Freír Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb freír means to fry, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. Freír means to fry: freír patatas, freír huevos. Its past participle is irregular — frito — so the perfect tenses are he frito, has frito. The gerund is friendo. Like every Spanish verb, freír changes its ending for each person and tense, and 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 frío patatas en aceite caliente — "I fry potatoes in hot oil". 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.

The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: frío, fríes, fríe and fríen — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: freímos, freís. In the preterite the third-person forms change too: frió, frieron, and the gerund is friendo. freír has an irregular past participle: frito. All the perfect tenses use it: he frito, has frito, ha frito.

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: freír
  • English: to fry
  • Verb type: stem-changing -ir verb (e → i)
  • Ending: -ir
  • Gerund: friendo
  • Past participle: frito
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + frito)

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

Full conjugation tables

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

Present indicative

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | frío | | tú | fríes | | él/ella/Ud. | fríe | | nosotros/as | freímos | | vosotros/as | freís | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | fríen |

Preterite

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | freí | | tú | freíste | | él/ella/Ud. | frió | | nosotros/as | freímos | | vosotros/as | freísteis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | frieron |

Imperfect

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | freía | | tú | freías | | él/ella/Ud. | freía | | nosotros/as | freíamos | | vosotros/as | freíais | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | freían |

Future

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | freiré | | tú | freirás | | él/ella/Ud. | freirá | | nosotros/as | freiremos | | vosotros/as | freiréis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | freirán |

Conditional

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | freiría | | tú | freirías | | él/ella/Ud. | freiría | | nosotros/as | freiríamos | | vosotros/as | freiríais | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | freirían |

Present perfect

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

Pluperfect

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

Future perfect

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

Conditional perfect

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

Present subjunctive

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | fría | | tú | frías | | él/ella/Ud. | fría | | nosotros/as | friamos | | vosotros/as | friáis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | frían |

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | friera | | tú | frieras | | él/ella/Ud. | friera | | nosotros/as | friéramos | | vosotros/as | frierais | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | frieran |

Imperative (affirmative)

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | tú | fríe | | él/ella/Ud. | fría | | nosotros/as | friamos | | vosotros/as | freíd | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | frían |

Imperative (negative)

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | tú | frías | | él/ella/Ud. | fría | | nosotros/as | friamos | | vosotros/as | friáis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | frían |

Gerund and past participle

Form Spanish Use
Gerund friendo with estar for the progressive: está friendo
Past participle frito with haber for the perfect tenses: he frito

How to use each tense

Present indicative

Use the present for routines, general facts and what is happening right now. The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: frío, fríes, fríe and fríen — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: freímos, freís. In the preterite the third-person forms change too: frió, frieron, and the gerund is friendo. For freír, the present indicative looks like this in a real sentence: Yo frío patatas en aceite caliente — "I fry potatoes in hot oil".

Preterite

Use the preterite for finished actions with a clear end, often with ayer, el año pasado or anoche. In this tense the stem changes in the third person: frió, frieron. The gerund changes too: friendo. For freír, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Ayer, yo freí huevos para el desayuno — "Yesterday, I fried eggs for breakfast".

Imperfect

Use the imperfect for background, habits and actions in progress in the past, often with de niño, antes or mientras. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For freír, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: De niño, yo freía pescado en la sartén — "As a child, I used to fry fish in the pan".

Future

Use the future for plans, predictions and promises, often with mañana, el año que viene or pronto. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For freír, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Mañana, yo freiré croquetas para la cena — "Tomorrow, I will fry croquettes for dinner".

Conditional

Use the conditional for polite requests, hypotheticals and what would happen, often with si clauses. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For freír, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Yo freiría patatas en aceite caliente si pudiera — "I would fry potatoes in hot oil if I could".

Present perfect

Use the present perfect for recent actions and experiences, often with hoy, esta semana or ya. freír has an irregular past participle: frito. All the perfect tenses use it: he frito, has frito, ha frito. For freír, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Hoy, yo he frito huevos para el desayuno — "Today, I have fried eggs for breakfast".

