Introduction
Bailar means «to dance». Bailar means to dance: salsa, tango, flamenco, at a party or in a class. It is a regular -ar verb, very common in Latin America and Spain alike, and it turns up constantly in descriptions of parties, festivals and nights out. It is a regular -ar verb, so the tables below show you exactly how it behaves in every tense. On this page you will find the full conjugation of bailar in all thirteen tenses, notes on when to use each one, example sentences, the mistakes learners make most often, a ten-question quiz and answers to the questions students ask about this verb. For example: «Yo bailo salsa todos los días.» — I dance salsa every day.
Quick facts
| Infinitive | bailar |
| English | to dance |
| Verb type | Regular -ar verb |
| Gerund | bailando |
| Past participle | bailado |
| Auxiliary verb | haber |
Full conjugation tables
Gerund: bailando · Past participle: bailado
Present Indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | bailo |
| tú | bailas |
| él/ella/Ud. | baila |
| nosotros/as | bailamos |
| vosotros/as | bailáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | bailan |
The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For bailar, the yo form is bailo, as in «Yo bailo» in the examples below. Use the present for routines («todos los días») and for general truths.
Preterite
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | bailé |
| tú | bailaste |
| él/ella/Ud. | bailó |
| nosotros/as | bailamos |
| vosotros/as | bailasteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | bailaron |
The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. «Ayer yo bailé» is the classic use. Do not confuse it with the imperfect: the preterite moves the story forward, one finished event at a time.
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | bailaba |
| tú | bailabas |
| él/ella/Ud. | bailaba |
| nosotros/as | bailábamos |
| vosotros/as | bailabais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | bailaban |
The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. «De pequeño, yo bailaba» shows the habitual use. It sets the scene while the preterite reports what happened inside it.
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | bailaré |
| tú | bailarás |
| él/ella/Ud. | bailará |
| nosotros/as | bailaremos |
| vosotros/as | bailaréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | bailarán |
The future tense states what will happen. For bailar the future is built on the infinitive: «Mañana yo bailaré». It is also used for predictions and promises, and in spoken Spanish it often alternates with ir a + infinitive.
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | bailaría |
| tú | bailarías |
| él/ella/Ud. | bailaría |
| nosotros/as | bailaríamos |
| vosotros/as | bailaríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | bailarían |
The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. «Si tuviera más tiempo, yo bailaría» is the typical pattern. It shares its stem with the future and changes only the endings.
Present Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he bailado |
| tú | has bailado |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha bailado |
| nosotros/as | hemos bailado |
| vosotros/as | habéis bailado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han bailado |
The present perfect connects the past with the present: something that has happened, often today or recently. It is haber in the present plus the past participle: «Hoy yo he bailado». In Spain it is used for anything that happened today; in Latin America the preterite is often preferred.
Pluperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había bailado |
| tú | habías bailado |
| él/ella/Ud. | había bailado |
| nosotros/as | habíamos bailado |
| vosotros/as | habíais bailado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían bailado |
The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event: «Cuando llegué, ya había bailado». It is haber in the imperfect plus the past participle, and it is the tense for explaining what had already happened when something else took place.
Future Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré bailado |
| tú | habrás bailado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá bailado |
| nosotros/as | habremos bailado |
| vosotros/as | habréis bailado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán bailado |
The future perfect looks back from a future point: by then, something will already have happened. «Para mañana, yo habré bailado» is the pattern — haber in the future plus the past participle. It is less common in speech but regular in formal writing.
Conditional Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría bailado |
| tú | habrías bailado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría bailado |
| nosotros/as | habríamos bailado |
| vosotros/as | habríais bailado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían bailado |
The conditional perfect expresses what would have happened: «Yo habría bailado si hubiera podido». It is haber in the conditional plus the past participle, and it is the tense for regrets and missed chances.
Present Subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | baile |
| tú | bailes |
| él/ella/Ud. | baile |
| nosotros/as | bailemos |
| vosotros/as | bailéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | bailen |
The present subjunctive appears after wishes, doubts, emotions and impersonal expressions: «Espero que él baile». The trigger is in the main clause; the subjunctive is the mood of uncertainty, desire and influence. Learn the yo form first — most of the table follows from it.
Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra forms)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | bailara |
| tú | bailaras |
| él/ella/Ud. | bailara |
| nosotros/as | bailáramos |
| vosotros/as | bailarais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | bailaran |
The imperfect subjunctive is the past partner of the present subjunctive, used after past-tense triggers and in si-clauses: «Si él bailara, todo sería distinto». The table above shows the -ra forms, the ones you will hear most often. There is also a less common -se set built on the same stem.
Imperative — Affirmative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | baila |
| él/ella/Ud. | baile |
| nosotros/as | bailemos |
| vosotros/as | bailad |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | bailen |
There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.
The affirmative imperative gives direct commands and instructions: «¡Baila!». There is no yo form — you cannot command yourself. The tú form is the one you will use with friends and family, and the usted form with people you address formally.
Imperative — Negative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | bailes |
| él/ella/Ud. | baile |
| nosotros/as | bailemos |
| vosotros/as | bailéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | bailen |
There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.
The negative imperative tells someone not to do something: «¡No bailes!». Unlike the affirmative imperative, the negative forms come from the present subjunctive, which is why they look different. Never use the affirmative form after no.
Example sentences
- Yo bailo salsa todos los días. — I dance salsa every day.
