Encontrar means to find. Learn five tenses, then practise each person.
Present: encuentro, encuentras, encuentra, encontramos, encontráis, encuentran.
Encontrar 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.
Encontrar in the preterite tense
Use the preterite for a completed event in the past, viewed as a whole.
Encontrar in the imperfect tense
Use the imperfect for past habits, ongoing situations and background descriptions, without marking their endpoint.
Encontrar in the future tense
Use the simple future for what will happen. Spanish also uses this tense for a guess about the present.
Encontrar 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 | encuentro | encontré | encontraba | encontraré | encontraría |
| tú | encuentras | encontraste | encontrabas | encontrarás | encontrarías |
| él / ella / usted | encuentra | encontró | encontraba | encontrará | encontraría |
| nosotros / nosotras | encontramos | encontramos | encontrábamos | encontraremos | encontraríamos |
| vosotros / vosotras | encontráis | encontrasteis | encontrabais | encontraréis | encontraríais |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | encuentran | encontraron | encontraban | encontrarán | encontrarían |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | encuentro | I find |
| tú | encuentras | you find |
| él / ella / usted | encuentra | he/she finds |
| nosotros / nosotras | encontramos | we find |
| vosotros / vosotras | encontráis | you all (vosotros) find |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | encuentran | they find |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | encontré | I found |
| tú | encontraste | you found |
| él / ella / usted | encontró | he/she found |
| nosotros / nosotras | encontramos | we found |
| vosotros / vosotras | encontrasteis | you all (vosotros) found |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | encontraron | they found |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | encontraba | I used to find |
| tú | encontrabas | you used to find |
| él / ella / usted | encontraba | he/she used to find |
| nosotros / nosotras | encontrábamos | we used to find |
| vosotros / vosotras | encontrabais | you all (vosotros) used to find |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | encontraban | they used to find |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | encontraré | I will find |
| tú | encontrarás | you will find |
| él / ella / usted | encontrará | he/she will find |
| nosotros / nosotras | encontraremos | we will find |
| vosotros / vosotras | encontraréis | you all (vosotros) will find |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | encontrarán | they will find |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | encontraría | I would find |
| tú | encontrarías | you would find |
| él / ella / usted | encontraría | he/she would find |
| nosotros / nosotras | encontraríamos | we would find |
| vosotros / vosotras | encontraríais | you all (vosotros) would find |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | encontrarían | they would find |
Encontrar differs from the regular endings in the present. Changed forms include present: encuentro, encuentras, encuentra. Highlighted forms include spelling changes that preserve pronunciation as well as irregular stems and endings.
The present forms are encuentro, encuentras, encuentra, encontramos, encontráis, encuentran, in the order yo, tú, él/ella/usted, nosotros, vosotros and ellos/ellas/ustedes.
encontré, encontraste, encontró, encontramos, encontrasteis, encontraron. For example, encontré means “I found”.
Encontrar differs from the regular endings in the present. Changed forms include present: encuentro, encuentras, encuentra. Highlighted forms include spelling changes that preserve pronunciation as well as irregular stems and endings.
The preterite (encontré) presents a completed event; the imperfect (encontraba) gives a past habit or background situation. The English glosses are “I found” and “I used to find”, but context determines the best translation.
The yo forms are encontraré (“I will find”) and encontraría (“I would find”). The full charts above include every person.
Encontrar means to find.
Updated · English prompts, Spanish answers.