Interesar Conjugation in Spanish
interesar means "to interest" in English, and it is one of the Spanish verbs you will use again and again in everyday conversation. It is used for talking about interest — what interests you, what bores you, and what catches your attention, which makes it a practical verb to learn early and to use confidently. This page gives you the complete conjugation of interesar in every tense and mood — present, preterite, imperfect, future, conditional, the four perfect tenses, both subjunctive tenses and the imperative — with all six persons, plus the gerund and the past participle. Every form below comes from VerbFlow's verified conjugation tables, so you can trust the accents and the irregular forms. Interesar is a regular -ar verb verb, and the notes under each tense explain exactly where it follows the rules and where it breaks them. To hear it in a real sentence: Me interesa la historia. — "History interests me.". Work through the tables, read the notes, then test yourself with the quiz at the end of the page.
Quick facts
- Infinitive: interesar
- English: to interest
- Verb type: Regular -ar verb
- Gerund: interesando
- Past participle: interesado
- Auxiliary verb: haber (all compound tenses use haber + interesado)
Full conjugation table
Every tense of interesar with all six persons. The gerund is interesando and the past participle is interesado.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | intereso |
| tú | interesas |
| él/ella/Ud. | interesa |
| nosotros/as | interesamos |
| vosotros/as | interesáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | interesan |
Preterite (past)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | interesé |
| tú | interesaste |
| él/ella/Ud. | interesó |
| nosotros/as | interesamos |
| vosotros/as | interesasteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | interesaron |
Imperfect (past)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | interesaba |
| tú | interesabas |
| él/ella/Ud. | interesaba |
| nosotros/as | interesábamos |
| vosotros/as | interesabais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | interesaban |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | interesaré |
| tú | interesarás |
| él/ella/Ud. | interesará |
| nosotros/as | interesaremos |
| vosotros/as | interesaréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | interesarán |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | interesaría |
| tú | interesarías |
| él/ella/Ud. | interesaría |
| nosotros/as | interesaríamos |
| vosotros/as | interesaríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | interesarían |
Present perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he interesado |
| tú | has interesado |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha interesado |
| nosotros/as | hemos interesado |
| vosotros/as | habéis interesado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han interesado |
Pluperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había interesado |
| tú | habías interesado |
| él/ella/Ud. | había interesado |
| nosotros/as | habíamos interesado |
| vosotros/as | habíais interesado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían interesado |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré interesado |
| tú | habrás interesado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá interesado |
| nosotros/as | habremos interesado |
| vosotros/as | habréis interesado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán interesado |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría interesado |
| tú | habrías interesado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría interesado |
| nosotros/as | habríamos interesado |
| vosotros/as | habríais interesado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían interesado |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | interese |
| tú | intereses |
| él/ella/Ud. | interese |
| nosotros/as | interesemos |
| vosotros/as | intereséis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | interesen |
Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | interesara |
| tú | interesaras |
| él/ella/Ud. | interesara |
| nosotros/as | interesáramos |
| vosotros/as | interesarais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | interesaran |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | interesa |
| él/ella/Ud. | interese |
| nosotros/as | interesemos |
| vosotros/as | interesad |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | interesen |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | intereses |
| él/ella/Ud. | interese |
| nosotros/as | interesemos |
| vosotros/as | intereséis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | interesen |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | Spanish |
|---|---|
| Gerund | interesando |
| Past participle | interesado |
How to use each tense
Each tense below explains when to use it with interesar, with one example sentence. The example forms are taken from the tables above.
Present indicative
The present tense talks about what happens now, habits, routines and general truths. It is the first tense every learner needs, because it covers daily life: what you do, what you like, where you live. For most verbs the present is also the base for the present subjunctive, so learning it well pays off twice.
This tense is regular for this verb — the endings follow the standard pattern for its verb class.
Example: Me interesa la historia.
Preterite (past)
The preterite talks about finished actions in the past — things that started and ended at a specific moment. Use it for events, for what happened yesterday, last year, or at a particular time. It answers the question "what happened?" and it is the tense of stories told as a sequence of events.
This tense is regular for this verb — the endings follow the standard pattern for its verb class.
Example: Ayer me interesó la historia.
Imperfect (past)
The imperfect talks about the past as background: habits, repeated actions, descriptions, and things that were in progress when something else happened. Use it for "used to", for setting a scene, and for age, time and weather in the past. It answers "what was going on?" rather than "what happened?".
This tense is regular for this verb — the endings follow the standard pattern for its verb class.