Pluperfect

Use the pluperfect when one past action happened before another past action. freír has an irregular past participle: frito. All the perfect tenses use it: he frito, has frito, ha frito. For freír, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo ya había frito pescado en la sartén antes de salir — "I already had fried fish in the pan before leaving".

Future perfect

Use the future perfect for something that will already be finished by a future time. freír has an irregular past participle: frito. All the perfect tenses use it: he frito, has frito, ha frito. For freír, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Para mañana, yo habré frito croquetas para la cena — "By tomorrow, I will have fried croquettes for dinner".

Conditional perfect

Use the conditional perfect for what would have happened under different conditions. freír has an irregular past participle: frito. All the perfect tenses use it: he frito, has frito, ha frito. For freír, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo habría frito patatas en aceite caliente con más tiempo — "I would have fried potatoes in hot oil with more time".

Present subjunctive

Use the present subjunctive after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and hope, such as espero que or quiero que. The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: frío, fríes, fríe and fríen — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: freímos, freís. In the preterite the third-person forms change too: frió, frieron, and the gerund is friendo. For freír, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él fría huevos para el desayuno — "I hope he fries eggs for breakfast".

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

Use the imperfect subjunctive after past wishes and in si clauses about the past. The -ra forms are shown here; the -se forms use the same stem. For this verb the tense is irregular — see the table above. For freír, the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) looks like this in a real sentence: Si yo friera pescado en la sartén, todo cambiaría — "If I fried fish in the pan, everything would change".

Imperative (affirmative)

Use the affirmative imperative for direct commands, instructions and invitations. The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: frío, fríes, fríe and fríen — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: freímos, freís. In the preterite the third-person forms change too: frió, frieron, and the gerund is friendo. For freír, the imperative (affirmative) looks like this in a real sentence: Fríe croquetas para la cena. — "Fry croquettes for dinner.".

Imperative (negative)

Use the negative imperative, always with no, to tell someone not to do something. The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: frío, fríes, fríe and fríen — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: freímos, freís. In the preterite the third-person forms change too: frió, frieron, and the gerund is friendo. For freír, the imperative (negative) looks like this in a real sentence: No frías patatas en aceite caliente. — "Do not fry potatoes in hot oil.".

Example sentences

Ten natural sentences with freír, covering different tenses and persons. Each one uses a form from the tables above.

  1. Yo frío patatas en aceite caliente — "I fry potatoes in hot oil"
  2. Mi amigo fríe huevos para el desayuno — "My friend fries eggs for breakfast"
  3. Ayer, yo freí pescado en la sartén — "Yesterday, I fried fish in the pan"
  4. Antes, nosotros freíamos croquetas para la cena — "Before, we used to fry croquettes for dinner"
  5. Mañana, tú freirás plátanos en mantequilla — "Tomorrow, you will fry bananas in butter"
  6. Yo freiría patatas en aceite caliente si tuviera más tiempo — "I would fry potatoes in hot oil if I had more time"
  7. Él ha frito huevos para el desayuno — "He has fried eggs for breakfast"
  8. Espero que él fría pescado en la sartén — "I hope he fries fish in the pan"
  9. Yo ya había frito croquetas para la cena antes de salir — "I already had fried croquettes for dinner before leaving"
  10. Ellos freían plátanos en mantequilla cuando eran jóvenes — "They used to fry bananas in butter when they were young"

