Invitar Conjugation in Spanish
invitar means "to invite" in English, and it is one of the Spanish verbs you will use again and again in everyday conversation. It is used for inviting people — to dinner, to a party, to a wedding, or offering to pay for someone, which makes it a practical verb to learn early and to use confidently. This page gives you the complete conjugation of invitar 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. Invitar 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: Yo invito a mis amigos a cenar cada mes. — "I invite my friends to dinner every month.". Work through the tables, read the notes, then test yourself with the quiz at the end of the page.
Quick facts
- Infinitive: invitar
- English: to invite
- Verb type: Regular -ar verb
- Gerund: invitando
- Past participle: invitado
- Auxiliary verb: haber (all compound tenses use haber + invitado)
Full conjugation table
Every tense of invitar with all six persons. The gerund is invitando and the past participle is invitado.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | invito |
| tú | invitas |
| él/ella/Ud. | invita |
| nosotros/as | invitamos |
| vosotros/as | invitáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | invitan |
Preterite (past)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | invité |
| tú | invitaste |
| él/ella/Ud. | invitó |
| nosotros/as | invitamos |
| vosotros/as | invitasteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | invitaron |
Imperfect (past)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | invitaba |
| tú | invitabas |
| él/ella/Ud. | invitaba |
| nosotros/as | invitábamos |
| vosotros/as | invitabais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | invitaban |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | invitaré |
| tú | invitarás |
| él/ella/Ud. | invitará |
| nosotros/as | invitaremos |
| vosotros/as | invitaréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | invitarán |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | invitaría |
| tú | invitarías |
| él/ella/Ud. | invitaría |
| nosotros/as | invitaríamos |
| vosotros/as | invitaríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | invitarían |
Present perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he invitado |
| tú | has invitado |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha invitado |
| nosotros/as | hemos invitado |
| vosotros/as | habéis invitado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han invitado |
Pluperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había invitado |
| tú | habías invitado |
| él/ella/Ud. | había invitado |
| nosotros/as | habíamos invitado |
| vosotros/as | habíais invitado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían invitado |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré invitado |
| tú | habrás invitado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá invitado |
| nosotros/as | habremos invitado |
| vosotros/as | habréis invitado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán invitado |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría invitado |
| tú | habrías invitado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría invitado |
| nosotros/as | habríamos invitado |
| vosotros/as | habríais invitado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían invitado |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | invite |
| tú | invites |
| él/ella/Ud. | invite |
| nosotros/as | invitemos |
| vosotros/as | invitéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | inviten |
Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | invitara |
| tú | invitaras |
| él/ella/Ud. | invitara |
| nosotros/as | invitáramos |
| vosotros/as | invitarais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | invitaran |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | invita |
| él/ella/Ud. | invite |
| nosotros/as | invitemos |
| vosotros/as | invitad |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | inviten |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | invites |
| él/ella/Ud. | invite |
| nosotros/as | invitemos |
| vosotros/as | invitéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | inviten |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | Spanish |
|---|---|
| Gerund | invitando |
| Past participle | invitado |
How to use each tense
Each tense below explains when to use it with invitar, 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: Yo invito a mis amigos.
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 yo invité a mis amigos.
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, yo invitaba a mis amigos.
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 yo invitaré a mis amigos.
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: Yo invitaría a mis amigos 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: Yo ya he invitado a mis amigos.
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: Yo ya había invitado a mis amigos 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 yo ya habré invitado a mis amigos.
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: Yo habría invitado a mis amigos si hubiera podido.
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 él invite a mis amigos.
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 él invitara a mis amigos, sería perfecto.
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.
Example: ¡Invita a mis amigos!
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 invites a mis amigos.
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with invitar, covering different tenses and persons. Read the Spanish first, then check the English.
- Yo invito a mis amigos a cenar cada mes. — "I invite my friends to dinner every month."
- ¿Tú invitas a mis amigos a tu fiesta? — "Will you invite my friends to your party?"
- Ayer invité a mis amigos a mi casa. — "Yesterday I invited my friends to my house."
- Ella invitaba a mis amigos siempre que cocinaba. — "She used to invite my friends whenever she cooked."
- Mañana invitaré a mis amigos al cine. — "Tomorrow I will invite my friends to the cinema."
- Yo invitaría a mis amigos si tuviera más espacio. — "I would invite my friends if I had more space."
- Ya he invitado a mis amigos a la boda. — "I have already invited my friends to the wedding."
- ¡invita a mis amigos, por favor! — "Invite my friends, please!"
