Ensayar Conjugation in Spanish
The Spanish verb ensayar means to rehearse, to try out, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. It is a regular -ar verb verb: the stem is ensay and the endings follow the -ar pattern, with the exceptions noted in the tables below. 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 «Yo ensayo todos los días», which means «I rehearse every day». 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.
Quick facts
- Infinitive: ensayar
- English: to rehearse, to try out
- Verb type: regular -ar verb
- Ending: -ar
- Gerund: ensayando
- Past participle: ensayado
- Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + ensayado)
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for ensayar, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for ensayar. The imperfect subjunctive is shown in its -ra forms; the -se forms use the same stem.
Gerund: ensayando · Past participle: ensayado
Present Indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | ensayo |
| tú | ensayas |
| él/ella/Ud. | ensaya |
| nosotros/as | ensayamos |
| vosotros/as | ensayáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | ensayan |
Use the present of ensayar for things that happen regularly and for things that are true in general. The yo form ensayo is the anchor of the table: the other persons follow the regular -ar endings from it. When you talk about yourself right now, this is the form you need.
Preterite
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | ensayé |
| tú | ensayaste |
| él/ella/Ud. | ensayó |
| nosotros/as | ensayamos |
| vosotros/as | ensayasteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | ensayaron |
Use the preterite of ensayar for a single finished event: something that happened once and is over. The yo form is ensayé. If you can put a finished time expression with it — ayer, la semana pasada, anoche — the preterite is usually right.
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | ensayaba |
| tú | ensayabas |
| él/ella/Ud. | ensayaba |
| nosotros/as | ensayábamos |
| vosotros/as | ensayabais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | ensayaban |
Use the imperfect of ensayar for what used to happen and for what was going on when something else happened. The yo form is ensayaba. If the action has no clear beginning or end in the story, the imperfect is the right choice.
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | ensayaré |
| tú | ensayarás |
| él/ella/Ud. | ensayará |
| nosotros/as | ensayaremos |
| vosotros/as | ensayaréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | ensayarán |
Use the future of ensayar for plans, promises and predictions. The yo form is ensayaré, built on the infinitive plus the future endings. For a firm plan, the future sounds more formal than ir a + infinitive; for a casual plan, either works.
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | ensayaría |
| tú | ensayarías |
| él/ella/Ud. | ensayaría |
| nosotros/as | ensayaríamos |
| vosotros/as | ensayaríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | ensayarían |
Use the conditional of ensayar for hypothetical situations and for softening requests. The yo form is ensayaría. It appears after si-clauses with the imperfect subjunctive and on its own for polite suggestions.
Present Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he ensayado |
| tú | has ensayado |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha ensayado |
| nosotros/as | hemos ensayado |
| vosotros/as | habéis ensayado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han ensayado |
Use the present perfect of ensayar for recent events with present relevance. The yo form is he ensayado — haber in the present plus ensayado. Time expressions like hoy, esta semana and últimamente are its natural partners.
Pluperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había ensayado |
| tú | habías ensayado |
| él/ella/Ud. | había ensayado |
| nosotros/as | habíamos ensayado |
| vosotros/as | habíais ensayado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían ensayado |
Use the pluperfect of ensayar when you need two layers of past: one event already finished before another past event began. The yo form is había ensayado. It is the tense of «had already done».
Future Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré ensayado |
| tú | habrás ensayado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá ensayado |
| nosotros/as | habremos ensayado |
| vosotros/as | habréis ensayado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán ensayado |
Use the future perfect of ensayar to say that something will be finished by a future moment. The yo form is habré ensayado. It pairs naturally with deadlines: para mañana, para el viernes, para entonces.
Conditional Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría ensayado |
| tú | habrías ensayado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría ensayado |
| nosotros/as | habríamos ensayado |
| vosotros/as | habríais ensayado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían ensayado |
Use the conditional perfect of ensayar for the past that did not happen: what would have been done with more time or a different choice. The yo form is habría ensayado. It follows si-clauses with the pluperfect subjunctive.
Present Subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | ensaye |
| tú | ensayes |
| él/ella/Ud. | ensaye |
| nosotros/as | ensayemos |
| vosotros/as | ensayéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | ensayen |
Use the present subjunctive of ensayar when the main clause expresses a wish, a doubt, an emotion or an impersonal judgement. The yo form is ensaye. After espero que, ojalá que and no creo que, the subjunctive is required, not optional.
Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra forms)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | ensayara |
| tú | ensayaras |
| él/ella/Ud. | ensayara |
| nosotros/as | ensayáramos |
| vosotros/as | ensayarais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | ensayaran |
Use the imperfect subjunctive of ensayar after past-tense wishes and doubts, and in si-clauses that set up a hypothetical present. The yo form is ensayara. It is built on the third-person plural preterite stem, which is why it looks different from the present subjunctive.
Imperative — Affirmative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | ensaya |
| él/ella/Ud. | ensaye |
| nosotros/as | ensayemos |
| vosotros/as | ensayad |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | ensayen |
There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.
Use the affirmative imperative of ensayar to tell someone to do something: instructions, invitations and requests. The tú form is ensaya. For a polite command, use the usted form ensaye instead of the tú form.
Imperative — Negative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | ensayes |
| él/ella/Ud. | ensaye |
| nosotros/as | ensayemos |
| vosotros/as | ensayéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | ensayen |
There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.
Use the negative imperative of ensayar to forbid or to warn: «¡No ensayes!». The tú form is ensayes, taken from the present subjunctive. The word no always comes first, and the form never changes for emphasis.
Example sentences
- Yo ensayo todos los días. — I rehearse every day.
