Imaginar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb imaginar means to imagine, and this page covers it in the present tense — the tense for habits, facts and what is happening now. If you want the whole picture, start with the full imaginar conjugation, which has every tense on one page. Here we go deep on one tense only: the full table, how it is formed, when to use it, how it differs from the closest tense, examples, the mistakes learners actually make, a quiz and answers to the questions people ask most. One example to start: Yo imagino un mundo mejor. — "I imagine a better world."

No pronunciation is given on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for imaginar, so no pronunciation is shown rather than an invented one. All the forms below come from the verified conjugation tables, so you can trust every form you see here.

The imaginar present tense table

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for imaginar. The gerund is imaginando and the past participle is imaginado.

Person Form
yo imagino
tú imaginas
él/ella/Ud. imagina
nosotros/as imaginamos
vosotros/as imagináis
ellos/ellas/Uds. imaginan

The gerund imaginando is used with estar for the progressive (estoy imaginando, I am imagining), and the past participle imaginado is used with haber for the perfect tenses (he imaginado, I have imagined).

How the present tense of imaginar is formed

Start with the infinitive imaginar. Take off the -ar ending and you are left with the stem imagin-. Then add the present endings for -ar verbs: -o (yo), -as (tú), -a (él/ella/Ud.), -amos (nosotros/as), -áis (vosotros/as) and -an (ellos/ellas/Uds.). That gives you the six forms in the table above, and for most verbs in this group that is the whole story.

imaginar is regular in the present: every form is exactly the stem plus the ending above, with no stem change and no spelling change. If you know the stem and the six endings, you can build the whole tense without memorising anything extra.

Two details are worth fixing early. First, the vosotros form carries a written accent on the ending: imagináis. Second, the present tense in Spanish has no auxiliary verb: imagino on its own means both "I imagine" and "I am imagining" in English, so you do not need a separate word for the progressive unless you want to stress that something is happening right now.

When to use the present tense of imaginar

Habits and routines

The present is the tense of what you do regularly. Talking about imagining a better world, a house on the beach, a different life.

  • Yo imagino un mundo mejor. — "I imagine a better world."
  • Tú imaginas una casa en la playa. — "you imagine a house on the beach."

Facts and general truths

The present also states facts that are true in general, not just today. Talking about imagining the future or how something would be.

  • Él imagina cómo sería. — "he/she imagines how it would be."
  • Nosotros imaginamos el futuro. — "we imagine the future."

What is happening now

The present describes what is happening at this moment. Talking about children's imagination: imagining animals, worlds and adventures.

  • Vosotros imagináis una vida diferente. — "you (all) imagine a different life."
  • Ellos imaginan sin límites. — "they imagine without limits."

Plans in the near future

Spanish also uses the present for fixed plans in the near future, especially with a time expression. A plan you have already decided on can be stated in the present, and it sounds more certain than the future tense.

  • Él imagina cómo sería. — "he/she imagines how it would be."
  • Nosotros imaginamos el futuro. — "we imagine the future."

Imaginar present vs present progressive

The present tense and the present progressive (estar + gerund) are close neighbours, and learners mix them up. The present describes a habit, a fact or a routine. The progressive describes something in progress right now, at this very moment. Compare the three pairs below: the first sentence in each pair is a habit, the second is happening now.

  • Present (habit): Yo imagino un mundo mejor. — "I imagine a better world."

  • Progressive (right now): Yo estoy imaginando un mundo mejor. — "I am imagining a better world."

  • Present (habit): Tú imaginas una casa en la playa. — "you imagine a house on the beach."

  • Progressive (right now): Tú estás imaginando una casa en la playa. — "you are imagining a house on the beach."

  • Present (habit): Él imagina cómo sería. — "he/she imagines how it would be."

  • Progressive (right now): Él está imaginando cómo sería. — "he/she is imagining how it would be."

Use the present when you talk about what you usually do, and the progressive when you want to stress that it is happening as you speak. If you say imagino every day, that is a routine. If you say Estoy imaginando, you are doing it at this moment.

Examples of imaginar in the present

Eight sentences in the present tense, so you can see the forms in real use. Read the Spanish first, guess the meaning, then check the translation.

  1. Imagino un mundo mejor. — "I imagine a better world."
  2. Mi hija imagina una casa en la playa. — "My daughter imagines a house on the beach."
  3. Ayer imaginé cómo sería vivir en París. — "Yesterday I imagined how it would be to live in Paris."
  4. De niño, imaginaba una vida diferente. — "As a child, I used to imagine a different life."
  5. Mañana imaginaré el futuro con mis alumnos. — "Tomorrow I will imagine the future with my pupils."
  6. Si pudiera, imaginaría un mundo sin límites. — "If I could, I would imagine a world without limits."
  7. Él imagina una vida diferente. — "he/she imagines a different life."
  8. Nosotros imaginamos sin límites. — "we imagine without limits."