Example: En aquella época, me interesaba la historia.
Future
The future tense talks about what will happen: plans, predictions and promises. In everyday speech Spanish speakers often use "ir a + infinitive" instead, but the future tense is essential for formal writing, for promises, and for guessing about the present ("¿Dónde estará?").
This tense is regular for this verb — the endings follow the standard pattern for its verb class.
Example: Mañana me interesará la historia.
Conditional
The conditional talks about what would happen: hypothetical situations, polite requests, and advice. It pairs with the imperfect subjunctive in "if" sentences ("Si pudiera, lo haría"). It is also the polite way to ask for things and to soften opinions.
This tense is regular for this verb — the endings follow the standard pattern for its verb class.
Example: Me interesaría la historia si pudiera.
Present perfect
The present perfect (haber + past participle) talks about the recent past and about experience: what you have done, what has just happened, what you have never tried. It connects the past to the present moment, so it often appears with "hoy", "esta semana", "ya" and "todavía no".
This tense is regular for this verb — the endings follow the standard pattern for its verb class.
Example: Me ha interesado la historia muchas veces.
Pluperfect
The pluperfect (había + past participle) talks about the past before the past: what had already happened when something else happened. Use it to order two past events — the pluperfect one comes first in time. It appears constantly in stories and explanations.
This tense is regular for this verb — the endings follow the standard pattern for its verb class.
Example: Me había interesado la historia antes.
Future perfect
The future perfect (habré + past participle) talks about something that will already be finished by a future moment: "Para mañana ya habré terminado". It is also used to guess about the past: "¿Dónde habrá ido?". It is less common in speech but regular in writing.
This tense is regular for this verb — the endings follow the standard pattern for its verb class.
Example: Para mañana me habrá interesado la historia.
Conditional perfect
The conditional perfect (habría + past participle) talks about what would have happened: the past of the conditional. It appears in "if" sentences about a past that did not happen ("Si hubiera sabido, habría venido") and in polite regrets and reproaches.
This tense is regular for this verb — the endings follow the standard pattern for its verb class.
Example: Me habría interesado la historia si lo hubiera probado.
Present subjunctive
The present subjunctive is the mood of wishes, doubts, emotions and influence: what you want, hope, doubt or demand. It appears after "quiero que", "espero que", "es posible que", "ojalá" and after verbs of emotion and doubt. It never stands alone — a trigger in the main clause calls for it.
This tense is regular for this verb — the endings follow the standard pattern for its verb class.
Example: Espero que te interese la historia.
Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)
The imperfect subjunctive is the past of the subjunctive: it follows past-tense triggers ("Quería que vinieras") and it is the tense of "if" clauses about unlikely or impossible situations ("Si tuviera dinero, viajaría"). The -ra forms shown here are the standard ones; -se forms exist too but -ra is far more common in speech.
This tense is regular for this verb — the endings follow the standard pattern for its verb class.
Example: Si me interesara la historia, lo compraría.
Imperative (affirmative)
Affirmative commands tell someone to do something: "¡Ven aquí!", "¡Siéntate!". The tú and vosotros forms are the ones you will use most, and they are also the ones that break the regular pattern most often — the tú affirmative command comes from the él/ella present form, not from the infinitive.
This tense is regular for this verb — the endings follow the standard pattern for its verb class.
Affirmative commands with interesar are rare, because the verb describes a reaction rather than an action you order someone to do. Learners meet it far more often in statements such as Me interesa la historia.
Imperative (negative)
Negative commands tell someone not to do something: "¡No hables!", "¡No te vayas!". Unlike affirmative commands, negative commands always use the subjunctive forms, for every person. If you know the present subjunctive, you already know the negative imperative.
This tense is regular for this verb — the endings follow the standard pattern for its verb class.
Example: No intereses a nadie con tus historias.
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with interesar, covering different tenses and persons. Read the Spanish first, then check the English.
- Me interesa la historia. — "History interests me."
- ¿Te interesa la historia? — "Does history interest you?"
- Ayer me interesó la historia del museo. — "Yesterday the history of the museum interested me."
- De niño, me interesaba la historia. — "As a child, history interested me."
- Mañana me interesará la historia de España. — "Tomorrow the history of Spain will interest me."
- Me interesaría la historia si la contaran bien. — "History would interest me if they told it well."
- Me ha interesado la historia muchas veces. — "History has interested me many times."
- Espero que te interese la historia. — "I hope history interests you."
Common mistakes
The errors learners actually make with interesar — and how to fix them.
