Observar Conjugation in Spanish
Introduction
observar means "to observe" in English, and it is one of the verbs you will meet constantly in everyday Spanish — for watching carefully and noticing details. Learning it properly means more than memorising one form: the verb changes across thirteen tenses, and this page gives you every one of them, with the exact forms from the VerbFlow engine, so you can check any person or tense in seconds. Observar is a regular -ar verb verb, and it is regular in every tense. That matters because the patterns on this page are the patterns you will reuse every time you speak or write. Work through the tables first, then read the notes under each tense — they explain when to use each tense and what to watch out for with this verb in particular. A natural example is: Cada día, yo observo a los pájaros del jardín. — "Every day, I observe the birds in the garden." Once you can say that sentence confidently, try changing the person and the tense using the tables below.
Quick facts
| Infinitive | observar |
| Translation | to observe |
| Verb type | Regular -ar verb |
| Gerund | observando |
| Past participle | observado |
| Auxiliary | haber (all compound tenses) |
| Irregular tenses | regular in every tense |
Full conjugation of observar
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | observo |
| tú | observas |
| él / ella / Ud. | observa |
| nosotros / nosotras | observamos |
| vosotros / vosotras | observáis |
| ellos / ellas / Uds. | observan |
Preterite
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | observé |
| tú | observaste |
| él / ella / Ud. | observó |
| nosotros / nosotras | observamos |
| vosotros / vosotras | observasteis |
| ellos / ellas / Uds. | observaron |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | observaba |
| tú | observabas |
| él / ella / Ud. | observaba |
| nosotros / nosotras | observábamos |
| vosotros / vosotras | observabais |
| ellos / ellas / Uds. | observaban |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | observaré |
| tú | observarás |
| él / ella / Ud. | observará |
| nosotros / nosotras | observaremos |
| vosotros / vosotras | observaréis |
| ellos / ellas / Uds. | observarán |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | observaría |
| tú | observarías |
| él / ella / Ud. | observaría |
| nosotros / nosotras | observaríamos |
| vosotros / vosotras | observaríais |
| ellos / ellas / Uds. | observarían |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | observe |
| tú | observes |
| él / ella / Ud. | observe |
| nosotros / nosotras | observemos |
| vosotros / vosotras | observéis |
| ellos / ellas / Uds. | observen |
Imperfect subjunctive (-ra forms)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | observara |
| tú | observaras |
| él / ella / Ud. | observara |
| nosotros / nosotras | observáramos |
| vosotros / vosotras | observarais |
| ellos / ellas / Uds. | observaran |
Present perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he observado |
| tú | has observado |
| él / ella / Ud. | ha observado |
| nosotros / nosotras | hemos observado |
| vosotros / vosotras | habéis observado |
| ellos / ellas / Uds. | han observado |
Pluperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había observado |
| tú | habías observado |
| él / ella / Ud. | había observado |
| nosotros / nosotras | habíamos observado |
| vosotros / vosotras | habíais observado |
| ellos / ellas / Uds. | habían observado |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré observado |
| tú | habrás observado |
| él / ella / Ud. | habrá observado |
| nosotros / nosotras | habremos observado |
| vosotros / vosotras | habréis observado |
| ellos / ellas / Uds. | habrán observado |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría observado |
| tú | habrías observado |
| él / ella / Ud. | habría observado |
| nosotros / nosotras | habríamos observado |
| vosotros / vosotras | habríais observado |
| ellos / ellas / Uds. | habrían observado |
Imperative — affirmative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | observa |
| él / ella / Ud. | observe |
| nosotros / nosotras | observemos |
| vosotros / vosotras | observad |
| ellos / ellas / Uds. | observen |
Imperative — negative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | observes |
| él / ella / Ud. | observe |
| nosotros / nosotras | observemos |
| vosotros / vosotras | observéis |
| ellos / ellas / Uds. | observen |
Gerund: observando · Past participle: observado
Observar in every tense — notes and examples
Present indicative
The present is the tense for habits, facts and what is happening now. It is the first tense to master, because the present subjunctive and the affirmative imperative are both built from the present yo form. Example: Cada día, yo observo a los pájaros del jardín. — "Every day, I observe the birds in the garden."