- Ayer yo ensayé por la tarde. — Yesterday I rehearsed in the afternoon.
- Antes, yo ensayaba todos los días. — In the past, I used to rehearse every day.
- Mañana yo ensayaré sin falta. — Tomorrow I will rehearse without fail.
- Si tuviera más tiempo, yo ensayaría ahora mismo. — If I had more time, I would rehearse right now.
- Hoy yo he ensayado dos veces. — Today I have rehearsed twice.
- Espero que tú ensayes pronto. — I hope You rehearse soon.
- Si yo ensayara, todo sería distinto. — If I rehearsed, everything would be different.
- Ahora mismo yo estoy ensayando. — Right now I am rehearsing.
- ¡ensaya, por favor! — Rehearse, please!
Common mistakes
1. Using the imperfect for a finished event
Wrong: Ayer yo ensayaba.
Right: Ayer yo ensayé.
Yesterday's finished action needs the preterite, ensayé. The imperfect ensayaba describes what used to happen or what was going on, not a single completed event.
2. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
Wrong: Espero que tú ensayas.
Right: Espero que tú ensayes.
After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: ensayes, not the indicative ensayas. Wishes, hopes and doubts all trigger this change.
3. Using the affirmative imperative after no
Wrong: No ensaya.
Right: No ensayes.
Negative commands use the subjunctive-based forms: no ensayes. The affirmative ensaya can never follow no.
4. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
Wrong: Yo ensayar todos los días.
Right: Yo ensayo todos los días.
The infinitive ensayar names the action; it never works as the main verb of a sentence. Conjugate it for the person: yo ensayo.
5. Confusing the gerund with the past participle
Wrong: He ensayando.
Right: He ensayado.
The perfect tenses use haber plus the past participle: he ensayado. The gerund ensayando goes with estar for actions in progress («Estoy ensayando»), never with haber.
Quiz
Test yourself on the forms above. Choose the correct answer, then check the key below.
1. What is the tú form of ensayar in the present indicative?
- (a) ensayamos
- (b) ensaya
- (c) ensayas
- (d) ensayo
2. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of ensayar in the preterite?
- (a) ensayamos
- (b) ensayó
- (c) ensayé
- (d) ensayaste
3. What is the nosotros/as form of ensayar in the imperfect?
- (a) ensayaba
- (b) ensayabas
- (c) ensayaba
- (d) ensayábamos
4. What is the vosotros/as form of ensayar in the future?
- (a) ensayaré
- (b) ensayaréis
- (c) ensayarás
- (d) ensayará
5. What is the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of ensayar in the conditional?
- (a) ensayarías
- (b) ensayaría
- (c) ensayaría
- (d) ensayarían
6. What is the yo form of ensayar in the present perfect?
- (a) he ensayado
- (b) ha ensayado
- (c) has ensayado
- (d) hemos ensayado
7. What is the tú form of ensayar in the present subjunctive?
- (a) ensaye
- (b) ensayemos
- (c) ensayes
- (d) ensaye
8. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of ensayar in the imperfect subjunctive (-ra forms)?
- (a) ensayara
- (b) ensayara
- (c) ensayáramos
- (d) ensayaras
9. What is the gerund of ensayar?
- (a) ensayado
- (b) ensayar
- (c) ensayando
- (d) ensayo
10. What is the past participle of ensayar?
- (a) ensayado
- (b) ensayar
- (c) ensayando
- (d) ensayé
Answer key
1. (c) — In the present indicative, the tú form of ensayar is ensayas. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 2. (b) — In the preterite, the él/ella/Ud. form of ensayar is ensayó. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 3. (d) — In the imperfect, the nosotros/as form of ensayar is ensayábamos. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 4. (b) — In the future, the vosotros/as form of ensayar is ensayaréis. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 5. (d) — In the conditional, the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of ensayar is ensayarían. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 6. (a) — In the present perfect, the yo form of ensayar is he ensayado. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 7. (c) — In the present subjunctive, the tú form of ensayar is ensayes. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 8. (a) — In the imperfect subjunctive (-ra forms), the él/ella/Ud. form of ensayar is ensayara. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 9. (c) — The gerund of ensayar is ensayando. It is used with estar for the progressive: «Estoy ensayando». 10. (a) — The past participle of ensayar is ensayado. It follows haber in all the perfect tenses: «he ensayado».
Frequently asked questions
Is ensayar regular or irregular?
Yes — ensayar is a regular -ar verb. Learn the endings once and they work in every tense, with the stem ensay unchanged throughout.
What are the gerund and past participle of ensayar?
The gerund is ensayando and the past participle is ensayado. Use the gerund with estar for actions in progress («Estoy ensayando») and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses («he ensayado»).
How do I say «I rehearse» in Spanish?
Say «Yo ensayo 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 ensayar?
Use the preterite (ensayé) for a single finished event and the imperfect (ensayaba) for habits and background. «Ayer yo ensayé» reports something that happened and ended; «Antes, yo ensayaba» describes what used to happen.
When do I use the subjunctive with ensayar?
Use the subjunctive after wishes, doubts, emotions and impersonal expressions — for example «Espero que tú ensayes». The trigger sits in the main clause; once it is there, the subjunctive form is required, not a stylistic choice.
How do I use ensayar in the present perfect?
Put haber in the present before the past participle: «Hoy yo he ensayado». The participle ensayado 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: ensayar-present-tense
- More examples and a quiz: ensayar-examples-and-quiz
- Browse all Spanish verbs: /spanish/
- Related verb: engañarse
- Related verb: enterarse
- Related verb: enfrentarse
- Conjugate any verb: verb-conjugator
- Test yourself: verb-quiz