Equilibrar Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb equilibrar means to balance, 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 equilibr 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 equilibro todos los días», which means «I balance 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: equilibrar
  • English: to balance
  • Verb type: regular -ar verb
  • Ending: -ar
  • Gerund: equilibrando
  • Past participle: equilibrado
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + equilibrado)

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

Full conjugation tables

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

Gerund: equilibrando · Past participle: equilibrado

Present Indicative

Person Form
yo equilibro
tú equilibras
él/ella/Ud. equilibra
nosotros/as equilibramos
vosotros/as equilibráis
ellos/ellas/Uds. equilibran

The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For equilibrar, the yo form is equilibro, as in the examples below. Use the present for routines («todos los días») and for general truths, and remember that Spanish often uses the present where English would use a progressive or a near future.

Preterite

Person Form
yo equilibré
tú equilibraste
él/ella/Ud. equilibró
nosotros/as equilibramos
vosotros/as equilibrasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. equilibraron

The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. «Ayer yo equilibré» is the classic use. Do not confuse it with the imperfect: the preterite moves the story forward, one finished event at a time.

Imperfect

Person Form
yo equilibraba
tú equilibrabas
él/ella/Ud. equilibraba
nosotros/as equilibrábamos
vosotros/as equilibrabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. equilibraban

The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. «De pequeño, yo equilibraba» shows the habitual use. It sets the scene while the preterite reports what happened inside it.

Future

Person Form
yo equilibraré
tú equilibrarás
él/ella/Ud. equilibrará
nosotros/as equilibraremos
vosotros/as equilibraréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. equilibrarán

The future tense states what will happen. For equilibrar the future is built on the infinitive: «Mañana yo equilibraré». It is also used for predictions and promises, and in spoken Spanish it often alternates with ir a + infinitive.

Conditional

Person Form
yo equilibraría
tú equilibrarías
él/ella/Ud. equilibraría
nosotros/as equilibraríamos
vosotros/as equilibraríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. equilibrarían

The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. «Si tuviera más tiempo, yo equilibraría» is the typical pattern. It shares its stem with the future and changes only the endings.

Present Perfect

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

The present perfect connects the past with the present: something that has happened, often today or recently. It is haber in the present plus the past participle: «Hoy yo he equilibrado». In Spain it is used for anything that happened today; in Latin America the preterite is often preferred.

Pluperfect

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

The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event: «Cuando llegué, ya había equilibrado». It is haber in the imperfect plus the past participle, and it is the tense for explaining what had already happened when something else took place.

Future Perfect

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

The future perfect looks back from a future point: by then, something will already have happened. «Para mañana, yo habré equilibrado» is the pattern — haber in the future plus the past participle. It is less common in speech but regular in formal writing.

Conditional Perfect

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

The conditional perfect expresses what would have happened: «Yo habría equilibrado si hubiera podido». It is haber in the conditional plus the past participle, and it is the tense for regrets and missed chances.

Present Subjunctive

Person Form
yo equilibre
tú equilibres
él/ella/Ud. equilibre
nosotros/as equilibremos
vosotros/as equilibréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. equilibren

The present subjunctive appears after wishes, doubts, emotions and impersonal expressions: «Espero que él equilibre». The trigger is in the main clause; the subjunctive is the mood of uncertainty, desire and influence. Learn the yo form first — most of the table follows from it.

Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra forms)

Person Form
yo equilibrara
tú equilibraras
él/ella/Ud. equilibrara
nosotros/as equilibráramos
vosotros/as equilibrarais
ellos/ellas/Uds. equilibraran

The imperfect subjunctive is the past partner of the present subjunctive, used after past-tense triggers and in si-clauses: «Si él equilibrara, todo sería distinto». The table above shows the -ra forms, the ones you will hear most often. There is also a less common -se set built on the same stem.

Imperative — Affirmative

Person Form
tú equilibra
él/ella/Ud. equilibre
nosotros/as equilibremos
vosotros/as equilibrad
ellos/ellas/Uds. equilibren

There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.

The affirmative imperative gives direct commands and instructions: «¡equilibra!». There is no yo form — you cannot command yourself. The tú form is the one you will use with friends and family, and the usted form with people you address formally.

Imperative — Negative

Person Form
tú equilibres
él/ella/Ud. equilibre
nosotros/as equilibremos
vosotros/as equilibréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. equilibren

There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.

The negative imperative tells someone not to do something: «¡No equilibres!». Unlike the affirmative imperative, the negative forms come from the present subjunctive, which is why they look different. Never use the affirmative form after no.

Example sentences

  1. Yo equilibro todos los días. — I balance every day.
  2. Ayer yo equilibré por la tarde. — Yesterday I balanced in the afternoon.
  3. Antes, yo equilibraba todos los días. — In the past, I used to balance every day.
  4. Mañana yo equilibraré sin falta. — Tomorrow I will balance without fail.
  5. Si tuviera más tiempo, yo equilibraría ahora mismo. — If I had more time, I would balance right now.
  6. Hoy yo he equilibrado dos veces. — Today I have balanced twice.
  7. Espero que tú equilibres pronto. — I hope You balance soon.
  8. Si yo equilibrara, todo sería distinto. — If I balanced, everything would be different.
  9. Ahora mismo yo estoy equilibrando. — Right now I am balancing.
  10. ¡equilibra, por favor! — Balance, please!

