Firmar Conjugation in Spanish

firmar is the Spanish verb for «to sign». 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 firmo todos los días» — I sign every day. Then work down the page tense by tense, and finish with the quiz.

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: firmar
  • English: to sign
  • Verb type: regular -ar verb
  • Ending: -ar
  • Gerund: firmando
  • Past participle: firmado
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + firmado)

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

Full conjugation tables

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

Gerund: firmando · Past participle: firmado

Present Indicative

Person Form
yo firmo
tú firmas
él/ella/Ud. firma
nosotros/as firmamos
vosotros/as firmáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. firman

Use the present of firmar for things that happen regularly and for things that are true in general. The yo form firmo 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 firmé
tú firmaste
él/ella/Ud. firmó
nosotros/as firmamos
vosotros/as firmasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. firmaron

Use the preterite of firmar for a single finished event: something that happened once and is over. The yo form is firmé. If you can put a finished time expression with it — ayer, la semana pasada, anoche — the preterite is usually right.

Imperfect

Person Form
yo firmaba
tú firmabas
él/ella/Ud. firmaba
nosotros/as firmábamos
vosotros/as firmabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. firmaban

Use the imperfect of firmar for what used to happen and for what was going on when something else happened. The yo form is firmaba. If the action has no clear beginning or end in the story, the imperfect is the right choice.

Future

Person Form
yo firmaré
tú firmarás
él/ella/Ud. firmará
nosotros/as firmaremos
vosotros/as firmaréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. firmarán

Use the future of firmar for plans, promises and predictions. The yo form is firmaré, 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 firmaría
tú firmarías
él/ella/Ud. firmaría
nosotros/as firmaríamos
vosotros/as firmaríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. firmarían

Use the conditional of firmar for hypothetical situations and for softening requests. The yo form is firmaría. It appears after si-clauses with the imperfect subjunctive and on its own for polite suggestions.

Present Perfect

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

Use the present perfect of firmar for recent events with present relevance. The yo form is he firmado — haber in the present plus firmado. Time expressions like hoy, esta semana and últimamente are its natural partners.

Pluperfect

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

Use the pluperfect of firmar when you need two layers of past: one event already finished before another past event began. The yo form is había firmado. It is the tense of «had already done».

Future Perfect

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

Use the future perfect of firmar to say that something will be finished by a future moment. The yo form is habré firmado. It pairs naturally with deadlines: para mañana, para el viernes, para entonces.

Conditional Perfect

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

Use the conditional perfect of firmar for the past that did not happen: what would have been done with more time or a different choice. The yo form is habría firmado. It follows si-clauses with the pluperfect subjunctive.

Present Subjunctive

Person Form
yo firme
tú firmes
él/ella/Ud. firme
nosotros/as firmemos
vosotros/as firméis
ellos/ellas/Uds. firmen

Use the present subjunctive of firmar when the main clause expresses a wish, a doubt, an emotion or an impersonal judgement. The yo form is firme. After espero que, ojalá que and no creo que, the subjunctive is required, not optional.

Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra forms)

Person Form
yo firmara
tú firmaras
él/ella/Ud. firmara
nosotros/as firmáramos
vosotros/as firmarais
ellos/ellas/Uds. firmaran

Use the imperfect subjunctive of firmar after past-tense wishes and doubts, and in si-clauses that set up a hypothetical present. The yo form is firmara. 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 firma
él/ella/Ud. firme
nosotros/as firmemos
vosotros/as firmad
ellos/ellas/Uds. firmen

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

Use the affirmative imperative of firmar to tell someone to do something: instructions, invitations and requests. The tú form is firma. For a polite command, use the usted form firme instead of the tú form.

Imperative — Negative

Person Form
tú firmes
él/ella/Ud. firme
nosotros/as firmemos
vosotros/as firméis
ellos/ellas/Uds. firmen

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

Use the negative imperative of firmar to forbid or to warn: «¡No firmes!». The tú form is firmes, taken from the present subjunctive. The word no always comes first, and the form never changes for emphasis.

