Llorar Conjugation in Spanish
llorar means "to cry" 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 crying — with sadness, joy, frustration or at the movies, which makes it a practical verb to learn early and to use confidently. This page gives you the complete conjugation of llorar 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. Llorar 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 lloro de tristeza a veces. — "I cry with sadness sometimes.". Work through the tables, read the notes, then test yourself with the quiz at the end of the page.
Quick facts
- Infinitive: llorar
- English: to cry
- Verb type: Regular -ar verb
- Gerund: llorando
- Past participle: llorado
- Auxiliary verb: haber (all compound tenses use haber + llorado)
Full conjugation table
Every tense of llorar with all six persons. The gerund is llorando and the past participle is llorado.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | lloro |
| tú | lloras |
| él/ella/Ud. | llora |
| nosotros/as | lloramos |
| vosotros/as | lloráis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | lloran |
Preterite (past)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | lloré |
| tú | lloraste |
| él/ella/Ud. | lloró |
| nosotros/as | lloramos |
| vosotros/as | llorasteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | lloraron |
Imperfect (past)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | lloraba |
| tú | llorabas |
| él/ella/Ud. | lloraba |
| nosotros/as | llorábamos |
| vosotros/as | llorabais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | lloraban |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | lloraré |
| tú | llorarás |
| él/ella/Ud. | llorará |
| nosotros/as | lloraremos |
| vosotros/as | lloraréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | llorarán |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | lloraría |
| tú | llorarías |
| él/ella/Ud. | lloraría |
| nosotros/as | lloraríamos |
| vosotros/as | lloraríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | llorarían |
Present perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he llorado |
| tú | has llorado |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha llorado |
| nosotros/as | hemos llorado |
| vosotros/as | habéis llorado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han llorado |
Pluperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había llorado |
| tú | habías llorado |
| él/ella/Ud. | había llorado |
| nosotros/as | habíamos llorado |
| vosotros/as | habíais llorado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían llorado |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré llorado |
| tú | habrás llorado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá llorado |
| nosotros/as | habremos llorado |
| vosotros/as | habréis llorado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán llorado |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría llorado |
| tú | habrías llorado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría llorado |
| nosotros/as | habríamos llorado |
| vosotros/as | habríais llorado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían llorado |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | llore |
| tú | llores |
| él/ella/Ud. | llore |
| nosotros/as | lloremos |
| vosotros/as | lloréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | lloren |
Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | llorara |
| tú | lloraras |
| él/ella/Ud. | llorara |
| nosotros/as | lloráramos |
| vosotros/as | llorarais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | lloraran |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | llora |
| él/ella/Ud. | llore |
| nosotros/as | lloremos |
| vosotros/as | llorad |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | lloren |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | llores |
| él/ella/Ud. | llore |
| nosotros/as | lloremos |
| vosotros/as | lloréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | lloren |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | Spanish |
|---|---|
| Gerund | llorando |
| Past participle | llorado |
How to use each tense
Each tense below explains when to use it with llorar, 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 lloro de tristeza.
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 lloré de tristeza.
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 lloraba de tristeza.
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 lloraré de tristeza.
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 lloraría de tristeza 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 llorado de tristeza.
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 llorado de tristeza 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 llorado de tristeza.
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 llorado de tristeza 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 llore de tristeza.
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 llorara de tristeza, 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: ¡Llora de tristeza!
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 llores de tristeza.
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with llorar, covering different tenses and persons. Read the Spanish first, then check the English.
- Yo lloro de tristeza a veces. — "I cry with sadness sometimes."
- ¿Tú lloras de tristeza en las películas? — "Do you cry with sadness at films?"
- Ayer lloré de tristeza toda la noche. — "Yesterday I cried with sadness all night."
- Ella lloraba de tristeza cada vez que se acordaba. — "She used to cry with sadness every time she remembered."
- Mañana lloraré de tristeza si me voy. — "Tomorrow I will cry with sadness if I leave."
- Yo lloraría de tristeza si perdiera. — "I would cry with sadness if I lost."
- Ya he llorado de tristeza hoy. — "I have already cried with sadness today."
- Espero que no llore de tristeza. — "I hope he doesn't cry with sadness."
Common mistakes
The errors learners actually make with llorar — and how to fix them.
