Pensar Conjugation in Spanish
pensar means “think” in English, and it is one of the first verbs Spanish learners meet — it sits at number 27 in VerbFlow’s frequency list. You use it for thinking about people and plans, for having an opinion, and for intending to do something (pensar + infinitive). 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 pensar — 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 pienso en ti todos los días.” — “I think about you every day.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: pensar
- English: to think
- Verb type: Irregular — stem-changing (e → ie)
- Irregular in: present, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative
- Gerund: pensando
- Past participle: pensado
- 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 pensar. 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 | pienso |
| tú | piensas |
| él/ella/Ud. | piensa |
| nosotros/as | pensamos |
| vosotros/as | pensáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | piensan |
Preterite
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | pensé |
| tú | pensaste |
| él/ella/Ud. | pensó |
| nosotros/as | pensamos |
| vosotros/as | pensasteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | pensaron |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | pensaba |
| tú | pensabas |
| él/ella/Ud. | pensaba |
| nosotros/as | pensábamos |
| vosotros/as | pensabais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | pensaban |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | pensaré |
| tú | pensarás |
| él/ella/Ud. | pensará |
| nosotros/as | pensaremos |
| vosotros/as | pensaréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | pensarán |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | pensaría |
| tú | pensarías |
| él/ella/Ud. | pensaría |
| nosotros/as | pensaríamos |
| vosotros/as | pensaríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | pensarían |
Present perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he pensado |
| tú | has pensado |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha pensado |
| nosotros/as | hemos pensado |
| vosotros/as | habéis pensado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han pensado |
Pluperfect (past perfect)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había pensado |
| tú | habías pensado |
| él/ella/Ud. | había pensado |
| nosotros/as | habíamos pensado |
| vosotros/as | habíais pensado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían pensado |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré pensado |
| tú | habrás pensado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá pensado |
| nosotros/as | habremos pensado |
| vosotros/as | habréis pensado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán pensado |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría pensado |
| tú | habrías pensado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría pensado |
| nosotros/as | habríamos pensado |
| vosotros/as | habríais pensado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían pensado |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | piense |
| tú | pienses |
| él/ella/Ud. | piense |
| nosotros/as | pensemos |
| vosotros/as | penséis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | piensen |
Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | pensara |
| tú | pensaras |
| él/ella/Ud. | pensara |
| nosotros/as | pensáramos |
| vosotros/as | pensarais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | pensaran |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | piensa |
| él/ella/Ud. | piense |
| nosotros/as | pensemos |
| vosotros/as | pensad |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | piensen |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | pienses |
| él/ella/Ud. | piense |
| nosotros/as | pensemos |
| vosotros/as | penséis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | piensen |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | Spanish |
|---|---|
| Gerund | pensando |
| Past participle | pensado |
When to use each tense
Present indicative
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. With pensar 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 pienso en ti todos los días.” — “I think about you every day.”
Preterite
The preterite is used for completed actions in the past. For example: “Tú pensaste en el futuro ayer.” — “You thought about the future yesterday.”
Imperfect
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and background description. For example: “Él pensaba en una solución antes.” — “He used to think about a solution before.”
Future
The future is used for what will happen, predictions and probability. For example: “Yo pensaré en ti mañana.” — “I will think about you tomorrow.”
Conditional
The conditional is used for what would happen, polite requests and hypothetical situations. For example: “Tú pensarías en el futuro algún día.” — “You would think about the future 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 pensado en una solución esta semana.” — “He has thought about a solution this week.”
Pluperfect (past perfect)
The pluperfect (past perfect) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Yo había pensado en ti antes de la fiesta.” — “I had thought about you 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 pensado en el futuro para mañana.” — “You will have thought about the future by tomorrow.”
Conditional perfect
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Él habría pensado en una solución ayer.” — “He would have thought about a solution yesterday.”
Present subjunctive
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. With pensar 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 piense en ti.” — “It is important that i think about you.”
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. For example: “Ojalá tú pensaras en el futuro.” — “I wish you thought about the future.”
Imperative (affirmative)
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. With pensar 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: “¡Piensa en una solución!” — “Think about a solution!”
Imperative (negative)
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. With pensar 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 pienses en ti.” — “Do not think about you.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with pensar, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the Spanish and try to produce it from the English.
- “Yo pienso en ti todos los días.” — “I think about you every day.”
- “Tú pensaste en el futuro ayer.” — “You thought about the future yesterday.”
- “Él pensaba en una solución antes.” — “He used to think about a solution before.”
- “Yo pensaré en el futuro mañana.” — “I will think about the future tomorrow.”
- “Tú pensarías en ti algún día.” — “You would think about you someday.”
