Introduction

cubrir means “to cover” in English, and it is a verb you will meet again and again once you start reading and speaking Spanish. It is used whenever you need to talk about the table with a cloth — at home, at work, and in everyday conversation — which makes it a practical verb to learn early and to use confidently. This page gives you the complete conjugation of cubrir in every tense and mood, with all six persons, plus the gerund and the past participle, example sentences, the mistakes learners make most often, a ten-question quiz and answers to the questions students ask about this verb. Every form below comes from VerbFlow's verified conjugation tables, so you can trust the accents and the irregular forms. cubrir is a irregular -ir verb, and the notes under each tense explain exactly where it follows the rules and where it breaks them. To hear it in a real sentence: “Yo cubro la mesa con un mantel todos los días.” — “I cover the table with a cloth.” Work through the tables, read the notes, then test yourself with the quiz at the end of the page.

Quick facts
Infinitive cubrir
English to cover
Verb type Irregular -ir verb
Gerund cubriendo
Past participle cubierto
Auxiliary verb haber

Full conjugation tables

Gerund: cubriendo · Past participle: cubierto

Present Indicative

Person Form
yo cubro
tú cubres
él/ella/Ud. cubre
nosotros/as cubrimos
vosotros/as cubrís
ellos/ellas/Uds. cubren

The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For cubrir, the yo form is cubro, as in “Yo cubro la mesa con un mantel.” — “I cover the table with a cloth.”

Preterite

Person Form
yo cubrí
tú cubriste
él/ella/Ud. cubrió
nosotros/as cubrimos
vosotros/as cubristeis
ellos/ellas/Uds. cubrieron

The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. For cubrir, the yo form is cubrí, as in “Yo cubrí la mesa con un mantel.” — “I covered the table with a cloth.”

Imperfect

Person Form
yo cubría
tú cubrías
él/ella/Ud. cubría
nosotros/as cubríamos
vosotros/as cubríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. cubrían

The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. For cubrir, the yo form is cubría, as in “Yo cubría la mesa con un mantel.” — “I used to cover the table with a cloth.”

Future

Person Form
yo cubriré
tú cubrirás
él/ella/Ud. cubrirá
nosotros/as cubriremos
vosotros/as cubriréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. cubrirán

The future tense states what will happen. It is also used for predictions and promises. For cubrir, the yo form is cubriré, as in “Yo cubriré la mesa con un mantel.” — “I will cover the table with a cloth.”

Conditional

Person Form
yo cubriría
tú cubrirías
él/ella/Ud. cubriría
nosotros/as cubriríamos
vosotros/as cubriríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. cubrirían

The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. For cubrir, the yo form is cubriría, as in “Yo cubriría la mesa con un mantel.” — “I would cover the table with a cloth.”

Present Perfect

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

The present perfect connects the past with the present: something that has happened, often today or recently. For cubrir, the yo form is he cubierto, as in “Yo he cubierto la mesa con un mantel.” — “I have covered the table with a cloth.” Watch out: the past participle of cubrir is irregular — cubierto, not the regular form — and that irregular participle appears in every perfect tense.

Pluperfect

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

The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event. For cubrir, the yo form is había cubierto, as in “Yo había cubierto la mesa con un mantel.” — “I had covered the table with a cloth.” Watch out: the past participle of cubrir is irregular — cubierto, not the regular form — and that irregular participle appears in every perfect tense.

Future Perfect

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

The future perfect describes something that will already be finished by a future moment. For cubrir, the yo form is habré cubierto, as in “Yo habré cubierto la mesa con un mantel.” — “I will have covered the table with a cloth.” Watch out: the past participle of cubrir is irregular — cubierto, not the regular form — and that irregular participle appears in every perfect tense.

Conditional Perfect

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

The conditional perfect describes what would have happened under different conditions. For cubrir, the yo form is habría cubierto, as in “Yo habría cubierto la mesa con un mantel.” — “I would have covered the table with a cloth.” Watch out: the past participle of cubrir is irregular — cubierto, not the regular form — and that irregular participle appears in every perfect tense.

Present Subjunctive

Person Form
yo cubra
tú cubras
él/ella/Ud. cubra
nosotros/as cubramos
vosotros/as cubráis
ellos/ellas/Uds. cubran

The present subjunctive is used after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and influence. For cubrir, the yo form is cubra, as in “Espero que yo cubra la mesa con un mantel.” — “I hope that I cover the table with a cloth.”

Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra)

Person Form
yo cubriera
tú cubrieras
él/ella/Ud. cubriera
nosotros/as cubriéramos
vosotros/as cubrierais
ellos/ellas/Uds. cubrieran

The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past versions of subjunctive clauses, and after "si" in hypothetical sentences. For cubrir, the yo form is cubriera, as in “Si yo cubriera la mesa con un mantel, ...” — “If I covered the table with a cloth, ...”

