Fijar Conjugation in Spanish

Learning to conjugate fijar — «to fix, to set» — 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 fijando and the past participle fijado, example sentences in every tense, the common mistakes and a quiz with an answer key. A good first sentence to learn is «Yo fijo todos los días» — I fix every day. Once you can say that, the rest of the table falls into place person by person.

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: fijar
  • English: to fix, to set
  • Verb type: regular -ar verb
  • Ending: -ar
  • Gerund: fijando
  • Past participle: fijado
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + fijado)

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

Full conjugation tables

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

Gerund: fijando · Past participle: fijado

Present Indicative

Person Form
yo fijo
tú fijas
él/ella/Ud. fija
nosotros/as fijamos
vosotros/as fijáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. fijan

The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For fijar, the yo form is fijo, 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 fijé
tú fijaste
él/ella/Ud. fijó
nosotros/as fijamos
vosotros/as fijasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. fijaron

The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. «Ayer yo fijé» 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 fijaba
tú fijabas
él/ella/Ud. fijaba
nosotros/as fijábamos
vosotros/as fijabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. fijaban

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

Future

Person Form
yo fijaré
tú fijarás
él/ella/Ud. fijará
nosotros/as fijaremos
vosotros/as fijaréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. fijarán

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

Conditional

Person Form
yo fijaría
tú fijarías
él/ella/Ud. fijaría
nosotros/as fijaríamos
vosotros/as fijaríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. fijarían

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

Present Perfect

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

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

Pluperfect

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

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

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

The conditional perfect expresses what would have happened: «Yo habría fijado 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 fije
tú fijes
él/ella/Ud. fije
nosotros/as fijemos
vosotros/as fijéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. fijen

The present subjunctive appears after wishes, doubts, emotions and impersonal expressions: «Espero que él fije». 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 fijara
tú fijaras
él/ella/Ud. fijara
nosotros/as fijáramos
vosotros/as fijarais
ellos/ellas/Uds. fijaran

The imperfect subjunctive is the past partner of the present subjunctive, used after past-tense triggers and in si-clauses: «Si él fijara, 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 fija
él/ella/Ud. fije
nosotros/as fijemos
vosotros/as fijad
ellos/ellas/Uds. fijen

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

The affirmative imperative gives direct commands and instructions: «¡fija!». 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 fijes
él/ella/Ud. fije
nosotros/as fijemos
vosotros/as fijéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. fijen

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

The negative imperative tells someone not to do something: «¡No fijes!». 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 fijo todos los días. — I fix every day.
  2. Ayer yo fijé por la tarde. — Yesterday I fixed in the afternoon.
  3. Antes, yo fijaba todos los días. — In the past, I used to fix every day.
  4. Mañana yo fijaré sin falta. — Tomorrow I will fix without fail.
  5. Si tuviera más tiempo, yo fijaría ahora mismo. — If I had more time, I would fix right now.
  6. Hoy yo he fijado dos veces. — Today I have fixed twice.
  7. Espero que tú fijes pronto. — I hope You fix soon.
  8. Si yo fijara, todo sería distinto. — If I fixed, everything would be different.
  9. Ahora mismo yo estoy fijando. — Right now I am fixing.
  10. ¡fija, por favor! — Fix, please!

Common mistakes

1. Using the imperfect for a finished event

Wrong: Ayer yo fijaba.

Right: Ayer yo fijé.

Yesterday's finished action needs the preterite, fijé. The imperfect fijaba 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 fijas.

Right: Espero que tú fijes.

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

3. Using the affirmative imperative after no

Wrong: No fija.

Right: No fijes.

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

4. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

Wrong: Yo fijar todos los días.

Right: Yo fijo todos los días.

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

5. Confusing the gerund with the past participle

Wrong: He fijando.

Right: He fijado.

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

- (a) fija
- (b) fijo
- (c) fijas
- (d) fijamos

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

- (a) fijó
- (b) fijamos
- (c) fijaste
- (d) fijé

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

- (a) fijabas
- (b) fijaba
- (c) fijábamos
- (d) fijaba

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

- (a) fijaré
- (b) fijaremos
- (c) fijarás
- (d) fijará

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

- (a) fijaría
- (b) fijaríais
- (c) fijaría
- (d) fijarías

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

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

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

- (a) fije
- (b) fijemos
- (c) fijes
- (d) fije

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

- (a) fijara
- (b) fijara
- (c) fijaras
- (d) fijáramos

9. What is the gerund of fijar?

- (a) fijado
- (b) fijando
- (c) fijo
- (d) fijar

10. What is the past participle of fijar?

- (a) fijar
- (b) fijé
- (c) fijado
- (d) fijando

Answer key

1. (b) — In the present indicative, the yo form of fijar is fijo. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 2. (c) — In the preterite, the tú form of fijar is fijaste. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 3. (b) — In the imperfect, the él/ella/Ud. form of fijar is fijaba. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 4. (b) — In the future, the nosotros/as form of fijar is fijaremos. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 5. (b) — In the conditional, the vosotros/as form of fijar is fijaríais. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 6. (b) — In the present perfect, the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of fijar is han fijado. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 7. (a) — In the present subjunctive, the yo form of fijar is fije. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 8. (c) — In the imperfect subjunctive (-ra forms), the tú form of fijar is fijaras. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 9. (b) — The gerund of fijar is fijando. It is used with estar for the progressive: «Estoy fijando». 10. (c) — The past participle of fijar is fijado. It follows haber in all the perfect tenses: «he fijado».

Frequently asked questions

Is fijar regular or irregular?

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

What are the gerund and past participle of fijar?

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

How do I say «I fix» in Spanish?

Say «Yo fijo 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 fijar?

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

When do I use the subjunctive with fijar?

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

How do I use fijar in the present perfect?

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

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