Introduction
Nadar means «to swim». Nadar means to swim: in the sea, in a pool, every summer. It is a regular -ar verb, and it is the verb of holidays, sport and exercise in the water. It is a regular -ar verb, so the tables below show you exactly how it behaves in every tense. On this page you will find the full conjugation of nadar 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: «Yo nado en el mar todos los días.» — I swim in the sea every day.
Quick facts
| Infinitive | nadar |
| English | to swim |
| Verb type | Regular -ar verb |
| Gerund | nadando |
| Past participle | nadado |
| Auxiliary verb | haber |
Full conjugation tables
Gerund: nadando · Past participle: nadado
Present Indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | nado |
| tú | nadas |
| él/ella/Ud. | nada |
| nosotros/as | nadamos |
| vosotros/as | nadáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | nadan |
The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For nadar, the yo form is nado, as in «Yo nado» in the examples below. Use the present for routines («todos los días») and for general truths.
Preterite
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | nadé |
| tú | nadaste |
| él/ella/Ud. | nadó |
| nosotros/as | nadamos |
| vosotros/as | nadasteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | nadaron |
The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. «Ayer yo nadé» is the classic use. Do not confuse it with the imperfect: the preterite moves the story forward, one finished event at a time.
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | nadaba |
| tú | nadabas |
| él/ella/Ud. | nadaba |
| nosotros/as | nadábamos |
| vosotros/as | nadabais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | nadaban |
The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. «De pequeño, yo nadaba» shows the habitual use. It sets the scene while the preterite reports what happened inside it.
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | nadaré |
| tú | nadarás |
| él/ella/Ud. | nadará |
| nosotros/as | nadaremos |
| vosotros/as | nadaréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | nadarán |
The future tense states what will happen. For nadar the future is built on the infinitive: «Mañana yo nadaré». It is also used for predictions and promises, and in spoken Spanish it often alternates with ir a + infinitive.
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | nadaría |
| tú | nadarías |
| él/ella/Ud. | nadaría |
| nosotros/as | nadaríamos |
| vosotros/as | nadaríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | nadarían |
The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. «Si tuviera más tiempo, yo nadaría» is the typical pattern. It shares its stem with the future and changes only the endings.
Present Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he nadado |
| tú | has nadado |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha nadado |
| nosotros/as | hemos nadado |
| vosotros/as | habéis nadado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han nadado |
The present perfect connects the past with the present: something that has happened, often today or recently. It is haber in the present plus the past participle: «Hoy yo he nadado». In Spain it is used for anything that happened today; in Latin America the preterite is often preferred.
Pluperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había nadado |
| tú | habías nadado |
| él/ella/Ud. | había nadado |
| nosotros/as | habíamos nadado |
| vosotros/as | habíais nadado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían nadado |
The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event: «Cuando llegué, ya había nadado». It is haber in the imperfect plus the past participle, and it is the tense for explaining what had already happened when something else took place.
Future Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré nadado |
| tú | habrás nadado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá nadado |
| nosotros/as | habremos nadado |
| vosotros/as | habréis nadado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán nadado |
The future perfect looks back from a future point: by then, something will already have happened. «Para mañana, yo habré nadado» is the pattern — haber in the future plus the past participle. It is less common in speech but regular in formal writing.
Conditional Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría nadado |
| tú | habrías nadado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría nadado |
| nosotros/as | habríamos nadado |
| vosotros/as | habríais nadado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían nadado |
The conditional perfect expresses what would have happened: «Yo habría nadado si hubiera podido». It is haber in the conditional plus the past participle, and it is the tense for regrets and missed chances.
Present Subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | nade |
| tú | nades |
| él/ella/Ud. | nade |
| nosotros/as | nademos |
| vosotros/as | nadéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | naden |
The present subjunctive appears after wishes, doubts, emotions and impersonal expressions: «Espero que él nade». The trigger is in the main clause; the subjunctive is the mood of uncertainty, desire and influence. Learn the yo form first — most of the table follows from it.
Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra forms)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | nadara |
| tú | nadaras |
| él/ella/Ud. | nadara |
| nosotros/as | nadáramos |
| vosotros/as | nadarais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | nadaran |
The imperfect subjunctive is the past partner of the present subjunctive, used after past-tense triggers and in si-clauses: «Si él nadara, todo sería distinto». The table above shows the -ra forms, the ones you will hear most often. There is also a less common -se set built on the same stem.
Imperative — Affirmative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | nada |
| él/ella/Ud. | nade |
| nosotros/as | nademos |
| vosotros/as | nadad |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | naden |
There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.
The affirmative imperative gives direct commands and instructions: «¡Nada!». There is no yo form — you cannot command yourself. The tú form is the one you will use with friends and family, and the usted form with people you address formally.
Imperative — Negative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | nades |
| él/ella/Ud. | nade |
| nosotros/as | nademos |
| vosotros/as | nadéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | naden |
There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.
The negative imperative tells someone not to do something: «¡No nades!». Unlike the affirmative imperative, the negative forms come from the present subjunctive, which is why they look different. Never use the affirmative form after no.
Example sentences
- Yo nado en el mar todos los días. — I swim in the sea every day.
- Mi hermana nada en el mar mucho. — My sister swims in the sea a lot.