Common mistakes with imaginar in the present

These are the errors learners actually make with this verb. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why it is wrong.

1. Yo imagina un mundo mejor.

Wrong: Yo imagina un mundo mejor.

Right: Yo imagino un mundo mejor.

The yo form ends in -o: imagino. Imagina is the él/ella form.

2. Ayer yo imagino cómo sería.

Wrong: Ayer yo imagino cómo sería.

Right: Ayer yo imaginé cómo sería.

A finished action yesterday needs the preterite: imaginé. Imagino is the present tense.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

Wrong: Ayer yo imagino un mundo mejor.

Right: Ayer yo imaginé un mundo mejor.

Ayer (yesterday) signals a finished action, so it needs the preterite: imaginé. The present imagino describes what you do now or usually, not what you did yesterday.

4. Forgetting the accent on the vosotros form

Wrong: Vosotros imaginais un mundo mejor.

Right: Vosotros imagináis un mundo mejor.

The vosotros ending carries a written accent: imagináis. Without it, the spelling is wrong, even though the pronunciation is close.

Quiz: test yourself on imaginar in the present

Choose the right form for each sentence. The answers are at the end of this section, with an explanation for every question.

  1. Yo ___ un mundo mejor
    • a) imagino
    • b) imaginas
    • c) imagina
    • d) imaginamos
  2. Tú ___ una casa en la playa
    • a) imagino
    • b) imagina
    • c) imaginamos
    • d) imaginas
  3. Él ___ cómo sería
    • a) imaginas
    • b) imaginamos
    • c) imagina
    • d) imagino
  4. Nosotros ___ el futuro
    • a) imagina
    • b) imaginamos
    • c) imagino
    • d) imaginas
  5. Vosotros ___ una vida diferente
    • a) imagináis
    • b) imagino
    • c) imaginas
    • d) imagina
  6. Ellos ___ sin límites
    • a) imagino
    • b) imaginas
    • c) imagina
    • d) imaginan
  7. Yo ___ un mundo mejor
    • a) imagina
    • b) imaginamos
    • c) imagino
    • d) imaginas
  8. Tú ___ una casa en la playa
    • a) imaginamos
    • b) imaginas
    • c) imagino
    • d) imagina

Answers

  1. a) imagino — The sentence needs the yo form, because the subject is yo.
  2. d) imaginas — The sentence needs the tú form, because the subject is tú.
  3. c) imagina — The sentence needs the él/ella/Ud. form, because the subject is él/ella/Ud..
  4. b) imaginamos — The sentence needs the nosotros/as form, because the subject is nosotros/as.
  5. a) imagináis — The sentence needs the vosotros/as form, because the subject is vosotros/as.
  6. d) imaginan — The sentence needs the ellos/ellas/Uds. form, because the subject is ellos/ellas/Uds..
  7. c) imagino — The sentence needs the yo form, because the subject is yo.
  8. b) imaginas — The sentence needs the tú form, because the subject is tú.

Frequently asked questions about imaginar in the present

Is imaginar regular?

Yes, imaginar is a regular -ar verb: imagino, imaginas, imagina, imaginamos, imagináis, imaginan.

Can imaginar take a que clause?

Yes: imagino que es posible means I imagine that it is possible. Imaginar also takes a direct object: imagino un mundo mejor.

Is imaginar regular in the present?

Yes. imaginar is regular in the present: the six forms are the stem imagin- plus the regular endings, with no stem change. The only thing to watch is the written accent on the stressed endings, for example imagino.

What are the gerund and the past participle of imaginar?

The gerund is imaginando, used with estar for the progressive (estoy imaginando), and the past participle is imaginado, used with haber for the perfect tenses (he imaginado).

How to remember imaginar

Four small habits will fix imaginar in your memory. First, say the present tense out loud, in order, three times: imagino, imaginas, imagina, imaginamos, imagináis, imaginan. Saying the forms is far more effective than reading them silently, because you hear the endings and the stem at the same time. Second, write three sentences about your own life: one about today with the present (imagino), one about yesterday with the preterite (imaginé), and one about tomorrow with the future (imaginaré). Personal sentences stick because they are about you, not about a textbook. Third, remember the difference from soñar: Imaginar is imagining something in your mind while awake; soñar is dreaming while asleep, or dreaming of a wish. Imaginas un mundo mejor y sueñas con una casa en la playa. Finally, learn the two key forms by heart: the gerund imaginando and the past participle imaginado. With those two and the present tense, you can already build the progressive (estoy imaginando) and the present perfect (he imaginado), which covers most everyday conversation.

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