Habituar Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb habituar means to accustom, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. Habituar means to accustom someone to something: habituar a su hijo a madrugar. With se it means to get used to it yourself: habituarse al ejercicio. Like every Spanish verb, habituar 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 habitúo a su hijo a madrugar — "I accustom his son to getting up early". 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: habituar
  • English: to accustom
  • Verb type: regular -ar verb
  • Ending: -ar
  • Gerund: habituando
  • Past participle: habituado
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + habituado)

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

Full conjugation tables

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

Present indicative

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | habitúo | | tú | habitúas | | él/ella/Ud. | habitúa | | nosotros/as | habituamos | | vosotros/as | habituáis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | habitúan |

Preterite

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | habitué | | tú | habituaste | | él/ella/Ud. | habituó | | nosotros/as | habituamos | | vosotros/as | habituasteis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | habituaron |

Imperfect

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | habituaba | | tú | habituabas | | él/ella/Ud. | habituaba | | nosotros/as | habituábamos | | vosotros/as | habituabais | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | habituaban |

Future

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | habituaré | | tú | habituarás | | él/ella/Ud. | habituará | | nosotros/as | habituaremos | | vosotros/as | habituaréis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | habituarán |

Conditional

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | habituaría | | tú | habituarías | | él/ella/Ud. | habituaría | | nosotros/as | habituaríamos | | vosotros/as | habituaríais | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | habituarían |

Present perfect

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

Pluperfect

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

Future perfect

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

Conditional perfect

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

Present subjunctive

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | habitúe | | tú | habitúes | | él/ella/Ud. | habitúe | | nosotros/as | habituemos | | vosotros/as | habituéis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | habitúen |

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | habituara | | tú | habituaras | | él/ella/Ud. | habituara | | nosotros/as | habituáramos | | vosotros/as | habituarais | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | habituaran |

Imperative (affirmative)

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | tú | habitúa | | él/ella/Ud. | habitúe | | nosotros/as | habituemos | | vosotros/as | habituad | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | habitúen |

Imperative (negative)

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | tú | habitúes | | él/ella/Ud. | habitúe | | nosotros/as | habituemos | | vosotros/as | habituéis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | habitúen |

Gerund and past participle

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

How to use each tense

Present indicative

Use the present for routines, general facts and what is happening right now. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For habituar, the present indicative looks like this in a real sentence: Yo habitúo a su hijo a madrugar — "I accustom his son to getting up early".

Preterite

Use the preterite for finished actions with a clear end, often with ayer, el año pasado or anoche. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For habituar, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Ayer, yo habitué el cuerpo al ejercicio — "Yesterday, I accustomed his body to exercise".

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 habituar, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: De niño, yo habituaba a su perro a pasear — "As a child, I used to accustom his dog to walks".

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 habituar, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Mañana, yo habituaré a sus alumnos al orden — "Tomorrow, I will accustom his pupils to order".

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 habituar, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Yo habituaría a su hijo a madrugar si pudiera — "I would accustom his son to getting up early if I could".

Present perfect

Use the present perfect for recent actions and experiences, often with hoy, esta semana or ya. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For habituar, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Hoy, yo he habituado el cuerpo al ejercicio — "Today, I have accustomed his body to exercise".

Pluperfect

Use the pluperfect when one past action happened before another past action. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For habituar, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo ya había habituado a su perro a pasear antes de salir — "I already had accustomed his dog to walks before leaving".

Future perfect

Use the future perfect for something that will already be finished by a future time. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For habituar, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Para mañana, yo habré habituado a sus alumnos al orden — "By tomorrow, I will have accustomed his pupils to order".

Conditional perfect

Use the conditional perfect for what would have happened under different conditions. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For habituar, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo habría habituado a su hijo a madrugar con más tiempo — "I would have accustomed his son to getting up early with more time".

Present subjunctive

Use the present subjunctive after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and hope, such as espero que or quiero que. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For habituar, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él habitúe el cuerpo al ejercicio — "I hope he accustoms his body to exercise".

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 regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For habituar, the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) looks like this in a real sentence: Si yo habituara a su perro a pasear, todo cambiaría — "If I accustomed his dog to walks, everything would change".

Imperative (affirmative)

Use the affirmative imperative for direct commands, instructions and invitations. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For habituar, the imperative (affirmative) looks like this in a real sentence: Habitúa a sus alumnos al orden. — "Accustom his pupils to order.".

Imperative (negative)

Use the negative imperative, always with no, to tell someone not to do something. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For habituar, the imperative (negative) looks like this in a real sentence: No habitúes a su hijo a madrugar. — "Do not accustom his son to getting up early.".

