Hablar means to speak, to talk. Learn five tenses, then practise each person.
Present: hablo, hablas, habla, hablamos, habláis, hablan.
Hablar 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.
Hablar in the preterite tense
Use the preterite for a completed event in the past, viewed as a whole.
Hablar in the imperfect tense
Use the imperfect for past habits, ongoing situations and background descriptions, without marking their endpoint.
Hablar in the future tense
Use the simple future for what will happen. Spanish also uses this tense for a guess about the present.
Hablar 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 | hablo | hablé | hablaba | hablaré | hablaría |
| tú | hablas | hablaste | hablabas | hablarás | hablarías |
| él / ella / usted | habla | habló | hablaba | hablará | hablaría |
| nosotros / nosotras | hablamos | hablamos | hablábamos | hablaremos | hablaríamos |
| vosotros / vosotras | habláis | hablasteis | hablabais | hablaréis | hablaríais |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | hablan | hablaron | hablaban | hablarán | hablarían |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | hablo | I speak |
| tú | hablas | you speak |
| él / ella / usted | habla | he/she speaks |
| nosotros / nosotras | hablamos | we speak |
| vosotros / vosotras | habláis | you all (vosotros) speak |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | hablan | they speak |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | hablé | I spoke |
| tú | hablaste | you spoke |
| él / ella / usted | habló | he/she spoke |
| nosotros / nosotras | hablamos | we spoke |
| vosotros / vosotras | hablasteis | you all (vosotros) spoke |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | hablaron | they spoke |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | hablaba | I used to speak |
| tú | hablabas | you used to speak |
| él / ella / usted | hablaba | he/she used to speak |
| nosotros / nosotras | hablábamos | we used to speak |
| vosotros / vosotras | hablabais | you all (vosotros) used to speak |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | hablaban | they used to speak |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | hablaré | I will speak |
| tú | hablarás | you will speak |
| él / ella / usted | hablará | he/she will speak |
| nosotros / nosotras | hablaremos | we will speak |
| vosotros / vosotras | hablaréis | you all (vosotros) will speak |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | hablarán | they will speak |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | hablaría | I would speak |
| tú | hablarías | you would speak |
| él / ella / usted | hablaría | he/she would speak |
| nosotros / nosotras | hablaríamos | we would speak |
| vosotros / vosotras | hablaríais | you all (vosotros) would speak |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | hablarían | they would speak |
Hablar follows the regular ar pattern in these five tenses.
The present forms are hablo, hablas, habla, hablamos, habláis, hablan, in the order yo, tú, él/ella/usted, nosotros, vosotros and ellos/ellas/ustedes.
hablé, hablaste, habló, hablamos, hablasteis, hablaron. For example, hablé means “I spoke”.
Hablar follows the regular ar pattern in these five tenses.
The preterite (hablé) presents a completed event; the imperfect (hablaba) gives a past habit or background situation. The English glosses are “I spoke” and “I used to speak”, but context determines the best translation.
The yo forms are hablaré (“I will speak”) and hablaría (“I would speak”). The full charts above include every person.
Hablar means to speak, to talk.
Updated · English prompts, Spanish answers.