Preterite
The preterite is for completed actions in the past — things that started and finished at a definite moment. Use it for a single event, a sequence of events, or an action with a clear end. Example: Ayer, yo observé a los pájaros del jardín. — "Yesterday, I observed the birds in the garden."
Imperfect
The imperfect is for the past without a definite end: habits, background scenes, descriptions and actions in progress when something else happened. It never states when the action finished. Example: Antes, yo observaba a los pájaros del jardín. — "Before, I observed the birds in the garden."
Future
The future is for what will happen, and also for guesses about the present ("I wonder if…"). For regular verbs it is the infinitive plus the endings -é, -ás, -á, -emos, -éis, -án. Example: Mañana, yo observaré a los pájaros del jardín. — "Tomorrow, I will observe the birds in the garden."
Conditional
The conditional is for what would happen — polite requests, hypothetical results and reported expectations. It shares its stem with the future, so any irregular future stem appears here too. Example: Yo observaría a los pájaros del jardín si tuviera la oportunidad. — "I would observe the birds in the garden if I had the chance."
Present subjunctive
The present subjunctive is for wishes, doubts, emotions and other non-facts after que, and after expressions such as ojalá, es importante que or no creo que. It is not a tense for stating facts. Example: Espero que ella observe a los pájaros del jardín. — "I hope she will observe the birds in the garden."
Imperfect subjunctive (-ra forms)
The imperfect subjunctive (-ra forms) is for wishes and doubts about the past, and for the if-part of hypothetical sentences (si + imperfect subjunctive, conditional). This page shows the -ra forms from the engine. Example: Si ella observara a los pájaros del jardín, todo cambiaría. — "If she observed the birds in the garden, everything would change."
Present perfect
The present perfect (haber + past participle) is for past actions connected to the present — recent events, experience, or something that has just happened. The auxiliary is always haber. Example: Yo he observado cada detalle de la calle varias veces. — "I have observed every detail of the street several times."
Pluperfect
The pluperfect (había + past participle) is the past of the past: something that had already happened before another past event. Example: Yo había observado a los pájaros del jardín antes de la reunión. — "I had observed the birds in the garden before the meeting."
Future perfect
The future perfect (habré + past participle) is for something that will already be finished by a future moment, or for a guess about the past. It is less common in speech than the simple future. Example: Para mañana, yo habré observado a los pájaros del jardín. — "By tomorrow, I will have observed the birds in the garden."
Conditional perfect
The conditional perfect (habría + past participle) is for what would have happened — the past of the conditional, used for regrets and unreal past conditions. Example: Yo habría observado a los pájaros del jardín si hubiera tenido tiempo. — "I would have observed the birds in the garden if I had had time."
Imperative — affirmative
The affirmative imperative is for direct orders, instructions and invitations. The tú form comes from the present él/ella form, and the formal, nosotros and plural forms come from the present subjunctive. Example: ¡observa a los pájaros del jardín! — "Observe the birds in the garden!"
Imperative — negative
The negative imperative (no + subjunctive) is for telling someone not to do something. All five persons come from the present subjunctive, which is why they look different from the affirmative tú form. Example: No observes a los pájaros del jardín. — "Do not observe the birds in the garden."
Example sentences with observar
Yo observo a los pájaros del jardín. — "I observe the birds in the garden."
¿Tú observas cada detalle de la calle? — "Do you observe every detail of the street?"
Ayer, él observó a los pájaros del jardín. — "Yesterday, he observed the birds in the garden."
Nosotros observamos cada detalle de la calle a tiempo. — "We observed every detail of the street on time."
Antes, ellos observaban a los pájaros del jardín. — "Before, they observed the birds in the garden."
Mañana, yo observaré cada detalle de la calle. — "Tomorrow, I will observe every detail of the street."
Nosotros observaríamos a los pájaros del jardín si pudiéramos. — "We would observe the birds in the garden if we could."
