Introduction
Learning to conjugate consistir — “to consist of” — opens up a whole set of sentences you will use in real Spanish. Whether you are talking about what you do every day, what happened yesterday, or what you plan to do tomorrow, consistir is one of the verbs that carries those sentences, especially when the topic is three parts. On this page you will find the full conjugation of consistir 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. consistir is a regular -ir verb; the gerund is consistiendo and the past participle is consistido, and both appear in the tables and examples below. For example: “El curso consiste en tres partes todos los días.” — “The course consists of three parts.” Read the tables first, then the notes, and finish with the quiz to check what you have learned.
Quick facts
| Infinitive | consistir |
| English | to consist of |
| Verb type | Regular -ir verb |
| Gerund | consistiendo |
| Past participle | consistido |
| Auxiliary verb | haber |
Full conjugation tables
Gerund: consistiendo · Past participle: consistido
Present Indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | consisto |
| tú | consistes |
| él/ella/Ud. | consiste |
| nosotros/as | consistimos |
| vosotros/as | consistís |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | consisten |
The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For consistir, the yo form is consisto, as in “El curso consiste en tres partes.” — “The course consists of three parts.”
Preterite
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | consistí |
| tú | consististe |
| él/ella/Ud. | consistió |
| nosotros/as | consistimos |
| vosotros/as | consististeis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | consistieron |
The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. For consistir, the yo form is consistí, as in “El curso consistió en tres partes.” — “The course consisted of three parts.”
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | consistía |
| tú | consistías |
| él/ella/Ud. | consistía |
| nosotros/as | consistíamos |
| vosotros/as | consistíais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | consistían |
The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. For consistir, the yo form is consistía, as in “El curso consistía en tres partes.” — “The course used to consist of three parts.”
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | consistiré |
| tú | consistirás |
| él/ella/Ud. | consistirá |
| nosotros/as | consistiremos |
| vosotros/as | consistiréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | consistirán |
The future tense states what will happen. It is also used for predictions and promises. For consistir, the yo form is consistiré, as in “El curso consistirá en tres partes.” — “The course will consist of three parts.”
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | consistiría |
| tú | consistirías |
| él/ella/Ud. | consistiría |
| nosotros/as | consistiríamos |
| vosotros/as | consistiríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | consistirían |
The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. For consistir, the yo form is consistiría, as in “El curso consistiría en tres partes.” — “The course would consist of three parts.”
Present Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he consistido |
| tú | has consistido |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha consistido |
| nosotros/as | hemos consistido |
| vosotros/as | habéis consistido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han consistido |
The present perfect connects the past with the present: something that has happened, often today or recently. For consistir, the yo form is he consistido, as in “El curso ha consistido en tres partes.” — “The course has consisted of three parts.”
Pluperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había consistido |
| tú | habías consistido |
| él/ella/Ud. | había consistido |
| nosotros/as | habíamos consistido |
| vosotros/as | habíais consistido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían consistido |
The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event. For consistir, the yo form is había consistido, as in “El curso había consistido en tres partes.” — “The course had consisted of three parts.”
Future Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré consistido |
| tú | habrás consistido |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá consistido |
| nosotros/as | habremos consistido |
| vosotros/as | habréis consistido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán consistido |
The future perfect describes something that will already be finished by a future moment. For consistir, the yo form is habré consistido, as in “El curso habrá consistido en tres partes.” — “The course will have consisted of three parts.”
Conditional Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría consistido |
| tú | habrías consistido |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría consistido |
| nosotros/as | habríamos consistido |
| vosotros/as | habríais consistido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían consistido |
The conditional perfect describes what would have happened under different conditions. For consistir, the yo form is habría consistido, as in “El curso habría consistido en tres partes.” — “The course would have consisted of three parts.”
Present Subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | consista |
| tú | consistas |
| él/ella/Ud. | consista |
| nosotros/as | consistamos |
| vosotros/as | consistáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | consistan |
The present subjunctive is used after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and influence. For consistir, the yo form is consista, as in “Espero que el curso consista en tres partes.” — “I hope that the course consists of three parts.”
Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | consistiera |
| tú | consistieras |
| él/ella/Ud. | consistiera |
| nosotros/as | consistiéramos |
| vosotros/as | consistierais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | consistieran |
The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past versions of subjunctive clauses, and after "si" in hypothetical sentences. For consistir, the yo form is consistiera, as in “Si el curso consistiera en tres partes, ...” — “If The course consisted of three parts, ...”
The -se variant of this tense follows the same pattern with -se instead of -ra: consistiera becomes consistiese, and the same change applies to every person. Both variants mean the same thing; -ra is more common in everyday speech.
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | consiste |
| Ud. | consista |
| nosotros/as | consistamos |
| vosotros/as | consistid |
| Uds. | consistan |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | consistas |
| Ud. | consista |
| nosotros/as | consistamos |
| vosotros/as | consistáis |
| Uds. | consistan |
The imperative is for orders, requests and advice. The affirmative tú form is consiste, as in “¡Consiste en tres partes” — “Consist of three parts” For the negative imperative, Spanish uses the subjunctive forms: no consistas. Note that the affirmative and negative forms differ, so check the table above before you give an order with consistir.
Example sentences
Here are ten sentences with consistir, covering different tenses and persons. Read each one out loud, then read the translation, and notice how the verb form changes while the meaning stays the same.
- “El curso consiste en tres partes cada día.” — “The course consists of three parts.”
- “El curso consiste en tres partes todos los días.” — “The course consists of three parts.”
- “El curso consistió en tres partes ayer.” — “The course consisted of three parts.”
- “El curso consistió en tres partes ayer.” — “The course consisted of three parts.”
