Extrañar Conjugation in Spanish
The Spanish verb extrañar means to miss, to find strange, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. It is a regular -ar verb verb: the stem is extrañ and the endings follow the -ar 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 «Yo extraño todos los días», which means «I miss 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: extrañar
- English: to miss, to find strange
- Verb type: regular -ar verb
- Ending: -ar
- Gerund: extrañando
- Past participle: extrañado
- Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + extrañado)
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for extrañar, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for extrañar. The imperfect subjunctive is shown in its -ra forms; the -se forms use the same stem.
Gerund: extrañando · Past participle: extrañado
Present Indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | extraño |
| tú | extrañas |
| él/ella/Ud. | extraña |
| nosotros/as | extrañamos |
| vosotros/as | extrañáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | extrañan |
Use the present of extrañar for things that happen regularly and for things that are true in general. The yo form extraño is the anchor of the table: the other persons follow the regular -ar endings from it. When you talk about yourself right now, this is the form you need.
Preterite
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | extrañé |
| tú | extrañaste |
| él/ella/Ud. | extrañó |
| nosotros/as | extrañamos |
| vosotros/as | extrañasteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | extrañaron |
Use the preterite of extrañar for a single finished event: something that happened once and is over. The yo form is extrañé. If you can put a finished time expression with it — ayer, la semana pasada, anoche — the preterite is usually right.
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | extrañaba |
| tú | extrañabas |
| él/ella/Ud. | extrañaba |
| nosotros/as | extrañábamos |
| vosotros/as | extrañabais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | extrañaban |
Use the imperfect of extrañar for what used to happen and for what was going on when something else happened. The yo form is extrañaba. If the action has no clear beginning or end in the story, the imperfect is the right choice.
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | extrañaré |
| tú | extrañarás |
| él/ella/Ud. | extrañará |
| nosotros/as | extrañaremos |
| vosotros/as | extrañaréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | extrañarán |
Use the future of extrañar for plans, promises and predictions. The yo form is extrañaré, built on the infinitive plus the future endings. For a firm plan, the future sounds more formal than ir a + infinitive; for a casual plan, either works.
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | extrañaría |
| tú | extrañarías |
| él/ella/Ud. | extrañaría |
| nosotros/as | extrañaríamos |
| vosotros/as | extrañaríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | extrañarían |
Use the conditional of extrañar for hypothetical situations and for softening requests. The yo form is extrañaría. It appears after si-clauses with the imperfect subjunctive and on its own for polite suggestions.
Present Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he extrañado |
| tú | has extrañado |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha extrañado |
| nosotros/as | hemos extrañado |
| vosotros/as | habéis extrañado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han extrañado |
Use the present perfect of extrañar for recent events with present relevance. The yo form is he extrañado — haber in the present plus extrañado. Time expressions like hoy, esta semana and últimamente are its natural partners.
Pluperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había extrañado |
| tú | habías extrañado |
| él/ella/Ud. | había extrañado |
| nosotros/as | habíamos extrañado |
| vosotros/as | habíais extrañado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían extrañado |
Use the pluperfect of extrañar when you need two layers of past: one event already finished before another past event began. The yo form is había extrañado. It is the tense of «had already done».
Future Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré extrañado |
| tú | habrás extrañado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá extrañado |
| nosotros/as | habremos extrañado |
| vosotros/as | habréis extrañado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán extrañado |
Use the future perfect of extrañar to say that something will be finished by a future moment. The yo form is habré extrañado. It pairs naturally with deadlines: para mañana, para el viernes, para entonces.
Conditional Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría extrañado |
| tú | habrías extrañado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría extrañado |
| nosotros/as | habríamos extrañado |
| vosotros/as | habríais extrañado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían extrañado |
Use the conditional perfect of extrañar for the past that did not happen: what would have been done with more time or a different choice. The yo form is habría extrañado. It follows si-clauses with the pluperfect subjunctive.
Present Subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | extrañe |
| tú | extrañes |
| él/ella/Ud. | extrañe |
| nosotros/as | extrañemos |
| vosotros/as | extrañéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | extrañen |
Use the present subjunctive of extrañar when the main clause expresses a wish, a doubt, an emotion or an impersonal judgement. The yo form is extrañe. After espero que, ojalá que and no creo que, the subjunctive is required, not optional.
Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra forms)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | extrañara |
| tú | extrañaras |
| él/ella/Ud. | extrañara |
| nosotros/as | extrañáramos |
| vosotros/as | extrañarais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | extrañaran |
Use the imperfect subjunctive of extrañar after past-tense wishes and doubts, and in si-clauses that set up a hypothetical present. The yo form is extrañara. It is built on the third-person plural preterite stem, which is why it looks different from the present subjunctive.
Imperative — Affirmative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | extraña |
| él/ella/Ud. | extrañe |
| nosotros/as | extrañemos |
| vosotros/as | extrañad |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | extrañen |
There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.
Use the affirmative imperative of extrañar to tell someone to do something: instructions, invitations and requests. The tú form is extraña. For a polite command, use the usted form extrañe instead of the tú form.
Imperative — Negative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | extrañes |
| él/ella/Ud. | extrañe |
| nosotros/as | extrañemos |
| vosotros/as | extrañéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | extrañen |
There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.
Use the negative imperative of extrañar to forbid or to warn: «¡No extrañes!». The tú form is extrañes, taken from the present subjunctive. The word no always comes first, and the form never changes for emphasis.
Example sentences
- Yo extraño todos los días. — I miss every day.
- Ayer yo extrañé por la tarde. — Yesterday I missed in the afternoon.
