Liberar Conjugation in Spanish
The Spanish verb liberar means to free, to liberate, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. It is a regular -ar verb verb: the stem is liber and the endings follow the -ar pattern, with the exceptions noted in the tables below. 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 libero todos los días», which means «I free every day». 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.
Quick facts
- Infinitive: liberar
- English: to free, to liberate
- Verb type: regular -ar verb
- Ending: -ar
- Gerund: liberando
- Past participle: liberado
- Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + liberado)
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for liberar, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for liberar. The imperfect subjunctive is shown in its -ra forms; the -se forms use the same stem.
Gerund: liberando · Past participle: liberado
Present Indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | libero |
| tú | liberas |
| él/ella/Ud. | libera |
| nosotros/as | liberamos |
| vosotros/as | liberáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | liberan |
Use the present of liberar for things that happen regularly and for things that are true in general. The yo form libero 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 | liberé |
| tú | liberaste |
| él/ella/Ud. | liberó |
| nosotros/as | liberamos |
| vosotros/as | liberasteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | liberaron |
Use the preterite of liberar for a single finished event: something that happened once and is over. The yo form is liberé. If you can put a finished time expression with it — ayer, la semana pasada, anoche — the preterite is usually right.
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | liberaba |
| tú | liberabas |
| él/ella/Ud. | liberaba |
| nosotros/as | liberábamos |
| vosotros/as | liberabais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | liberaban |
Use the imperfect of liberar for what used to happen and for what was going on when something else happened. The yo form is liberaba. If the action has no clear beginning or end in the story, the imperfect is the right choice.
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | liberaré |
| tú | liberarás |
| él/ella/Ud. | liberará |
| nosotros/as | liberaremos |
| vosotros/as | liberaréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | liberarán |
Use the future of liberar for plans, promises and predictions. The yo form is liberaré, 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 | liberaría |
| tú | liberarías |
| él/ella/Ud. | liberaría |
| nosotros/as | liberaríamos |
| vosotros/as | liberaríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | liberarían |
Use the conditional of liberar for hypothetical situations and for softening requests. The yo form is liberaría. It appears after si-clauses with the imperfect subjunctive and on its own for polite suggestions.
Present Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he liberado |
| tú | has liberado |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha liberado |
| nosotros/as | hemos liberado |
| vosotros/as | habéis liberado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han liberado |
Use the present perfect of liberar for recent events with present relevance. The yo form is he liberado — haber in the present plus liberado. Time expressions like hoy, esta semana and últimamente are its natural partners.
Pluperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había liberado |
| tú | habías liberado |
| él/ella/Ud. | había liberado |
| nosotros/as | habíamos liberado |
| vosotros/as | habíais liberado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían liberado |
Use the pluperfect of liberar when you need two layers of past: one event already finished before another past event began. The yo form is había liberado. It is the tense of «had already done».
Future Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré liberado |
| tú | habrás liberado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá liberado |
| nosotros/as | habremos liberado |
| vosotros/as | habréis liberado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán liberado |
Use the future perfect of liberar to say that something will be finished by a future moment. The yo form is habré liberado. It pairs naturally with deadlines: para mañana, para el viernes, para entonces.
Conditional Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría liberado |
| tú | habrías liberado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría liberado |
| nosotros/as | habríamos liberado |
| vosotros/as | habríais liberado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían liberado |
Use the conditional perfect of liberar for the past that did not happen: what would have been done with more time or a different choice. The yo form is habría liberado. It follows si-clauses with the pluperfect subjunctive.
Present Subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | libere |
| tú | liberes |
| él/ella/Ud. | libere |
| nosotros/as | liberemos |
| vosotros/as | liberéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | liberen |
Use the present subjunctive of liberar when the main clause expresses a wish, a doubt, an emotion or an impersonal judgement. The yo form is libere. After espero que, ojalá que and no creo que, the subjunctive is required, not optional.
Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra forms)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | liberara |
| tú | liberaras |
| él/ella/Ud. | liberara |
| nosotros/as | liberáramos |
| vosotros/as | liberarais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | liberaran |
Use the imperfect subjunctive of liberar after past-tense wishes and doubts, and in si-clauses that set up a hypothetical present. The yo form is liberara. 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 | libera |
| él/ella/Ud. | libere |
| nosotros/as | liberemos |
| vosotros/as | liberad |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | liberen |
There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.
Use the affirmative imperative of liberar to tell someone to do something: instructions, invitations and requests. The tú form is libera. For a polite command, use the usted form libere instead of the tú form.
Imperative — Negative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | liberes |
| él/ella/Ud. | libere |
| nosotros/as | liberemos |
| vosotros/as | liberéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | liberen |
There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.
Use the negative imperative of liberar to forbid or to warn: «¡No liberes!». The tú form is liberes, taken from the present subjunctive. The word no always comes first, and the form never changes for emphasis.
Example sentences
- Yo libero todos los días. — I free every day.
- Ayer yo liberé por la tarde. — Yesterday I freed in the afternoon.
- Antes, yo liberaba todos los días. — In the past, I used to free every day.
