the best translation.
The yo forms are elegiré (“I will choose”) and elegiría (“I would choose”). The full charts above include every person.
Elegir means to choose.
Updated · English prompts, Spanish answers.