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo freo huevos para el desayuno. — Right: Yo frío huevos para el desayuno. — freír is a stem-changing verb (e → i): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is frío, not freo.
  2. Wrong: Espero que él fríe huevos para el desayuno — Right: Espero que él fría huevos para el desayuno — After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: Espero que él fría huevos para el desayuno — not the indicative Espero que él fríe huevos para el desayuno.
  3. Wrong: Ayer, yo frío pescado en la sartén — Right: Ayer, yo freí pescado en la sartén — Ayer points to a finished action in the past, so it needs the preterite: Ayer, yo freí pescado en la sartén.
  4. Wrong: De niño, yo freí croquetas para la cena todos los días — Right: De niño, yo freía croquetas para la cena todos los días — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect, not the preterite: De niño, yo freía croquetas para la cena todos los días.
  5. Wrong: Yo frío en patatas en aceite caliente. — Right: Yo frío patatas en aceite caliente. — freír takes this complement directly, with no preposition: Yo frío patatas en aceite caliente.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on freír. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ patatas en aceite caliente — "I fry potatoes in hot oil" (present) A. fríes B. fríe C. freímos D. frío

  2. Complete the sentence: Él ______ huevos para el desayuno — "He fried eggs for breakfast" (preterite) A. freímos B. frió C. freí D. freíste

  3. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ______ pescado en la sartén — "We used to fry fish in the pan" (imperfect) A. freíamos B. freía C. freías D. freíais

  4. Complete the sentence: Tú ______ croquetas para la cena — "You will fry croquettes for dinner" (future) A. freirás B. freiré C. freirá D. freiremos

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ plátanos en mantequilla — "I would fry bananas in butter" (conditional) A. freiría B. freirías C. freiríamos D. freiríais

  6. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ______ patatas en aceite caliente — "I hope he fries potatoes in hot oil" (present subjunctive) A. friamos B. friáis C. fría D. frías

  7. Complete the sentence: Si yo ______ huevos para el desayuno, todo cambiaría — "If I fried eggs for breakfast, everything would change" (imperfect subjunctive) A. frierais B. friera C. frieras D. friéramos

  8. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ______ pescado en la sartén — "We have fried fish in the pan" (present perfect) A. hemos frito B. he frito C. has frito D. ha frito

  9. Complete the sentence: No ______ croquetas para la cena. — "Do not fry croquettes for dinner." (negative imperative) A. frías B. fría C. friamos D. friáis

  10. Which is the gerund of freír, used with estar for the progressive? A. frío B. freí C. friendo D. frito

Answer key

  1. frío — The present form for yo is frío.
  2. frió — The preterite form for él/ella/Ud. is frió.
  3. freíamos — The imperfect form for nosotros/as is freíamos.
  4. freirás — The future form for tú is freirás.
  5. freiría — The conditional form for yo is freiría.
  6. fría — The present subjunctive form for él/ella/Ud. is fría.
  7. friera — The imperfect subjunctive form for yo is friera.
  8. hemos frito — The present perfect form for nosotros/as is hemos frito.
  9. frías — The negative imperative form is frías.
  10. friendo — The gerund of freír is friendo: estoy friendo. The participle frito is used with haber instead.

Frequently asked questions

What does freír mean in English?

freír means to fry. It is used in everyday situations such as Yo frío patatas en aceite caliente — "I fry potatoes in hot oil". The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

Is freír regular?

No. freír is a stem-changing -ir verb (e → i). The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: frío, fríes, fríe and fríen — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: freímos, freís. In the preterite the third-person forms change too: frió, frieron, and the gerund is friendo. The nosotros and vosotros forms keep the plain stem, which is the part learners most often get right by accident.

What is the gerund and the past participle of freír?

The gerund is friendo and the past participle is frito. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses. Note that the participle is irregular: it is frito, not the regular form.

How do I say "I fry" in the past?

It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: Ayer, yo freí huevos para el desayuno — "Yesterday, I fried eggs for breakfast". For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: De niño, yo freía pescado en la sartén — "As a child, I used to fry fish in the pan". For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Hoy, yo he frito huevos para el desayuno — "Today, I have fried eggs for breakfast".

What is the difference between freír and asar?

Asar is to roast or grill, usually in the oven or over coals. Freír is to fry in oil or butter in a pan. Freír means to fry: freír patatas, freír huevos. Its past participle is irregular — frito — so the perfect tenses are he frito, has frito. The gerund is friendo.

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