Yo he observado cada detalle de la calle varias veces. — "I have observed every detail of the street several times."
Espero que ella observe a los pájaros del jardín. — "I hope she will observe the birds in the garden."
Ahora mismo, yo estoy observando cada detalle de la calle. — "Right now, I am observing every detail of the street."
Common mistakes with observar
1. Dropping the accent on the preterite yo form
The preterite yo form is observé — with the accent. Without it the word is misspelled, and in some verbs the accent is the only thing separating one tense from another.
2. Confusing observar with mirar (to look at, to watch)
observar means "to observe", while mirar means "to look at, to watch". They overlap in English but they are not interchangeable in Spanish: use observar when you mean watching carefully and noticing details, and mirar for its own meaning. Check the conjugation of mirar before choosing.
3. Mixing up the preterite and the imperfect
Ayer yo observé a los pájaros del jardín (preterite: one finished event yesterday) is not the same as antes yo observaba a los pájaros del jardín (imperfect: what used to happen). If you can add "yesterday" or "last week", you usually want the preterite; if you can add "used to", you want the imperfect.
4. Using estar instead of haber in the perfect tenses
The present perfect is he observado (haber + participle), never estoy observado. Haber is the only auxiliary for compound tenses in Spanish.
5. Dropping the preposition before the complement
observar takes a here: yo observo a los pájaros del jardín. Dropping the preposition (yo observo los pájaros del jardín) sounds wrong to a native speaker, so learn the verb together with its preposition.
Quiz: observar
1. Yo ___ a los pájaros del jardín.
a. observa b. observo c. observan
2. Ella ___ a los pájaros del jardín.
a. observo b. observa c. observan
3. Ayer, yo ___ a los pájaros del jardín.
a. observo b. observé c. observa
4. Ellos ___ a los pájaros del jardín ayer.
a. observo b. observaron c. observa
5. Antes, yo ___ a los pájaros del jardín.
a. observo b. observaba c. observa
6. Mañana, yo ___ a los pájaros del jardín.
a. observo b. observaré c. observa
7. Yo ___ a los pájaros del jardín si pudiera.
a. observo b. observaría c. observa
8. Espero que ella ___ a los pájaros del jardín.
a. observo b. observe c. observa
9. Ahora mismo, yo estoy ___ cada detalle de la calle.
a. observado b. observando c. observo
10. Yo he ___ cada detalle de la calle varias veces.
a. observando b. observado c. observo
Answer key
observo — present tense, yo form.
observa — present tense, él/ella form.
observé — preterite, yo form — a finished action yesterday.
observaron — preterite, ellos/ellas form.
observaba — imperfect, yo form — a past habit.
observaré — future, yo form.
observaría — conditional, yo form — a hypothetical.
observe — present subjunctive after 'espero que'.
observando — gerund — the progressive is estar + gerund.
observado — past participle — the present perfect is haber + participle.
Frequently asked questions about observar
What does observar mean in English?
Observar means "to observe". It is used for watching carefully and noticing details. A simple example is yo observo a los pájaros del jardín — "I observe the birds in the garden."
Is observar regular or irregular?
Observar is a regular -ar verb verb, and it is regular in every tense. The forms that most often catch learners out are the present yo form observo, the preterite yo form observé and the past participle observado — learn those three first, then fill in the rest from the tables above.
What is the gerund and the past participle of observar?
The gerund is observando (used for the progressive: estoy observando) and the past participle is observado (used with haber in all perfect tenses: he observado). Both forms are used constantly, so they are worth memorising on their own.
How do I say "I observe" in the past?
It depends on the meaning. For one finished action use the preterite: ayer yo observé a los pájaros del jardín — "yesterday I observed the birds in the garden". For a past habit or background use the imperfect: antes yo observaba a los pájaros del jardín — "before, I observed the birds in the garden". The mistake most learners make is using one for the other.
Does observar take the subjunctive?
Not usually. Observar on its own takes the indicative — yo observo a los pájaros del jardín. You will meet the subjunctive with observar only inside a larger construction that itself triggers it, such as no creo que or es importante que, and then the subjunctive form is observe.