Introduction

conversar means “to converse, to chat”, and it is one of the verbs you will use every day in Spanish. It is the verb for expressing “to converse, to chat” in everyday Spanish — in conversation, at work, and at home. This page shows conversar in real sentences, in short dialogues, and in the mistakes learners make most often, and it finishes with a ten-question quiz so you can test yourself. Every sentence below comes with its English translation, and every form is the correct form unless the sentence is clearly marked as past or future. For a first taste: “Yo converso con mi amigo por la mañana.” — “I converse with my friend.”

conversar in real example sentences

The twelve sentences below are grouped by how conversar is used. Read each one out loud, then read the translation. If a sentence feels useful, copy it into your own notebook with one small change — a different time, a different person, a different place — and you have a new sentence of your own.

In the present: everyday use

These sentences use {verb} in the present tense, which is how you will meet it most often: routines, facts, and things happening now.

  1. “Yo converso con mi amigo cada día.” — “I converse with my friend.”
  2. “Tú conversas con mi amigo cada día.” — “you converse with my friend.”
  3. “Él conversa con mi amigo siempre.” — “He converses with my friend.”
  4. “Nosotros conversamos con mi amigo todos los días.” — “We converse with my friend.”

Talking about the past

The present is not the only tense you need. These sentences show {verb} in the past, so you can talk about what already happened. 5. “Yo conversé con mi amigo ayer.” — “I conversed with my friend.” (preterite) 6. “Él conversó con mi amigo ayer.” — “He conversed with my friend.” (preterite) 7. “Yo conversaba con mi amigo cuando era joven.” — “I used to converse with my friend.” (imperfect)

Plans and things already done

These sentences look forward, or look back at something already finished. Notice how the verb form changes while the meaning of {verb} stays the same. 8. “Nosotros conversaremos con mi amigo mañana.” — “We will converse with my friend.” (future) 9. “Tú has conversado con mi amigo hoy.” — “you have conversed with my friend.” (present-perfect) 10. “Espero que yo converse con mi amigo.” — “I hope that I converse with my friend.” (present-subjunctive)

More everyday uses

Two more present-tense sentences, covering the remaining persons, so you can see the whole table in action. 11. “Vosotros conversáis con mi amigo cada semana.” — “You converse with my friend.” 12. “Ellos conversan con mi amigo normalmente.” — “They converse with my friend.”

conversar in context

Single sentences teach you the forms. Dialogues teach you when to use them. Read the short conversation below, then the paragraph that follows, and notice how conversar appears naturally, without anyone stopping to think about conjugation.

Dialogue in a café

Sofía: “¿Tú conversas con mi amigo?” — Do you converse with my friend?

Diego: “Sí, yo converso con mi amigo cada día. Es parte de mi rutina.” — Yes, I converse with my friend every day. It is part of my routine.

Sofía: “¿Y ayer? ¿También conversas con mi amigo?” — And yesterday? Did you converse with my friend too?

Diego: “Sí, ayer yo conversé con mi amigo. Mañana nosotros conversaremos con mi amigo otra vez.” — Yes, yesterday I conversed with my friend. Tomorrow we will converse with my friend again.

A short paragraph

Él conversa con mi amigo cada día — that one sentence already tells you a lot about how conversar works in real Spanish: who does it, when, and with what. Around it you can build a whole paragraph: what happened yesterday, what is happening now, and what will happen tomorrow, all with the same verb. When you write your own paragraph, start with the present — yo converso con mi amigo — then add one past sentence and one future sentence, and you have practised three tenses with one verb. That is the fastest way to make conversar yours: use it in a story, not only in a table.

Common mistakes

Forgetting the accent in the preterite

The yo preterite form is conversé, with an accent on the stressed vowel. Writing it without the accent — converse — 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 conversar.

Mixing up present and preterite nosotros

For conversar, the nosotros form is the same in the present and the preterite: conversamos. 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 conversado con mi amigo. English speakers sometimes reach for soy because English uses to be in some passives, but soy conversado is not the present perfect of conversar — it is a passive construction with a different meaning.

Confusing conversar with conservar

conversar 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 conversar — converse — the sentence needs conversar; 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 converse con mi amigo. Using the indicative — Espero que yo converso — is one of the most frequent learner errors with conversar. 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 conversar in the present?

  • A. conversas
  • B. conversa
  • C. conversamos
  • D. converso

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

  • A. conversamos
  • B. conversaste
  • C. conversé
  • D. conversó

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

  • A. conversabas
  • B. conversábamos
  • C. conversabais
  • D. conversaba

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

  • A. conversará
  • B. conversaremos
  • C. conversaré
  • D. conversarás

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

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

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

  • A. converse
  • B. conversen
  • C. converse
  • D. converses

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

  • A. conversaste
  • B. conversó
  • C. conversamos
  • D. conversé

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

  • A. conversábamos
  • B. conversabas
  • C. conversaba
  • D. conversaba

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

  • A. conversaré
  • B. conversarás
  • C. conversaremos
  • D. conversará

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

  • A. conversaría
  • B. conversaríamos
  • C. conversaría
  • D. conversarías

Answer key

  1. converso — The present table gives yo = converso.
  2. conversaste — The preterite table gives tu = conversaste.
  3. conversaba — The imperfect table gives el = conversaba.
  4. conversaremos — The future table gives nosotros = conversaremos.
  5. habéis conversado — The present perfect table gives vosotros = habéis conversado.
  6. conversen — The present subjunctive table gives ellos = conversen.
  7. conversé — The preterite table gives yo = conversé.
  8. conversabas — The imperfect table gives tu = conversabas.
  9. conversará — The future table gives el = conversará.
  10. conversaríamos — The conditional table gives nosotros = conversaríamos.

Frequently asked questions

How do I use conversar in a sentence?

Put the subject first, then the conjugated form, then the rest: “Yo converso con mi amigo.” — “I converse with my friend.” Change the form for the person and the tense, but keep the sentence pattern the same.

What is the most useful form of conversar to learn first?

Learn the present yo form converso first, then the preterite yo form conversé and the participle conversado. With those three you can talk about the present, the past and the perfect tenses. Add the gerund conversando next, and you can describe actions in progress too.

Is conversar reflexive?

No — conversar is not reflexive. It takes a direct object, not a reflexive pronoun: yo converso con mi amigo. Do not add me or se to it unless the sentence genuinely needs a pronoun for another reason.

Where can I see the full conjugation of conversar?

On the main conjugation page for conversar, which has every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle, plus notes, examples and a quiz. The present-tense page covers one tense in depth if that is what you need right now.

Related links