- Wrong: *Yo intereso la historia. → Right: Me interesa la historia.. Interesar works backwards like gustar: the thing is the subject and you are the indirect object. Say Me interesa la historia, never Yo intereso la historia.
- Wrong: *Me interesan la historia — the verb must agree with the thing, not with you. → Right: Me interesa la historia.. La historia is singular, so the verb is singular: Me interesa la historia. For plural things, use interesan: Me interesan los libros.
- Wrong: *Ayer me intereso la historia. → Right: Ayer me interesó la historia.. In the past, use the preterite third person: Me interesó la historia. Me intereso would be the yo form of the present, which is not how interesar is used.
- Wrong: *Espero que me interesa la historia. → Right: Espero que me interese la historia.. After espero que, use the subjunctive interese, not the indicative interesa: Espero que me interese la historia.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on interesar. Answers are at the end, with a short explanation for each.
What is the yo form of interesar in the present indicative?
- a) intereso
- b) interesa
- c) interesas
- d) interesamos
What is the él/ella/Ud. form of interesar in the preterite (past)?
- a) interesamos
- b) interesó
- c) interesé
- d) interesaste
What is the nosotros/as form of interesar in the imperfect (past)?
- a) interesábamos
- b) interesaba
- c) interesabas
- d) interesaba
What is the tú form of interesar in the future?
- a) interesaremos
- b) interesaré
- c) interesarás
- d) interesará
What is the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of interesar in the conditional?
- a) interesarías
- b) interesaría
- c) interesaría
- d) interesarían
What is the yo form of interesar in the present subjunctive?
- a) interesemos
- b) interese
- c) intereses
- d) interese
What is the gerund of interesar?
- a) interesa
- b) interesando
- c) interesado
- d) interesar
What is the past participle of interesar?
- a) interesado
- b) intereso
- c) he interesado
- d) interesando
What does interesar mean in English?
- a) to allow, to permit
- b) to get bored
- c) to interest
- d) to worry
The form interesé belongs to which tense?
- a) Imperfect
- b) Present
- c) Future
- d) Preterite
Answer key
- intereso — The yo form in the present indicative is intereso — the other options are the same tense but different persons.
- interesó — The él/ella/Ud. form in the preterite (past) is interesó — the other options are the same tense but different persons.
- interesábamos — The nosotros/as form in the imperfect (past) is interesábamos — the other options are the same tense but different persons.
- interesarás — The tú form in the future is interesarás — the other options are the same tense but different persons.
- interesarían — The ellos/ellas/Uds. form in the conditional is interesarían — the other options are the same tense but different persons.
- interese — The yo form in the present subjunctive is interese — the other options are the same tense but different persons.
- interesando — The gerund is interesando — it is the form used with estar for the progressive (estoy interesando). The past participle is interesado.
- interesado — The past participle is interesado — it is the form used after haber in the perfect tenses (he interesado).
- to interest — interesar means "to interest".
- Preterite — interesé is the yo form of the preterite of interesar — a finished past action. The imperfect yo form is interesaba.
Frequently asked questions
Is interesar regular?
Yes, interesar is a regular -ar verb: intereso, interesas, interesa, interesamos, interesáis, interesan. The difficulty is the sentence structure — interesar works like gustar, with the thing as the subject and the person as the indirect object.
Why do you say "Me interesa" and not "Yo intereso"?
Because interesar describes a reaction: the history interests me, so the history is the subject and I am the indirect object (me). English says "I am interested in history" with I as the subject, but Spanish says Me interesa la historia — literally "History interests me".
What is the difference between interesar and interesarse?
Interesar means something interests you (Me interesa la historia). Interesarse means to take an interest, to show interest actively (Me intereso por la historia). The reflexive form adds the idea of making an effort to learn more.
How do you say "I'm interested in history" in Spanish?
Me interesa la historia. For plural things, use interesan: Me interesan los libros. To say you are interested in doing something, use Me interesa + infinitive: Me interesa aprender español.
Related pages
- Interesar in the present tense — the present tense of interesar in depth, with its own examples and quiz.
- Interesar examples and quiz — more everyday sentences with interesar and a second quiz.
- Spanish verbs — the Spanish hub: every verb, every tense guide and every tool in one place.
- Encantar conjugation — another verb in the same family as interesar.
- Fascinar conjugation — another verb in the same family as interesar.
- Spanish Verb Conjugator — practise interesar with this tool.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — practise interesar with this tool.
- Present tense guide — how the present tense works for regular and irregular verbs.