Leer means to read. Learn five tenses, then practise each person.
Present: leo, lees, lee, leemos, leéis, leen.
Leer 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.
Leer in the preterite tense
Use the preterite for a completed event in the past, viewed as a whole.
Leer in the imperfect tense
Use the imperfect for past habits, ongoing situations and background descriptions, without marking their endpoint.
Leer in the future tense
Use the simple future for what will happen. Spanish also uses this tense for a guess about the present.
Leer 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 | leo | leí | leía | leeré | leería |
| tú | lees | leíste | leías | leerás | leerías |
| él / ella / usted | lee | leyó | leía | leerá | leería |
| nosotros / nosotras | leemos | leímos | leíamos | leeremos | leeríamos |
| vosotros / vosotras | leéis | leísteis | leíais | leeréis | leeríais |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | leen | leyeron | leían | leerán | leerían |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | leo | I read |
| tú | lees | you read |
| él / ella / usted | lee | he/she reads |
| nosotros / nosotras | leemos | we read |
| vosotros / vosotras | leéis | you all (vosotros) read |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | leen | they read |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | leí | I read |
| tú | leíste | you read |
| él / ella / usted | leyó | he/she read |
| nosotros / nosotras | leímos | we read |
| vosotros / vosotras | leísteis | you all (vosotros) read |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | leyeron | they read |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | leía | I used to read |
| tú | leías | you used to read |
| él / ella / usted | leía | he/she used to read |
| nosotros / nosotras | leíamos | we used to read |
| vosotros / vosotras | leíais | you all (vosotros) used to read |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | leían | they used to read |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | leeré | I will read |
| tú | leerás | you will read |
| él / ella / usted | leerá | he/she will read |
| nosotros / nosotras | leeremos | we will read |
| vosotros / vosotras | leeréis | you all (vosotros) will read |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | leerán | they will read |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | leería | I would read |
| tú | leerías | you would read |
| él / ella / usted | leería | he/she would read |
| nosotros / nosotras | leeríamos | we would read |
| vosotros / vosotras | leeríais | you all (vosotros) would read |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | leerían | they would read |
Leer differs from the regular endings in the preterite. Changed forms include preterite: leíste, leyó, leímos. Highlighted forms include spelling changes that preserve pronunciation as well as irregular stems and endings.
The present forms are leo, lees, lee, leemos, leéis, leen, in the order yo, tú, él/ella/usted, nosotros, vosotros and ellos/ellas/ustedes.
leí, leíste, leyó, leímos, leísteis, leyeron. For example, leí means “I read”.
Leer differs from the regular endings in the preterite. Changed forms include preterite: leíste, leyó, leímos. Highlighted forms include spelling changes that preserve pronunciation as well as irregular stems and endings.
The preterite (leí) presents a completed event; the imperfect (leía) gives a past habit or background situation. The English glosses are “I read” and “I used to read”, but context determines the best translation.
The yo forms are leeré (“I will read”) and leería (“I would read”). The full charts above include every person.
Leer means to read.
Updated · English prompts, Spanish answers.