Common mistakes

1. Using the imperfect for a finished event

Wrong: Ayer yo equilibraba.

Right: Ayer yo equilibré.

Yesterday's finished action needs the preterite, equilibré. The imperfect equilibraba 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 equilibras.

Right: Espero que tú equilibres.

After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: equilibres, not the indicative equilibras. Wishes, hopes and doubts all trigger this change.

3. Using the affirmative imperative after no

Wrong: No equilibra.

Right: No equilibres.

Negative commands use the subjunctive-based forms: no equilibres. The affirmative equilibra can never follow no.

4. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

Wrong: Yo equilibrar todos los días.

Right: Yo equilibro todos los días.

The infinitive equilibrar names the action; it never works as the main verb of a sentence. Conjugate it for the person: yo equilibro.

5. Confusing the gerund with the past participle

Wrong: He equilibrando.

Right: He equilibrado.

The perfect tenses use haber plus the past participle: he equilibrado. The gerund equilibrando goes with estar for actions in progress («Estoy equilibrando»), never with haber.

Quiz

Test yourself on the forms above. Choose the correct answer, then check the key below.

1. What is the nosotros/as form of equilibrar in the present indicative?

- (a) equilibramos
- (b) equilibra
- (c) equilibro
- (d) equilibras

2. What is the vosotros/as form of equilibrar in the preterite?

- (a) equilibró
- (b) equilibraste
- (c) equilibrasteis
- (d) equilibré

3. What is the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of equilibrar in the imperfect?

- (a) equilibraba
- (b) equilibraban
- (c) equilibrabas
- (d) equilibraba

4. What is the yo form of equilibrar in the future?

- (a) equilibraremos
- (b) equilibrará
- (c) equilibraré
- (d) equilibrarás

5. What is the tú form of equilibrar in the conditional?

- (a) equilibraríamos
- (b) equilibrarías
- (c) equilibraría
- (d) equilibraría

6. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of equilibrar in the present perfect?

- (a) hemos equilibrado
- (b) ha equilibrado
- (c) he equilibrado
- (d) has equilibrado

7. What is the nosotros/as form of equilibrar in the present subjunctive?

- (a) equilibre
- (b) equilibre
- (c) equilibremos
- (d) equilibres

8. What is the vosotros/as form of equilibrar in the imperfect subjunctive (-ra forms)?

- (a) equilibrarais
- (b) equilibraras
- (c) equilibrara
- (d) equilibrara

9. What is the gerund of equilibrar?

- (a) equilibro
- (b) equilibrado
- (c) equilibrando
- (d) equilibrar

10. What is the past participle of equilibrar?

- (a) equilibrado
- (b) equilibré
- (c) equilibrar
- (d) equilibrando

Answer key

1. (a) — In the present indicative, the nosotros/as form of equilibrar is equilibramos. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 2. (c) — In the preterite, the vosotros/as form of equilibrar is equilibrasteis. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 3. (b) — In the imperfect, the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of equilibrar is equilibraban. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 4. (c) — In the future, the yo form of equilibrar is equilibraré. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 5. (b) — In the conditional, the tú form of equilibrar is equilibrarías. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 6. (b) — In the present perfect, the él/ella/Ud. form of equilibrar is ha equilibrado. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 7. (c) — In the present subjunctive, the nosotros/as form of equilibrar is equilibremos. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 8. (a) — In the imperfect subjunctive (-ra forms), the vosotros/as form of equilibrar is equilibrarais. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 9. (c) — The gerund of equilibrar is equilibrando. It is used with estar for the progressive: «Estoy equilibrando». 10. (a) — The past participle of equilibrar is equilibrado. It follows haber in all the perfect tenses: «he equilibrado».

Frequently asked questions

Is equilibrar regular or irregular?

Yes — equilibrar is a regular -ar verb. Learn the endings once and they work in every tense, with the stem equilibr unchanged throughout.

What are the gerund and past participle of equilibrar?

The gerund is equilibrando and the past participle is equilibrado. Use the gerund with estar for actions in progress («Estoy equilibrando») and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses («he equilibrado»).

How do I say «I balance» in Spanish?

Say «Yo equilibro 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 equilibrar?

Use the preterite (equilibré) for a single finished event and the imperfect (equilibraba) for habits and background. «Ayer yo equilibré» reports something that happened and ended; «Antes, yo equilibraba» describes what used to happen.

When do I use the subjunctive with equilibrar?

Use the subjunctive after wishes, doubts, emotions and impersonal expressions — for example «Espero que tú equilibres». The trigger sits in the main clause; once it is there, the subjunctive form is required, not a stylistic choice.

How do I use equilibrar in the present perfect?

Put haber in the present before the past participle: «Hoy yo he equilibrado». The participle equilibrado never changes for person — only haber changes — so once you know the participle, the whole perfect tense follows.

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