Existir Conjugation in Spanish
existir means “exist” in English, and it is one of the first verbs Spanish learners meet — it sits at number 40 in VerbFlow’s frequency list. You use it for saying something exists, for talking about problems in the world, and for talking about solutions and options. Because it comes up in everyday conversation so often, learning its forms properly pays off from the very first week. This page gives you the complete conjugation of existir — every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz. Here is the verb in a natural sentence: “Yo existo muchos problemas en el mundo todos los días.” — “I exist many problems in the world every day.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: existir
- English: to exist
- Verb type: Regular -ir verb
- Irregular in: no tense — fully regular
- Gerund: existiendo
- Past participle: existido
- Auxiliary: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + the past participle)
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for existir. Learn the present tense first, then the preterite and the imperfect, and add the remaining tenses one at a time.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | existo |
| tú | existes |
| él/ella/Ud. | existe |
| nosotros/as | existimos |
| vosotros/as | existís |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | existen |
Preterite
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | existí |
| tú | exististe |
| él/ella/Ud. | existió |
| nosotros/as | existimos |
| vosotros/as | exististeis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | existieron |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | existía |
| tú | existías |
| él/ella/Ud. | existía |
| nosotros/as | existíamos |
| vosotros/as | existíais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | existían |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | existiré |
| tú | existirás |
| él/ella/Ud. | existirá |
| nosotros/as | existiremos |
| vosotros/as | existiréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | existirán |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | existiría |
| tú | existirías |
| él/ella/Ud. | existiría |
| nosotros/as | existiríamos |
| vosotros/as | existiríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | existirían |
Present perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he existido |
| tú | has existido |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha existido |
| nosotros/as | hemos existido |
| vosotros/as | habéis existido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han existido |
Pluperfect (past perfect)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había existido |
| tú | habías existido |
| él/ella/Ud. | había existido |
| nosotros/as | habíamos existido |
| vosotros/as | habíais existido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían existido |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré existido |
| tú | habrás existido |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá existido |
| nosotros/as | habremos existido |
| vosotros/as | habréis existido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán existido |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría existido |
| tú | habrías existido |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría existido |
| nosotros/as | habríamos existido |
| vosotros/as | habríais existido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían existido |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | exista |
| tú | existas |
| él/ella/Ud. | exista |
| nosotros/as | existamos |
| vosotros/as | existáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | existan |
Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | existiera |
| tú | existieras |
| él/ella/Ud. | existiera |
| nosotros/as | existiéramos |
| vosotros/as | existierais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | existieran |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | existe |
| él/ella/Ud. | exista |
| nosotros/as | existamos |
| vosotros/as | existid |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | existan |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | existas |
| él/ella/Ud. | exista |
| nosotros/as | existamos |
| vosotros/as | existáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | existan |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | Spanish |
|---|---|
| Gerund | existiendo |
| Past participle | existido |
When to use each tense
Present indicative
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Yo existo muchos problemas en el mundo todos los días.” — “I exist many problems in the world every day.”
Preterite
The preterite is used for completed actions in the past. For example: “Tú exististe una solución para todo ayer.” — “You existed a solution for everything yesterday.”
Imperfect
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and background description. For example: “Él existía varias opciones aquí antes.” — “He used to exist several options here before.”
Future
The future is used for what will happen, predictions and probability. For example: “Yo existiré muchos problemas en el mundo mañana.” — “I will exist many problems in the world tomorrow.”
Conditional
The conditional is used for what would happen, polite requests and hypothetical situations. For example: “Tú existirías una solución para todo algún día.” — “You would exist a solution for everything someday.”
Present perfect
The present perfect is used for recent past actions and life experience, formed with haber + the past participle. For example: “Él ha existido varias opciones aquí esta semana.” — “He has existed several options here this week.”
Pluperfect (past perfect)
The pluperfect (past perfect) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Yo había existido muchos problemas en el mundo antes de la fiesta.” — “I had existed many problems in the world before the party.”
Future perfect
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Tú habrás existido una solución para todo para mañana.” — “You will have existed a solution for everything by tomorrow.”
Conditional perfect
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Él habría existido varias opciones aquí ayer.” — “He would have existed several options here yesterday.”
Present subjunctive
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. For example: “Es importante que yo exista muchos problemas en el mundo.” — “It is important that i exist many problems in the world.”
Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)
The imperfect subjunctive (-ra) is used for the past subjunctive: wishes and hypotheticals about the past, and clauses after a past-tense trigger. For example: “Ojalá tú existieras una solución para todo.” — “I wish you existed a solution for everything.”
Imperative (affirmative)
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. The imperative of existir gives a direct order; the negative forms use the present subjunctive pattern. For example: “¡Existe varias opciones aquí!” — “Exist several options here!”
Imperative (negative)
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. The imperative of existir gives a direct order; the negative forms use the present subjunctive pattern. For example: “No existas muchos problemas en el mundo.” — “Do not exist many problems in the world.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with existir, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the Spanish and try to produce it from the English.
- “Yo existo muchos problemas en el mundo todos los días.” — “I exist many problems in the world every day.”
- “Tú exististe una solución para todo ayer.” — “You existed a solution for everything yesterday.”
- “Él existía varias opciones aquí antes.” — “He used to exist several options here before.”
- “Yo existiré una solución para todo mañana.” — “I will exist a solution for everything tomorrow.”
- “Tú existirías muchos problemas en el mundo algún día.” — “You would exist many problems in the world someday.”
- “Él ha existido varias opciones aquí esta semana.” — “He has existed several options here this week.”
