Memorizar Conjugation in Spanish
The Spanish verb memorizar means to memorise, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. Memorizar is a spelling-changing -ar (z → c before e) verb, so the tables below show you exactly how it behaves in every tense. It has a spelling change (z → c before e), which keeps the pronunciation of the stem the same when the ending changes. On this page you will find the full conjugation of memorizar in all thirteen tenses, notes on when to use each one, example sentences, the mistakes learners make most often, a ten-question quiz and answers to the questions students ask about this verb. For example, in the present tense you say Yo memorizo la lección — "I memorise the lesson" — and in the preterite you say Yo memoricé los verbos — "I memorised the verbs". 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: memorizar
- English: to memorise
- Verb type: spelling-changing -ar (z → c before e) verb
- Ending: -ar
- Gerund: memorizando
- Past participle: memorizado
- Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + memorizado)
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for memorizar, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for memorizar. The imperfect subjunctive is shown in its -ra forms; the -se forms use the same stem. For reflexive verbs, the pronoun column shows the reflexive pronoun that goes before each form.
Gerund: memorizando · Past participle: memorizado
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | memorizo |
| tú | memorizas |
| él/ella/Ud. | memoriza |
| nosotros/as | memorizamos |
| vosotros/as | memorizáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | memorizan |
Preterite
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | memoricé |
| tú | memorizaste |
| él/ella/Ud. | memorizó |
| nosotros/as | memorizamos |
| vosotros/as | memorizasteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | memorizaron |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | memorizaba |
| tú | memorizabas |
| él/ella/Ud. | memorizaba |
| nosotros/as | memorizábamos |
| vosotros/as | memorizabais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | memorizaban |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | memorizaré |
| tú | memorizarás |
| él/ella/Ud. | memorizará |
| nosotros/as | memorizaremos |
| vosotros/as | memorizaréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | memorizarán |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | memorizaría |
| tú | memorizarías |
| él/ella/Ud. | memorizaría |
| nosotros/as | memorizaríamos |
| vosotros/as | memorizaríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | memorizarían |
Present perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he memorizado |
| tú | has memorizado |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha memorizado |
| nosotros/as | hemos memorizado |
| vosotros/as | habéis memorizado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han memorizado |
Pluperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había memorizado |
| tú | habías memorizado |
| él/ella/Ud. | había memorizado |
| nosotros/as | habíamos memorizado |
| vosotros/as | habíais memorizado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían memorizado |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré memorizado |
| tú | habrás memorizado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá memorizado |
| nosotros/as | habremos memorizado |
| vosotros/as | habréis memorizado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán memorizado |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría memorizado |
| tú | habrías memorizado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría memorizado |
| nosotros/as | habríamos memorizado |
| vosotros/as | habríais memorizado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían memorizado |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | memorice |
| tú | memorices |
| él/ella/Ud. | memorice |
| nosotros/as | memoricemos |
| vosotros/as | memoricéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | memoricen |
Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | memorizara |
| tú | memorizaras |
| él/ella/Ud. | memorizara |
| nosotros/as | memorizáramos |
| vosotros/as | memorizarais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | memorizaran |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | memoriza |
| él/ella/Ud. | memorice |
| nosotros/as | memoricemos |
| vosotros/as | memorizad |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | memoricen |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | memorices |
| él/ella/Ud. | memorice |
| nosotros/as | memoricemos |
| vosotros/as | memoricéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | memoricen |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | Spanish | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Gerund | memorizando | with estar for the progressive: estoy memorizando |
| Past participle | memorizado | with haber for the perfect tenses: he memorizado |
How to use each tense
Present indicative
Use the present for routines, general facts and what is happening right now. It is the tense you will use most often in everyday conversation, for habits with words like todos los días and for statements that are true in general. For memorizar, the present indicative looks like this in a real sentence: Yo memorizo los verbos — "I memorise the verbs". Learn the present indicative forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Preterite
Use the preterite for finished actions in the past — things that started and ended, often with time words like ayer, anoche or la semana pasada. The preterite moves a story forward, one completed event at a time. For memorizar, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Yo memoricé una lista larga — "I memorised a long list". Learn the preterite forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense. Spelling change in the preterite: the yo form is memoricé (z → c before e), so the sound of the stem stays the same.
