Hallar Conjugation in Spanish

hallar means «to find». It is a regular -ar verb verb, so the tables below show you exactly how it behaves in every tense. On this page you will find the full conjugation of hallar 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: «Yo hallo todos los días» — I find every day.

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: hallar
  • English: to find
  • Verb type: regular -ar verb
  • Ending: -ar
  • Gerund: hallando
  • Past participle: hallado
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + hallado)

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

Full conjugation tables

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

Gerund: hallando · Past participle: hallado

Present Indicative

Person Form
yo hallo
tú hallas
él/ella/Ud. halla
nosotros/as hallamos
vosotros/as halláis
ellos/ellas/Uds. hallan

Use the present of hallar for things that happen regularly and for things that are true in general. The yo form hallo 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 hallé
tú hallaste
él/ella/Ud. halló
nosotros/as hallamos
vosotros/as hallasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. hallaron

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

Imperfect

Person Form
yo hallaba
tú hallabas
él/ella/Ud. hallaba
nosotros/as hallábamos
vosotros/as hallabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. hallaban

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

Future

Person Form
yo hallaré
tú hallarás
él/ella/Ud. hallará
nosotros/as hallaremos
vosotros/as hallaréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. hallarán

Use the future of hallar for plans, promises and predictions. The yo form is hallaré, 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 hallaría
tú hallarías
él/ella/Ud. hallaría
nosotros/as hallaríamos
vosotros/as hallaríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. hallarían

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

Present Perfect

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

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

Pluperfect

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

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

Future Perfect

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

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

Conditional Perfect

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

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

Present Subjunctive

Person Form
yo halle
tú halles
él/ella/Ud. halle
nosotros/as hallemos
vosotros/as halléis
ellos/ellas/Uds. hallen

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

Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra forms)

Person Form
yo hallara
tú hallaras
él/ella/Ud. hallara
nosotros/as halláramos
vosotros/as hallarais
ellos/ellas/Uds. hallaran

Use the imperfect subjunctive of hallar after past-tense wishes and doubts, and in si-clauses that set up a hypothetical present. The yo form is hallara. 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 halla
él/ella/Ud. halle
nosotros/as hallemos
vosotros/as hallad
ellos/ellas/Uds. hallen

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

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

Imperative — Negative

Person Form
tú halles
él/ella/Ud. halle
nosotros/as hallemos
vosotros/as halléis
ellos/ellas/Uds. hallen

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

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

Example sentences

  1. Yo hallo todos los días. — I find every day.
  2. Ayer yo hallé por la tarde. — Yesterday I found in the afternoon.
  3. Antes, yo hallaba todos los días. — In the past, I used to find every day.
  4. Mañana yo hallaré sin falta. — Tomorrow I will find without fail.
  5. Si tuviera más tiempo, yo hallaría ahora mismo. — If I had more time, I would find right now.
  6. Hoy yo he hallado dos veces. — Today I have found twice.
  7. Espero que tú halles pronto. — I hope You find soon.
  8. Si yo hallara, todo sería distinto. — If I found, everything would be different.
  9. Ahora mismo yo estoy hallando. — Right now I am finding.
  10. ¡halla, por favor! — Find, please!

Common mistakes

1. Using the imperfect for a finished event

Wrong: Ayer yo hallaba.

Right: Ayer yo hallé.

Yesterday's finished action needs the preterite, hallé. The imperfect hallaba 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 hallas.

Right: Espero que tú halles.

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

3. Using the affirmative imperative after no

Wrong: No halla.

Right: No halles.

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

4. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

Wrong: Yo hallar todos los días.

Right: Yo hallo todos los días.

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

5. Confusing the gerund with the past participle

Wrong: He hallando.

Right: He hallado.

The perfect tenses use haber plus the past participle: he hallado. The gerund hallando goes with estar for actions in progress («Estoy hallando»), never with haber.

Quiz

Test yourself on the forms above. Choose the correct answer, then check the key below.

1. What is the vosotros/as form of hallar in the present indicative?

- (a) halláis
- (b) hallas
- (c) hallo
- (d) halla

2. What is the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of hallar in the preterite?

- (a) halló
- (b) hallaron
- (c) hallé
- (d) hallaste

3. What is the yo form of hallar in the imperfect?

- (a) hallabas
- (b) hallaba
- (c) hallaba
- (d) hallábamos

4. What is the tú form of hallar in the future?

- (a) hallaremos
- (b) hallaré
- (c) hallarás
- (d) hallará

5. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of hallar in the conditional?

- (a) hallarías
- (b) hallaríamos
- (c) hallaría
- (d) hallaría

6. What is the nosotros/as form of hallar in the present perfect?

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

7. What is the vosotros/as form of hallar in the present subjunctive?

- (a) halle
- (b) halle
- (c) halléis
- (d) halles

8. What is the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of hallar in the imperfect subjunctive (-ra forms)?

- (a) hallara
- (b) hallaras
- (c) hallaran
- (d) hallara

9. What is the gerund of hallar?

- (a) hallar
- (b) hallo
- (c) hallado
- (d) hallando

10. What is the past participle of hallar?

- (a) hallando
- (b) hallé
- (c) hallar
- (d) hallado

Answer key

1. (a) — In the present indicative, the vosotros/as form of hallar is halláis. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 2. (b) — In the preterite, the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of hallar is hallaron. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 3. (b) — In the imperfect, the yo form of hallar is hallaba. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 4. (c) — In the future, the tú form of hallar is hallarás. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 5. (c) — In the conditional, the él/ella/Ud. form of hallar is hallaría. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 6. (b) — In the present perfect, the nosotros/as form of hallar is hemos hallado. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 7. (c) — In the present subjunctive, the vosotros/as form of hallar is halléis. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 8. (c) — In the imperfect subjunctive (-ra forms), the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of hallar is hallaran. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 9. (d) — The gerund of hallar is hallando. It is used with estar for the progressive: «Estoy hallando». 10. (d) — The past participle of hallar is hallado. It follows haber in all the perfect tenses: «he hallado».

Frequently asked questions

Is hallar regular or irregular?

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

What are the gerund and past participle of hallar?

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

How do I say «I find» in Spanish?

Say «Yo hallo 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 hallar?

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

When do I use the subjunctive with hallar?

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

How do I use hallar in the present perfect?

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

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