- Wrong: *Yo lloré de tristeza — learners often write llore without the accent. → Right: Yo lloré de tristeza.. The preterite yo form is lloré, with an accent on the final e. Llorar is regular, so the accent is the only spelling point.
- Wrong: *Espero que tú lloras de tristeza. → Right: Espero que tú llores de tristeza.. After espero que, use the subjunctive llores, not the indicative lloras.
- Wrong: *Lloro de tristeza — some learners confuse llorar with gritar; llorar is to cry with tears, gritar is to shout. → Right: Yo lloro de tristeza.. Llorar means to cry, with tears. Gritar means to shout, with the voice. De tristeza (with sadness) fits llorar; de alegría fits both.
- Wrong: *Yo he llorado de tristeza — learners sometimes write he lloro instead of the participle. → Right: Yo he llorado de tristeza.. The perfect tenses use the participle llorado after haber: he llorado, not he lloro.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on llorar. Answers are at the end, with a short explanation for each.
What is the yo form of llorar in the present indicative?
- a) lloramos
- b) llora
- c) lloras
- d) lloro
What is the él/ella/Ud. form of llorar in the preterite (past)?
- a) lloraste
- b) lloré
- c) lloramos
- d) lloró
What is the nosotros/as form of llorar in the imperfect (past)?
- a) llorábamos
- b) lloraba
- c) llorabas
- d) lloraba
What is the tú form of llorar in the future?
- a) llorarás
- b) lloraremos
- c) llorará
- d) lloraré
What is the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of llorar in the conditional?
- a) lloraría
- b) llorarías
- c) llorarían
- d) lloraría
What is the yo form of llorar in the present subjunctive?
- a) llores
- b) lloremos
- c) llore
- d) llore
What is the gerund of llorar?
- a) llorar
- b) llora
- c) llorando
- d) llorado
What is the past participle of llorar?
- a) llorando
- b) llorado
- c) he llorado
- d) lloro
What does llorar mean in English?
- a) to cry
- b) to get worse
- c) to win, to earn
- d) to bore
The form lloré belongs to which tense?
- a) Future
- b) Present
- c) Preterite
- d) Imperfect
Answer key
- lloro — The yo form in the present indicative is lloro — the other options are the same tense but different persons.
- lloró — The él/ella/Ud. form in the preterite (past) is lloró — the other options are the same tense but different persons.
- llorábamos — The nosotros/as form in the imperfect (past) is llorábamos — the other options are the same tense but different persons.
- llorarás — The tú form in the future is llorarás — the other options are the same tense but different persons.
- llorarían — The ellos/ellas/Uds. form in the conditional is llorarían — the other options are the same tense but different persons.
- llore — The yo form in the present subjunctive is llore — the other options are the same tense but different persons.
- llorando — The gerund is llorando — it is the form used with estar for the progressive (estoy llorando). The past participle is llorado.
- llorado — The past participle is llorado — it is the form used after haber in the perfect tenses (he llorado).
- to cry — llorar means "to cry".
- Preterite — lloré is the yo form of the preterite of llorar — a finished past action. The imperfect yo form is lloraba.
Frequently asked questions
Is llorar regular?
Yes, llorar is a completely regular -ar verb: lloro, lloras, llora, lloramos, lloráis, lloran. The preterite is lloré, lloraste, lloró, and the participle is llorado.
How do you say "to cry" in Spanish?
Llorar — for example: Lloré de tristeza toda la noche. To say what you cry about, use por: Lloro por ti. To say why, use de: Lloro de alegría.
What is the difference between llorar and sollozar?
Llorar is the general verb for crying; sollozar means to sob, to cry with convulsive breaths. You cry (lloras) at a sad film; you sob (sollozas) when you can barely breathe from crying.
Does llorar take a preposition?
Yes, de for the cause (llorar de tristeza, llorar de alegría) and por for the person or thing (llorar por su madre). Both are common and correct.
Related pages
- Llorar in the present tense — the present tense of llorar in depth, with its own examples and quiz.
- Llorar examples and quiz — more everyday sentences with llorar and a second quiz.
- Spanish verbs — the Spanish hub: every verb, every tense guide and every tool in one place.
- Reír conjugation — another verb in the same family as llorar.
- Gritar conjugation — another verb in the same family as llorar.
- Spanish Verb Conjugator — practise llorar with this tool.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — practise llorar with this tool.
- Present tense guide — how the present tense works for regular and irregular verbs.