Nevar Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb nevar means to snow, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. Nevar is a weather verb, used almost only in the third person singular: nieva, nevó, nevaba. It means to snow, and it appears in forecasts and descriptions of winter. Like every Spanish verb, nevar changes its ending for each person and tense, and 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 Nieva mucho en diciembre — "It snows a lot in December". 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.

The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: nievo, nievas, nieva and nievan — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: nevamos, neváis. nevar is a weather verb, so in practice you will meet it in the third person singular: nieva, nevó, nevaba. The tables below show the full paradigm the engine returns, but everyday use is impersonal.

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: nevar
  • English: to snow
  • Verb type: stem-changing -ar verb (e → ie)
  • Ending: -ar
  • Gerund: nevando
  • Past participle: nevado
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + nevado)

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for nevar, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

Full conjugation tables

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for nevar. The imperfect subjunctive is shown in its -ra forms; the -se forms use the same stem.

Present indicative

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | nievo | | tú | nievas | | él/ella/Ud. | nieva | | nosotros/as | nevamos | | vosotros/as | neváis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | nievan |

Preterite

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | nevé | | tú | nevaste | | él/ella/Ud. | nevó | | nosotros/as | nevamos | | vosotros/as | nevasteis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | nevaron |

Imperfect

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | nevaba | | tú | nevabas | | él/ella/Ud. | nevaba | | nosotros/as | nevábamos | | vosotros/as | nevabais | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | nevaban |

Future

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | nevaré | | tú | nevarás | | él/ella/Ud. | nevará | | nosotros/as | nevaremos | | vosotros/as | nevaréis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | nevarán |

Conditional

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | nevaría | | tú | nevarías | | él/ella/Ud. | nevaría | | nosotros/as | nevaríamos | | vosotros/as | nevaríais | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | nevarían |

Present perfect

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | he nevado | | tú | has nevado | | él/ella/Ud. | ha nevado | | nosotros/as | hemos nevado | | vosotros/as | habéis nevado | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | han nevado |

Pluperfect

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | había nevado | | tú | habías nevado | | él/ella/Ud. | había nevado | | nosotros/as | habíamos nevado | | vosotros/as | habíais nevado | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían nevado |

Future perfect

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | habré nevado | | tú | habrás nevado | | él/ella/Ud. | habrá nevado | | nosotros/as | habremos nevado | | vosotros/as | habréis nevado | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán nevado |

Conditional perfect

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | habría nevado | | tú | habrías nevado | | él/ella/Ud. | habría nevado | | nosotros/as | habríamos nevado | | vosotros/as | habríais nevado | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían nevado |

Present subjunctive

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | nieve | | tú | nieves | | él/ella/Ud. | nieve | | nosotros/as | nevemos | | vosotros/as | nevéis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | nieven |

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | nevara | | tú | nevaras | | él/ella/Ud. | nevara | | nosotros/as | neváramos | | vosotros/as | nevarais | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | nevaran |

Imperative (affirmative)

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | tú | nieva | | él/ella/Ud. | nieve | | nosotros/as | nevemos | | vosotros/as | nevad | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | nieven |

Imperative (negative)

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | tú | nieves | | él/ella/Ud. | nieve | | nosotros/as | nevemos | | vosotros/as | nevéis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | nieven |

Gerund and past participle

Form Spanish Use
Gerund nevando with estar for the progressive: está nevando
Past participle nevado with haber for the perfect tenses: he nevado

How to use each tense

Present indicative

Use the present for routines, general facts and what is happening right now. The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: nievo, nievas, nieva and nievan — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: nevamos, neváis. For nevar, the present indicative looks like this in a real sentence: Nieva mucho en diciembre — "It snows a lot in December".

Preterite

Use the preterite for finished actions with a clear end, often with ayer, el año pasado or anoche. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For nevar, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Ayer, nevó toda la noche en la sierra — "Yesterday, It snowed all night in the mountains".

Imperfect

Use the imperfect for background, habits and actions in progress in the past, often with de niño, antes or mientras. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For nevar, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: De niño, nevaba sobre los tejados — "As a child, It used to snow on the rooftops".

