Usar means to use. Learn five tenses, then practise each person.
Present: uso, usas, usa, usamos, usáis, usan.
Usar 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.
Usar in the preterite tense
Use the preterite for a completed event in the past, viewed as a whole.
Usar in the imperfect tense
Use the imperfect for past habits, ongoing situations and background descriptions, without marking their endpoint.
Usar in the future tense
Use the simple future for what will happen. Spanish also uses this tense for a guess about the present.
Usar 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 | uso | usé | usaba | usaré | usaría |
| tú | usas | usaste | usabas | usarás | usarías |
| él / ella / usted | usa | usó | usaba | usará | usaría |
| nosotros / nosotras | usamos | usamos | usábamos | usaremos | usaríamos |
| vosotros / vosotras | usáis | usasteis | usabais | usaréis | usaríais |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | usan | usaron | usaban | usarán | usarían |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | uso | I use |
| tú | usas | you use |
| él / ella / usted | usa | he/she uses |
| nosotros / nosotras | usamos | we use |
| vosotros / vosotras | usáis | you all (vosotros) use |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | usan | they use |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | usé | I used |
| tú | usaste | you used |
| él / ella / usted | usó | he/she used |
| nosotros / nosotras | usamos | we used |
| vosotros / vosotras | usasteis | you all (vosotros) used |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | usaron | they used |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | usaba | I used to use |
| tú | usabas | you used to use |
| él / ella / usted | usaba | he/she used to use |
| nosotros / nosotras | usábamos | we used to use |
| vosotros / vosotras | usabais | you all (vosotros) used to use |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | usaban | they used to use |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | usaré | I will use |
| tú | usarás | you will use |
| él / ella / usted | usará | he/she will use |
| nosotros / nosotras | usaremos | we will use |
| vosotros / vosotras | usaréis | you all (vosotros) will use |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | usarán | they will use |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | usaría | I would use |
| tú | usarías | you would use |
| él / ella / usted | usaría | he/she would use |
| nosotros / nosotras | usaríamos | we would use |
| vosotros / vosotras | usaríais | you all (vosotros) would use |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | usarían | they would use |
Usar follows the regular ar pattern in these five tenses.
The present forms are uso, usas, usa, usamos, usáis, usan, in the order yo, tú, él/ella/usted, nosotros, vosotros and ellos/ellas/ustedes.
usé, usaste, usó, usamos, usasteis, usaron. For example, usé means “I used”.
Usar follows the regular ar pattern in these five tenses.
The preterite (usé) presents a completed event; the imperfect (usaba) gives a past habit or background situation. The English glosses are “I used” and “I used to use”, but context determines the best translation.
The yo forms are usaré (“I will use”) and usaría (“I would use”). The full charts above include every person.
Usar means to use.
Updated · English prompts, Spanish answers.