- Mañana yo liberaré sin falta. — Tomorrow I will free without fail.
- Si tuviera más tiempo, yo liberaría ahora mismo. — If I had more time, I would free right now.
- Hoy yo he liberado dos veces. — Today I have freed twice.
- Espero que tú liberes pronto. — I hope You free soon.
- Si yo liberara, todo sería distinto. — If I freed, everything would be different.
- Ahora mismo yo estoy liberando. — Right now I am freeeing.
- ¡libera, por favor! — Free, please!
Common mistakes
1. Using the imperfect for a finished event
Wrong: Ayer yo liberaba.
Right: Ayer yo liberé.
Yesterday's finished action needs the preterite, liberé. The imperfect liberaba 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 liberas.
Right: Espero que tú liberes.
After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: liberes, not the indicative liberas. Wishes, hopes and doubts all trigger this change.
3. Using the affirmative imperative after no
Wrong: No libera.
Right: No liberes.
Negative commands use the subjunctive-based forms: no liberes. The affirmative libera can never follow no.
4. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
Wrong: Yo liberar todos los días.
Right: Yo libero todos los días.
The infinitive liberar names the action; it never works as the main verb of a sentence. Conjugate it for the person: yo libero.
5. Confusing the gerund with the past participle
Wrong: He liberando.
Right: He liberado.
The perfect tenses use haber plus the past participle: he liberado. The gerund liberando goes with estar for actions in progress («Estoy liberando»), never with haber.
Quiz
Test yourself on the forms above. Choose the correct answer, then check the key below.
1. What is the tú form of liberar in the present indicative?
- (a) libero
- (b) liberas
- (c) libera
- (d) liberamos
2. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of liberar in the preterite?
- (a) liberó
- (b) liberé
- (c) liberaste
- (d) liberamos
3. What is the nosotros/as form of liberar in the imperfect?
- (a) liberábamos
- (b) liberaba
- (c) liberabas
- (d) liberaba
4. What is the vosotros/as form of liberar in the future?
- (a) liberarás
- (b) liberaréis
- (c) liberaré
- (d) liberará
5. What is the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of liberar in the conditional?
- (a) liberaría
- (b) liberarían
- (c) liberaría
- (d) liberarías
6. What is the yo form of liberar in the present perfect?
- (a) he liberado
- (b) hemos liberado
- (c) ha liberado
- (d) has liberado
7. What is the tú form of liberar in the present subjunctive?
- (a) libere
- (b) liberes
- (c) liberemos
- (d) libere
8. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of liberar in the imperfect subjunctive (-ra forms)?
- (a) liberáramos
- (b) liberara
- (c) liberara
- (d) liberaras
9. What is the gerund of liberar?
- (a) liberado
- (b) libero
- (c) liberar
- (d) liberando
10. What is the past participle of liberar?
- (a) liberar
- (b) liberado
- (c) liberando
- (d) liberé
Answer key
1. (b) — In the present indicative, the tú form of liberar is liberas. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 2. (a) — In the preterite, the él/ella/Ud. form of liberar is liberó. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 3. (a) — In the imperfect, the nosotros/as form of liberar is liberábamos. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 4. (b) — In the future, the vosotros/as form of liberar is liberaréis. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 5. (b) — In the conditional, the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of liberar is liberarían. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 6. (a) — In the present perfect, the yo form of liberar is he liberado. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 7. (b) — In the present subjunctive, the tú form of liberar is liberes. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 8. (b) — In the imperfect subjunctive (-ra forms), the él/ella/Ud. form of liberar is liberara. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 9. (d) — The gerund of liberar is liberando. It is used with estar for the progressive: «Estoy liberando». 10. (b) — The past participle of liberar is liberado. It follows haber in all the perfect tenses: «he liberado».
Frequently asked questions
Is liberar regular or irregular?
Yes — liberar is a regular -ar verb. Learn the endings once and they work in every tense, with the stem liber unchanged throughout.
What are the gerund and past participle of liberar?
The gerund is liberando and the past participle is liberado. Use the gerund with estar for actions in progress («Estoy liberando») and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses («he liberado»).
How do I say «I free» in Spanish?
Say «Yo libero 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 liberar?
Use the preterite (liberé) for a single finished event and the imperfect (liberaba) for habits and background. «Ayer yo liberé» reports something that happened and ended; «Antes, yo liberaba» describes what used to happen.
When do I use the subjunctive with liberar?
Use the subjunctive after wishes, doubts, emotions and impersonal expressions — for example «Espero que tú liberes». The trigger sits in the main clause; once it is there, the subjunctive form is required, not a stylistic choice.
How do I use liberar in the present perfect?
Put haber in the present before the past participle: «Hoy yo he liberado». The participle liberado never changes for person — only haber changes — so once you know the participle, the whole perfect tense follows.
Related links
- Practise this verb in one tense: liberar-present-tense
- More examples and a quiz: liberar-examples-and-quiz
- Browse all Spanish verbs: /spanish/
- Related verb: juntar
- Related verb: licenciar
- Related verb: impresionar
- Conjugate any verb: verb-conjugator
- Test yourself: verb-quiz