Investir Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb investir means to invest (with office), and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. Investir is a formal verb meaning to invest someone with an office: investir al presidente, investir al alcalde. It takes a person as its object and often adds con or de for the office. Like every Spanish verb, investir 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 invisto al nuevo presidente — "I invest the new president". 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: invisto, invistes, inviste and invisten — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: investimos, investís. In the preterite the third-person forms change too: invistió, invistieron, and the gerund is invistiendo.

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: investir
  • English: to invest (with office)
  • Verb type: stem-changing -ir verb (e → i)
  • Ending: -ir
  • Gerund: invistiendo
  • Past participle: investido
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + investido)

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

Full conjugation tables

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

Present indicative

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | invisto | | tú | invistes | | él/ella/Ud. | inviste | | nosotros/as | investimos | | vosotros/as | investís | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | invisten |

Preterite

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | investí | | tú | investiste | | él/ella/Ud. | invistió | | nosotros/as | investimos | | vosotros/as | investisteis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | invistieron |

Imperfect

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | investía | | tú | investías | | él/ella/Ud. | investía | | nosotros/as | investíamos | | vosotros/as | investíais | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | investían |

Future

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | investiré | | tú | investirás | | él/ella/Ud. | investirá | | nosotros/as | investiremos | | vosotros/as | investiréis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | investirán |

Conditional

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | investiría | | tú | investirías | | él/ella/Ud. | investiría | | nosotros/as | investiríamos | | vosotros/as | investiríais | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | investirían |

Present perfect

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

Pluperfect

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

Future perfect

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

Conditional perfect

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

Present subjunctive

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | invista | | tú | invistas | | él/ella/Ud. | invista | | nosotros/as | invistamos | | vosotros/as | invistáis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | invistan |

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | invistiera | | tú | invistieras | | él/ella/Ud. | invistiera | | nosotros/as | invistiéramos | | vosotros/as | invistierais | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | invistieran |

Imperative (affirmative)

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | tú | inviste | | él/ella/Ud. | invista | | nosotros/as | invistamos | | vosotros/as | investid | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | invistan |

Imperative (negative)

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | tú | invistas | | él/ella/Ud. | invista | | nosotros/as | invistamos | | vosotros/as | invistáis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | invistan |

Gerund and past participle

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

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: invisto, invistes, inviste and invisten — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: investimos, investís. In the preterite the third-person forms change too: invistió, invistieron, and the gerund is invistiendo. For investir, the present indicative looks like this in a real sentence: Yo invisto al nuevo presidente — "I invest the new president".

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: invistió, invistieron. The gerund changes too: invistiendo. For investir, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Ayer, yo investí al alcalde en la ceremonia — "Yesterday, I invested the mayor at the ceremony".

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 investir, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: De niño, yo investía al juez con su cargo — "As a child, I used to invest the judge with his office".

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 investir, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Mañana, yo investiré al embajador en Madrid — "Tomorrow, I will invest the ambassador in Madrid".

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 investir, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Yo investiría al nuevo presidente si pudiera — "I would invest the new president 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 investir, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Hoy, yo he investido al alcalde en la ceremonia — "Today, I have invested the mayor at the ceremony".

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 investir, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo ya había investido al juez con su cargo antes de salir — "I already had invested the judge with his office 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 investir, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Para mañana, yo habré investido al embajador en Madrid — "By tomorrow, I will have invested the ambassador in Madrid".

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 investir, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo habría investido al nuevo presidente con más tiempo — "I would have invested the new president 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: invisto, invistes, inviste and invisten — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: investimos, investís. In the preterite the third-person forms change too: invistió, invistieron, and the gerund is invistiendo. For investir, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él invista al alcalde en la ceremonia — "I hope he invests the mayor at the ceremony".

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 investir, the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) looks like this in a real sentence: Si yo invistiera al juez con su cargo, todo cambiaría — "If I invested the judge with his office, 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: invisto, invistes, inviste and invisten — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: investimos, investís. In the preterite the third-person forms change too: invistió, invistieron, and the gerund is invistiendo. For investir, the imperative (affirmative) looks like this in a real sentence: Inviste al embajador en Madrid. — "Invest the ambassador in Madrid.".

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: invisto, invistes, inviste and invisten — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: investimos, investís. In the preterite the third-person forms change too: invistió, invistieron, and the gerund is invistiendo. For investir, the imperative (negative) looks like this in a real sentence: No invistas al nuevo presidente. — "Do not invest the new president.".

