Escribir means to write. Learn five tenses, then practise each person.
Present: escribo, escribes, escribe, escribimos, escribís, escriben.
Escribir 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.
Escribir in the preterite tense
Use the preterite for a completed event in the past, viewed as a whole.
Escribir in the imperfect tense
Use the imperfect for past habits, ongoing situations and background descriptions, without marking their endpoint.
Escribir in the future tense
Use the simple future for what will happen. Spanish also uses this tense for a guess about the present.
Escribir 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 | escribo | escribí | escribía | escribiré | escribiría |
| tú | escribes | escribiste | escribías | escribirás | escribirías |
| él / ella / usted | escribe | escribió | escribía | escribirá | escribiría |
| nosotros / nosotras | escribimos | escribimos | escribíamos | escribiremos | escribiríamos |
| vosotros / vosotras | escribís | escribisteis | escribíais | escribiréis | escribiríais |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | escriben | escribieron | escribían | escribirán | escribirían |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | escribo | I write |
| tú | escribes | you write |
| él / ella / usted | escribe | he/she writes |
| nosotros / nosotras | escribimos | we write |
| vosotros / vosotras | escribís | you all (vosotros) write |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | escriben | they write |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | escribí | I wrote |
| tú | escribiste | you wrote |
| él / ella / usted | escribió | he/she wrote |
| nosotros / nosotras | escribimos | we wrote |
| vosotros / vosotras | escribisteis | you all (vosotros) wrote |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | escribieron | they wrote |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | escribía | I used to write |
| tú | escribías | you used to write |
| él / ella / usted | escribía | he/she used to write |
| nosotros / nosotras | escribíamos | we used to write |
| vosotros / vosotras | escribíais | you all (vosotros) used to write |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | escribían | they used to write |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | escribiré | I will write |
| tú | escribirás | you will write |
| él / ella / usted | escribirá | he/she will write |
| nosotros / nosotras | escribiremos | we will write |
| vosotros / vosotras | escribiréis | you all (vosotros) will write |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | escribirán | they will write |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | escribiría | I would write |
| tú | escribirías | you would write |
| él / ella / usted | escribiría | he/she would write |
| nosotros / nosotras | escribiríamos | we would write |
| vosotros / vosotras | escribiríais | you all (vosotros) would write |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | escribirían | they would write |
Escribir follows the regular ir pattern in these five tenses.
The present forms are escribo, escribes, escribe, escribimos, escribís, escriben, in the order yo, tú, él/ella/usted, nosotros, vosotros and ellos/ellas/ustedes.
escribí, escribiste, escribió, escribimos, escribisteis, escribieron. For example, escribí means “I wrote”.
Escribir follows the regular ir pattern in these five tenses.
The preterite (escribí) presents a completed event; the imperfect (escribía) gives a past habit or background situation. The English glosses are “I wrote” and “I used to write”, but context determines the best translation.
The yo forms are escribiré (“I will write”) and escribiría (“I would write”). The full charts above include every person.
Escribir means to write.
Updated · English prompts, Spanish answers.