Mentir Conjugation in Spanish
mentir means "to lie" 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 lying — little white lies, big lies, and telling the truth instead, which makes it a practical verb to learn early and to use confidently. This page gives you the complete conjugation of mentir 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. Mentir is a stem-changing (e → ie) -ir 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 nunca miento a mis padres. — "I never lie to my parents.". Work through the tables, read the notes, then test yourself with the quiz at the end of the page.
Quick facts
- Infinitive: mentir
- English: to lie
- Verb type: Stem-changing (e → ie) -ir verb
- Gerund: mintiendo
- Past participle: mentido
- Auxiliary verb: haber (all compound tenses use haber + mentido)
- Stem change: e → ie in the present, the present subjunctive and related forms (see the notes below).
Full conjugation table
Every tense of mentir with all six persons. The gerund is mintiendo and the past participle is mentido.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | miento |
| tú | mientes |
| él/ella/Ud. | miente |
| nosotros/as | mentimos |
| vosotros/as | mentís |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | mienten |
Preterite (past)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | mentí |
| tú | mentiste |
| él/ella/Ud. | mintió |
| nosotros/as | mentimos |
| vosotros/as | mentisteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | mintieron |
Imperfect (past)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | mentía |
| tú | mentías |
| él/ella/Ud. | mentía |
| nosotros/as | mentíamos |
| vosotros/as | mentíais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | mentían |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | mentiré |
| tú | mentirás |
| él/ella/Ud. | mentirá |
| nosotros/as | mentiremos |
| vosotros/as | mentiréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | mentirán |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | mentiría |
| tú | mentirías |
| él/ella/Ud. | mentiría |
| nosotros/as | mentiríamos |
| vosotros/as | mentiríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | mentirían |
Present perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he mentido |
| tú | has mentido |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha mentido |
| nosotros/as | hemos mentido |
| vosotros/as | habéis mentido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han mentido |
Pluperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había mentido |
| tú | habías mentido |
| él/ella/Ud. | había mentido |
| nosotros/as | habíamos mentido |
| vosotros/as | habíais mentido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían mentido |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré mentido |
| tú | habrás mentido |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá mentido |
| nosotros/as | habremos mentido |
| vosotros/as | habréis mentido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán mentido |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría mentido |
| tú | habrías mentido |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría mentido |
| nosotros/as | habríamos mentido |
| vosotros/as | habríais mentido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían mentido |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | mienta |
| tú | mientas |
| él/ella/Ud. | mienta |
| nosotros/as | mintamos |
| vosotros/as | mintáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | mientan |
Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | mintiera |
| tú | mintieras |
| él/ella/Ud. | mintiera |
| nosotros/as | mintiéramos |
| vosotros/as | mintierais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | mintieran |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | miente |
| él/ella/Ud. | mienta |
| nosotros/as | mintamos |
| vosotros/as | mentid |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | mientan |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | mientas |
| él/ella/Ud. | mienta |
| nosotros/as | mintamos |
| vosotros/as | mintáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | mientan |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | Spanish |
|---|---|
| Gerund | mintiendo |
| Past participle | mentido |
How to use each tense
Each tense below explains when to use it with mentir, 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.
mentir is irregular in this tense, so memorise the forms in the table above instead of applying the regular endings.
Example: Yo miento a mis padres.
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.
mentir is irregular in this tense, so memorise the forms in the table above instead of applying the regular endings.
Example: Ayer yo mentí a mis padres.
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 mentía a mis padres.
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 mentiré a mis padres.
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 mentiría a mis padres 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 mentido a mis padres.
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 mentido a mis padres 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 mentido a mis padres.
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 mentido a mis padres 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.
mentir is irregular in this tense, so memorise the forms in the table above instead of applying the regular endings.
Example: Espero que él mienta a mis padres.
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.
mentir is irregular in this tense, so memorise the forms in the table above instead of applying the regular endings.
Example: Si él mintiera a mis padres, 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.
mentir is irregular in this tense, so memorise the forms in the table above instead of applying the regular endings.
Example: ¡Miente a mis padres!
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.
mentir is irregular in this tense, so memorise the forms in the table above instead of applying the regular endings.
Example: No mientas a mis padres.
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with mentir, covering different tenses and persons. Read the Spanish first, then check the English.
- Yo nunca miento a mis padres. — "I never lie to my parents."
- ¿Tú mientes a mis padres? — "Do you lie to my parents?"
- Ayer mentí a mis padres por primera vez. — "Yesterday I lied to my parents for the first time."
- Ella mentía a mis padres cuando era niña. — "She used to lie to my parents when she was a child."
- Mañana no mentiré a mis padres. — "Tomorrow I will not lie to my parents."
- Yo no mentiría a mis padres si me preguntaran. — "I would not lie to my parents if they asked me."
- Nunca he mentido a mis padres. — "I have never lied to my parents."
