Economizar Conjugation in Spanish
Learning to conjugate economizar — «to save, to economise» — opens up a whole set of sentences you will use every day. It is a spelling-changing -ar verb verb, and this page covers it completely: thirteen tenses, the gerund economizando and the past participle economizado, example sentences in every tense, the common mistakes and a quiz with an answer key. A good first sentence to learn is «Yo economizo todos los días» — I save every day. Once you can say that, the rest of the table falls into place person by person.
Quick facts
- Infinitive: economizar
- English: to save, to economise
- Verb type: spelling-changing -ar verb
- Ending: -ar
- Gerund: economizando
- Past participle: economizado
- Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + economizado)
- Spelling change: in the preterite the yo form is economicé, not economizé, so the stem-final letter changes before e and i.
- Spelling change: in the present subjunctive the yo form is economice, not economize, so the stem-final letter changes before e and i.
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for economizar, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for economizar. The imperfect subjunctive is shown in its -ra forms; the -se forms use the same stem.
Gerund: economizando · Past participle: economizado
Present Indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | economizo |
| tú | economizas |
| él/ella/Ud. | economiza |
| nosotros/as | economizamos |
| vosotros/as | economizáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | economizan |
The present is the tense you will use most with economizar. It covers daily routines, permanent facts and actions in progress. Learn the yo form economizo first, then the tú and él forms, which are the ones that change the stem in stem-changing verbs.
Preterite
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | economicé |
| tú | economizaste |
| él/ella/Ud. | economizó |
| nosotros/as | economizamos |
| vosotros/as | economizasteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | economizaron |
The preterite of economizar reports what happened. «Ayer yo economicé por la tarde» places the action firmly in finished time. It is the tense of stories and reports, not of background description.
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | economizaba |
| tú | economizabas |
| él/ella/Ud. | economizaba |
| nosotros/as | economizábamos |
| vosotros/as | economizabais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | economizaban |
The imperfect of economizar paints the background of a past scene: repeated actions, states and descriptions. «Antes, yo economizaba todos los días» is the pattern. Pair it with the preterite when one event interrupts another.
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | economizaré |
| tú | economizarás |
| él/ella/Ud. | economizará |
| nosotros/as | economizaremos |
| vosotros/as | economizaréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | economizarán |
The future of economizar looks forward: what will happen tomorrow, next week or next year. «Mañana yo economizaré sin falta» is the pattern. Remember that the future can also express probability about the present in Spanish.
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | economizaría |
| tú | economizarías |
| él/ella/Ud. | economizaría |
| nosotros/as | economizaríamos |
| vosotros/as | economizaríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | economizarían |
The conditional of economizar is the tense of «would»: what you would do, what would happen, what you would like. «Si pudiera, yo economizaría sin dudarlo» shows the pattern. It is built on the infinitive, just like the future.
Present Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he economizado |
| tú | has economizado |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha economizado |
| nosotros/as | hemos economizado |
| vosotros/as | habéis economizado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han economizado |
The present perfect of economizar says «have done»: the action is finished but its result still matters now. «Hoy yo he economizado dos veces» is the pattern. Learn the participle economizado well — every perfect tense depends on it.
Pluperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había economizado |
| tú | habías economizado |
| él/ella/Ud. | había economizado |
| nosotros/as | habíamos economizado |
| vosotros/as | habíais economizado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían economizado |
The pluperfect of economizar steps one event further back than the preterite. «Antes de salir, yo había economizado» is the pattern: first this happened, then the story moved on. It is haber in the imperfect plus economizado.
Future Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré economizado |
| tú | habrás economizado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá economizado |
| nosotros/as | habremos economizado |
| vosotros/as | habréis economizado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán economizado |
The future perfect of economizar combines the future of haber with economizado. «Para el viernes, yo habré economizado ya» is the pattern. Use it when the completion matters more than the action itself.
Conditional Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría economizado |
| tú | habrías economizado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría economizado |
| nosotros/as | habríamos economizado |
| vosotros/as | habríais economizado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían economizado |
The conditional perfect of economizar is the tense of «would have done». «Yo habría economizado si hubiera podido» is the pattern. It is built from haber in the conditional plus economizado.
Present Subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | economice |
| tú | economices |
| él/ella/Ud. | economice |
| nosotros/as | economicemos |
| vosotros/as | economicéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | economicen |
The present subjunctive of economizar is the mood of what is wished, doubted or demanded rather than stated as fact. «Espero que tú economices» is the pattern. If the trigger is in the past, switch to the imperfect subjunctive instead.
Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra forms)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | economizara |
| tú | economizaras |
| él/ella/Ud. | economizara |
| nosotros/as | economizáramos |
| vosotros/as | economizarais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | economizaran |
The imperfect subjunctive of economizar handles the hypothetical past and the polite conditional. «Ojalá yo economizara más a menudo» is the pattern. The -ra forms in the table are the standard ones; the -se forms use the same stem with -se endings.
Imperative — Affirmative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | economiza |
| él/ella/Ud. | economice |
| nosotros/as | economicemos |
| vosotros/as | economizad |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | economicen |
There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.
The affirmative imperative of economizar is for orders and instructions. «¡economiza, por favor!» is the pattern. Remember there is no yo form in the imperative, and the nosotros form doubles as a suggestion: «¡economicemos!» means «let's do it».
Imperative — Negative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | economices |
| él/ella/Ud. | economice |
| nosotros/as | economicemos |
| vosotros/as | economicéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | economicen |
There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.
The negative imperative of economizar is built on the present subjunctive: «¡No economices!». Learn it as a set with the subjunctive table above, and never follow no with the affirmative command form.
Example sentences
- Yo economizo todos los días. — I save every day.
- Ayer yo economicé por la tarde. — Yesterday I saved in the afternoon.