- Ayer yo nadé en el mar por la tarde. — Yesterday I swam in the sea in the afternoon.
- De pequeño, yo nadaba en el mar muchas veces. — As a child, I used to swim in the sea often.
- Mañana yo nadaré en el mar sin falta. — Tomorrow I will swim in the sea without fail.
- Si tuviera más tiempo, yo nadaría en el mar ahora mismo. — If I had more time, I would swim in the sea right now.
- Hoy yo he nadado cada verano dos veces. — Today I have swum every summer twice.
- Espero que él nade en el mar pronto. — I hope he swims in the sea soon.
- ¡Nada en el mar con cuidado! — Swim in the sea carefully!
- Ahora mismo estoy nadando en el mar. — Right now I am swimming in the sea.
Common mistakes
1. Forgetting the accent in the preterite
Wrong: nade
Right: nadé
The yo preterite of nadar carries a written accent: nadé. Without it, nade is the present subjunctive yo form, a completely different tense.
2. Using the imperfect for a finished event
Wrong: Ayer yo nadaba en el mar.
Right: Ayer yo nadé en el mar.
Yesterday's finished action needs the preterite, nadé. The imperfect nadaba describes what used to happen or what was going on, not a single completed event.
3. Confusing it with a similar verb
Wrong: *Nado a en el mar.
Right: Nado en el mar.
Swimming somewhere takes en: nadar en el mar, nadar en la piscina.
4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
Wrong: Espero que tú nadas en el mar.
Right: Espero que tú nades en el mar.
After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: nades, not the indicative nadas. Wishes, hopes and doubts all trigger this change.
5. Using the affirmative imperative after no
Wrong: No nada en el mar.
Right: No nades en el mar.
Negative commands use the subjunctive-based forms: no nades. The affirmative nada can never follow no.
Quiz
Test yourself on the forms above. Choose the correct answer, then check the key below.
1. What is the yo form of nadar in the present tense?
- (a) nada
- (b) nadamos
- (c) nadas
- (d) nado
2. What is the él/ella form of nadar in the preterite?
- (a) nadamos
- (b) nadaste
- (c) nadé
- (d) nadó
3. What is the nosotros form of nadar in the imperfect?
- (a) nadaba
- (b) nadabas
- (c) nadábamos
4. What is the tú form of nadar in the future tense?
- (a) nadaremos
- (b) nadará
- (c) nadarás
- (d) nadaré
5. What is the ellos form of nadar in the conditional?
- (a) nadaría
- (b) nadarían
- (c) nadarías
6. What is the yo form of nadar in the present perfect?
- (a) ha nadado
- (b) has nadado
- (c) he nadado
- (d) hemos nadado
7. After «Espero que…», what is the tú form of nadar?
- (a) nade
- (b) nademos
- (c) nades
8. What is the nosotros form of nadar in the imperfect subjunctive (-ra)?
- (a) nadara
- (b) nadáramos
- (c) nadaras
9. What is the gerund of nadar?
- (a) nadado
- (b) nadando
- (c) nadar
- (d) nado
10. What is the past participle of nadar?
- (a) nadado
- (b) nadando
- (c) nadar
- (d) nadé
Answer key
1. (d) nado — In the present, the yo form of nadar is nado. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
2. (d) nadó — In the preterite, the el form of nadar is nadó. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
3. (c) nadábamos — In the imperfect, the nosotros form of nadar is nadábamos. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
4. (c) nadarás — In the future, the tu form of nadar is nadarás. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
5. (b) nadarían — In the conditional, the ellos form of nadar is nadarían. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
6. (c) he nadado — In the present perfect, the yo form of nadar is he nadado. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
7. (c) nades — In the present subjunctive, the tu form of nadar is nades. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
8. (b) nadáramos — In the imperfect subjunctive, the nosotros form of nadar is nadáramos. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
9. (b) nadando — The gerund of nadar is nadando. It is used with estar for the progressive: «Estoy nadando».
10. (a) nadado — The past participle of nadar is nadado. It follows haber in all the perfect tenses: «he nadado».
Frequently asked questions
Is nadar regular or irregular?
Yes, nadar is a regular -ar verb. Every tense follows the standard -ar endings, so once you know the pattern you can generate the whole table. The only thing to watch is choosing the right tense, not the forms themselves.
What are the gerund and past participle of nadar?
The gerund is nadando and the past participle is nadado. Use the gerund with estar for actions in progress («Estoy nadando») and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses («he nadado»).
What is the difference between nadar and bañarse?
Nadar and bañarse are often confused. Bañarse is to bathe or take a dip; nadar is to swim properly, stroke by stroke.
How do I say «I swim» in Spanish?
Say «Yo nado». That is the yo form of the present tense, the form you need for talking about yourself right now.
Which tense do learners find hardest with nadar?
Most learners struggle with choosing between the preterite and the imperfect, not with the forms themselves. Use the preterite (nadé) for a single finished event and the imperfect (nadaba) for habits and background. After that, the subjunctive is the next step.
Related links
- Practise this verb in one tense: nadar-present-tense
- More examples and a quiz: nadar-examples-and-quiz
- Browse all Spanish verbs: /spanish/
- Related verb: correr
- Related verb: caminar
- Related verb: viajar
- Conjugate any verb: verb-conjugator
- Test yourself: verb-quiz