Competir Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb competir means to compete, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. Competir means to compete: competir en el torneo, competir con los mejores, competir por el primer premio. The stem changes e to i in the present. Like every Spanish verb, competir 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 Yo compito en el torneo de ajedrez — "I compete in the chess tournament". 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.

The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: compito, compites, compite and compiten — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: competimos, competís. In the preterite the third-person forms change too: compitió, compitieron, and the gerund is compitiendo.

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: competir
  • English: to compete
  • Verb type: stem-changing -ir verb (e → i)
  • Ending: -ir
  • Gerund: compitiendo
  • Past participle: competido
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + competido)

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for competir, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

Full conjugation tables

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for competir. The imperfect subjunctive is shown in its -ra forms; the -se forms use the same stem.

Present indicative

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | compito | | tú | compites | | él/ella/Ud. | compite | | nosotros/as | competimos | | vosotros/as | competís | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | compiten |

Preterite

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | competí | | tú | competiste | | él/ella/Ud. | compitió | | nosotros/as | competimos | | vosotros/as | competisteis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | compitieron |

Imperfect

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | competía | | tú | competías | | él/ella/Ud. | competía | | nosotros/as | competíamos | | vosotros/as | competíais | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | competían |

Future

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | competiré | | tú | competirás | | él/ella/Ud. | competirá | | nosotros/as | competiremos | | vosotros/as | competiréis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | competirán |

Conditional

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | competiría | | tú | competirías | | él/ella/Ud. | competiría | | nosotros/as | competiríamos | | vosotros/as | competiríais | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | competirían |

Present perfect

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

Pluperfect

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

Future perfect

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

Conditional perfect

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

Present subjunctive

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | compita | | tú | compitas | | él/ella/Ud. | compita | | nosotros/as | compitamos | | vosotros/as | compitáis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | compitan |

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | compitiera | | tú | compitieras | | él/ella/Ud. | compitiera | | nosotros/as | compitiéramos | | vosotros/as | compitierais | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | compitieran |

Imperative (affirmative)

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | tú | compite | | él/ella/Ud. | compita | | nosotros/as | compitamos | | vosotros/as | competid | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | compitan |

Imperative (negative)

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | tú | compitas | | él/ella/Ud. | compita | | nosotros/as | compitamos | | vosotros/as | compitáis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | compitan |

Gerund and past participle

Form Spanish Use
Gerund compitiendo with estar for the progressive: está compitiendo
Past participle competido with haber for the perfect tenses: he competido

How to use each tense

Present indicative

Use the present for routines, general facts and what is happening right now. The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: compito, compites, compite and compiten — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: competimos, competís. In the preterite the third-person forms change too: compitió, compitieron, and the gerund is compitiendo. For competir, the present indicative looks like this in a real sentence: Yo compito en el torneo de ajedrez — "I compete in the chess tournament".

Preterite

Use the preterite for finished actions with a clear end, often with ayer, el año pasado or anoche. In this tense the stem changes in the third person: compitió, compitieron. The gerund changes too: compitiendo. For competir, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Ayer, yo competí con los mejores atletas — "Yesterday, I competed against the best athletes".

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 competir, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: De niño, yo competía por el primer premio — "As a child, I used to compete for the first prize".

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 competir, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Mañana, yo competiré en la liga nacional — "Tomorrow, I will compete in the national league".

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 competir, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Yo competiría en el torneo de ajedrez si pudiera — "I would compete in the chess tournament if I could".

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 competir, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Hoy, yo he competido con los mejores atletas — "Today, I have competed against the best athletes".

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 competir, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo ya había competido por el primer premio antes de salir — "I already had competed for the first prize before leaving".

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 competir, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Para mañana, yo habré competido en la liga nacional — "By tomorrow, I will have competed in the national league".

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 competir, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo habría competido en el torneo de ajedrez con más tiempo — "I would have competed in the chess tournament with more time".

Present subjunctive

Use the present subjunctive after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and hope, such as espero que or quiero que. The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: compito, compites, compite and compiten — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: competimos, competís. In the preterite the third-person forms change too: compitió, compitieron, and the gerund is compitiendo. For competir, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él compita con los mejores atletas — "I hope he competes against the best athletes".

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

Use the imperfect subjunctive after past wishes and in si clauses about the past. The -ra forms are shown here; the -se forms use the same stem. For this verb the tense is irregular — see the table above. For competir, the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) looks like this in a real sentence: Si yo compitiera por el primer premio, todo cambiaría — "If I competed for the first prize, everything would change".

Imperative (affirmative)

Use the affirmative imperative for direct commands, instructions and invitations. The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: compito, compites, compite and compiten — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: competimos, competís. In the preterite the third-person forms change too: compitió, compitieron, and the gerund is compitiendo. For competir, the imperative (affirmative) looks like this in a real sentence: Compite en la liga nacional. — "Compete in the national league.".

Imperative (negative)

Use the negative imperative, always with no, to tell someone not to do something. The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: compito, compites, compite and compiten — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: competimos, competís. In the preterite the third-person forms change too: compitió, compitieron, and the gerund is compitiendo. For competir, the imperative (negative) looks like this in a real sentence: No compitas en el torneo de ajedrez. — "Do not compete in the chess tournament.".

