Doler Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb doler means to hurt, to ache, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. Doler works like gustar: the person is an indirect object and the body part is the subject. You say me duele la cabeza, not yo duelo la cabeza, and me duelen los pies when the subject is plural. Like every Spanish verb, doler 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 Me duele la cabeza — "My head hurts". 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: duelo, dueles, duele and duelen — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: dolemos, doléis. Doler works like gustar: the person is an indirect object pronoun (me, te, le, nos, os, les) and the body part is the subject, so the verb agrees with the body part, not with the person.

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: doler
  • English: to hurt, to ache
  • Verb type: stem-changing -er verb (o → ue)
  • Ending: -er
  • Gerund: doliendo
  • Past participle: dolido
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + dolido)

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

Full conjugation tables

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

Present indicative

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | duelo | | tú | dueles | | él/ella/Ud. | duele | | nosotros/as | dolemos | | vosotros/as | doléis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | duelen |

Preterite

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | dolí | | tú | doliste | | él/ella/Ud. | dolió | | nosotros/as | dolimos | | vosotros/as | dolisteis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | dolieron |

Imperfect

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | dolía | | tú | dolías | | él/ella/Ud. | dolía | | nosotros/as | dolíamos | | vosotros/as | dolíais | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | dolían |

Future

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | doleré | | tú | dolerás | | él/ella/Ud. | dolerá | | nosotros/as | doleremos | | vosotros/as | doleréis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | dolerán |

Conditional

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | dolería | | tú | dolerías | | él/ella/Ud. | dolería | | nosotros/as | doleríamos | | vosotros/as | doleríais | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | dolerían |

Present perfect

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

Pluperfect

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

Future perfect

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

Conditional perfect

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

Present subjunctive

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | duela | | tú | duelas | | él/ella/Ud. | duela | | nosotros/as | dolamos | | vosotros/as | doláis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | duelan |

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | doliera | | tú | dolieras | | él/ella/Ud. | doliera | | nosotros/as | doliéramos | | vosotros/as | dolierais | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | dolieran |

Imperative (affirmative)

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | tú | duele | | él/ella/Ud. | duela | | nosotros/as | dolamos | | vosotros/as | doled | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | duelan |

Imperative (negative)

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | tú | duelas | | él/ella/Ud. | duela | | nosotros/as | dolamos | | vosotros/as | doláis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | duelan |

Gerund and past participle

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

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: duelo, dueles, duele and duelen — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: dolemos, doléis. For doler, the present indicative looks like this in a real sentence: Me duele la cabeza — "My head hurts".

Preterite

Use the preterite for finished actions with a clear end, often with ayer, el año pasado or anoche. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For doler, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Ayer, me dolió la espalda — "Yesterday, my back hurt".

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 doler, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: De niño, me dolía el estómago — "As a child, my stomach used to hurt".

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 doler, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Mañana, me dolerán los pies — "Tomorrow, my feet will hurt".

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 doler, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Me dolería la cabeza si pudiera — "My head would hurt 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 doler, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Hoy, me ha dolido la espalda — "Today, my back has hurt".

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 doler, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Ya me había dolido el estómago antes de salir — "My stomach had already hurt 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 doler, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Para mañana, me habrán dolido los pies — "By tomorrow, my feet will have hurt".

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 doler, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Me habría dolido la cabeza con más tiempo — "My head would have hurt 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: duelo, dueles, duele and duelen — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: dolemos, doléis. For doler, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que le duela la espalda — "I hope his back doesn't hurt".

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 regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For doler, the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) looks like this in a real sentence: Si me doliera el estómago, todo cambiaría — "If my stomach hurt, 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: duelo, dueles, duele and duelen — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: dolemos, doléis. Doler has no natural affirmative imperative — you do not order pain. In practice Spanish uses the subjunctive for wishes instead: ¡Que no te duela la cabeza!

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: duelo, dueles, duele and duelen — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: dolemos, doléis. For doler, the imperative (negative) looks like this in a real sentence: ¡Que no te duela la cabeza! — "I hope your head doesn't hurt!".