Imperfect
Use the imperfect for background, habits and actions in progress in the past, often with words like antes, de niño or mientras. It describes how things used to be, not one finished event. For memorizar, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo memorizaba la lección — "I used to memorise the lesson". Learn the imperfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Future
Use the future for plans, predictions and promises, often with mañana, el año que viene or pronto. It talks about what will happen, not what is happening now. For memorizar, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Yo memorizaré los verbos — "I will memorise the verbs". Learn the future forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Conditional
Use the conditional for polite requests, hypotheticals and what would happen, often in si clauses. It softens a request and describes imagined situations. For memorizar, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Yo memorizaría una lista larga — "I would memorise a long list". Learn the conditional forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Present perfect
Use the present perfect for recent actions and experiences, often with hoy, esta semana or ya. It connects the past with the present moment. For memorizar, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo he memorizado la lección — "I have memorised the lesson". Learn the present perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Pluperfect
Use the pluperfect when one past action happened before another past action. It is the past of the past, and it usually appears with antes de or ya. For memorizar, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo había memorizado los verbos — "I had memorised the verbs". Learn the pluperfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Future perfect
Use the future perfect for something that will already be finished by a future time, often with para mañana or para el viernes. For memorizar, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo habré memorizado una lista larga — "I will have memorised a long list". Learn the future perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Conditional perfect
Use the conditional perfect for what would have happened under different conditions. It looks back at a past that never happened. For memorizar, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo habría memorizado la lección — "I would have memorised the lesson". Learn the conditional perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Present subjunctive
Use the present subjunctive after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and hope, such as espero que or quiero que. The subjunctive does not state a fact; it states an attitude towards the action. For memorizar, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él memorice los verbos — "I hope he memorises the verbs". Learn the present subjunctive forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense. The subjunctive keeps the spelling change: memorice, memorices, memorice all show z → c before e, just like the preterite yo form.
Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)
Use the imperfect subjunctive after past wishes and in si clauses about the past, and note the -ra forms shown here; the -se forms use the same stem. For memorizar, the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) looks like this in a real sentence: Si yo memorizara una lista larga, todo cambiaría — "If I memorised a long list, everything would change". Learn the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Imperative (affirmative)
Use the affirmative imperative for direct commands, instructions and invitations. It tells someone to do something, and it has no yo form. For memorizar, the imperative (affirmative) looks like this in a real sentence: Memorice la lección — "Let him memorise the lesson". Learn the imperative (affirmative) forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Imperative (negative)
Use the negative imperative, always with no, to tell someone not to do something. It uses the subjunctive forms, so it looks different from the affirmative commands. For memorizar, the imperative (negative) looks like this in a real sentence: No memorices los verbos — "Don't memorise the verbs". Learn the imperative (negative) forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with memorizar, covering different tenses and persons. Each one uses a form from the tables above.
- Yo memorizo una lista larga — "I memorise a long list"
- Él memoriza la lección — "He memorises the lesson"
- Yo memoricé los verbos — "I memorised the verbs"
- Yo memorizaba una lista larga — "I used to memorise a long list"
- Tú memorizarás la lección — "You will memorise the lesson"
- Yo memorizaría los verbos — "I would memorise the verbs"
- Él ha memorizado una lista larga — "He has memorised a long list"
- Espero que él memorice la lección — "I hope he memorises the lesson"
- Yo había memorizado los verbos — "I had memorised the verbs"
- Ellos memorizaban una lista larga — "They used to memorise a long list"
Common mistakes
- Wrong: Ellos memoriza la lección — Right: Ellos memorizan la lección — Ellos needs the ellos form memorizan. The singular memoriza belongs with él, ella or a singular noun.
- Wrong: Ayer, yo memorizo — Right: Ayer, yo memoricé — The present tense cannot describe a finished action yesterday. Ayer forces the preterite, so the form must change to memoricé, with the spelling change z → c before e.
