Introduction

Learning to conjugate consumir — “to consume” — 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, consumir is one of the verbs that carries those sentences, especially when the topic is a lot of water. On this page you will find the full conjugation of consumir 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. consumir is a regular -ir verb; the gerund is consumiendo and the past participle is consumido, and both appear in the tables and examples below. For example: “Yo consumo mucha agua todos los días.” — “I consume a lot of water.” Read the tables first, then the notes, and finish with the quiz to check what you have learned.

Quick facts
Infinitive consumir
English to consume
Verb type Regular -ir verb
Gerund consumiendo
Past participle consumido
Auxiliary verb haber

Full conjugation tables

Gerund: consumiendo · Past participle: consumido

Present Indicative

Person Form
yo consumo
tú consumes
él/ella/Ud. consume
nosotros/as consumimos
vosotros/as consumís
ellos/ellas/Uds. consumen

The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For consumir, the yo form is consumo, as in “Yo consumo mucha agua.” — “I consume a lot of water.”

Preterite

Person Form
yo consumí
tú consumiste
él/ella/Ud. consumió
nosotros/as consumimos
vosotros/as consumisteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. consumieron

The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. For consumir, the yo form is consumí, as in “Yo consumí mucha agua.” — “I consumed a lot of water.”

Imperfect

Person Form
yo consumía
tú consumías
él/ella/Ud. consumía
nosotros/as consumíamos
vosotros/as consumíais
ellos/ellas/Uds. consumían

The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. For consumir, the yo form is consumía, as in “Yo consumía mucha agua.” — “I used to consume a lot of water.”

Future

Person Form
yo consumiré
tú consumirás
él/ella/Ud. consumirá
nosotros/as consumiremos
vosotros/as consumiréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. consumirán

The future tense states what will happen. It is also used for predictions and promises. For consumir, the yo form is consumiré, as in “Yo consumiré mucha agua.” — “I will consume a lot of water.”

Conditional

Person Form
yo consumiría
tú consumirías
él/ella/Ud. consumiría
nosotros/as consumiríamos
vosotros/as consumiríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. consumirían

The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. For consumir, the yo form is consumiría, as in “Yo consumiría mucha agua.” — “I would consume a lot of water.”

Present Perfect

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

The present perfect connects the past with the present: something that has happened, often today or recently. For consumir, the yo form is he consumido, as in “Yo he consumido mucha agua.” — “I have consumed a lot of water.”

Pluperfect

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

The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event. For consumir, the yo form is había consumido, as in “Yo había consumido mucha agua.” — “I had consumed a lot of water.”

Future Perfect

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

The future perfect describes something that will already be finished by a future moment. For consumir, the yo form is habré consumido, as in “Yo habré consumido mucha agua.” — “I will have consumed a lot of water.”

Conditional Perfect

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

The conditional perfect describes what would have happened under different conditions. For consumir, the yo form is habría consumido, as in “Yo habría consumido mucha agua.” — “I would have consumed a lot of water.”

Present Subjunctive

Person Form
yo consuma
tú consumas
él/ella/Ud. consuma
nosotros/as consumamos
vosotros/as consumáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. consuman

The present subjunctive is used after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and influence. For consumir, the yo form is consuma, as in “Espero que yo consuma mucha agua.” — “I hope that I consume a lot of water.”

Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra)

Person Form
yo consumiera
tú consumieras
él/ella/Ud. consumiera
nosotros/as consumiéramos
vosotros/as consumierais
ellos/ellas/Uds. consumieran

The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past versions of subjunctive clauses, and after "si" in hypothetical sentences. For consumir, the yo form is consumiera, as in “Si yo consumiera mucha agua, ...” — “If I consumed a lot of water, ...”

The -se variant of this tense follows the same pattern with -se instead of -ra: consumiera becomes consumiese, 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 consume
Ud. consuma
nosotros/as consumamos
vosotros/as consumid
Uds. consuman

Imperative (negative)

Person Form
tú consumas
Ud. consuma
nosotros/as consumamos
vosotros/as consumáis
Uds. consuman

The imperative is for orders, requests and advice. The affirmative tú form is consume, as in “¡Consume mucha agua” — “Consume a lot of water” For the negative imperative, Spanish uses the subjunctive forms: no consumas. Note that the affirmative and negative forms differ, so check the table above before you give an order with consumir.

Example sentences

Here are ten sentences with consumir, 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.

