Establecerse Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb establecerse means to settle, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. It is a spelling-changing -er verb, reflexive verb: the stem is establec and the endings follow the -er 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 «Me establezco todos los días», which means «I settle 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: establecerse
  • English: to settle
  • Verb type: spelling-changing -er verb, reflexive
  • Ending: -er
  • Gerund: estableciendo
  • Past participle: establecido
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + establecido)
  • Reflexive pronouns: me, te, se, nos, os, se — one before every conjugated form, matching the person.
  • Spelling change: in the present indicative the yo form is establezco, not estableco, so the stem-final letter changes before e and i.
  • Spelling change: in the present subjunctive the yo form is establezca, not estableca, 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 establecerse, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

establecerse is reflexive: Me establezco todos los días; te estableces todos los días. Without the pronoun, the verb means doing the action to someone else rather than to yourself, so keep the pronoun with the form.

Full conjugation tables

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for establecerse. The imperfect subjunctive is shown in its -ra forms; the -se forms use the same stem. For reflexive verbs, the pronoun column shows the reflexive pronoun that goes before each form.

Gerund: estableciendo · Past participle: establecido

Present Indicative

Person Pronoun Form
yo me establezco
tú te estableces
él/ella/Ud. se establece
nosotros/as nos establecemos
vosotros/as os establecéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se establecen

The present is the tense you will use most with establecerse. It covers daily routines, permanent facts and actions in progress. Learn the yo form establezco first, then the tú and él forms, which are the ones that change the stem in stem-changing verbs.

Preterite

Person Pronoun Form
yo me establecí
tú te estableciste
él/ella/Ud. se estableció
nosotros/as nos establecimos
vosotros/as os establecisteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se establecieron

The preterite of establecerse reports what happened. «Ayer yo establecí por la tarde» places the action firmly in finished time. It is the tense of stories and reports, not of background description.

Imperfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me establecía
tú te establecías
él/ella/Ud. se establecía
nosotros/as nos establecíamos
vosotros/as os establecíais
ellos/ellas/Uds. se establecían

The imperfect of establecerse paints the background of a past scene: repeated actions, states and descriptions. «Antes, yo establecía todos los días» is the pattern. Pair it with the preterite when one event interrupts another.

Future

Person Pronoun Form
yo me estableceré
tú te establecerás
él/ella/Ud. se establecerá
nosotros/as nos estableceremos
vosotros/as os estableceréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se establecerán

The future of establecerse looks forward: what will happen tomorrow, next week or next year. «Mañana yo estableceré sin falta» is the pattern. Remember that the future can also express probability about the present in Spanish.

Conditional

Person Pronoun Form
yo me establecería
tú te establecerías
él/ella/Ud. se establecería
nosotros/as nos estableceríamos
vosotros/as os estableceríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. se establecerían

The conditional of establecerse is the tense of «would»: what you would do, what would happen, what you would like. «Si pudiera, yo establecería sin dudarlo» shows the pattern. It is built on the infinitive, just like the future.

Present Perfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me he establecido
tú te has establecido
él/ella/Ud. se ha establecido
nosotros/as nos hemos establecido
vosotros/as os habéis establecido
ellos/ellas/Uds. se han establecido

The present perfect of establecerse says «have done»: the action is finished but its result still matters now. «Hoy yo he establecido dos veces» is the pattern. Learn the participle establecido well — every perfect tense depends on it.

Pluperfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me había establecido
tú te habías establecido
él/ella/Ud. se había establecido
nosotros/as nos habíamos establecido
vosotros/as os habíais establecido
ellos/ellas/Uds. se habían establecido

The pluperfect of establecerse steps one event further back than the preterite. «Antes de salir, yo había establecido» is the pattern: first this happened, then the story moved on. It is haber in the imperfect plus establecido.

Future Perfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me habré establecido
tú te habrás establecido
él/ella/Ud. se habrá establecido
nosotros/as nos habremos establecido
vosotros/as os habréis establecido
ellos/ellas/Uds. se habrán establecido

The future perfect of establecerse combines the future of haber with establecido. «Para el viernes, yo habré establecido ya» is the pattern. Use it when the completion matters more than the action itself.

Conditional Perfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me habría establecido
tú te habrías establecido
él/ella/Ud. se habría establecido
nosotros/as nos habríamos establecido
vosotros/as os habríais establecido
ellos/ellas/Uds. se habrían establecido

The conditional perfect of establecerse is the tense of «would have done». «Yo habría establecido si hubiera podido» is the pattern. It is built from haber in the conditional plus establecido.

Present Subjunctive

Person Pronoun Form
yo me establezca
tú te establezcas
él/ella/Ud. se establezca
nosotros/as nos establezcamos
vosotros/as os establecáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se establezcan

The present subjunctive of establecerse is the mood of what is wished, doubted or demanded rather than stated as fact. «Espero que tú establezcas» is the pattern. If the trigger is in the past, switch to the imperfect subjunctive instead.

Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra forms)

Person Pronoun Form
yo me estableciera
tú te establecieras
él/ella/Ud. se estableciera
nosotros/as nos estableciéramos
vosotros/as os establecierais
ellos/ellas/Uds. se establecieran

The imperfect subjunctive of establecerse handles the hypothetical past and the polite conditional. «Ojalá yo estableciera 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 Pronoun Form
tú te establece
él/ella/Ud. se establezca
nosotros/as nos establezcamos
vosotros/as os estableced
ellos/ellas/Uds. se establezcan

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

In real speech the reflexive pronoun attaches to the end of an affirmative command; the table shows the pronoun and the form separately so you can see both parts.