The -se variant of this tense follows the same pattern with -se instead of -ra: cubriera becomes cubriese, 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 cubre
Ud. cubra
nosotros/as cubramos
vosotros/as cubrid
Uds. cubran

Imperative (negative)

Person Form
tú cubras
Ud. cubra
nosotros/as cubramos
vosotros/as cubráis
Uds. cubran

The imperative is for orders, requests and advice. The affirmative tú form is cubre, as in “¡Cubre la mesa con un mantel” — “Cover the table with a cloth” For the negative imperative, Spanish uses the subjunctive forms: no cubras. Note that the affirmative and negative forms differ, so check the table above before you give an order with cubrir.

Example sentences

Here are ten sentences with cubrir, 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 cubro la mesa con un mantel cada día.” — “I cover the table with a cloth.”
  2. “Él cubre la mesa con un mantel todos los días.” — “He covers the table with a cloth.”
  3. “Yo cubrí la mesa con un mantel ayer.” — “I covered the table with a cloth.”
  4. “Él cubrió la mesa con un mantel ayer.” — “He covered the table with a cloth.”
  5. “Yo cubría la mesa con un mantel cuando era joven.” — “I used to cover the table with a cloth.”
  6. “Nosotros cubriremos la mesa con un mantel mañana.” — “We will cover the table with a cloth.”
  7. “Si pudiera, yo cubriría la mesa con un mantel.” — “If I could, i would cover the table with a cloth.”
  8. “Yo he cubierto la mesa con un mantel hoy.” — “I have covered the table with a cloth.”
  9. “Espero que yo cubra la mesa con un mantel.” — “I hope that I cover the table with a cloth.”
  10. “estoy cubriendo la mesa con un mantel ahora mismo.” — “I am covering the table with a cloth.”

Common mistakes

Guessing the past participle

A common error is writing cubrido as the past participle of cubrir. The correct participle is cubierto. That matters in every perfect tense: it is he cubierto, había cubierto, habré cubierto. Memorise the participle on its own and the perfect tenses take care of themselves.

Forgetting the accent in the preterite

The yo preterite form is cubrí, with an accent on the stressed vowel. Writing it without the accent — cubri — 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 cubrir.

Mixing up present and preterite nosotros

For cubrir, the nosotros form is the same in the present and the preterite: cubrimos. 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 cubierto la mesa con un mantel. English speakers sometimes reach for soy because English uses to be in some passives, but soy cubierto is not the present perfect of cubrir — it is a passive construction with a different meaning.

Confusing cubrir with descubrir

cubrir and descubrir 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 cubrir — cover — the sentence needs cubrir; if it needs the meaning of descubrir, use that verb instead.

Using the indicative after "espero que"

After espero que (I hope that), Spanish needs the subjunctive: Espero que yo cubra la mesa con un mantel. Using the indicative — Espero que yo cubro — is one of the most frequent learner errors with cubrir. 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 cubrir in the present?

  • A. cubres
  • B. cubre
  • C. cubrimos
  • D. cubro

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

  • A. cubrimos
  • B. cubriste
  • C. cubrí
  • D. cubrió

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

  • A. cubrías
  • B. cubríamos
  • C. cubríais
  • D. cubría

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

  • A. cubrirá
  • B. cubriremos
  • C. cubriré
  • D. cubrirás

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

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

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

  • A. cubra
  • B. cubran
  • C. cubra
  • D. cubras

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

  • A. cubriste
  • B. cubrió
  • C. cubrimos
  • D. cubrí

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

  • A. cubríamos
  • B. cubrías
  • C. cubría
  • D. cubría

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

  • A. cubriré
  • B. cubrirás
  • C. cubriremos
  • D. cubrirá

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

  • A. cubriría
  • B. cubriríamos
  • C. cubriría
  • D. cubrirías

Answer key

  1. cubro — The present table gives yo = cubro.
  2. cubriste — The preterite table gives tu = cubriste.
  3. cubría — The imperfect table gives el = cubría.
  4. cubriremos — The future table gives nosotros = cubriremos.
  5. habéis cubierto — The present perfect table gives vosotros = habéis cubierto.
  6. cubran — The present subjunctive table gives ellos = cubran.
  7. cubrí — The preterite table gives yo = cubrí.
  8. cubrías — The imperfect table gives tu = cubrías.
  9. cubrirá — The future table gives el = cubrirá.
  10. cubriríamos — The conditional table gives nosotros = cubriríamos.

Frequently asked questions

Is cubrir regular or irregular?

cubrir is a irregular -ir verb. It is irregular in these tenses: past-participle, present-perfect, pluperfect, future-perfect, conditional-perfect. The tables on this page show the correct form for every person, so use them rather than guessing.

What is the past participle of cubrir?

The past participle of cubrir is cubierto. You use it with haber in the perfect tenses — he cubierto, había cubierto, habré cubierto — and after estar in passive-style descriptions. Note that it is irregular: do not write the regular form. Learn it together with the gerund cubriendo and you have the two non-finite forms covered.

What is the gerund of cubrir?

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

What is the yo form of cubrir in the present?

The yo form is cubro — “Yo cubro la mesa con un mantel.” means “I cover the table with a cloth.” That is the form you will use most often when you talk about yourself. For other persons, use the present table above: tú cubres, él cubre, nosotros cubrimos, ellos cubren.

What is the difference between cubrir and descubrir?

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

Related links