Besar Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb besar means to kiss, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. Besar means to kiss, and it is used for kissing family, a partner or a friend on the cheek, as well as in expressions such as besar la mano. It takes the person kissed as its direct object, with no preposition, and it is fully regular, so the forms are the easy part — the social context does the work. Like every Spanish verb, besar changes its ending for each person and tense, and this page gives you the complete picture: every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle, all from the verified conjugation tables. For example, in the present tense you say beso a su madre en la mejilla, and in the preterite you say besé en la frente con cariño. Work through the tables below, read the notes for each tense, and then test yourself with the examples, the common mistakes and the quiz at the end of the page.

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: besar
  • English: to kiss
  • Verb type: regular -ar verb
  • Ending: -ar
  • Gerund: besando
  • Past participle: besado
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + besado)

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for besar, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one. Besar takes a direct object with no preposition: beso a mi madre, not beso con mi madre.

Full conjugation tables

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for besar. The imperfect subjunctive is shown in its -ra forms; the -se forms use the same stem. For reflexive verbs, the pronoun column shows the reflexive pronoun that goes before each form.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo beso
tú besas
él/ella/Ud. besa
nosotros/as besamos
vosotros/as besáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. besan

Preterite

Person Form
yo besé
tú besaste
él/ella/Ud. besó
nosotros/as besamos
vosotros/as besasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. besaron

Imperfect

Person Form
yo besaba
tú besabas
él/ella/Ud. besaba
nosotros/as besábamos
vosotros/as besabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. besaban

Future

Person Form
yo besaré
tú besarás
él/ella/Ud. besará
nosotros/as besaremos
vosotros/as besaréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. besarán

Conditional

Person Form
yo besaría
tú besarías
él/ella/Ud. besaría
nosotros/as besaríamos
vosotros/as besaríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. besarían

Present perfect

Person Form
yo he besado
tú has besado
él/ella/Ud. ha besado
nosotros/as hemos besado
vosotros/as habéis besado
ellos/ellas/Uds. han besado

Pluperfect

Person Form
yo había besado
tú habías besado
él/ella/Ud. había besado
nosotros/as habíamos besado
vosotros/as habíais besado
ellos/ellas/Uds. habían besado

Future perfect

Person Form
yo habré besado
tú habrás besado
él/ella/Ud. habrá besado
nosotros/as habremos besado
vosotros/as habréis besado
ellos/ellas/Uds. habrán besado

Conditional perfect

Person Form
yo habría besado
tú habrías besado
él/ella/Ud. habría besado
nosotros/as habríamos besado
vosotros/as habríais besado
ellos/ellas/Uds. habrían besado

Present subjunctive

Person Form
yo bese
tú beses
él/ella/Ud. bese
nosotros/as besemos
vosotros/as beséis
ellos/ellas/Uds. besen

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

Person Form
yo besara
tú besaras
él/ella/Ud. besara
nosotros/as besáramos
vosotros/as besarais
ellos/ellas/Uds. besaran

Imperative (affirmative)

Person Form
tú besa
él/ella/Ud. bese
nosotros/as besemos
vosotros/as besad
ellos/ellas/Uds. besen

Imperative (negative)

Person Form
tú beses
él/ella/Ud. bese
nosotros/as besemos
vosotros/as beséis
ellos/ellas/Uds. besen

Gerund and past participle

Form Spanish Use
Gerund besando with estar for the progressive: estoy besando
Past participle besado with haber for the perfect tenses: he besado

How to use each tense

Present indicative

Use the present for routines, general facts and what is happening right now. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For besar, the present looks like this in a real sentence: Beso a su madre en la mejilla. Learn the present forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Preterite

Use the preterite for finished actions with a clear end, often with ayer, el año pasado or anoche. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For besar, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Ayer, besé a los niños antes de dormir. Learn the preterite forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Imperfect

Use the imperfect for background, habits and actions in progress in the past, often with de niño, antes or mientras. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For besar, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: De niño, besaba en la frente con cariño. Learn the imperfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Future

Use the future for plans, predictions and promises, often with mañana, el año que viene or pronto. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For besar, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Mañana, besaré a su novia al despedirse. Learn the future forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Conditional

Use the conditional for polite requests, hypotheticals and what would happen, often with si clauses. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For besar, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Besaría a su madre en la mejilla si pudiera. Learn the conditional forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Present perfect

Use the present perfect for recent actions and experiences, often with hoy, esta semana or ya. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For besar, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Hoy, he besado a los niños antes de dormir. Learn the present perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Pluperfect

Use the pluperfect when one past action happened before another past action. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For besar, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Había besado en la frente con cariño antes de salir. Learn the pluperfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Future perfect

Use the future perfect for something that will already be finished by a future time. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For besar, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Para mañana, habré besado a su novia al despedirse. Learn the future perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Conditional perfect

Use the conditional perfect for what would have happened under different conditions. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For besar, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Habría besado a su madre en la mejilla con más tiempo. Learn the conditional perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Present subjunctive

Use the present subjunctive after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and hope, such as espero que or quiero que. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For besar, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él bese a los niños antes de dormir. Learn the present subjunctive forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

Use the imperfect subjunctive after past wishes and in si clauses about the past, and note the -ra forms shown here; the -se forms use the same stem. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For besar, the imperfect subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Si él besara en la frente con cariño, todo cambiaría. Learn the imperfect subjunctive forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Imperative (affirmative)

Use the affirmative imperative for direct commands, instructions and invitations. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For besar, the affirmative imperative looks like this in a real sentence: ¡Besa a su novia al despedirse! Learn the affirmative imperative forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Imperative (negative)

Use the negative imperative, always with no, to tell someone not to do something. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For besar, the negative imperative looks like this in a real sentence: No beses a su madre en la mejilla. Learn the negative imperative forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Example sentences

Ten natural sentences with besar, covering different tenses and persons. Each one uses a form from the tables above.