- “El curso consistía en tres partes cuando era joven.” — “The course used to consist of three parts.”
- “El curso consistirá en tres partes mañana.” — “The course will consist of three parts.”
- “Si pudiera, el curso consistiría en tres partes.” — “If I could, the course would consist of three parts.”
- “El curso ha consistido en tres partes hoy.” — “The course has consisted of three parts.”
- “Espero que el curso consista en tres partes.” — “I hope that the course consists of three parts.”
- “El curso está consistiendo en tres partes ahora mismo.” — “The course is consisting of three parts.”
Common mistakes
Forgetting the accent in the preterite
The yo preterite form is consistí, with an accent on the stressed vowel. Writing it without the accent — consisti — is a spelling error, and in speech the stress lands in the wrong place. Preterite yo forms that end in a vowel carry that accent, so check it every time you write the preterite of consistir.
Mixing up present and preterite nosotros
For consistir, the nosotros form is the same in the present and the preterite: consistimos. Only the context tells you which tense is meant, so pay attention to the time words around it — cada día points to the present, ayer points to the preterite. Do not invent a different form for one of the tenses.
Using ser instead of haber in perfect tenses
Spanish perfect tenses always use haber, never ser: yo he consistido en tres partes. English speakers sometimes reach for soy because English uses to be in some passives, but soy consistido is not the present perfect of consistir — it is a passive construction with a different meaning.
Confusing consistir with conservar
consistir and conservar look similar, and learners mix them up. They are different verbs with different meanings, so check which one the sentence needs before you conjugate. If you can substitute the English meaning of consistir — consist of — the sentence needs consistir; if it needs the meaning of conservar, use that verb instead.
Using the indicative after "espero que"
After espero que (I hope that), Spanish needs the subjunctive: Espero que yo consista en tres partes. Using the indicative — Espero que yo consisto — is one of the most frequent learner errors with consistir. Whenever the main clause expresses a wish, doubt or emotion, switch to the subjunctive.
Quiz
Test yourself on the forms above. Choose the best answer, then check the key below.
1. What is the yo form of consistir in the present?
- A. consistes
- B. consiste
- C. consistimos
- D. consisto
2. What is the tu form of consistir in the preterite?
- A. consistimos
- B. consististe
- C. consistí
- D. consistió
3. What is the el form of consistir in the imperfect?
- A. consistías
- B. consistíamos
- C. consistíais
- D. consistía
4. What is the nosotros form of consistir in the future?
- A. consistirá
- B. consistiremos
- C. consistiré
- D. consistirás
5. What is the vosotros form of consistir in the present perfect?
- A. he consistido
- B. has consistido
- C. ha consistido
- D. habéis consistido
6. What is the ellos form of consistir in the present subjunctive?
- A. consista
- B. consistan
- C. consista
- D. consistas
7. What is the yo form of consistir in the preterite?
- A. consististe
- B. consistió
- C. consistimos
- D. consistí
8. What is the tu form of consistir in the imperfect?
- A. consistíamos
- B. consistías
- C. consistía
- D. consistía
9. What is the el form of consistir in the future?
- A. consistiré
- B. consistirás
- C. consistiremos
- D. consistirá
10. What is the nosotros form of consistir in the conditional?
- A. consistiría
- B. consistiríamos
- C. consistiría
- D. consistirías
Answer key
- consisto — The present table gives yo = consisto.
- consististe — The preterite table gives tu = consististe.
- consistía — The imperfect table gives el = consistía.
- consistiremos — The future table gives nosotros = consistiremos.
- habéis consistido — The present perfect table gives vosotros = habéis consistido.
- consistan — The present subjunctive table gives ellos = consistan.
- consistí — The preterite table gives yo = consistí.
- consistías — The imperfect table gives tu = consistías.
- consistirá — The future table gives el = consistirá.
- consistiríamos — The conditional table gives nosotros = consistiríamos.
Frequently asked questions
Is consistir regular or irregular?
consistir is a regular -ir verb. It follows the regular patterns for its ending in every tense. The tables on this page show the correct form for every person, so use them rather than guessing.
What is the past participle of consistir?
The past participle of consistir is consistido. You use it with haber in the perfect tenses — he consistido, había consistido, habré consistido — and after estar in passive-style descriptions. It is the regular participle for its verb class. Learn it together with the gerund consistiendo and you have the two non-finite forms covered.
What is the gerund of consistir?
The gerund of consistir is consistiendo. You use it with estar to describe an action in progress, as in estoy consistiendo, and after verbs such as seguir and ir. Keep it distinct from the past participle consistido, which belongs with haber, not with estar.
What is the yo form of consistir in the present?
The yo form is consisto — “El curso consiste en tres partes.” means “The course consists of three parts.” That is the form you will use most often when you talk about yourself. For other persons, use the present table above: tú consistes, él consiste, nosotros consistimos, ellos consisten.
What is the difference between consistir and conservar?
consistir means “to consist of”, while conservar means “to preserve, to keep”. They share letters and sometimes a root, but they are different verbs. If your sentence means “to consist of”, use consistir; if it is about the meaning of conservar, use conservar instead. Checking the English meaning first prevents most mix-ups.
Related links
- consistir in the present tense — the full present-tense page for this verb.
- consistir examples and quiz — more sentences, dialogues and a second quiz.
- Spanish verbs — the Spanish hub with every verb on VerbFlow.
- conservar conjugation — another verb in the same family.
- considerar conjugation — another verb in the same family.
- constar conjugation — another verb in the same family.
- Verb conjugator — conjugate any Spanish verb instantly.
- Verb quiz — practise conjugations with timed questions.