Pensar means to think. Learn five tenses, then practise each person.
Present: pienso, piensas, piensa, pensamos, pensáis, piensan.
Pensar 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.
Pensar in the preterite tense
Use the preterite for a completed event in the past, viewed as a whole.
Pensar in the imperfect tense
Use the imperfect for past habits, ongoing situations and background descriptions, without marking their endpoint.
Pensar in the future tense
Use the simple future for what will happen. Spanish also uses this tense for a guess about the present.
Pensar 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 | pienso | pensé | pensaba | pensaré | pensaría |
| tú | piensas | pensaste | pensabas | pensarás | pensarías |
| él / ella / usted | piensa | pensó | pensaba | pensará | pensaría |
| nosotros / nosotras | pensamos | pensamos | pensábamos | pensaremos | pensaríamos |
| vosotros / vosotras | pensáis | pensasteis | pensabais | pensaréis | pensaríais |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | piensan | pensaron | pensaban | pensarán | pensarían |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | pienso | I think |
| tú | piensas | you think |
| él / ella / usted | piensa | he/she thinks |
| nosotros / nosotras | pensamos | we think |
| vosotros / vosotras | pensáis | you all (vosotros) think |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | piensan | they think |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | pensé | I thought |
| tú | pensaste | you thought |
| él / ella / usted | pensó | he/she thought |
| nosotros / nosotras | pensamos | we thought |
| vosotros / vosotras | pensasteis | you all (vosotros) thought |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | pensaron | they thought |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | pensaba | I used to think |
| tú | pensabas | you used to think |
| él / ella / usted | pensaba | he/she used to think |
| nosotros / nosotras | pensábamos | we used to think |
| vosotros / vosotras | pensabais | you all (vosotros) used to think |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | pensaban | they used to think |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | pensaré | I will think |
| tú | pensarás | you will think |
| él / ella / usted | pensará | he/she will think |
| nosotros / nosotras | pensaremos | we will think |
| vosotros / vosotras | pensaréis | you all (vosotros) will think |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | pensarán | they will think |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | pensaría | I would think |
| tú | pensarías | you would think |
| él / ella / usted | pensaría | he/she would think |
| nosotros / nosotras | pensaríamos | we would think |
| vosotros / vosotras | pensaríais | you all (vosotros) would think |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | pensarían | they would think |
Pensar differs from the regular endings in the present. Changed forms include present: pienso, piensas, piensa. Highlighted forms include spelling changes that preserve pronunciation as well as irregular stems and endings.
The present forms are pienso, piensas, piensa, pensamos, pensáis, piensan, in the order yo, tú, él/ella/usted, nosotros, vosotros and ellos/ellas/ustedes.
pensé, pensaste, pensó, pensamos, pensasteis, pensaron. For example, pensé means “I thought”.
Pensar differs from the regular endings in the present. Changed forms include present: pienso, piensas, piensa. Highlighted forms include spelling changes that preserve pronunciation as well as irregular stems and endings.
The preterite (pensé) presents a completed event; the imperfect (pensaba) gives a past habit or background situation. The English glosses are “I thought” and “I used to think”, but context determines the best translation.
The yo forms are pensaré (“I will think”) and pensaría (“I would think”). The full charts above include every person.
Pensar means to think.
Updated · English prompts, Spanish answers.