- Wrong: De niño, yo memoricé todos los días. — Right: Todos los días, yo memorizaba — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (memorizaba), not the preterite. The preterite (memoricé) is for one finished action.
- Wrong: Yo soy memorizado los verbos. — Right: Yo he memorizado los verbos. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he memorizado, has memorizado, ha memorizado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
- Wrong: Espero que él memoriza la lección. — Right: Espero que él memorice la lección. — After espero que, Spanish needs the subjunctive: memorice. The indicative memoriza is wrong here.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on memorizar. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
Complete the sentence: Yo ___ la lección. (present tense) A. memorizaríais B. memorizo C. habrán memorizado D. memorizarán
Complete the sentence: Él ___ la lección. (preterite) A. memorizó B. habían memorizado C. habíais memorizado D. memorizarás
Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ la lección. (imperfect) A. memorizábamos B. memorizabais C. memorizarás D. memorices
Complete the sentence: Tú ___ la lección. (future) A. habríais memorizado B. memorizarás C. memorizaban D. memorizarán
Complete the sentence: Yo ___ la lección. (conditional) A. memorizará B. memorizarías C. memorizaría D. habéis memorizado
Complete the sentence: Espero que él ___ la lección. (present subjunctive) A. memorizaríais B. habríais memorizado C. memorice D. memorizáramos
Complete the sentence: Si yo ___ la lección, todo cambiaría. (imperfect subjunctive, -ra form) A. memoricéis B. habréis memorizado C. memorizáis D. memorizara
Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ la lección. (present perfect) A. habéis memorizado B. memorizabais C. memorizas D. hemos memorizado
Complete the command: No ___ la lección. (negative imperative, tú) A. memoricéis B. memorices C. memoricemos D. memoricen
Which is the gerund of memorizar, used with estar for the progressive? A. memorizo B. memorizaba C. memorizando D. memorizado
Answer key
- memorizo — The yo present tense of memorizar is memorizo.
- memorizó — The él/ella/Ud. preterite of memorizar is memorizó.
- memorizábamos — The nosotros/as imperfect of memorizar is memorizábamos.
- memorizarás — The tú future of memorizar is memorizarás.
- memorizaría — The yo conditional of memorizar is memorizaría.
- memorice — The él/ella/Ud. present subjunctive of memorizar is memorice.
- memorizara — The yo imperfect subjunctive, -ra form of memorizar is memorizara.
- hemos memorizado — The nosotros/as present perfect of memorizar is hemos memorizado.
- memorices — The negative tú imperative uses the present subjunctive form with no before it: memorices.
- memorizando — The gerund of memorizar is memorizando: estoy memorizando. The participle memorizado is used with haber instead.
Frequently asked questions
What does memorizar mean in English?
Memorizar means to memorise. It is used in everyday situations such as Yo memorizo la lección. The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.
Is memorizar regular?
Mostly. Memorizar follows the regular -ar endings, but it has a spelling change (z → c before e). The tables on this page show every form, so you can see exactly where the spelling changes.
What is the gerund and the past participle of memorizar?
The gerund is memorizando, used with estar for the progressive: estoy memorizando. The past participle is memorizado, used with haber in the perfect tenses: he memorizado.
How do I say “I memorise” in the past?
It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: Yo memoricé los verbos. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Yo memorizaba una lista larga. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Yo he memorizado la lección.
How do I practise memorizar?
Start with the present tense table, then drill the preterite and the imperfect, since those two past tenses cause the most mistakes. Try the memorizar examples and quiz page for more sentences, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure.
Related links
- Memorizar in the present tense — the full present-tense table for memorizar.
- Memorizar examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice for memorizar.
- Spanish verbs — the Spanish hub, with every verb and tense guide.
- Fichar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with memorizar.
- Jubilarse conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with memorizar.
- Acariciar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with memorizar.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — test yourself on real conjugated forms.
- Verb Conjugator — conjugate any Spanish verb in every tense.