Example sentences

  1. Yo firmo todos los días. — I sign every day.
  2. Ayer yo firmé por la tarde. — Yesterday I signed in the afternoon.
  3. Antes, yo firmaba todos los días. — In the past, I used to sign every day.
  4. Mañana yo firmaré sin falta. — Tomorrow I will sign without fail.
  5. Si tuviera más tiempo, yo firmaría ahora mismo. — If I had more time, I would sign right now.
  6. Hoy yo he firmado dos veces. — Today I have signed twice.
  7. Espero que tú firmes pronto. — I hope You sign soon.
  8. Si yo firmara, todo sería distinto. — If I signed, everything would be different.
  9. Ahora mismo yo estoy firmando. — Right now I am signing.
  10. ¡firma, por favor! — Sign, please!

Common mistakes

1. Using the imperfect for a finished event

Wrong: Ayer yo firmaba.

Right: Ayer yo firmé.

Yesterday's finished action needs the preterite, firmé. The imperfect firmaba 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 firmas.

Right: Espero que tú firmes.

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

3. Using the affirmative imperative after no

Wrong: No firma.

Right: No firmes.

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

4. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

Wrong: Yo firmar todos los días.

Right: Yo firmo todos los días.

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

5. Confusing the gerund with the past participle

Wrong: He firmando.

Right: He firmado.

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

- (a) firmo
- (b) firmamos
- (c) firmas
- (d) firma

2. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of firmar in the preterite?

- (a) firmamos
- (b) firmó
- (c) firmé
- (d) firmaste

3. What is the nosotros/as form of firmar in the imperfect?

- (a) firmábamos
- (b) firmaba
- (c) firmaba
- (d) firmabas

4. What is the vosotros/as form of firmar in the future?

- (a) firmarás
- (b) firmaré
- (c) firmaréis
- (d) firmará

5. What is the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of firmar in the conditional?

- (a) firmaría
- (b) firmarían
- (c) firmarías
- (d) firmaría

6. What is the yo form of firmar in the present perfect?

- (a) ha firmado
- (b) hemos firmado
- (c) he firmado
- (d) has firmado

7. What is the tú form of firmar in the present subjunctive?

- (a) firme
- (b) firme
- (c) firmes
- (d) firmemos

8. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of firmar in the imperfect subjunctive (-ra forms)?

- (a) firmara
- (b) firmáramos
- (c) firmaras
- (d) firmara

9. What is the gerund of firmar?

- (a) firmado
- (b) firmar
- (c) firmo
- (d) firmando

10. What is the past participle of firmar?

- (a) firmado
- (b) firmando
- (c) firmé
- (d) firmar

Answer key

1. (c) — In the present indicative, the tú form of firmar is firmas. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 2. (b) — In the preterite, the él/ella/Ud. form of firmar is firmó. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 3. (a) — In the imperfect, the nosotros/as form of firmar is firmábamos. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 4. (c) — In the future, the vosotros/as form of firmar is firmaréis. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 5. (b) — In the conditional, the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of firmar is firmarían. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 6. (c) — In the present perfect, the yo form of firmar is he firmado. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 7. (c) — In the present subjunctive, the tú form of firmar is firmes. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 8. (a) — In the imperfect subjunctive (-ra forms), the él/ella/Ud. form of firmar is firmara. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 9. (d) — The gerund of firmar is firmando. It is used with estar for the progressive: «Estoy firmando». 10. (a) — The past participle of firmar is firmado. It follows haber in all the perfect tenses: «he firmado».

Frequently asked questions

Is firmar regular or irregular?

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

What are the gerund and past participle of firmar?

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

How do I say «I sign» in Spanish?

Say «Yo firmo 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 firmar?

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

When do I use the subjunctive with firmar?

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

How do I use firmar in the present perfect?

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

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