Example sentences

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

  1. Yo habitúo a su hijo a madrugar — "I accustom his son to getting up early"
  2. Mi amigo habitúa el cuerpo al ejercicio — "My friend accustoms his body to exercise"
  3. Ayer, yo habitué a su perro a pasear — "Yesterday, I accustomed his dog to walks"
  4. Antes, nosotros habituábamos a sus alumnos al orden — "Before, we used to accustom his pupils to order"
  5. Mañana, tú habituarás la vista a la oscuridad — "Tomorrow, you will accustom his eyes to the dark"
  6. Yo habituaría a su hijo a madrugar si tuviera más tiempo — "I would accustom his son to getting up early if I had more time"
  7. Él ha habituado el cuerpo al ejercicio — "He has accustomed his body to exercise"
  8. Espero que él habitúe a su perro a pasear — "I hope he accustoms his dog to walks"
  9. Yo ya había habituado a sus alumnos al orden antes de salir — "I already had accustomed his pupils to order before leaving"
  10. Ellos habituaban la vista a la oscuridad cuando eran jóvenes — "They used to accustom his eyes to the dark when they were young"

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Espero que él habitúa el cuerpo al ejercicio — Right: Espero que él habitúe el cuerpo al ejercicio — After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: Espero que él habitúe el cuerpo al ejercicio — not the indicative Espero que él habitúa el cuerpo al ejercicio.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo habitúo a su perro a pasear — Right: Ayer, yo habitué a su perro a pasear — Ayer points to a finished action in the past, so it needs the preterite: Ayer, yo habitué a su perro a pasear.
  3. Wrong: De niño, yo habitué a sus alumnos al orden todos los días — Right: De niño, yo habituaba a sus alumnos al orden todos los días — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect, not the preterite: De niño, yo habituaba a sus alumnos al orden todos los días.
  4. Wrong: Yo habitúo su hijo a madrugar. — Right: Yo habitúo a su hijo a madrugar. — habituar takes a before this complement: Yo habitúo a su hijo a madrugar. Dropping the preposition is a common learner error.
  5. Wrong: Vosotros habituais la vista a la oscuridad. — Right: Vosotros habituáis la vista a la oscuridad. — The vosotros present form carries a written accent: habituáis, not habituais.

Quiz: test yourself

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

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ a su hijo a madrugar — "I accustom his son to getting up early" (present) A. habituamos B. habitúo C. habitúas D. habitúa

  2. Complete the sentence: Él ______ el cuerpo al ejercicio — "He accustomed his body to exercise" (preterite) A. habituó B. habitué C. habituaste D. habituamos

  3. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ______ a su perro a pasear — "We used to accustom his dog to walks" (imperfect) A. habituabas B. habituabais C. habituábamos D. habituaba

  4. Complete the sentence: Tú ______ a sus alumnos al orden — "You will accustom his pupils to order" (future) A. habituaré B. habituará C. habituaremos D. habituarás

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ la vista a la oscuridad — "I would accustom his eyes to the dark" (conditional) A. habituaríais B. habituaría C. habituarías D. habituaríamos

  6. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ______ a su hijo a madrugar — "I hope he accustoms his son to getting up early" (present subjunctive) A. habituéis B. habitúe C. habitúes D. habituemos

  7. Complete the sentence: Si yo ______ el cuerpo al ejercicio, todo cambiaría — "If I accustomed his body to exercise, everything would change" (imperfect subjunctive) A. habituara B. habituaras C. habituáramos D. habituarais

  8. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ______ a su perro a pasear — "We have accustomed his dog to walks" (present perfect) A. has habituado B. ha habituado C. hemos habituado D. he habituado

  9. Complete the sentence: No ______ a sus alumnos al orden. — "Do not accustom his pupils to order." (negative imperative) A. habitúe B. habituemos C. habituéis D. habitúes

  10. Which is the gerund of habituar, used with estar for the progressive? A. habitúo B. habitué C. habituando D. habituado

Answer key

  1. habitúo — The present form for yo is habitúo.
  2. habituó — The preterite form for él/ella/Ud. is habituó.
  3. habituábamos — The imperfect form for nosotros/as is habituábamos.
  4. habituarás — The future form for tú is habituarás.
  5. habituaría — The conditional form for yo is habituaría.
  6. habitúe — The present subjunctive form for él/ella/Ud. is habitúe.
  7. habituara — The imperfect subjunctive form for yo is habituara.
  8. hemos habituado — The present perfect form for nosotros/as is hemos habituado.
  9. habitúes — The negative imperative form is habitúes.
  10. habituando — The gerund of habituar is habituando: estoy habituando. The participle habituado is used with haber instead.

Frequently asked questions

What does habituar mean in English?

habituar means to accustom. It is used in everyday situations such as Yo habitúo a su hijo a madrugar — "I accustom his son to getting up early". The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

Is habituar regular?

Yes. habituar is a regular -ar verb, so once you know the endings for its class you can conjugate it in every tense. The only thing to watch is the written accent on some forms, such as habituáis.

What is the gerund and the past participle of habituar?

The gerund is habituando and the past participle is habituado. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.

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

It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: Ayer, yo habitué el cuerpo al ejercicio — "Yesterday, I accustomed his body to exercise". For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: De niño, yo habituaba a su perro a pasear — "As a child, I used to accustom his dog to walks". For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Hoy, yo he habituado el cuerpo al ejercicio — "Today, I have accustomed his body to exercise".

What is the difference between habituar and acostumbrar?

Acostumbrar is the everyday verb for getting someone used to something. Habituar is the more formal synonym. Habituar means to accustom someone to something: habituar a su hijo a madrugar. With se it means to get used to it yourself: habituarse al ejercicio.

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