Pedir Conjugation in Spanish
pedir means “ask for” in English, and it is one of the first verbs Spanish learners meet — it sits at number 48 in VerbFlow’s frequency list. You use it for ordering in a bar, for asking for help, and for asking for permission. Because it comes up in everyday conversation so often, learning its forms properly pays off from the very first week. This page gives you the complete conjugation of pedir — every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz. Here is the verb in a natural sentence: “Yo pido un café en el bar todos los días.” — “I ask for a coffee in the bar every day.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: pedir
- English: to ask for
- Verb type: Irregular — stem-changing (e → i)
- Irregular in: present, present-subjunctive, preterite, imperfect-subjunctive, gerund, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative
- Gerund: pidiendo
- Past participle: pedido
- Auxiliary: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + the past participle)
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for pedir. Learn the present tense first, then the preterite and the imperfect, and add the remaining tenses one at a time.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | pido |
| tú | pides |
| él/ella/Ud. | pide |
| nosotros/as | pedimos |
| vosotros/as | pedís |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | piden |
Preterite
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | pedí |
| tú | pediste |
| él/ella/Ud. | pidió |
| nosotros/as | pedimos |
| vosotros/as | pedisteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | pidieron |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | pedía |
| tú | pedías |
| él/ella/Ud. | pedía |
| nosotros/as | pedíamos |
| vosotros/as | pedíais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | pedían |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | pediré |
| tú | pedirás |
| él/ella/Ud. | pedirá |
| nosotros/as | pediremos |
| vosotros/as | pediréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | pedirán |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | pediría |
| tú | pedirías |
| él/ella/Ud. | pediría |
| nosotros/as | pediríamos |
| vosotros/as | pediríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | pedirían |
Present perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he pedido |
| tú | has pedido |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha pedido |
| nosotros/as | hemos pedido |
| vosotros/as | habéis pedido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han pedido |
Pluperfect (past perfect)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había pedido |
| tú | habías pedido |
| él/ella/Ud. | había pedido |
| nosotros/as | habíamos pedido |
| vosotros/as | habíais pedido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían pedido |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré pedido |
| tú | habrás pedido |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá pedido |
| nosotros/as | habremos pedido |
| vosotros/as | habréis pedido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán pedido |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría pedido |
| tú | habrías pedido |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría pedido |
| nosotros/as | habríamos pedido |
| vosotros/as | habríais pedido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían pedido |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | pida |
| tú | pidas |
| él/ella/Ud. | pida |
| nosotros/as | pidamos |
| vosotros/as | pidáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | pidan |
Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | pidiera |
| tú | pidieras |
| él/ella/Ud. | pidiera |
| nosotros/as | pidiéramos |
| vosotros/as | pidierais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | pidieran |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | pide |
| él/ella/Ud. | pida |
| nosotros/as | pidamos |
| vosotros/as | pedid |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | pidan |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | pidas |
| él/ella/Ud. | pida |
| nosotros/as | pidamos |
| vosotros/as | pidáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | pidan |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | Spanish |
|---|---|
| Gerund | pidiendo |
| Past participle | pedido |
When to use each tense
Present indicative
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. With pedir this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Yo pido un café en el bar todos los días.” — “I ask for a coffee in the bar every day.”
Preterite
The preterite is used for completed actions in the past. With pedir this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Tú pediste ayuda a Luis ayer.” — “You asked for Luis for help yesterday.”
Imperfect
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and background description. For example: “Él pedía permiso para salir antes.” — “He used to ask for permission to go out before.”
Future
The future is used for what will happen, predictions and probability. For example: “Yo pediré un café en el bar mañana.” — “I will ask for a coffee in the bar tomorrow.”
Conditional
The conditional is used for what would happen, polite requests and hypothetical situations. For example: “Tú pedirías ayuda a Luis algún día.” — “You would ask for Luis for help someday.”
Present perfect
The present perfect is used for recent past actions and life experience, formed with haber + the past participle. For example: “Él ha pedido permiso para salir esta semana.” — “He has asked for permission to go out this week.”
Pluperfect (past perfect)
The pluperfect (past perfect) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Yo había pedido un café en el bar antes de la fiesta.” — “I had asked for a coffee in the bar before the party.”
Future perfect
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Tú habrás pedido ayuda a Luis para mañana.” — “You will have asked for Luis for help by tomorrow.”
Conditional perfect
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Él habría pedido permiso para salir ayer.” — “He would have asked for permission to go out yesterday.”
Present subjunctive
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. With pedir this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Es importante que yo pida un café en el bar.” — “It is important that i ask for a coffee in the bar.”
Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)
The imperfect subjunctive (-ra) is used for the past subjunctive: wishes and hypotheticals about the past, and clauses after a past-tense trigger. With pedir this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Ojalá tú pidieras ayuda a Luis.” — “I wish you asked for Luis for help.”
Imperative (affirmative)
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. With pedir this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “¡Pide permiso para salir!” — “Ask for permission to go out!”
Imperative (negative)
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. With pedir this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “No pidas un café en el bar.” — “Do not ask for a coffee in the bar.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with pedir, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the Spanish and try to produce it from the English.
- “Yo pido un café en el bar todos los días.” — “I ask for a coffee in the bar every day.”
- “Tú pediste ayuda a Luis ayer.” — “You asked for Luis for help yesterday.”
- “Él pedía permiso para salir antes.” — “He used to ask for permission to go out before.”
- “Yo pediré ayuda a Luis mañana.” — “I will ask for Luis for help tomorrow.”
- “Tú pedirías un café en el bar algún día.” — “You would ask for a coffee in the bar someday.”
- “Él ha pedido permiso para salir esta semana.” — “He has asked for permission to go out this week.”