- Antes, yo extrañaba todos los días. — In the past, I used to miss every day.
- Mañana yo extrañaré sin falta. — Tomorrow I will miss without fail.
- Si tuviera más tiempo, yo extrañaría ahora mismo. — If I had more time, I would miss right now.
- Hoy yo he extrañado dos veces. — Today I have missed twice.
- Espero que tú extrañes pronto. — I hope You miss soon.
- Si yo extrañara, todo sería distinto. — If I missed, everything would be different.
- Ahora mismo yo estoy extrañando. — Right now I am missing.
- ¡extraña, por favor! — Miss, please!
Common mistakes
1. Using the imperfect for a finished event
Wrong: Ayer yo extrañaba.
Right: Ayer yo extrañé.
Yesterday's finished action needs the preterite, extrañé. The imperfect extrañaba 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 extrañas.
Right: Espero que tú extrañes.
After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: extrañes, not the indicative extrañas. Wishes, hopes and doubts all trigger this change.
3. Using the affirmative imperative after no
Wrong: No extraña.
Right: No extrañes.
Negative commands use the subjunctive-based forms: no extrañes. The affirmative extraña can never follow no.
4. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
Wrong: Yo extrañar todos los días.
Right: Yo extraño todos los días.
The infinitive extrañar names the action; it never works as the main verb of a sentence. Conjugate it for the person: yo extraño.
5. Confusing the gerund with the past participle
Wrong: He extrañando.
Right: He extrañado.
The perfect tenses use haber plus the past participle: he extrañado. The gerund extrañando goes with estar for actions in progress («Estoy extrañando»), never with haber.
Quiz
Test yourself on the forms above. Choose the correct answer, then check the key below.
1. What is the tú form of extrañar in the present indicative?
- (a) extrañamos
- (b) extraña
- (c) extrañas
- (d) extraño
2. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of extrañar in the preterite?
- (a) extrañé
- (b) extrañaste
- (c) extrañó
- (d) extrañamos
3. What is the nosotros/as form of extrañar in the imperfect?
- (a) extrañabas
- (b) extrañaba
- (c) extrañábamos
- (d) extrañaba
4. What is the vosotros/as form of extrañar in the future?
- (a) extrañará
- (b) extrañaréis
- (c) extrañarás
- (d) extrañaré
5. What is the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of extrañar in the conditional?
- (a) extrañaría
- (b) extrañarías
- (c) extrañaría
- (d) extrañarían
6. What is the yo form of extrañar in the present perfect?
- (a) has extrañado
- (b) ha extrañado
- (c) hemos extrañado
- (d) he extrañado
7. What is the tú form of extrañar in the present subjunctive?
- (a) extrañe
- (b) extrañe
- (c) extrañemos
- (d) extrañes
8. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of extrañar in the imperfect subjunctive (-ra forms)?
- (a) extrañaras
- (b) extrañara
- (c) extrañáramos
- (d) extrañara
9. What is the gerund of extrañar?
- (a) extraño
- (b) extrañando
- (c) extrañado
- (d) extrañar
10. What is the past participle of extrañar?
- (a) extrañando
- (b) extrañé
- (c) extrañar
- (d) extrañado
Answer key
1. (c) — In the present indicative, the tú form of extrañar is extrañas. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 2. (c) — In the preterite, the él/ella/Ud. form of extrañar is extrañó. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 3. (c) — In the imperfect, the nosotros/as form of extrañar is extrañábamos. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 4. (b) — In the future, the vosotros/as form of extrañar is extrañaréis. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 5. (d) — In the conditional, the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of extrañar is extrañarían. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 6. (d) — In the present perfect, the yo form of extrañar is he extrañado. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 7. (d) — In the present subjunctive, the tú form of extrañar is extrañes. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 8. (b) — In the imperfect subjunctive (-ra forms), the él/ella/Ud. form of extrañar is extrañara. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 9. (b) — The gerund of extrañar is extrañando. It is used with estar for the progressive: «Estoy extrañando». 10. (d) — The past participle of extrañar is extrañado. It follows haber in all the perfect tenses: «he extrañado».
Frequently asked questions
Is extrañar regular or irregular?
Yes — extrañar is a regular -ar verb. Learn the endings once and they work in every tense, with the stem extrañ unchanged throughout.
What are the gerund and past participle of extrañar?
The gerund is extrañando and the past participle is extrañado. Use the gerund with estar for actions in progress («Estoy extrañando») and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses («he extrañado»).
How do I say «I miss» in Spanish?
Say «Yo extraño 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 extrañar?
Use the preterite (extrañé) for a single finished event and the imperfect (extrañaba) for habits and background. «Ayer yo extrañé» reports something that happened and ended; «Antes, yo extrañaba» describes what used to happen.
When do I use the subjunctive with extrañar?
Use the subjunctive after wishes, doubts, emotions and impersonal expressions — for example «Espero que tú extrañes». The trigger sits in the main clause; once it is there, the subjunctive form is required, not a stylistic choice.
How do I use extrañar in the present perfect?
Put haber in the present before the past participle: «Hoy yo he extrañado». The participle extrañado never changes for person — only haber changes — so once you know the participle, the whole perfect tense follows.
Related links
- Practise this verb in one tense: extranar-present-tense
- More examples and a quiz: extranar-examples-and-quiz
- Browse all Spanish verbs: /spanish/
- Related verb: expresarse
- Related verb: extrañarse
- Related verb: expresar
- Conjugate any verb: verb-conjugator
- Test yourself: verb-quiz