Future

Use the future for plans, predictions and promises, often with mañana, el año que viene or pronto. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For nevar, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Mañana, nevará en el pueblo cada invierno — "Tomorrow, It will snow in the village every winter".

Conditional

Use the conditional for polite requests, hypotheticals and what would happen, often with si clauses. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For nevar, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Nevaría mucho en diciembre si pudiera — "It would snow a lot in December if I could".

Present perfect

Use the present perfect for recent actions and experiences, often with hoy, esta semana or ya. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For nevar, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Hoy, ha nevado toda la noche en la sierra — "Today, It has snowed all night in the mountains".

Pluperfect

Use the pluperfect when one past action happened before another past action. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For nevar, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Ya había nevado sobre los tejados antes de salir — "It had already snowed on the rooftops before leaving".

Future perfect

Use the future perfect for something that will already be finished by a future time. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For nevar, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Para mañana, habrá nevado en el pueblo cada invierno — "By tomorrow, It will have snowed in the village every winter".

Conditional perfect

Use the conditional perfect for what would have happened under different conditions. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For nevar, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Habría nevado mucho en diciembre con más tiempo — "It would have snowed a lot in December with more time".

Present subjunctive

Use the present subjunctive after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and hope, such as espero que or quiero que. The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: nievo, nievas, nieva and nievan — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: nevamos, neváis. For nevar, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que nieve toda la noche en la sierra — "I hope It snows all night in the mountains".

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

Use the imperfect subjunctive after past wishes and in si clauses about the past. The -ra forms are shown here; the -se forms use the same stem. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For nevar, the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) looks like this in a real sentence: Si nevara sobre los tejados, todo cambiaría — "If It snowed on the rooftops, everything would change".

Imperative (affirmative)

Use the affirmative imperative for direct commands, instructions and invitations. The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: nievo, nievas, nieva and nievan — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: nevamos, neváis. For nevar, the imperative (affirmative) looks like this in a real sentence: ¡Que nieve en el pueblo cada invierno! — "I hope it snows in the village every winter!".

Imperative (negative)

Use the negative imperative, always with no, to tell someone not to do something. The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: nievo, nievas, nieva and nievan — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: nevamos, neváis. For nevar, the imperative (negative) looks like this in a real sentence: ¡Que no nieve mucho en diciembre! — "I hope it doesn't snow a lot in December!".

Example sentences

Ten natural sentences with nevar, covering different tenses and persons. Each one uses a form from the tables above.

  1. Nieva mucho en diciembre — "It snows a lot in December"
  2. Nieva toda la noche en la sierra — "It snows all night in the mountains"
  3. Ayer, nevó sobre los tejados — "Yesterday, It snowed on the rooftops"
  4. Antes, nevaba en el pueblo cada invierno — "Before, It used to snow in the village every winter"
  5. Mañana, nevará sin parar hasta marzo — "Tomorrow, It will snow without stopping until March"
  6. Nevaría mucho en diciembre si tuviera más tiempo — "It would snow a lot in December if I had more time"
  7. Ha nevado toda la noche en la sierra — "It has snowed all night in the mountains"
  8. Espero que nieve sobre los tejados — "I hope It snows on the rooftops"
  9. Ya había nevado en el pueblo cada invierno antes de salir — "It had already snowed in the village every winter before leaving"
  10. Nevaba sin parar hasta marzo cuando eran jóvenes — "It used to snow without stopping until March when they were young"

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo nievo mucho en diciembre. — Right: Nieva mucho en diciembre — nevar is a weather verb, used in the third person singular: Nieva mucho en diciembre. It has no personal subject.
  2. Wrong: Yo nevo toda la noche en la sierra. — Right: Yo nievo toda la noche en la sierra. — nevar is a stem-changing verb (e → ie): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is nievo, not nevo.
  3. Wrong: Espero que nieva toda la noche en la sierra — Right: Espero que nieve toda la noche en la sierra — After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: Espero que nieve toda la noche en la sierra — not the indicative Espero que nieva toda la noche en la sierra.
  4. Wrong: Ayer, nieva sobre los tejados — Right: Ayer, nevó sobre los tejados — Ayer points to a finished action in the past, so it needs the preterite: Ayer, nevó sobre los tejados.
  5. Wrong: De niño, nevó en el pueblo cada invierno todos los días — Right: De niño, nevaba en el pueblo cada invierno todos los días — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect, not the preterite: De niño, nevaba en el pueblo cada invierno todos los días.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on nevar. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.