Example sentences

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

  1. Yo compito en el torneo de ajedrez — "I compete in the chess tournament"
  2. Mi amigo compite con los mejores atletas — "My friend competes against the best athletes"
  3. Ayer, yo competí por el primer premio — "Yesterday, I competed for the first prize"
  4. Antes, nosotros competíamos en la liga nacional — "Before, we used to compete in the national league"
  5. Mañana, tú competirás con su hermano en todo — "Tomorrow, you will compete with his brother in everything"
  6. Yo competiría en el torneo de ajedrez si tuviera más tiempo — "I would compete in the chess tournament if I had more time"
  7. Él ha competido con los mejores atletas — "He has competed against the best athletes"
  8. Espero que él compita por el primer premio — "I hope he competes for the first prize"
  9. Yo ya había competido en la liga nacional antes de salir — "I already had competed in the national league before leaving"
  10. Ellos competían con su hermano en todo cuando eran jóvenes — "They used to compete with his brother in everything when they were young"

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo competo con los mejores atletas. — Right: Yo compito con los mejores atletas. — competir is a stem-changing verb (e → i): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is compito, not competo.
  2. Wrong: Espero que él compite con los mejores atletas — Right: Espero que él compita con los mejores atletas — After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: Espero que él compita con los mejores atletas — not the indicative Espero que él compite con los mejores atletas.
  3. Wrong: Ayer, yo compito por el primer premio — Right: Ayer, yo competí por el primer premio — Ayer points to a finished action in the past, so it needs the preterite: Ayer, yo competí por el primer premio.
  4. Wrong: De niño, yo competí en la liga nacional todos los días — Right: De niño, yo competía en la liga nacional todos los días — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect, not the preterite: De niño, yo competía en la liga nacional todos los días.
  5. Wrong: Yo compito el torneo de ajedrez. — Right: Yo compito en el torneo de ajedrez. — competir takes en before this complement: Yo compito en el torneo de ajedrez. Dropping the preposition is a common learner error.

Quiz: test yourself

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

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ en el torneo de ajedrez — "I compete in the chess tournament" (present) A. competimos B. compito C. compites D. compite

  2. Complete the sentence: Él ______ con los mejores atletas — "He competed against the best athletes" (preterite) A. compitió B. competí C. competiste D. competimos

  3. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ______ por el primer premio — "We used to compete for the first prize" (imperfect) A. competías B. competíais C. competíamos D. competía

  4. Complete the sentence: Tú ______ en la liga nacional — "You will compete in the national league" (future) A. competirá B. competiremos C. competirás D. competiré

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ con su hermano en todo — "I would compete with his brother in everything" (conditional) A. competiríamos B. competiríais C. competiría D. competirías

  6. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ______ en el torneo de ajedrez — "I hope he competes in the chess tournament" (present subjunctive) A. compitáis B. compita C. compitas D. compitamos

  7. Complete the sentence: Si yo ______ con los mejores atletas, todo cambiaría — "If I competed against the best athletes, everything would change" (imperfect subjunctive) A. compitiera B. compitieras C. compitiéramos D. compitierais

  8. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ______ por el primer premio — "We have competed for the first prize" (present perfect) A. he competido B. has competido C. ha competido D. hemos competido

  9. Complete the sentence: No ______ en la liga nacional. — "Do not compete in the national league." (negative imperative) A. compitamos B. compitáis C. compitas D. compita

  10. Which is the gerund of competir, used with estar for the progressive? A. competido B. compito C. competí D. compitiendo

Answer key

  1. compito — The present form for yo is compito.
  2. compitió — The preterite form for él/ella/Ud. is compitió.
  3. competíamos — The imperfect form for nosotros/as is competíamos.
  4. competirás — The future form for tú is competirás.
  5. competiría — The conditional form for yo is competiría.
  6. compita — The present subjunctive form for él/ella/Ud. is compita.
  7. compitiera — The imperfect subjunctive form for yo is compitiera.
  8. hemos competido — The present perfect form for nosotros/as is hemos competido.
  9. compitas — The negative imperative form is compitas.
  10. compitiendo — The gerund of competir is compitiendo: estoy compitiendo. The participle competido is used with haber instead.

Frequently asked questions

What does competir mean in English?

competir means to compete. It is used in everyday situations such as Yo compito en el torneo de ajedrez — "I compete in the chess tournament". The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

Is competir regular?

No. competir is a stem-changing -ir verb (e → i). The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: compito, compites, compite and compiten — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: competimos, competís. In the preterite the third-person forms change too: compitió, compitieron, and the gerund is compitiendo. The nosotros and vosotros forms keep the plain stem, which is the part learners most often get right by accident.

What is the gerund and the past participle of competir?

The gerund is compitiendo and the past participle is competido. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.

How do I say "I compete" in the past?

It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: Ayer, yo competí con los mejores atletas — "Yesterday, I competed against the best athletes". For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: De niño, yo competía por el primer premio — "As a child, I used to compete for the first prize". For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Hoy, yo he competido con los mejores atletas — "Today, I have competed against the best athletes".

What is the difference between competir and concursar?

Concursar is to take part in a competition or contest. Competir is the act of competing against others in it. Competir means to compete: competir en el torneo, competir con los mejores, competir por el primer premio. The stem changes e to i in the present.

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