Example sentences

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

  1. Yo invisto al nuevo presidente — "I invest the new president"
  2. Mi amigo inviste al alcalde en la ceremonia — "My friend invests the mayor at the ceremony"
  3. Ayer, yo investí al juez con su cargo — "Yesterday, I invested the judge with his office"
  4. Antes, nosotros investíamos al embajador en Madrid — "Before, we used to invest the ambassador in Madrid"
  5. Mañana, tú investirás a la rectora de la universidad — "Tomorrow, you will invest the university rector"
  6. Yo investiría al nuevo presidente si tuviera más tiempo — "I would invest the new president if I had more time"
  7. Él ha investido al alcalde en la ceremonia — "He has invested the mayor at the ceremony"
  8. Espero que él invista al juez con su cargo — "I hope he invests the judge with his office"
  9. Yo ya había investido al embajador en Madrid antes de salir — "I already had invested the ambassador in Madrid before leaving"
  10. Ellos investían a la rectora de la universidad cuando eran jóvenes — "They used to invest the university rector when they were young"

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo investo al alcalde en la ceremonia. — Right: Yo invisto al alcalde en la ceremonia. — investir is a stem-changing verb (e → i): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is invisto, not investo.
  2. Wrong: Espero que él inviste al alcalde en la ceremonia — Right: Espero que él invista al alcalde en la ceremonia — After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: Espero que él invista al alcalde en la ceremonia — not the indicative Espero que él inviste al alcalde en la ceremonia.
  3. Wrong: Ayer, yo invisto al juez con su cargo — Right: Ayer, yo investí al juez con su cargo — Ayer points to a finished action in the past, so it needs the preterite: Ayer, yo investí al juez con su cargo.
  4. Wrong: De niño, yo investí al embajador en Madrid todos los días — Right: De niño, yo investía al embajador en Madrid todos los días — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect, not the preterite: De niño, yo investía al embajador en Madrid todos los días.
  5. Wrong: Yo invisto nuevo presidente. — Right: Yo invisto al nuevo presidente. — investir takes al before this complement: Yo invisto al nuevo presidente. Dropping the preposition is a common learner error.

Quiz: test yourself

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

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ al nuevo presidente — "I invest the new president" (present) A. invistes B. inviste C. investimos D. invisto

  2. Complete the sentence: Él ______ al alcalde en la ceremonia — "He invested the mayor at the ceremony" (preterite) A. investimos B. invistió C. investí D. investiste

  3. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ______ al juez con su cargo — "We used to invest the judge with his office" (imperfect) A. investías B. investíais C. investíamos D. investía

  4. Complete the sentence: Tú ______ al embajador en Madrid — "You will invest the ambassador in Madrid" (future) A. investiremos B. investirás C. investiré D. investirá

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ a la rectora de la universidad — "I would invest the university rector" (conditional) A. investirías B. investiríamos C. investiríais D. investiría

  6. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ______ al nuevo presidente — "I hope he invests the new president" (present subjunctive) A. invistas B. invistamos C. invistáis D. invista

  7. Complete the sentence: Si yo ______ al alcalde en la ceremonia, todo cambiaría — "If I invested the mayor at the ceremony, everything would change" (imperfect subjunctive) A. invistierais B. invistiera C. invistieras D. invistiéramos

  8. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ______ al juez con su cargo — "We have invested the judge with his office" (present perfect) A. has investido B. ha investido C. hemos investido D. he investido

  9. Complete the sentence: No ______ al embajador en Madrid. — "Do not invest the ambassador in Madrid." (negative imperative) A. invistáis B. invistas C. invista D. invistamos

  10. Which is the gerund of investir, used with estar for the progressive? A. invisto B. investí C. invistiendo D. investido

Answer key

  1. invisto — The present form for yo is invisto.
  2. invistió — The preterite form for él/ella/Ud. is invistió.
  3. investíamos — The imperfect form for nosotros/as is investíamos.
  4. investirás — The future form for tú is investirás.
  5. investiría — The conditional form for yo is investiría.
  6. invista — The present subjunctive form for él/ella/Ud. is invista.
  7. invistiera — The imperfect subjunctive form for yo is invistiera.
  8. hemos investido — The present perfect form for nosotros/as is hemos investido.
  9. invistas — The negative imperative form is invistas.
  10. invistiendo — The gerund of investir is invistiendo: estoy invistiendo. The participle investido is used with haber instead.

Frequently asked questions

What does investir mean in English?

investir means to invest (with office). It is used in everyday situations such as Yo invisto al nuevo presidente — "I invest the new president". The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

Is investir regular?

No. investir is a stem-changing -ir verb (e → i). The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: invisto, invistes, inviste and invisten — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: investimos, investís. In the preterite the third-person forms change too: invistió, invistieron, and the gerund is invistiendo. 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 investir?

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

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

It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: Ayer, yo investí al alcalde en la ceremonia — "Yesterday, I invested the mayor at the ceremony". For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: De niño, yo investía al juez con su cargo — "As a child, I used to invest the judge with his office". For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Hoy, yo he investido al alcalde en la ceremonia — "Today, I have invested the mayor at the ceremony".

What is the difference between investir and nombrar?

Nombrar is to appoint or name someone to a post. Investir is the formal ceremony of giving them the office. Investir is a formal verb meaning to invest someone with an office: investir al presidente, investir al alcalde. It takes a person as its object and often adds con or de for the office.

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