  1. Beso a su madre en la mejilla. — I kiss his mother on the cheek.
  2. Besa a los niños antes de dormir. — He/she kisses the children before bedtime.
  3. Ayer, besé en la frente con cariño. — Yesterday, I kissed on the forehead with love.
  4. Antes, nosotros besábamos a su novia al despedirse. — Before, we used to kiss his girlfriend as they say goodbye.
  5. Mañana, tú besarás a su madre en la mejilla. — Tomorrow, you will kiss his mother on the cheek.
  6. Yo besaría a los niños antes de dormir si tuviera más tiempo. — I would kiss the children before bedtime if I had more time.
  7. Él ha besado en la frente con cariño. — He has kissed on the forehead with love.
  8. Espero que él bese a su novia al despedirse. — I hope he kisses his girlfriend as they say goodbye.
  9. Yo ya había besado a su madre en la mejilla antes de salir. — I had already kissed his mother on the cheek before leaving.
  10. Ellos besaban a los niños antes de dormir cuando eran jóvenes. — They used to kiss the children before bedtime when they were young.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo besa a su madre en la mejilla. — Right: Yo beso a su madre en la mejilla. — The person matters: besa is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is beso. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
  2. Wrong: Ayer yo beso a los niños antes de dormir. — Right: Ayer yo besé a los niños antes de dormir. — The present and the preterite are different tenses: beso is happening now, while besé is a finished action in the past. Use the preterite with ayer.
  3. Wrong: Treating besar and abrazar as identical in every context. — Right: Besar means to kiss, while abrazar means to hug. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: besar fits sentences such as Beso a su madre en la mejilla, while abrazar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy besado a los niños antes de dormir. — Right: Yo he besado a los niños antes de dormir. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he besado, has besado, ha besado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  5. Wrong: De niño, yo besé en la frente con cariño todos los días. — Right: De niño, yo besaba en la frente con cariño todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (besaba), not the preterite. The preterite (besé) is for one finished action.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on besar. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ a su madre en la mejilla. (present tense) A. beso B. besas C. besa D. besamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Ayer, él ___ a los niños antes de dormir. (preterite) A. besé B. besaste C. besaron D. besó

  3. Complete the sentence: Antes, nosotros ___ en la frente con cariño. (imperfect) A. besabas B. besaban C. besábamos D. besaba

  4. Complete the sentence: Mañana, tú ___ a su novia al despedirse. (future) A. besaremos B. besarás C. besaré D. besará

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ a su madre en la mejilla si pudiera. (conditional) A. besaría B. besarías C. besarían D. beso

  6. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ___ a los niños antes de dormir. (present subjunctive) A. beses B. besemos C. beso D. bese

  7. Complete the sentence: Si yo ___ en la frente con cariño, todo cambiaría. (imperfect subjunctive, -ra form) A. besáramos B. beso C. besara D. besaras

  8. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ a su novia al despedirse. (present perfect) A. han besado B. hemos besado C. he besado D. has besado

  9. Complete the command: ¡___ a su madre en la mejilla! (affirmative imperative, tú) A. besa B. bese C. besemos D. besad

  10. Which is the gerund of besar, used with estar for the progressive? A. besado B. beso C. besé D. besando

Answer key

  1. beso — The first-person present of besar is beso. The other options are the tú, él/ella and nosotros forms.
  2. besó — The third-person preterite of besar is besó, the form for a single finished action in the past.
  3. besábamos — The nosotros imperfect of besar is besábamos, used here for a repeated past habit.
  4. besarás — The second-person future of besar is besarás.
  5. besaría — The first-person conditional of besar is besaría, the form for what would happen.
  6. bese — After espero que, the subjunctive is required: the third-person present subjunctive of besar is bese.
  7. besara — The first-person imperfect subjunctive (-ra) of besar is besara.
  8. hemos besado — The nosotros present perfect of besar is hemos besado: hemos + besado.
  9. besa — The affirmative tú imperative of besar is besa.
  10. besando — The gerund of besar is besando: estoy besando. The participle besado is used with haber instead.

Frequently asked questions

What does besar mean in English?

Besar means to kiss. It is used in everyday situations such as Beso a su madre en la mejilla. The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

Is besar regular or irregular?

Besar is a fully regular -ar verb, so every tense follows the standard endings for its class. Once you know the regular pattern, you can produce every form on this page, including beso in the present and besé in the preterite.

What is the difference between besar and abrazar?

Besar means to kiss, while abrazar means to hug. They are easy to confuse because they appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use besar when you mean to kiss, as in Beso a su madre en la mejilla, and use abrazar for to hug. When in doubt, check the object of the sentence — it usually shows which verb fits.

How do I say “I kiss” in the past?

It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: yo besé a los niños antes de dormir. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: yo besaba en la frente con cariño. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: yo he besado a los niños antes de dormir.

How do I practise besar?

Start with the present tense table, then drill the preterite and the imperfect, since those two past tenses cause the most mistakes. Try the besar examples and quiz page for more sentences, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure.

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