- Espero que no mientas a mis padres. — "I hope you don't lie to my parents."
Common mistakes
The errors learners actually make with mentir — and how to fix them.
- Wrong: *Yo mento a mis padres. → Right: Yo miento a mis padres.. Mentir is stem-changing (e → ie): miento, mientes, miente, mienten — never mento. The nosotros and vosotros forms keep the e: mentimos, mentís.
- Wrong: *Él mentió a mis padres — learners often write mentio without the accent, and forget the stem change. → Right: Él mintió a mis padres.. The preterite third person is mintió, with the e-to-i change and an accent: mintió, mintieron. The first person is regular: mentí.
- Wrong: *Espero que tú mientes a mis padres. → Right: Espero que tú mientas a mis padres.. After espero que, use the subjunctive mientas, not the indicative mientes. The subjunctive keeps the ie stem change.
- Wrong: *El gerundio es mentiendo — the gerund changes too. → Right: Está mintiendo a mis padres.. The gerund is mintiendo, with the e-to-i change: mintiendo, not mentiendo. The same change appears in the preterite third person.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on mentir. Answers are at the end, with a short explanation for each.
What is the yo form of mentir in the present indicative?
- a) mientes
- b) miente
- c) mentimos
- d) miento
What is the él/ella/Ud. form of mentir in the preterite (past)?
- a) mintió
- b) mentimos
- c) mentí
- d) mentiste
What is the nosotros/as form of mentir in the imperfect (past)?
- a) mentíamos
- b) mentía
- c) mentías
- d) mentía
What is the tú form of mentir in the future?
- a) mentiremos
- b) mentirás
- c) mentiré
- d) mentirá
What is the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of mentir in the conditional?
- a) mentirías
- b) mentiría
- c) mentirían
- d) mentiría
What is the yo form of mentir in the present subjunctive?
- a) mienta
- b) mientas
- c) mintamos
- d) mienta
What is the gerund of mentir?
- a) miente
- b) mintiendo
- c) mentir
- d) mentido
What is the past participle of mentir?
- a) mentido
- b) he mentido
- c) miento
- d) mintiendo
What does mentir mean in English?
- a) to be quiet, to keep quiet
- b) to cry
- c) to lie
- d) to die
The form mentí belongs to which tense?
- a) Preterite
- b) Imperfect
- c) Future
- d) Present
Answer key
- miento — The yo form in the present indicative is miento — the other options are the same tense but different persons.
- mintió — The él/ella/Ud. form in the preterite (past) is mintió — the other options are the same tense but different persons.
- mentíamos — The nosotros/as form in the imperfect (past) is mentíamos — the other options are the same tense but different persons.
- mentirás — The tú form in the future is mentirás — the other options are the same tense but different persons.
- mentirían — The ellos/ellas/Uds. form in the conditional is mentirían — the other options are the same tense but different persons.
- mienta — The yo form in the present subjunctive is mienta — the other options are the same tense but different persons.
- mintiendo — The gerund is mintiendo — it is the form used with estar for the progressive (estoy mintiendo). The past participle is mentido.
- mentido — The past participle is mentido — it is the form used after haber in the perfect tenses (he mentido).
- to lie — mentir means "to lie".
- Preterite — mentí is the yo form of the preterite of mentir — a finished past action. The imperfect yo form is mentía.
Frequently asked questions
Is mentir regular?
No. Mentir is a stem-changing verb (e → ie) in the present: miento, mientes, miente, mienten. It also changes e to i in the preterite third person (mintió, mintieron) and in the gerund (mintiendo). The nosotros and vosotros forms — mentimos, mentís — are regular.
What is the difference between mentir and engañar?
Mentir means to lie, to say something untrue. Engañar means to deceive, to trick someone, which can be done without words. You lie (mientes) with words; you deceive (engañas) with actions or with words.
How do you say "Don't lie to me" in Spanish?
No me mientas — the negative command, which uses the subjunctive form mientas. The affirmative command is Miente, from the él/ella present form.
What is the past participle of mentir?
Mentido. The present perfect is he mentido, has mentido, ha mentido — for example: Nunca he mentido a mis padres. Unlike the present, the participle is regular.
Related pages
- Mentir in the present tense — the present tense of mentir in depth, with its own examples and quiz.
- Mentir examples and quiz — more everyday sentences with mentir and a second quiz.
- Spanish verbs — the Spanish hub: every verb, every tense guide and every tool in one place.
- Complete list of Spanish irregular verbs — where mentir sits among the irregular verbs, grouped by pattern.
- Decir conjugation — another verb in the same family as mentir.
- Callar conjugation — another verb in the same family as mentir.
- Spanish Verb Conjugator — practise mentir with this tool.
- Stem Change Finder — practise mentir with this tool.
- Present tense guide — how the present tense works for regular and irregular verbs.