  1. Complete the sentence: ______ mucho en diciembre — "It snows a lot in December" (present) A. nevó B. nevaba C. nevará D. nieva

  2. Complete the sentence: ______ toda la noche en la sierra — "It snowed all night in the mountains" (preterite) A. nevaba B. nevará C. nevó D. nieva

  3. Complete the sentence: ______ sobre los tejados — "It used to snow on the rooftops" (imperfect) A. nevaba B. nieva C. nevó D. nevará

  4. Complete the sentence: ______ en el pueblo cada invierno — "It will snow in the village every winter" (future) A. nieva B. nevó C. nevaba D. nevará

  5. Complete the sentence: ______ sin parar hasta marzo — "It would snow without stopping until March" (conditional) A. nevaría B. nieva C. nevó D. nevaba

  6. Complete the sentence: Espero que ______ mucho en diciembre — "I hope It snows a lot in December" (present subjunctive) A. nieva B. nevó C. nevaba D. nieve

  7. Complete the sentence: Si ______ toda la noche en la sierra, todo cambiaría — "If It snowed all night in the mountains, everything would change" (imperfect subjunctive) A. nevaba B. nevara C. nieva D. nevó

  8. Complete the sentence: ______ sobre los tejados — "It has snowed on the rooftops" (present perfect) A. ha nevado B. nieva C. nevó D. nevaba

  9. Complete the sentence: ______ en el pueblo cada invierno — "It will have snowed in the village every winter" (future perfect) A. nevaba B. habrá nevado C. nieva D. nevó

  10. Which is the gerund of nevar, used with estar for the progressive? A. nievo B. nevé C. nevando D. nevado

Answer key

  1. nieva — The present form is nieva.
  2. nevó — The preterite form is nevó.
  3. nevaba — The imperfect form is nevaba.
  4. nevará — The future form is nevará.
  5. nevaría — The conditional form is nevaría.
  6. nieve — The present subjunctive form is nieve.
  7. nevara — The imperfect subjunctive form is nevara.
  8. ha nevado — The present perfect form is ha nevado.
  9. habrá nevado — The future perfect form is habrá nevado.
  10. nevando — The gerund of nevar is nevando: estoy nevando. The participle nevado is used with haber instead.

Frequently asked questions

What does nevar mean in English?

nevar means to snow. It is used in everyday situations such as Nieva mucho en diciembre — "It snows a lot in December". The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

Is nevar regular?

No. nevar is a stem-changing -ar verb (e → ie). The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: nievo, nievas, nieva and nievan — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: nevamos, neváis. The nosotros and vosotros forms keep the plain stem, which is the part learners most often get right by accident.

What is the gerund and the past participle of nevar?

The gerund is nevando and the past participle is nevado. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.

How do I say "I snow" in the past?

It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: Ayer, nevó toda la noche en la sierra — "Yesterday, It snowed all night in the mountains". For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: De niño, nevaba sobre los tejados — "As a child, It used to snow on the rooftops". For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Hoy, ha nevado toda la noche en la sierra — "Today, It has snowed all night in the mountains".

What is the difference between nevar and llover?

Llover is the matching weather verb for rain. Nevar is for snow, and both are impersonal — you never say yo nievo. Nevar is a weather verb, used almost only in the third person singular: nieva, nevó, nevaba. It means to snow, and it appears in forecasts and descriptions of winter.

Is nevar only used in the third person?

In practice, yes. nevar is a weather verb, so you will hear it as nieva or nevó, with no personal subject. The tables show the full paradigm the engine returns, but everyday Spanish keeps weather verbs impersonal.

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