Responder means to answer, to reply. Learn five tenses, then practise each person.
Present: respondo, respondes, responde, respondemos, respondéis, responden.
Responder 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.
Responder in the preterite tense
Use the preterite for a completed event in the past, viewed as a whole.
Responder in the imperfect tense
Use the imperfect for past habits, ongoing situations and background descriptions, without marking their endpoint.
Responder in the future tense
Use the simple future for what will happen. Spanish also uses this tense for a guess about the present.
Responder 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 | respondo | respondí | respondía | responderé | respondería |
| tú | respondes | respondiste | respondías | responderás | responderías |
| él / ella / usted | responde | respondió | respondía | responderá | respondería |
| nosotros / nosotras | respondemos | respondimos | respondíamos | responderemos | responderíamos |
| vosotros / vosotras | respondéis | respondisteis | respondíais | responderéis | responderíais |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | responden | respondieron | respondían | responderán | responderían |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | respondo | I answer |
| tú | respondes | you answer |
| él / ella / usted | responde | he/she answers |
| nosotros / nosotras | respondemos | we answer |
| vosotros / vosotras | respondéis | you all (vosotros) answer |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | responden | they answer |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | respondí | I answered |
| tú | respondiste | you answered |
| él / ella / usted | respondió | he/she answered |
| nosotros / nosotras | respondimos | we answered |
| vosotros / vosotras | respondisteis | you all (vosotros) answered |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | respondieron | they answered |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | respondía | I used to answer |
| tú | respondías | you used to answer |
| él / ella / usted | respondía | he/she used to answer |
| nosotros / nosotras | respondíamos | we used to answer |
| vosotros / vosotras | respondíais | you all (vosotros) used to answer |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | respondían | they used to answer |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | responderé | I will answer |
| tú | responderás | you will answer |
| él / ella / usted | responderá | he/she will answer |
| nosotros / nosotras | responderemos | we will answer |
| vosotros / vosotras | responderéis | you all (vosotros) will answer |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | responderán | they will answer |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | respondería | I would answer |
| tú | responderías | you would answer |
| él / ella / usted | respondería | he/she would answer |
| nosotros / nosotras | responderíamos | we would answer |
| vosotros / vosotras | responderíais | you all (vosotros) would answer |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | responderían | they would answer |
Responder follows the regular er pattern in these five tenses.
The present forms are respondo, respondes, responde, respondemos, respondéis, responden, in the order yo, tú, él/ella/usted, nosotros, vosotros and ellos/ellas/ustedes.
respondí, respondiste, respondió, respondimos, respondisteis, respondieron. For example, respondí means “I answered”.
Responder follows the regular er pattern in these five tenses.
The preterite (respondí) presents a completed event; the imperfect (respondía) gives a past habit or background situation. The English glosses are “I answered” and “I used to answer”, but context determines the best translation.
The yo forms are responderé (“I will answer”) and respondería (“I would answer”). The full charts above include every person.
Responder means to answer, to reply.
Updated · English prompts, Spanish answers.