Expresarse Conjugation in Spanish

expresarse means «to express oneself». It is a regular -ar verb, reflexive verb, so the tables below show you exactly how it behaves in every tense. On this page you will find the full conjugation of expresarse in all thirteen tenses, notes on when to use each one, example sentences, the mistakes learners make most often, a ten-question quiz and answers to the questions students ask about this verb. For example: «Me expreso todos los días» — I express myself every day.

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: expresarse
  • English: to express oneself
  • Verb type: regular -ar verb, reflexive
  • Ending: -ar
  • Gerund: expresando
  • Past participle: expresado
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + expresado)
  • Reflexive pronouns: me, te, se, nos, os, se — one before every conjugated form, matching the person.

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

expresarse is reflexive: Me expreso todos los días; te expresas 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 expresarse. 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: expresando · Past participle: expresado

Present Indicative

Person Pronoun Form
yo me expreso
tú te expresas
él/ella/Ud. se expresa
nosotros/as nos expresamos
vosotros/as os expresáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se expresan

The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For expresarse, the yo form is expreso, 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 Pronoun Form
yo me expresé
tú te expresaste
él/ella/Ud. se expresó
nosotros/as nos expresamos
vosotros/as os expresasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se expresaron

The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. «Ayer yo expresé» 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 Pronoun Form
yo me expresaba
tú te expresabas
él/ella/Ud. se expresaba
nosotros/as nos expresábamos
vosotros/as os expresabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. se expresaban

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

Future

Person Pronoun Form
yo me expresaré
tú te expresarás
él/ella/Ud. se expresará
nosotros/as nos expresaremos
vosotros/as os expresaréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se expresarán

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

Conditional

Person Pronoun Form
yo me expresaría
tú te expresarías
él/ella/Ud. se expresaría
nosotros/as nos expresaríamos
vosotros/as os expresaríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. se expresarían

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

Present Perfect

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

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

Pluperfect

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

The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event: «Cuando llegué, ya había expresado». 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 Pronoun Form
yo me habré expresado
tú te habrás expresado
él/ella/Ud. se habrá expresado
nosotros/as nos habremos expresado
vosotros/as os habréis expresado
ellos/ellas/Uds. se habrán expresado

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

The conditional perfect expresses what would have happened: «Yo habría expresado 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 Pronoun Form
yo me exprese
tú te expreses
él/ella/Ud. se exprese
nosotros/as nos expresemos
vosotros/as os expreséis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se expresen

The present subjunctive appears after wishes, doubts, emotions and impersonal expressions: «Espero que él exprese». 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 Pronoun Form
yo me expresara
tú te expresaras
él/ella/Ud. se expresara
nosotros/as nos expresáramos
vosotros/as os expresarais
ellos/ellas/Uds. se expresaran

The imperfect subjunctive is the past partner of the present subjunctive, used after past-tense triggers and in si-clauses: «Si él expresara, 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 Pronoun Form
tú te expresa
él/ella/Ud. se exprese
nosotros/as nos expresemos
vosotros/as os expresad
ellos/ellas/Uds. se expresen

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 gives direct commands and instructions: «¡expresa!». 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 Pronoun Form
tú te expreses
él/ella/Ud. se exprese
nosotros/as nos expresemos
vosotros/as os expreséis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se expresen

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 tells someone not to do something: «¡No expreses!». 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. Me expreso todos los días. — I express myself every day.
  2. Ayer me expresé por la tarde. — Yesterday I expressed myself in the afternoon.
  3. Antes, me expresaba todos los días. — In the past, I used to express myself every day.
  4. Mañana me expresaré sin falta. — Tomorrow I will express myself without fail.
  5. Si tuviera más tiempo, me expresaría ahora mismo. — If I had more time, I would express myself right now.
  6. Hoy me he expresado dos veces. — Today I have expressed myself twice.
  7. Espero que te expreses pronto. — I hope You express yourself soon.
  8. Si me expresara, todo sería distinto. — If I expressed myself, everything would be different.
  9. Ahora mismo me estoy expresando. — Right now I am expressing myself.
  10. ¡No te expreses! — Don't express yourself!

Common mistakes

1. Forgetting the reflexive pronoun

Wrong: yo expreso todos los días.

Right: me expreso todos los días.

expresarse 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. Using the imperfect for a finished event

Wrong: Ayer me expresaba.

Right: Ayer me 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.

3. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

Wrong: Espero que te expresas.

Right: Espero que te expreses.

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

4. Using the affirmative imperative after no

Wrong: No te expresa.

Right: No te expreses.

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

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 yo form of expresarse in the present indicative?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

9. What is the gerund of expresarse?

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

10. What is the past participle of expresarse?

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

Answer key

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

Frequently asked questions

Is expresarse regular or irregular?

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

What are the gerund and past participle of expresarse?

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 myself» in Spanish?

Say «Me 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 expresarse?

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 expresarse?

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.

What does the -se in expresarse mean?

The -se marks expresarse 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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