- “Yo había pedido un café en el bar antes de la fiesta.” — “I had asked for a coffee in the bar before the party.”
- “Tú habrás pedido ayuda a Luis para mañana.” — “You will have asked for Luis for help by tomorrow.”
- “Es importante que él pida permiso para salir.” — “It is important that he ask for permission to go out.”
- “¡Pide un café en el bar!” — “Ask for a coffee in the bar!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Yo pedir un café en el bar.”
✓ Right: “Yo pido un café en el bar.”
The infinitive pedir never takes a subject. After yo you need the conjugated present form pido.
2. Confusing pedir with preguntar
✗ Wrong: “Yo pregunto un café en el bar.”
✓ Right: “Yo pido un café en el bar.”
Pedir is to ask for something; preguntar is to ask a question.
3. Using the wrong auxiliary in perfect tenses
✗ Wrong: “Yo soy pedido un café en el bar.”
✓ Right: “Yo he pedido un café en el bar.”
Spanish perfect tenses are always built with haber, never with ser. The correct form is he + the participle pedido.
4. Dropping the written accent
✗ Wrong: “pedi”
✓ Right: “pedí”
The accent on pedí is part of the spelling in the preterite. Without it the form looks like a different word, so always write the accent.
5. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Ojalá tú pides un café en el bar.”
✓ Right: “Ojalá tú pidas un café en el bar.”
After ojalá Spanish needs the subjunctive, so use pidas here, not the indicative pides.
6. Using the preterite for a habitual past action
✗ Wrong: “Yo pedí un café en el bar antes.” (said of a repeated habit)
✓ Right: “Yo pedía un café en el bar antes.”
The preterite pedí describes one finished action. For something you did regularly in the past, use the imperfect pedía.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on pedir. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the yo form of pedir in the Present indicative?
- A) pides
- B) pide
- C) pedimos
- D) pido
What is the él/ella/Ud. form of pedir in the Preterite?
- A) pediste
- B) pedimos
- C) pidió
- D) pedí
What is the nosotros/as form of pedir in the Imperfect?
- A) pedíais
- B) pedíamos
- C) pedía
- D) pedías
What is the tú form of pedir in the Future?
- A) pedirás
- B) pediré
- C) pedirá
- D) pediremos
What is the yo form of pedir in the Conditional?
- A) pedirías
- B) pediríamos
- C) pediríais
- D) pediría
What is the él/ella/Ud. form of pedir in the Present subjunctive?
- A) pidamos
- B) pidáis
- C) pida
- D) pidas
What is the yo form of pedir in the Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)?
- A) pidierais
- B) pidiera
- C) pidieras
- D) pidiéramos
What is the gerund of pedir?
- A) pidiendo
- B) entendiendo
- C) recibiendo
- D) recordando
What is the past participle of pedir?
- A) entendido
- B) recibido
- C) recordado
- D) pedido
What does pedir mean in English?
- A) to receive
- B) to remember
- C) to ask for
- D) to understand
Answer key
- D) pido — the yo form of pedir in the present indicative is pido. The other options (pides, pide, pedimos) are the same tense for different persons.
- C) pidió — the él/ella/Ud. form of pedir in the preterite is pidió. The other options (pedí, pediste, pedimos) are the same tense for different persons.
- B) pedíamos — the nosotros/as form of pedir in the imperfect is pedíamos. The other options (pedía, pedías, pedía) are the same tense for different persons.
- A) pedirás — the tú form of pedir in the future is pedirás. The other options (pediré, pedirá, pediremos) are the same tense for different persons.
- D) pediría — the yo form of pedir in the conditional is pediría. The other options (pedirías, pediría, pediríamos) are the same tense for different persons.
- C) pida — the él/ella/Ud. form of pedir in the present subjunctive is pida. The other options (pida, pidas, pidamos) are the same tense for different persons.
- B) pidiera — the yo form of pedir in the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) is pidiera. The other options (pidieras, pidiera, pidiéramos) are the same tense for different persons.
- A) pidiendo — the gerund of pedir is pidiendo; it is used with estar for the progressive. The other options are the gerunds of neighbouring verbs.
- D) pedido — the past participle of pedir is pedido; perfect tenses use haber + pedido. The other options are the participles of neighbouring verbs.
- C) to ask for — pedir means “to ask for” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.
Frequently asked questions
What does pedir mean in English?
pedir means “to ask for”. You use it for ordering in a bar, for asking for help, and for asking for permission. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is pedir regular or irregular?
pedir is irregular — stem-changing (e → i), and it is irregular in these tenses: present, present-subjunctive, preterite, imperfect-subjunctive, gerund, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative. The gerund is pidiendo and the past participle is pedido.
What are the gerund and past participle of pedir?
The gerund is pidiendo — use it with estar for actions in progress. The past participle is pedido — use it with haber for the perfect tenses, as in he pedido (I have asked for).
What is the difference between pedir and preguntar?
Pedir is to ask for something; preguntar is to ask a question. If you are unsure, check the full table for preguntar and compare the meanings in context.
How do I say “I ask for” in Spanish?
Say “Yo pido un café en el bar.” — “I ask for a coffee in the bar every day.” The yo form of the present is pido, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- pedir in the present tense — the full table and uses for this verb in its most practised tense.
- pedir examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- Spanish irregular verbs — every common irregular Spanish verb, grouped by pattern.
- Entender conjugation — another everyday Spanish verb.
- Recibir conjugation — another everyday Spanish verb.
- Recordar conjugation — another everyday Spanish verb.
- Present tense guide — how the present tense works for regular verbs.
- Preterite tense guide — how the preterite works, and when to choose it over the imperfect.
- Verb Conjugator — practise pedir with the interactive tool.
- Verb Quiz — practise pedir with the interactive tool.
- Subjunctive Helper — practise pedir with the interactive tool.