Expresar Conjugation in Spanish

expresar is the Spanish verb for «to express». As a regular -ar verb verb it follows the -ar endings, and the tables on this page list every form so you never have to guess. You will find the present, the past tenses, the future, the conditional, the perfect tenses, the subjunctive and the imperative, each with a short note on when to use it. Start with the present tense: «Yo expreso todos los días» — I express every day. Then work down the page tense by tense, and finish with the quiz.

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: expresar
  • English: to express
  • Verb type: regular -ar verb
  • Ending: -ar
  • Gerund: expresando
  • Past participle: expresado
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + expresado)

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

Full conjugation tables

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

Gerund: expresando · Past participle: expresado

Present Indicative

Person Form
yo expreso
tú expresas
él/ella/Ud. expresa
nosotros/as expresamos
vosotros/as expresáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. expresan

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

Preterite

Person Form
yo expresé
tú expresaste
él/ella/Ud. expresó
nosotros/as expresamos
vosotros/as expresasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. expresaron

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

Imperfect

Person Form
yo expresaba
tú expresabas
él/ella/Ud. expresaba
nosotros/as expresábamos
vosotros/as expresabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. expresaban

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

Future

Person Form
yo expresaré
tú expresarás
él/ella/Ud. expresará
nosotros/as expresaremos
vosotros/as expresaréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. expresarán

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

Conditional

Person Form
yo expresaría
tú expresarías
él/ella/Ud. expresaría
nosotros/as expresaríamos
vosotros/as expresaríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. expresarían

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

Present Perfect

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

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

Pluperfect

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

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

Future Perfect

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

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

Conditional Perfect

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

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

Present Subjunctive

Person Form
yo exprese
tú expreses
él/ella/Ud. exprese
nosotros/as expresemos
vosotros/as expreséis
ellos/ellas/Uds. expresen

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

Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra forms)

Person Form
yo expresara
tú expresaras
él/ella/Ud. expresara
nosotros/as expresáramos
vosotros/as expresarais
ellos/ellas/Uds. expresaran

The imperfect subjunctive of expresar handles the hypothetical past and the polite conditional. «Ojalá yo expresara 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 Form
tú expresa
él/ella/Ud. exprese
nosotros/as expresemos
vosotros/as expresad
ellos/ellas/Uds. expresen

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

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

Imperative — Negative

Person Form
tú expreses
él/ella/Ud. exprese
nosotros/as expresemos
vosotros/as expreséis
ellos/ellas/Uds. expresen

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

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

Example sentences

  1. Yo expreso todos los días. — I express every day.
  2. Ayer yo expresé por la tarde. — Yesterday I expressed in the afternoon.
  3. Antes, yo expresaba todos los días. — In the past, I used to express every day.
  4. Mañana yo expresaré sin falta. — Tomorrow I will express without fail.
  5. Si tuviera más tiempo, yo expresaría ahora mismo. — If I had more time, I would express right now.
  6. Hoy yo he expresado dos veces. — Today I have expressed twice.
  7. Espero que tú expreses pronto. — I hope You express soon.
  8. Si yo expresara, todo sería distinto. — If I expressed, everything would be different.
  9. Ahora mismo yo estoy expresando. — Right now I am expressing.
  10. ¡expresa, por favor! — Express, please!

Common mistakes

1. Using the imperfect for a finished event

Wrong: Ayer yo expresaba.

Right: Ayer yo expresé.

Yesterday's finished action needs the preterite, expresé. The imperfect expresaba 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 expresas.

Right: Espero que tú expreses.

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

3. Using the affirmative imperative after no

Wrong: No expresa.

Right: No expreses.

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

4. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

Wrong: Yo expresar todos los días.

Right: Yo expreso todos los días.

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

5. Confusing the gerund with the past participle

Wrong: He expresando.

Right: He expresado.

The perfect tenses use haber plus the past participle: he expresado. The gerund expresando goes with estar for actions in progress («Estoy expresando»), 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 expresar in the present indicative?

- (a) expresan
- (b) expresa
- (c) expreso
- (d) expresas

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

- (a) expresaste
- (b) expresamos
- (c) expresó
- (d) expresé

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

- (a) expresaba
- (b) expresabas
- (c) expresábamos
- (d) expresaba

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

- (a) expresarás
- (b) expresará
- (c) expresaré
- (d) expresaremos

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

- (a) expresaría
- (b) expresaríamos
- (c) expresarías
- (d) expresaría

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

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

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

- (a) expreses
- (b) expresen
- (c) exprese
- (d) exprese

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

- (a) expresáramos
- (b) expresara
- (c) expresara
- (d) expresaras

9. What is the gerund of expresar?

- (a) expresando
- (b) expreso
- (c) expresar
- (d) expresado

10. What is the past participle of expresar?

- (a) expresando
- (b) expresar
- (c) expresé
- (d) expresado

Answer key

1. (a) — In the present indicative, the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of expresar is expresan. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 2. (d) — In the preterite, the yo form of expresar is expresé. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 3. (b) — In the imperfect, the tú form of expresar is expresabas. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 4. (b) — In the future, the él/ella/Ud. form of expresar is expresará. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 5. (b) — In the conditional, the nosotros/as form of expresar is expresaríamos. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 6. (a) — In the present perfect, the vosotros/as form of expresar is habéis expresado. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 7. (b) — In the present subjunctive, the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of expresar is expresen. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 8. (b) — In the imperfect subjunctive (-ra forms), the yo form of expresar is expresara. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 9. (a) — The gerund of expresar is expresando. It is used with estar for the progressive: «Estoy expresando». 10. (d) — The past participle of expresar is expresado. It follows haber in all the perfect tenses: «he expresado».

Frequently asked questions

Is expresar regular or irregular?

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

What are the gerund and past participle of expresar?

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

How do I say «I express» in Spanish?

Say «Yo expreso 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 expresar?

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

When do I use the subjunctive with expresar?

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

How do I use expresar in the present perfect?

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

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