Example sentences

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

  1. Me duele la cabeza — "My head hurts"
  2. Le duele la espalda — "His back hurts"
  3. Ayer, me dolió el estómago — "Yesterday, my stomach hurt"
  4. Antes, nos dolían los pies — "Before, our feet used to hurt"
  5. Mañana, te dolerá la garganta — "Tomorrow, your throat will hurt"
  6. Me dolería la cabeza si tuviera más tiempo — "My head would hurt if I had more time"
  7. Le ha dolido la espalda — "His back has hurt"
  8. Espero que le duela el estómago — "I hope his stomach doesn't hurt"
  9. Ya me habían dolido los pies antes de salir — "My feet had already hurt before leaving"
  10. Les dolía la garganta cuando eran jóvenes — "Their throat used to hurt when they were young"

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo duelo la cabeza. — Right: Me duele la cabeza. — Doler works like gustar: the person is an indirect object and the body part is the subject. You say Me duele la cabeza, not Yo duelo la cabeza.
  2. Wrong: Me duele los pies. — Right: Me duelen los pies. — Doler agrees with the body part, not with you: los pies is plural, so it is me duelen los pies, not me duele los pies.
  3. Wrong: Yo dolo la espalda. — Right: Yo duelo la espalda. — doler is a stem-changing verb (o → ue): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is duelo, not dolo.
  4. Wrong: Espero que le duele la espalda — Right: Espero que le duela la espalda — After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: Espero que le duela la espalda — not the indicative Espero que le duele la espalda.
  5. Wrong: Ayer, me duele el estómago — Right: Ayer, me dolió el estómago — Ayer points to a finished action in the past, so it needs the preterite: Ayer, me dolió el estómago.

Quiz: test yourself

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

  1. Complete the sentence: Me ______ la cabeza — "My head hurts" (present) A. duele B. duelen C. dolió D. dolieron

  2. Complete the sentence: Le ______ la espalda — "His back hurt" (preterite) A. dolió B. dolieron C. dolía D. dolían

  3. Complete the sentence: Nos ______ el estómago — "Our stomach used to hurt" (imperfect) A. dolieron B. dolía C. dolían D. dolió

  4. Complete the sentence: Te ______ los pies — "Your feet will hurt" (future) A. dolerá B. dolieron C. dolió D. dolerán

  5. Complete the sentence: Me ______ la garganta — "My throat would hurt" (conditional) A. dolió B. dolieron C. dolería D. dolerían

  6. Complete the sentence: Espero que le ______ la cabeza — "I hope his head doesn't hurt" (present subjunctive) A. dolió B. dolieron C. duela D. duelan

  7. Complete the sentence: Si me ______ la espalda, todo cambiaría — "If my back hurt, everything would change" (imperfect subjunctive) A. doliera B. dolieran C. dolió D. dolieron

  8. Complete the sentence: Nos ______ el estómago — "Our stomach has hurt" (present perfect) A. dolió B. dolieron C. ha dolido D. han dolido

  9. Complete the sentence: Me ______ los pies — "My feet will have hurt" (future perfect) A. dolieron B. dolió C. habrán dolido D. habrá dolido

  10. Which is the gerund of doler, used with estar for the progressive? A. doliendo B. dolido C. duelo D. dolí

Answer key

  1. duele — The present form is duele.
  2. dolió — The preterite form is dolió.
  3. dolía — The imperfect form is dolía.
  4. dolerán — The future form is dolerán.
  5. dolería — The conditional form is dolería.
  6. duela — The present subjunctive form is duela.
  7. doliera — The imperfect subjunctive form is doliera.
  8. ha dolido — The present perfect form is ha dolido.
  9. habrán dolido — The future perfect form is habrán dolido.
  10. doliendo — The gerund of doler is doliendo: estoy doliendo. The participle dolido is used with haber instead.

Frequently asked questions

What does doler mean in English?

doler means to hurt, to ache. It is used in everyday situations such as Me duele la cabeza — "My head hurts". The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

Is doler regular?

No. doler is a stem-changing -er verb (o → ue). The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: duelo, dueles, duele and duelen — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: dolemos, doléis. 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 doler?

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

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

It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: Ayer, me dolió la espalda — "Yesterday, my back hurt". For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: De niño, me dolía el estómago — "As a child, my stomach used to hurt". For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Hoy, me ha dolido la espalda — "Today, my back has hurt".

What is the difference between doler and herir?

Herir means to wound someone or to hurt their feelings — it takes a direct object. Doler describes pain you feel: me duele la cabeza. Doler works like gustar: the person is an indirect object and the body part is the subject. You say me duele la cabeza, not yo duelo la cabeza, and me duelen los pies when the subject is plural.

Why does doler use me, te and le instead of yo, tú and él?

Because doler works like gustar: the body part is the subject and the person is the indirect object. You say me duele la cabeza — literally, the head hurts to me — and the verb agrees with the body part: me duele la cabeza, me duelen los pies.

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