Entender means to understand. Learn five tenses, then practise each person.
Present: entiendo, entiendes, entiende, entendemos, entendéis, entienden.
Entender 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.
Entender in the preterite tense
Use the preterite for a completed event in the past, viewed as a whole.
Entender in the imperfect tense
Use the imperfect for past habits, ongoing situations and background descriptions, without marking their endpoint.
Entender in the future tense
Use the simple future for what will happen. Spanish also uses this tense for a guess about the present.
Entender 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 | entiendo | entendí | entendía | entenderé | entendería |
| tú | entiendes | entendiste | entendías | entenderás | entenderías |
| él / ella / usted | entiende | entendió | entendía | entenderá | entendería |
| nosotros / nosotras | entendemos | entendimos | entendíamos | entenderemos | entenderíamos |
| vosotros / vosotras | entendéis | entendisteis | entendíais | entenderéis | entenderíais |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | entienden | entendieron | entendían | entenderán | entenderían |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | entiendo | I understand |
| tú | entiendes | you understand |
| él / ella / usted | entiende | he/she understands |
| nosotros / nosotras | entendemos | we understand |
| vosotros / vosotras | entendéis | you all (vosotros) understand |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | entienden | they understand |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | entendí | I understood |
| tú | entendiste | you understood |
| él / ella / usted | entendió | he/she understood |
| nosotros / nosotras | entendimos | we understood |
| vosotros / vosotras | entendisteis | you all (vosotros) understood |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | entendieron | they understood |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | entendía | I used to understand |
| tú | entendías | you used to understand |
| él / ella / usted | entendía | he/she used to understand |
| nosotros / nosotras | entendíamos | we used to understand |
| vosotros / vosotras | entendíais | you all (vosotros) used to understand |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | entendían | they used to understand |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | entenderé | I will understand |
| tú | entenderás | you will understand |
| él / ella / usted | entenderá | he/she will understand |
| nosotros / nosotras | entenderemos | we will understand |
| vosotros / vosotras | entenderéis | you all (vosotros) will understand |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | entenderán | they will understand |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | entendería | I would understand |
| tú | entenderías | you would understand |
| él / ella / usted | entendería | he/she would understand |
| nosotros / nosotras | entenderíamos | we would understand |
| vosotros / vosotras | entenderíais | you all (vosotros) would understand |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | entenderían | they would understand |
Entender differs from the regular endings in the present. Changed forms include present: entiendo, entiendes, entiende. Highlighted forms include spelling changes that preserve pronunciation as well as irregular stems and endings.
The present forms are entiendo, entiendes, entiende, entendemos, entendéis, entienden, in the order yo, tú, él/ella/usted, nosotros, vosotros and ellos/ellas/ustedes.
entendí, entendiste, entendió, entendimos, entendisteis, entendieron. For example, entendí means “I understood”.
Entender differs from the regular endings in the present. Changed forms include present: entiendo, entiendes, entiende. Highlighted forms include spelling changes that preserve pronunciation as well as irregular stems and endings.
The preterite (entendí) presents a completed event; the imperfect (entendía) gives a past habit or background situation. The English glosses are “I understood” and “I used to understand”, but context determines the best translation.
The yo forms are entenderé (“I will understand”) and entendería (“I would understand”). The full charts above include every person.
Entender means to understand.
Updated · English prompts, Spanish answers.