Filetear Conjugation in Spanish
The Spanish verb filetear means to fillet, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. Filetear is a regular -ar verb, so the tables below show you exactly how it behaves in every tense. On this page you will find the full conjugation of filetear 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, in the present tense you say Yo fileteo el pescado — "I fillet the fish" — and in the preterite you say Yo fileteé la carne — "I filleted the meat". 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: filetear
- English: to fillet
- Verb type: regular -ar verb
- Ending: -ar
- Gerund: fileteando
- Past participle: fileteado
- Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + fileteado)
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for filetear, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for filetear. 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: fileteando · Past participle: fileteado
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | fileteo |
| tú | fileteas |
| él/ella/Ud. | filetea |
| nosotros/as | fileteamos |
| vosotros/as | fileteáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | filetean |
Preterite
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | fileteé |
| tú | fileteaste |
| él/ella/Ud. | fileteó |
| nosotros/as | fileteamos |
| vosotros/as | fileteasteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | filetearon |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | fileteaba |
| tú | fileteabas |
| él/ella/Ud. | fileteaba |
| nosotros/as | fileteábamos |
| vosotros/as | fileteabais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | fileteaban |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | filetearé |
| tú | filetearás |
| él/ella/Ud. | fileteará |
| nosotros/as | filetearemos |
| vosotros/as | filetearéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | filetearán |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | filetearía |
| tú | filetearías |
| él/ella/Ud. | filetearía |
| nosotros/as | filetearíamos |
| vosotros/as | filetearíais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | filetearían |
Present perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he fileteado |
| tú | has fileteado |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha fileteado |
| nosotros/as | hemos fileteado |
| vosotros/as | habéis fileteado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han fileteado |
Pluperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había fileteado |
| tú | habías fileteado |
| él/ella/Ud. | había fileteado |
| nosotros/as | habíamos fileteado |
| vosotros/as | habíais fileteado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían fileteado |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré fileteado |
| tú | habrás fileteado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá fileteado |
| nosotros/as | habremos fileteado |
| vosotros/as | habréis fileteado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán fileteado |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría fileteado |
| tú | habrías fileteado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría fileteado |
| nosotros/as | habríamos fileteado |
| vosotros/as | habríais fileteado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían fileteado |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | filetee |
| tú | filetees |
| él/ella/Ud. | filetee |
| nosotros/as | fileteemos |
| vosotros/as | fileteéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | fileteen |
Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | fileteara |
| tú | filetearas |
| él/ella/Ud. | fileteara |
| nosotros/as | fileteáramos |
| vosotros/as | filetearais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | filetearan |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | filetea |
| él/ella/Ud. | filetee |
| nosotros/as | fileteemos |
| vosotros/as | filetead |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | fileteen |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | filetees |
| él/ella/Ud. | filetee |
| nosotros/as | fileteemos |
| vosotros/as | fileteéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | fileteen |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | Spanish | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Gerund | fileteando | with estar for the progressive: estoy fileteando |
| Past participle | fileteado | with haber for the perfect tenses: he fileteado |
How to use each tense
Present indicative
Use the present for routines, general facts and what is happening right now. It is the tense you will use most often in everyday conversation, for habits with words like todos los días and for statements that are true in general. For filetear, the present indicative looks like this in a real sentence: Yo fileteo la carne — "I fillet the meat". Learn the present indicative forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Preterite
Use the preterite for finished actions in the past — things that started and ended, often with time words like ayer, anoche or la semana pasada. The preterite moves a story forward, one completed event at a time. For filetear, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Yo fileteé con un cuchillo afilado — "I filleted with a sharp knife". Learn the preterite forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Imperfect
Use the imperfect for background, habits and actions in progress in the past, often with words like antes, de niño or mientras. It describes how things used to be, not one finished event. For filetear, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo fileteaba el pescado — "I used to fillet the fish". Learn the imperfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Future
Use the future for plans, predictions and promises, often with mañana, el año que viene or pronto. It talks about what will happen, not what is happening now. For filetear, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Yo filetearé la carne — "I will fillet the meat". Learn the future forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Conditional
Use the conditional for polite requests, hypotheticals and what would happen, often in si clauses. It softens a request and describes imagined situations. For filetear, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Yo filetearía con un cuchillo afilado — "I would fillet with a sharp knife". Learn the conditional forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Present perfect
Use the present perfect for recent actions and experiences, often with hoy, esta semana or ya. It connects the past with the present moment. For filetear, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo he fileteado el pescado — "I have filleted the fish". Learn the present perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Pluperfect
Use the pluperfect when one past action happened before another past action. It is the past of the past, and it usually appears with antes de or ya. For filetear, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo había fileteado la carne — "I had filleted the meat". Learn the pluperfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Future perfect
Use the future perfect for something that will already be finished by a future time, often with para mañana or para el viernes. For filetear, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo habré fileteado con un cuchillo afilado — "I will have filleted with a sharp knife". Learn the future perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Conditional perfect
Use the conditional perfect for what would have happened under different conditions. It looks back at a past that never happened. For filetear, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo habría fileteado el pescado — "I would have filleted the fish". Learn the conditional perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Present subjunctive
Use the present subjunctive after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and hope, such as espero que or quiero que. The subjunctive does not state a fact; it states an attitude towards the action. For filetear, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él filetee la carne — "I hope he fillets the meat". Learn the present subjunctive forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)
Use the imperfect subjunctive after past wishes and in si clauses about the past, and note the -ra forms shown here; the -se forms use the same stem. For filetear, the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) looks like this in a real sentence: Si yo fileteara con un cuchillo afilado, todo cambiaría — "If I filleted with a sharp knife, everything would change". Learn the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Imperative (affirmative)
Use the affirmative imperative for direct commands, instructions and invitations. It tells someone to do something, and it has no yo form. For filetear, the imperative (affirmative) looks like this in a real sentence: Filetee el pescado — "Let him fillet the fish". Learn the imperative (affirmative) forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Imperative (negative)
Use the negative imperative, always with no, to tell someone not to do something. It uses the subjunctive forms, so it looks different from the affirmative commands. For filetear, the imperative (negative) looks like this in a real sentence: No filetees la carne — "Don't fillet the meat". Learn the imperative (negative) forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with filetear, covering different tenses and persons. Each one uses a form from the tables above.