- Antes, yo economizaba todos los días. — In the past, I used to save every day.
- Mañana yo economizaré sin falta. — Tomorrow I will save without fail.
- Si tuviera más tiempo, yo economizaría ahora mismo. — If I had more time, I would save right now.
- Hoy yo he economizado dos veces. — Today I have saved twice.
- Espero que tú economices pronto. — I hope You save soon.
- Si yo economizara, todo sería distinto. — If I saved, everything would be different.
- Ahora mismo yo estoy economizando. — Right now I am saving.
- ¡economiza, por favor! — Save, please!
Common mistakes
1. Missing the spelling change in the preterite
Wrong: Yo economizé.
Right: Yo economicé.
The spelling changes so the pronunciation stays the same: the yo form in the preterite is economicé, not economizé. The endings are regular — only the spelling of the stem-final letter adjusts before e and i.
2. Using the imperfect for a finished event
Wrong: Ayer yo economizaba.
Right: Ayer yo economicé.
Yesterday's finished action needs the preterite, economicé. The imperfect economizaba describes what used to happen or what was going on, not a single completed event.
3. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
Wrong: Espero que tú economizas.
Right: Espero que tú economices.
After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: economices, not the indicative economizas. Wishes, hopes and doubts all trigger this change.
4. Using the affirmative imperative after no
Wrong: No economiza.
Right: No economices.
Negative commands use the subjunctive-based forms: no economices. The affirmative economiza can never follow no.
5. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
Wrong: Yo economizar todos los días.
Right: Yo economizo todos los días.
The infinitive economizar names the action; it never works as the main verb of a sentence. Conjugate it for the person: yo economizo.
6. Confusing the gerund with the past participle
Wrong: He economizando.
Right: He economizado.
The perfect tenses use haber plus the past participle: he economizado. The gerund economizando goes with estar for actions in progress («Estoy economizando»), never with haber.
Quiz
Test yourself on the forms above. Choose the correct answer, then check the key below.
1. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of economizar in the present indicative?
- (a) economizamos
- (b) economizo
- (c) economiza
- (d) economizas
2. What is the nosotros/as form of economizar in the preterite?
- (a) economizó
- (b) economizaste
- (c) economicé
- (d) economizamos
3. What is the vosotros/as form of economizar in the imperfect?
- (a) economizabas
- (b) economizabais
- (c) economizaba
- (d) economizaba
4. What is the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of economizar in the future?
- (a) economizarás
- (b) economizarán
- (c) economizaré
- (d) economizará
5. What is the yo form of economizar in the conditional?
- (a) economizaría
- (b) economizaríamos
- (c) economizaría
- (d) economizarías
6. What is the tú form of economizar in the present perfect?
- (a) hemos economizado
- (b) has economizado
- (c) he economizado
- (d) ha economizado
7. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of economizar in the present subjunctive?
- (a) economices
- (b) economice
- (c) economicemos
- (d) economice
8. What is the nosotros/as form of economizar in the imperfect subjunctive (-ra forms)?
- (a) economizara
- (b) economizáramos
- (c) economizara
- (d) economizaras
9. What is the gerund of economizar?
- (a) economizado
- (b) economizando
- (c) economizar
- (d) economizo
10. What is the past participle of economizar?
- (a) economizando
- (b) economizar
- (c) economicé
- (d) economizado
Answer key
1. (c) — In the present indicative, the él/ella/Ud. form of economizar is economiza. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 2. (d) — In the preterite, the nosotros/as form of economizar is economizamos. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 3. (b) — In the imperfect, the vosotros/as form of economizar is economizabais. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 4. (b) — In the future, the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of economizar is economizarán. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 5. (a) — In the conditional, the yo form of economizar is economizaría. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 6. (b) — In the present perfect, the tú form of economizar is has economizado. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 7. (b) — In the present subjunctive, the él/ella/Ud. form of economizar is economice. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 8. (b) — In the imperfect subjunctive (-ra forms), the nosotros/as form of economizar is economizáramos. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 9. (b) — The gerund of economizar is economizando. It is used with estar for the progressive: «Estoy economizando». 10. (d) — The past participle of economizar is economizado. It follows haber in all the perfect tenses: «he economizado».
Frequently asked questions
Is economizar regular or irregular?
Mostly yes — economizar takes the regular -ar endings, but the spelling of the stem changes in some forms (for example the yo preterite economicé). The endings never change; only the stem-final letter adjusts so the pronunciation stays the same.
What are the gerund and past participle of economizar?
The gerund is economizando and the past participle is economizado. Use the gerund with estar for actions in progress («Estoy economizando») and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses («he economizado»).
How do I say «I save» in Spanish?
Say «Yo economizo todos los días». That is the yo form of the present tense, the form you need for talking about yourself right now.
What is the difference between the preterite and the imperfect of economizar?
Use the preterite (economicé) for a single finished event and the imperfect (economizaba) for habits and background. «Ayer yo economicé» reports something that happened and ended; «Antes, yo economizaba» describes what used to happen.
When do I use the subjunctive with economizar?
Use the subjunctive after wishes, doubts, emotions and impersonal expressions — for example «Espero que tú economices». The trigger sits in the main clause; once it is there, the subjunctive form is required, not a stylistic choice.
How do I use economizar in the present perfect?
Put haber in the present before the past participle: «Hoy yo he economizado». The participle economizado never changes for person — only haber changes — so once you know the participle, the whole perfect tense follows.
Related links
- Practise this verb in one tense: economizar-present-tense
- More examples and a quiz: economizar-examples-and-quiz
- Browse all Spanish verbs: /spanish/
- Related verb: durar
- Related verb: editar
- Related verb: donar
- Conjugate any verb: verb-conjugator
- Test yourself: verb-quiz