Estimar Conjugation in Spanish

Learning to conjugate estimar — «to estimate, to esteem» — opens up a whole set of sentences you will use every day. It is a regular -ar verb verb, and this page covers it completely: thirteen tenses, the gerund estimando and the past participle estimado, example sentences in every tense, the common mistakes and a quiz with an answer key. A good first sentence to learn is «Yo estimo todos los días» — I estimate every day. Once you can say that, the rest of the table falls into place person by person.

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: estimar
  • English: to estimate, to esteem
  • Verb type: regular -ar verb
  • Ending: -ar
  • Gerund: estimando
  • Past participle: estimado
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + estimado)

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

Full conjugation tables

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

Gerund: estimando · Past participle: estimado

Present Indicative

Person Form
yo estimo
tú estimas
él/ella/Ud. estima
nosotros/as estimamos
vosotros/as estimáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. estiman

The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For estimar, the yo form is estimo, 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 estimé
tú estimaste
él/ella/Ud. estimó
nosotros/as estimamos
vosotros/as estimasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. estimaron

The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. «Ayer yo estimé» 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 estimaba
tú estimabas
él/ella/Ud. estimaba
nosotros/as estimábamos
vosotros/as estimabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. estimaban

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

Future

Person Form
yo estimaré
tú estimarás
él/ella/Ud. estimará
nosotros/as estimaremos
vosotros/as estimaréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. estimarán

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

Conditional

Person Form
yo estimaría
tú estimarías
él/ella/Ud. estimaría
nosotros/as estimaríamos
vosotros/as estimaríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. estimarían

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

Present Perfect

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

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 estimado». In Spain it is used for anything that happened today; in Latin America the preterite is often preferred.

Pluperfect

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

The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event: «Cuando llegué, ya había estimado». 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 estimado
tú habrás estimado
él/ella/Ud. habrá estimado
nosotros/as habremos estimado
vosotros/as habréis estimado
ellos/ellas/Uds. habrán estimado

The future perfect looks back from a future point: by then, something will already have happened. «Para mañana, yo habré estimado» 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 estimado
tú habrías estimado
él/ella/Ud. habría estimado
nosotros/as habríamos estimado
vosotros/as habríais estimado
ellos/ellas/Uds. habrían estimado

The conditional perfect expresses what would have happened: «Yo habría estimado 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 estime
tú estimes
él/ella/Ud. estime
nosotros/as estimemos
vosotros/as estiméis
ellos/ellas/Uds. estimen

The present subjunctive appears after wishes, doubts, emotions and impersonal expressions: «Espero que él estime». 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 estimara
tú estimaras
él/ella/Ud. estimara
nosotros/as estimáramos
vosotros/as estimarais
ellos/ellas/Uds. estimaran

The imperfect subjunctive is the past partner of the present subjunctive, used after past-tense triggers and in si-clauses: «Si él estimara, 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 estima
él/ella/Ud. estime
nosotros/as estimemos
vosotros/as estimad
ellos/ellas/Uds. estimen

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

The affirmative imperative gives direct commands and instructions: «¡estima!». 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 estimes
él/ella/Ud. estime
nosotros/as estimemos
vosotros/as estiméis
ellos/ellas/Uds. estimen

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

The negative imperative tells someone not to do something: «¡No estimes!». 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 estimo todos los días. — I estimate every day.
  2. Ayer yo estimé por la tarde. — Yesterday I estimated in the afternoon.
  3. Antes, yo estimaba todos los días. — In the past, I used to estimate every day.
  4. Mañana yo estimaré sin falta. — Tomorrow I will estimate without fail.
  5. Si tuviera más tiempo, yo estimaría ahora mismo. — If I had more time, I would estimate right now.
  6. Hoy yo he estimado dos veces. — Today I have estimated twice.
  7. Espero que tú estimes pronto. — I hope You estimate soon.
  8. Si yo estimara, todo sería distinto. — If I estimated, everything would be different.
  9. Ahora mismo yo estoy estimando. — Right now I am estimating.
  10. ¡estima, por favor! — Estimate, please!

Common mistakes

1. Using the imperfect for a finished event

Wrong: Ayer yo estimaba.

Right: Ayer yo estimé.

Yesterday's finished action needs the preterite, estimé. The imperfect estimaba 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 estimas.

Right: Espero que tú estimes.

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

3. Using the affirmative imperative after no

Wrong: No estima.

Right: No estimes.

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

4. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

Wrong: Yo estimar todos los días.

Right: Yo estimo todos los días.

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

5. Confusing the gerund with the past participle

Wrong: He estimando.

Right: He estimado.

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

Quiz

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

1. What is the yo form of estimar in the present indicative?

- (a) estimo
- (b) estimamos
- (c) estima
- (d) estimas

2. What is the tú form of estimar in the preterite?

- (a) estimamos
- (b) estimó
- (c) estimé
- (d) estimaste

3. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of estimar in the imperfect?

- (a) estimaba
- (b) estimábamos
- (c) estimaba
- (d) estimabas

4. What is the nosotros/as form of estimar in the future?

- (a) estimaré
- (b) estimará
- (c) estimarás
- (d) estimaremos

5. What is the vosotros/as form of estimar in the conditional?

- (a) estimarías
- (b) estimaría
- (c) estimaría
- (d) estimaríais

6. What is the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of estimar in the present perfect?

- (a) has estimado
- (b) ha estimado
- (c) han estimado
- (d) he estimado

7. What is the yo form of estimar in the present subjunctive?

- (a) estime
- (b) estimes
- (c) estime
- (d) estimemos

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

- (a) estimaras
- (b) estimara
- (c) estimáramos
- (d) estimara

9. What is the gerund of estimar?

- (a) estimar
- (b) estimado
- (c) estimando
- (d) estimo

10. What is the past participle of estimar?

- (a) estimado
- (b) estimar
- (c) estimando
- (d) estimé

Answer key

1. (a) — In the present indicative, the yo form of estimar is estimo. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 2. (d) — In the preterite, the tú form of estimar is estimaste. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 3. (a) — In the imperfect, the él/ella/Ud. form of estimar is estimaba. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 4. (d) — In the future, the nosotros/as form of estimar is estimaremos. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 5. (d) — In the conditional, the vosotros/as form of estimar is estimaríais. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 6. (c) — In the present perfect, the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of estimar is han estimado. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 7. (a) — In the present subjunctive, the yo form of estimar is estime. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 8. (a) — In the imperfect subjunctive (-ra forms), the tú form of estimar is estimaras. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 9. (c) — The gerund of estimar is estimando. It is used with estar for the progressive: «Estoy estimando». 10. (a) — The past participle of estimar is estimado. It follows haber in all the perfect tenses: «he estimado».

Frequently asked questions

Is estimar regular or irregular?

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

What are the gerund and past participle of estimar?

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

How do I say «I estimate» in Spanish?

Say «Yo estimo 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 estimar?

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

When do I use the subjunctive with estimar?

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

How do I use estimar in the present perfect?

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

Related links