- Yo fileteo con un cuchillo afilado — "I fillet with a sharp knife"
- Él filetea el pescado — "He fillets the fish"
- Yo fileteé la carne — "I filleted the meat"
- Yo fileteaba con un cuchillo afilado — "I used to fillet with a sharp knife"
- Tú filetearás el pescado — "You will fillet the fish"
- Yo filetearía la carne — "I would fillet the meat"
- Él ha fileteado con un cuchillo afilado — "He has filleted with a sharp knife"
- Espero que él filetee el pescado — "I hope he fillets the fish"
- Yo había fileteado la carne — "I had filleted the meat"
- Ellos fileteaban con un cuchillo afilado — "They used to fillet with a sharp knife"
Common mistakes
- Wrong: Ellos filetea el pescado — Right: Ellos filetean el pescado — Ellos needs the ellos form filetean. The singular filetea belongs with él, ella or a singular noun.
- Wrong: Ayer, yo fileteo — Right: Ayer, yo fileteé — The present tense cannot describe a finished action yesterday. Ayer forces the preterite, so the form must change to fileteé.
- Wrong: De niño, yo fileteé todos los días. — Right: Todos los días, yo fileteaba — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (fileteaba), not the preterite. The preterite (fileteé) is for one finished action.
- Wrong: Yo soy fileteado la carne. — Right: Yo he fileteado la carne. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he fileteado, has fileteado, ha fileteado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
- Wrong: Espero que él filetea el pescado. — Right: Espero que él filetee el pescado. — After espero que, Spanish needs the subjunctive: filetee. The indicative filetea is wrong here.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on filetear. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
Complete the sentence: Yo ___ el pescado. (present tense) A. fileteo B. filetearon C. fileteará D. habrías fileteado
Complete the sentence: Él ___ el pescado. (preterite) A. habrá fileteado B. fileteo C. fileteó D. fileteabas
Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ el pescado. (imperfect) A. filetearon B. fileteó C. fileteabais D. fileteábamos
Complete the sentence: Tú ___ el pescado. (future) A. habíais fileteado B. filetearás C. filetearéis D. filetea
Complete the sentence: Yo ___ el pescado. (conditional) A. fileteara B. filetearía C. había fileteado D. fileteáis
Complete the sentence: Espero que él ___ el pescado. (present subjunctive) A. fileteáis B. filetee C. filetearía D. fileteaba
Complete the sentence: Si yo ___ el pescado, todo cambiaría. (imperfect subjunctive, -ra form) A. filetearías B. habríais fileteado C. fileteéis D. fileteara
Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ el pescado. (present perfect) A. filetearán B. filetead C. habrás fileteado D. hemos fileteado
Complete the command: No ___ el pescado. (negative imperative, tú) A. fileteéis B. filetees C. fileteen D. fileteemos
Which is the gerund of filetear, used with estar for the progressive? A. filetearé B. fileteado C. fileteando D. fileteé
Answer key
- fileteo — The yo present tense of filetear is fileteo.
- fileteó — The él/ella/Ud. preterite of filetear is fileteó.
- fileteábamos — The nosotros/as imperfect of filetear is fileteábamos.
- filetearás — The tú future of filetear is filetearás.
- filetearía — The yo conditional of filetear is filetearía.
- filetee — The él/ella/Ud. present subjunctive of filetear is filetee.
- fileteara — The yo imperfect subjunctive, -ra form of filetear is fileteara.
- hemos fileteado — The nosotros/as present perfect of filetear is hemos fileteado.
- filetees — The negative tú imperative uses the present subjunctive form with no before it: filetees.
- fileteando — The gerund of filetear is fileteando: estoy fileteando. The participle fileteado is used with haber instead.
Frequently asked questions
What does filetear mean in English?
Filetear means to fillet. It is used in everyday situations such as Yo fileteo el pescado. The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.
Is filetear regular?
Yes. Filetear is a regular -ar verb: fileteo, fileteas, filetea. The only thing to learn is the pattern of endings, which is the same for every regular -ar verb.
What is the gerund and the past participle of filetear?
The gerund is fileteando, used with estar for the progressive: estoy fileteando. The past participle is fileteado, used with haber in the perfect tenses: he fileteado.
How do I say “I fillet” in the past?
It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: Yo fileteé la carne. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Yo fileteaba con un cuchillo afilado. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Yo he fileteado el pescado.
How do I practise filetear?
Start with the present tense table, then drill the preterite and the imperfect, since those two past tenses cause the most mistakes. Try the filetear examples and quiz page for more sentences, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure.
Related links
- Filetear in the present tense — the full present-tense table for filetear.
- Filetear examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice for filetear.
- Spanish verbs — the Spanish hub, with every verb and tense guide.
- Trocear conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with filetear.
- Desmenuzar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with filetear.
- Triturar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with filetear.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — test yourself on real conjugated forms.
- Verb Conjugator — conjugate any Spanish verb in every tense.