- Mi hermana baila salsa mucho. — My sister dances salsa a lot.
- Ayer yo bailé salsa por la tarde. — Yesterday I danced salsa in the afternoon.
- De pequeño, yo bailaba salsa muchas veces. — As a child, I used to dance salsa often.
- Mañana yo bailaré salsa sin falta. — Tomorrow I will dance salsa without fail.
- Si tuviera más tiempo, yo bailaría salsa ahora mismo. — If I had more time, I would dance salsa right now.
- Hoy yo he bailado en la fiesta dos veces. — Today I have danced at the party twice.
- Espero que él baile salsa pronto. — I hope he dances salsa soon.
- ¡Baila conmigo esta noche! — Dance with me tonight!
- Ahora mismo estoy bailando salsa. — Right now I am dancing salsa.
Common mistakes
1. Forgetting the accent in the preterite
Wrong: baile
Right: bailé
The yo preterite of bailar carries a written accent: bailé. Without it, baile is the present subjunctive yo form, a completely different tense.
2. Using the imperfect for a finished event
Wrong: Ayer yo bailaba salsa.
Right: Ayer yo bailé salsa.
Yesterday's finished action needs the preterite, bailé. The imperfect bailaba describes what used to happen or what was going on, not a single completed event.
3. Confusing it with a similar verb
Wrong: *Bailo a la salsa.
Right: Bailo salsa.
Bailar takes a direct object with no preposition: bailar salsa, bailar tango.
4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
Wrong: Espero que tú bailas salsa.
Right: Espero que tú bailes salsa.
After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: bailes, not the indicative bailas. Wishes, hopes and doubts all trigger this change.
5. Using the affirmative imperative after no
Wrong: No baila salsa.
Right: No bailes salsa.
Negative commands use the subjunctive-based forms: no bailes. The affirmative baila can never follow no.
Quiz
Test yourself on the forms above. Choose the correct answer, then check the key below.
1. What is the yo form of bailar in the present tense?
- (a) baila
- (b) bailamos
- (c) bailas
- (d) bailo
2. What is the él/ella form of bailar in the preterite?
- (a) bailamos
- (b) bailaste
- (c) bailé
- (d) bailó
3. What is the nosotros form of bailar in the imperfect?
- (a) bailaba
- (b) bailabas
- (c) bailábamos
4. What is the tú form of bailar in the future tense?
- (a) bailaremos
- (b) bailará
- (c) bailarás
- (d) bailaré
5. What is the ellos form of bailar in the conditional?
- (a) bailaría
- (b) bailarían
- (c) bailarías
6. What is the yo form of bailar in the present perfect?
- (a) ha bailado
- (b) has bailado
- (c) he bailado
- (d) hemos bailado
7. After «Espero que…», what is the tú form of bailar?
- (a) baile
- (b) bailemos
- (c) bailes
8. What is the nosotros form of bailar in the imperfect subjunctive (-ra)?
- (a) bailara
- (b) bailáramos
- (c) bailaras
9. What is the gerund of bailar?
- (a) bailado
- (b) bailando
- (c) bailar
- (d) bailo
10. What is the past participle of bailar?
- (a) bailado
- (b) bailando
- (c) bailar
- (d) bailé
Answer key
1. (d) bailo — In the present, the yo form of bailar is bailo. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
2. (d) bailó — In the preterite, the el form of bailar is bailó. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
3. (c) bailábamos — In the imperfect, the nosotros form of bailar is bailábamos. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
4. (c) bailarás — In the future, the tu form of bailar is bailarás. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
5. (b) bailarían — In the conditional, the ellos form of bailar is bailarían. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
6. (c) he bailado — In the present perfect, the yo form of bailar is he bailado. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
7. (c) bailes — In the present subjunctive, the tu form of bailar is bailes. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
8. (b) bailáramos — In the imperfect subjunctive, the nosotros form of bailar is bailáramos. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
9. (b) bailando — The gerund of bailar is bailando. It is used with estar for the progressive: «Estoy bailando».
10. (a) bailado — The past participle of bailar is bailado. It follows haber in all the perfect tenses: «he bailado».
Frequently asked questions
Is bailar regular or irregular?
Yes, bailar is a regular -ar verb. Every tense follows the standard -ar endings, so once you know the pattern you can generate the whole table. The only thing to watch is choosing the right tense, not the forms themselves.
What are the gerund and past participle of bailar?
The gerund is bailando and the past participle is bailado. Use the gerund with estar for actions in progress («Estoy bailando») and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses («he bailado»).
What is the difference between bailar and cantar?
Bailar and cantar are often confused. Cantar is to sing; bailar is to dance — the two verbs share the party but not the action.
How do I say «I dance» in Spanish?
Say «Yo bailo». That is the yo form of the present tense, the form you need for talking about yourself right now.
Which tense do learners find hardest with bailar?
Most learners struggle with choosing between the preterite and the imperfect, not with the forms themselves. Use the preterite (bailé) for a single finished event and the imperfect (bailaba) for habits and background. After that, the subjunctive is the next step.
Related links
- Practise this verb in one tense: bailar-present-tense
- More examples and a quiz: bailar-examples-and-quiz
- Browse all Spanish verbs: /spanish/
- Related verb: cantar
- Related verb: jugar
- Related verb: viajar
- Conjugate any verb: verb-conjugator
- Test yourself: verb-quiz