Common mistakes
The errors learners actually make with invitar — and how to fix them.
- Wrong: *Yo invité a mis amigos — learners often write invite without the accent. → Right: Yo invité a mis amigos.. The preterite yo form is invité, with an accent on the final e. Invitar is regular, so the accent is the only spelling point.
- Wrong: *Invito a mis amigos a cenar — some learners drop the personal a and write invito mis amigos. → Right: Yo invito a mis amigos a cenar.. In Spanish, the personal a is required before a specific person who is the direct object: invito a mis amigos, not invito mis amigos.
- Wrong: *Yo invito mis amigos a cenar — the a before the person is missing. → Right: Yo invito a mis amigos a cenar.. The personal a is required before a specific person: invito a mis amigos. Without it the sentence is ungrammatical, even though the meaning is clear.
- Wrong: *Espero que tú invitas a mis amigos. → Right: Espero que tú invites a mis amigos.. After espero que, use the subjunctive invites, not the indicative invitas.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on invitar. Answers are at the end, with a short explanation for each.
What is the yo form of invitar in the present indicative?
- a) invita
- b) invitas
- c) invito
- d) invitamos
What is the él/ella/Ud. form of invitar in the preterite (past)?
- a) invité
- b) invitamos
- c) invitó
- d) invitaste
What is the nosotros/as form of invitar in the imperfect (past)?
- a) invitábamos
- b) invitaba
- c) invitaba
- d) invitabas
What is the tú form of invitar in the future?
- a) invitaré
- b) invitará
- c) invitaremos
- d) invitarás
What is the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of invitar in the conditional?
- a) invitaría
- b) invitarían
- c) invitarías
- d) invitaría
What is the yo form of invitar in the present subjunctive?
- a) invites
- b) invite
- c) invitemos
- d) invite
What is the gerund of invitar?
- a) invitado
- b) invitar
- c) invitando
- d) invita
What is the past participle of invitar?
- a) invito
- b) invitando
- c) he invitado
- d) invitado
What does invitar mean in English?
- a) to invite
- b) to forget
- c) to give (a gift)
- d) to forbid, to prohibit
The form invité belongs to which tense?
- a) Present
- b) Preterite
- c) Future
- d) Imperfect
Answer key
- invito — The yo form in the present indicative is invito — the other options are the same tense but different persons.
- invitó — The él/ella/Ud. form in the preterite (past) is invitó — the other options are the same tense but different persons.
- invitábamos — The nosotros/as form in the imperfect (past) is invitábamos — the other options are the same tense but different persons.
- invitarás — The tú form in the future is invitarás — the other options are the same tense but different persons.
- invitarían — The ellos/ellas/Uds. form in the conditional is invitarían — the other options are the same tense but different persons.
- invite — The yo form in the present subjunctive is invite — the other options are the same tense but different persons.
- invitando — The gerund is invitando — it is the form used with estar for the progressive (estoy invitando). The past participle is invitado.
- invitado — The past participle is invitado — it is the form used after haber in the perfect tenses (he invitado).
- to invite — invitar means "to invite".
- Preterite — invité is the yo form of the preterite of invitar — a finished past action. The imperfect yo form is invitaba.
Frequently asked questions
Is invitar regular?
Yes, invitar is a completely regular -ar verb: invito, invitas, invita, invitamos, invitáis, invitan. The preterite is invité, invitaste, invitó, and the participle is invitado.
Does invitar need the preposition a?
Yes, twice over. Use the personal a before the person invited (invito a mis amigos) and a before the event (invito a mis amigos a cenar). Both are required in correct Spanish.
How do you say "my treat" in Spanish?
Te invito — literally "I invite you". If you want to be explicit, say Yo invito, meaning "I'm paying". The waiter will understand: La cuenta, por favor — yo invito.
What is the difference between invitar and convidar?
They mean the same thing, but invitar is the standard word everywhere, while convidar is regional and old-fashioned in most of Spain and Latin America. Use invitar and you will always be understood.
Related pages
- Invitar in the present tense — the present tense of invitar in depth, with its own examples and quiz.
- Invitar examples and quiz — more everyday sentences with invitar and a second quiz.
- Spanish verbs — the Spanish hub: every verb, every tense guide and every tool in one place.
- Visitar conjugation — another verb in the same family as invitar.
- Llamar conjugation — another verb in the same family as invitar.
- Spanish Verb Conjugator — practise invitar with this tool.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — practise invitar with this tool.
- Present tense guide — how the present tense works for regular and irregular verbs.