- “Yo había existido muchos problemas en el mundo antes de la fiesta.” — “I had existed many problems in the world before the party.”
- “Tú habrás existido una solución para todo para mañana.” — “You will have existed a solution for everything by tomorrow.”
- “Es importante que él exista varias opciones aquí.” — “It is important that he exist several options here.”
- “¡Existe muchos problemas en el mundo!” — “Exist many problems in the world!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Yo existir muchos problemas en el mundo.”
✓ Right: “Yo existo muchos problemas en el mundo.”
The infinitive existir never takes a subject. After yo you need the conjugated present form existo.
2. Confusing existir with haber
✗ Wrong: “Yo he muchos problemas en el mundo.”
✓ Right: “existen muchos problemas en el mundo.”
Existir is to exist; haber expresses existence impersonally. For existence, use the third-person form existen, not the auxiliary he.
3. Using the wrong auxiliary in perfect tenses
✗ Wrong: “Yo soy existido muchos problemas en el mundo.”
✓ Right: “Yo he existido muchos problemas en el mundo.”
Spanish perfect tenses are always built with haber, never with ser. The correct form is he + the participle existido.
4. Dropping the written accent
✗ Wrong: “existi”
✓ Right: “existí”
The accent on existí is part of the spelling in the preterite. Without it the form looks like a different word, so always write the accent.
5. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Ojalá tú existes muchos problemas en el mundo.”
✓ Right: “Ojalá tú existas muchos problemas en el mundo.”
After ojalá Spanish needs the subjunctive, so use existas here, not the indicative existes.
6. Using the preterite for a habitual past action
✗ Wrong: “Yo existí muchos problemas en el mundo antes.” (said of a repeated habit)
✓ Right: “Yo existía muchos problemas en el mundo antes.”
The preterite existí describes one finished action. For something you did regularly in the past, use the imperfect existía.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on existir. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the yo form of existir in the Present indicative?
- A) existes
- B) existe
- C) existimos
- D) existo
What is the él/ella/Ud. form of existir in the Preterite?
- A) exististe
- B) existimos
- C) existió
- D) existí
What is the nosotros/as form of existir in the Imperfect?
- A) existíais
- B) existíamos
- C) existía
- D) existías
What is the tú form of existir in the Future?
- A) existirás
- B) existiré
- C) existirá
- D) existiremos
What is the yo form of existir in the Conditional?
- A) existirías
- B) existiríamos
- C) existiríais
- D) existiría
What is the él/ella/Ud. form of existir in the Present subjunctive?
- A) existamos
- B) existáis
- C) exista
- D) existas
What is the yo form of existir in the Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)?
- A) existierais
- B) existiera
- C) existieras
- D) existiéramos
What is the gerund of existir?
- A) existiendo
- B) buscando
- C) entrando
- D) trabajando
What is the past participle of existir?
- A) buscado
- B) entrado
- C) trabajado
- D) existido
What does existir mean in English?
- A) to enter
- B) to work
- C) to exist
- D) to look for
Answer key
- D) existo — the yo form of existir in the present indicative is existo. The other options (existes, existe, existimos) are the same tense for different persons.
- C) existió — the él/ella/Ud. form of existir in the preterite is existió. The other options (existí, exististe, existimos) are the same tense for different persons.
- B) existíamos — the nosotros/as form of existir in the imperfect is existíamos. The other options (existía, existías, existía) are the same tense for different persons.
- A) existirás — the tú form of existir in the future is existirás. The other options (existiré, existirá, existiremos) are the same tense for different persons.
- D) existiría — the yo form of existir in the conditional is existiría. The other options (existirías, existiría, existiríamos) are the same tense for different persons.
- C) exista — the él/ella/Ud. form of existir in the present subjunctive is exista. The other options (exista, existas, existamos) are the same tense for different persons.
- B) existiera — the yo form of existir in the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) is existiera. The other options (existieras, existiera, existiéramos) are the same tense for different persons.
- A) existiendo — the gerund of existir is existiendo; it is used with estar for the progressive. The other options are the gerunds of neighbouring verbs.
- D) existido — the past participle of existir is existido; perfect tenses use haber + existido. The other options are the participles of neighbouring verbs.
- C) to exist — existir means “to exist” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.
Frequently asked questions
What does existir mean in English?
existir means “to exist”. You use it for saying something exists, for talking about problems in the world, and for talking about solutions and options. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is existir regular or irregular?
existir is regular -ir verb, with no irregular tense — it follows the regular pattern throughout. The gerund is existiendo and the past participle is existido.
What are the gerund and past participle of existir?
The gerund is existiendo — use it with estar for actions in progress. The past participle is existido — use it with haber for the perfect tenses, as in he existido (I have existed).
What is the difference between existir and haber?
Existir is to exist; haber expresses existence impersonally. If you are unsure, check the full table for haber and compare the meanings in context.
How do I say “I exist” in Spanish?
Say “Yo existo muchos problemas en el mundo.” — “I exist many problems in the world every day.” The yo form of the present is existo, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- existir in the present tense — the full table and uses for this verb in its most practised tense.
- existir examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- Buscar conjugation — another everyday Spanish verb.
- Entrar conjugation — another everyday Spanish verb.
- Trabajar conjugation — another everyday Spanish verb.
- Present tense guide — how the present tense works for regular verbs.
- Preterite tense guide — how the preterite works, and when to choose it over the imperfect.
- Verb Conjugator — practise existir with the interactive tool.
- Verb Quiz — practise existir with the interactive tool.