  1. “Yo consumo mucha agua cada día.” — “I consume a lot of water.”
  2. “Él consume mucha agua todos los días.” — “He consumes a lot of water.”
  3. “Yo consumí mucha agua ayer.” — “I consumed a lot of water.”
  4. “Él consumió mucha agua ayer.” — “He consumed a lot of water.”
  5. “Yo consumía mucha agua cuando era joven.” — “I used to consume a lot of water.”
  6. “Nosotros consumiremos mucha agua mañana.” — “We will consume a lot of water.”
  7. “Si pudiera, yo consumiría mucha agua.” — “If I could, i would consume a lot of water.”
  8. “Yo he consumido mucha agua hoy.” — “I have consumed a lot of water.”
  9. “Espero que yo consuma mucha agua.” — “I hope that I consume a lot of water.”
  10. “estoy consumiendo mucha agua ahora mismo.” — “I am consuming a lot of water.”

Common mistakes

Forgetting the accent in the preterite

The yo preterite form is consumí, with an accent on the stressed vowel. Writing it without the accent — consumi — 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 consumir.

Mixing up present and preterite nosotros

For consumir, the nosotros form is the same in the present and the preterite: consumimos. 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 consumido mucha agua. English speakers sometimes reach for soy because English uses to be in some passives, but soy consumido is not the present perfect of consumir — it is a passive construction with a different meaning.

Confusing consumir with conservar

consumir 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 consumir — consume — the sentence needs consumir; 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 consuma mucha agua. Using the indicative — Espero que yo consumo — is one of the most frequent learner errors with consumir. 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 consumir in the present?

  • A. consumes
  • B. consume
  • C. consumimos
  • D. consumo

2. What is the tu form of consumir in the preterite?

  • A. consumimos
  • B. consumiste
  • C. consumí
  • D. consumió

3. What is the el form of consumir in the imperfect?

  • A. consumías
  • B. consumíamos
  • C. consumíais
  • D. consumía

4. What is the nosotros form of consumir in the future?

  • A. consumirá
  • B. consumiremos
  • C. consumiré
  • D. consumirás

5. What is the vosotros form of consumir in the present perfect?

  • A. he consumido
  • B. has consumido
  • C. ha consumido
  • D. habéis consumido

6. What is the ellos form of consumir in the present subjunctive?

  • A. consuma
  • B. consuman
  • C. consuma
  • D. consumas

7. What is the yo form of consumir in the preterite?

  • A. consumiste
  • B. consumió
  • C. consumimos
  • D. consumí

8. What is the tu form of consumir in the imperfect?

  • A. consumíamos
  • B. consumías
  • C. consumía
  • D. consumía

9. What is the el form of consumir in the future?

  • A. consumiré
  • B. consumirás
  • C. consumiremos
  • D. consumirá

10. What is the nosotros form of consumir in the conditional?

  • A. consumiría
  • B. consumiríamos
  • C. consumiría
  • D. consumirías

Answer key

  1. consumo — The present table gives yo = consumo.
  2. consumiste — The preterite table gives tu = consumiste.
  3. consumía — The imperfect table gives el = consumía.
  4. consumiremos — The future table gives nosotros = consumiremos.
  5. habéis consumido — The present perfect table gives vosotros = habéis consumido.
  6. consuman — The present subjunctive table gives ellos = consuman.
  7. consumí — The preterite table gives yo = consumí.
  8. consumías — The imperfect table gives tu = consumías.
  9. consumirá — The future table gives el = consumirá.
  10. consumiríamos — The conditional table gives nosotros = consumiríamos.

Frequently asked questions

Is consumir regular or irregular?

consumir 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 consumir?

The past participle of consumir is consumido. You use it with haber in the perfect tenses — he consumido, había consumido, habré consumido — and after estar in passive-style descriptions. It is the regular participle for its verb class. Learn it together with the gerund consumiendo and you have the two non-finite forms covered.

What is the gerund of consumir?

The gerund of consumir is consumiendo. You use it with estar to describe an action in progress, as in estoy consumiendo, and after verbs such as seguir and ir. Keep it distinct from the past participle consumido, which belongs with haber, not with estar.

What is the yo form of consumir in the present?

The yo form is consumo — “Yo consumo mucha agua.” means “I consume a lot of water.” That is the form you will use most often when you talk about yourself. For other persons, use the present table above: tú consumes, él consume, nosotros consumimos, ellos consumen.

What is the difference between consumir and conservar?

consumir means “to consume”, while conservar means “to preserve, to keep”. They share letters and sometimes a root, but they are different verbs. If your sentence means “to consume”, use consumir; if it is about the meaning of conservar, use conservar instead. Checking the English meaning first prevents most mix-ups.

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