Vivir means to live. Learn five tenses, then practise each person.
Present: vivo, vives, vive, vivimos, vivís, viven.
Vivir 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.
Vivir in the preterite tense
Use the preterite for a completed event in the past, viewed as a whole.
Vivir in the imperfect tense
Use the imperfect for past habits, ongoing situations and background descriptions, without marking their endpoint.
Vivir in the future tense
Use the simple future for what will happen. Spanish also uses this tense for a guess about the present.
Vivir in the conditional tense
Use the conditional for what would happen, a polite request or a hypothetical situation.
Learning Learnt Mastered Struggling
Pick a word to hear it and see when it's due next.
All six persons. Blue, bold forms differ from regular endings, including spelling changes that preserve pronunciation.
| Person | Present | Preterite | Imperfect | Future | Conditional |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| yo | vivo | viví | vivía | viviré | viviría |
| tú | vives | viviste | vivías | vivirás | vivirías |
| él / ella / usted | vive | vivió | vivía | vivirá | viviría |
| nosotros / nosotras | vivimos | vivimos | vivíamos | viviremos | viviríamos |
| vosotros / vosotras | vivís | vivisteis | vivíais | viviréis | viviríais |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | viven | vivieron | vivían | vivirán | vivirían |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | vivo | I live |
| tú | vives | you live |
| él / ella / usted | vive | he/she lives |
| nosotros / nosotras | vivimos | we live |
| vosotros / vosotras | vivís | you all (vosotros) live |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | viven | they live |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | viví | I lived |
| tú | viviste | you lived |
| él / ella / usted | vivió | he/she lived |
| nosotros / nosotras | vivimos | we lived |
| vosotros / vosotras | vivisteis | you all (vosotros) lived |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | vivieron | they lived |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | vivía | I used to live |
| tú | vivías | you used to live |
| él / ella / usted | vivía | he/she used to live |
| nosotros / nosotras | vivíamos | we used to live |
| vosotros / vosotras | vivíais | you all (vosotros) used to live |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | vivían | they used to live |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | viviré | I will live |
| tú | vivirás | you will live |
| él / ella / usted | vivirá | he/she will live |
| nosotros / nosotras | viviremos | we will live |
| vosotros / vosotras | viviréis | you all (vosotros) will live |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | vivirán | they will live |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | viviría | I would live |
| tú | vivirías | you would live |
| él / ella / usted | viviría | he/she would live |
| nosotros / nosotras | viviríamos | we would live |
| vosotros / vosotras | viviríais | you all (vosotros) would live |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | vivirían | they would live |
Vivir follows the regular ir pattern in these five tenses.
The present forms are vivo, vives, vive, vivimos, vivís, viven, in the order yo, tú, él/ella/usted, nosotros, vosotros and ellos/ellas/ustedes.
viví, viviste, vivió, vivimos, vivisteis, vivieron. For example, viví means “I lived”.
Vivir follows the regular ir pattern in these five tenses.
The preterite (viví) presents a completed event; the imperfect (vivía) gives a past habit or background situation. The English glosses are “I lived” and “I used to live”, but context determines the best translation.
The yo forms are viviré (“I will live”) and viviría (“I would live”). The full charts above include every person.
Vivir means to live.
Updated · English prompts, Spanish answers.