The affirmative imperative of establecerse is for orders and instructions. «¡establece, por favor!» is the pattern. Remember there is no yo form in the imperative, and the nosotros form doubles as a suggestion: «¡establezcamos!» means «let's do it».

Imperative — Negative

Person Pronoun Form
tú te establezcas
él/ella/Ud. se establezca
nosotros/as nos establezcamos
vosotros/as os establecáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se establezcan

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

In real speech the reflexive pronoun attaches to the end of an affirmative command; the table shows the pronoun and the form separately so you can see both parts.

The negative imperative of establecerse is built on the present subjunctive: «¡No establezcas!». Learn it as a set with the subjunctive table above, and never follow no with the affirmative command form.

Example sentences

  1. Me establezco todos los días. — I settle every day.
  2. Ayer me establecí por la tarde. — Yesterday I settled in the afternoon.
  3. Antes, me establecía todos los días. — In the past, I used to settle every day.
  4. Mañana me estableceré sin falta. — Tomorrow I will settle without fail.
  5. Si tuviera más tiempo, me establecería ahora mismo. — If I had more time, I would settle right now.
  6. Hoy me he establecido dos veces. — Today I have settled twice.
  7. Espero que te establezcas pronto. — I hope You settle soon.
  8. Si me estableciera, todo sería distinto. — If I settled, everything would be different.
  9. Ahora mismo me estoy estableciendo. — Right now I am settling.
  10. ¡No te establezcas! — Don't settle!

Common mistakes

1. Forgetting the reflexive pronoun

Wrong: yo establezco todos los días.

Right: me establezco todos los días.

establecerse is reflexive: the pronoun me belongs before every conjugated form. Without it, you are using the non-reflexive verb, which means something different — doing the action to someone else instead of to yourself.

2. Missing the spelling change in the present indicative

Wrong: Yo estableco.

Right: Yo establezco.

The spelling changes so the pronunciation stays the same: the yo form in the present indicative is establezco, not estableco. The endings are regular — only the spelling of the stem-final letter adjusts before e and i.

3. Using the imperfect for a finished event

Wrong: Ayer me establecía.

Right: Ayer me establecí.

Yesterday's finished action needs the preterite, establecí. The imperfect establecía describes what used to happen or what was going on, not a single completed event.

4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

Wrong: Espero que te estableces.

Right: Espero que te establezcas.

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

5. Using the affirmative imperative after no

Wrong: No te establece.

Right: No te establezcas.

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

6. Confusing the gerund with the past participle

Wrong: He estableciendo.

Right: He establecido.

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

Quiz

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

1. What is the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of establecerse in the present indicative?

- (a) establecen
- (b) estableces
- (c) establece
- (d) establezco

2. What is the yo form of establecerse in the preterite?

- (a) establecí
- (b) estableció
- (c) establecimos
- (d) estableciste

3. What is the tú form of establecerse in the imperfect?

- (a) establecía
- (b) establecía
- (c) establecías
- (d) establecíamos

4. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of establecerse in the future?

- (a) establecerás
- (b) establecerá
- (c) estableceremos
- (d) estableceré

5. What is the nosotros/as form of establecerse in the conditional?

- (a) estableceríamos
- (b) establecerías
- (c) establecería
- (d) establecería

6. What is the vosotros/as form of establecerse in the present perfect?

- (a) habéis establecido
- (b) he establecido
- (c) has establecido
- (d) ha establecido

7. What is the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of establecerse in the present subjunctive?

- (a) establezca
- (b) establezca
- (c) establezcas
- (d) establezcan

8. What is the yo form of establecerse in the imperfect subjunctive (-ra forms)?

- (a) estableciera
- (b) estableciera
- (c) estableciéramos
- (d) establecieras

9. What is the gerund of establecerse?

- (a) estableciendo
- (b) establecerse
- (c) establezco
- (d) establecido

10. What is the past participle of establecerse?

- (a) estableciendo
- (b) establecido
- (c) establecerse
- (d) establecí

Answer key

1. (a) — In the present indicative, the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of establecerse is establecen. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 2. (a) — In the preterite, the yo form of establecerse is establecí. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 3. (c) — In the imperfect, the tú form of establecerse is establecías. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 4. (b) — In the future, the él/ella/Ud. form of establecerse is establecerá. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 5. (a) — In the conditional, the nosotros/as form of establecerse is estableceríamos. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 6. (a) — In the present perfect, the vosotros/as form of establecerse is habéis establecido. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 7. (d) — In the present subjunctive, the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of establecerse is establezcan. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 8. (a) — In the imperfect subjunctive (-ra forms), the yo form of establecerse is estableciera. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 9. (a) — The gerund of establecerse is estableciendo. It is used with estar for the progressive: «Estoy estableciendo». 10. (b) — The past participle of establecerse is establecido. It follows haber in all the perfect tenses: «he establecido».

Frequently asked questions

Is establecerse regular or irregular?

Mostly yes — establecerse takes the regular -er endings, but the spelling of the stem changes in some forms (for example the yo preterite establecí). The endings never change; only the stem-final letter adjusts so the pronunciation stays the same.

What are the gerund and past participle of establecerse?

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

How do I say «I settle» in Spanish?

Say «Me establezco 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 establecerse?

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

When do I use the subjunctive with establecerse?

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

What does the -se in establecerse mean?

The -se marks establecerse as reflexive: the action comes back to the subject. You always pair the form with its pronoun — me, te, se, nos, os, se — placed before the conjugated verb. Dropping the pronoun changes the meaning, so treat the pronoun as part of the verb.

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