Servir means to serve, to be useful. Learn five tenses, then practise each person.
Present: sirvo, sirves, sirve, servimos, servís, sirven.
Servir 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.
Servir in the preterite tense
Use the preterite for a completed event in the past, viewed as a whole.
Servir in the imperfect tense
Use the imperfect for past habits, ongoing situations and background descriptions, without marking their endpoint.
Servir in the future tense
Use the simple future for what will happen. Spanish also uses this tense for a guess about the present.
Servir 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 | sirvo | serví | servía | serviré | serviría |
| tú | sirves | serviste | servías | servirás | servirías |
| él / ella / usted | sirve | sirvió | servía | servirá | serviría |
| nosotros / nosotras | servimos | servimos | servíamos | serviremos | serviríamos |
| vosotros / vosotras | servís | servisteis | servíais | serviréis | serviríais |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | sirven | sirvieron | servían | servirán | servirían |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | sirvo | I serve |
| tú | sirves | you serve |
| él / ella / usted | sirve | he/she serves |
| nosotros / nosotras | servimos | we serve |
| vosotros / vosotras | servís | you all (vosotros) serve |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | sirven | they serve |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | serví | I served |
| tú | serviste | you served |
| él / ella / usted | sirvió | he/she served |
| nosotros / nosotras | servimos | we served |
| vosotros / vosotras | servisteis | you all (vosotros) served |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | sirvieron | they served |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | servía | I used to serve |
| tú | servías | you used to serve |
| él / ella / usted | servía | he/she used to serve |
| nosotros / nosotras | servíamos | we used to serve |
| vosotros / vosotras | servíais | you all (vosotros) used to serve |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | servían | they used to serve |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | serviré | I will serve |
| tú | servirás | you will serve |
| él / ella / usted | servirá | he/she will serve |
| nosotros / nosotras | serviremos | we will serve |
| vosotros / vosotras | serviréis | you all (vosotros) will serve |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | servirán | they will serve |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | serviría | I would serve |
| tú | servirías | you would serve |
| él / ella / usted | serviría | he/she would serve |
| nosotros / nosotras | serviríamos | we would serve |
| vosotros / vosotras | serviríais | you all (vosotros) would serve |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | servirían | they would serve |
Servir differs from the regular endings in the present, preterite. Changed forms include present: sirvo, sirves, sirve; preterite: sirvió, sirvieron. Highlighted forms include spelling changes that preserve pronunciation as well as irregular stems and endings.
The present forms are sirvo, sirves, sirve, servimos, servís, sirven, in the order yo, tú, él/ella/usted, nosotros, vosotros and ellos/ellas/ustedes.
serví, serviste, sirvió, servimos, servisteis, sirvieron. For example, serví means “I served”.
Servir differs from the regular endings in the present, preterite. Changed forms include present: sirvo, sirves, sirve; preterite: sirvió, sirvieron. Highlighted forms include spelling changes that preserve pronunciation as well as irregular stems and endings.
The preterite (serví) presents a completed event; the imperfect (servía) gives a past habit or background situation. The English glosses are “I served” and “I used to serve”, but context determines the best translation.
The yo forms are serviré (“I will serve”) and serviría (“I would serve”). The full charts above include every person.
Servir means to serve, to be useful.
Updated · English prompts, Spanish answers.