- “Él ha pensado en una solución esta semana.” — “He has thought about a solution this week.”
- “Yo había pensado en ti antes de la fiesta.” — “I had thought about you before the party.”
- “Tú habrás pensado en el futuro para mañana.” — “You will have thought about the future by tomorrow.”
- “Es importante que él piense en una solución.” — “It is important that he think about a solution.”
- “¡Piensa en ti!” — “Think about you!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Yo pensar en ti.”
✓ Right: “Yo pienso en ti.”
The infinitive pensar never takes a subject. After yo you need the conjugated present form pienso.
2. Confusing pensar with creer
✗ Wrong: “Yo creo en ti.”
✓ Right: “Yo pienso en ti.”
Pensar is to think; creer is to believe something is true.
3. Using the wrong auxiliary in perfect tenses
✗ Wrong: “Yo soy pensado en ti.”
✓ Right: “Yo he pensado en ti.”
Spanish perfect tenses are always built with haber, never with ser. The correct form is he + the participle pensado.
4. Dropping the written accent
✗ Wrong: “pense”
✓ Right: “pensé”
The accent on pensé is part of the spelling in the preterite. Without it the form looks like a different word, so always write the accent.
5. Forgetting the e → ie stem change
✗ Wrong: “Yo penso en ti.”
✓ Right: “Yo pienso en ti.”
pensar changes its stem vowel in the present tense (e → ie), so the yo form is pienso, not the unchanged stem.
6. Using the preterite for a habitual past action
✗ Wrong: “Yo pensé en ti antes.” (said of a repeated habit)
✓ Right: “Yo pensaba en ti antes.”
The preterite pensé describes one finished action. For something you did regularly in the past, use the imperfect pensaba.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on pensar. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the yo form of pensar in the Present indicative?
- A) piensas
- B) piensa
- C) pensamos
- D) pienso
What is the él/ella/Ud. form of pensar in the Preterite?
- A) pensaste
- B) pensamos
- C) pensó
- D) pensé
What is the nosotros/as form of pensar in the Imperfect?
- A) pensabais
- B) pensábamos
- C) pensaba
- D) pensabas
What is the tú form of pensar in the Future?
- A) pensarás
- B) pensaré
- C) pensará
- D) pensaremos
What is the yo form of pensar in the Conditional?
- A) pensarías
- B) pensaríamos
- C) pensaríais
- D) pensaría
What is the él/ella/Ud. form of pensar in the Present subjunctive?
- A) pensemos
- B) penséis
- C) piense
- D) pienses
What is the yo form of pensar in the Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)?
- A) pensarais
- B) pensara
- C) pensaras
- D) pensáramos
What is the gerund of pensar?
- A) pensando
- B) viniendo
- C) saliendo
- D) volviendo
What is the past participle of pensar?
- A) venido
- B) salido
- C) vuelto
- D) pensado
What does pensar mean in English?
- A) to go out
- B) to return
- C) to think
- D) to come
Answer key
- D) pienso — the yo form of pensar in the present indicative is pienso. The other options (piensas, piensa, pensamos) are the same tense for different persons.
- C) pensó — the él/ella/Ud. form of pensar in the preterite is pensó. The other options (pensé, pensaste, pensamos) are the same tense for different persons.
- B) pensábamos — the nosotros/as form of pensar in the imperfect is pensábamos. The other options (pensaba, pensabas, pensaba) are the same tense for different persons.
- A) pensarás — the tú form of pensar in the future is pensarás. The other options (pensaré, pensará, pensaremos) are the same tense for different persons.
- D) pensaría — the yo form of pensar in the conditional is pensaría. The other options (pensarías, pensaría, pensaríamos) are the same tense for different persons.
- C) piense — the él/ella/Ud. form of pensar in the present subjunctive is piense. The other options (piense, pienses, pensemos) are the same tense for different persons.
- B) pensara — the yo form of pensar in the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) is pensara. The other options (pensaras, pensara, pensáramos) are the same tense for different persons.
- A) pensando — the gerund of pensar is pensando; it is used with estar for the progressive. The other options are the gerunds of neighbouring verbs.
- D) pensado — the past participle of pensar is pensado; perfect tenses use haber + pensado. The other options are the participles of neighbouring verbs.
- C) to think — pensar means “to think” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.
Frequently asked questions
What does pensar mean in English?
pensar means “to think”. You use it for thinking about people and plans, for having an opinion, and for intending to do something (pensar + infinitive). It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is pensar regular or irregular?
pensar is irregular — stem-changing (e → ie), and it is irregular in these tenses: present, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative. The gerund is pensando and the past participle is pensado.
What are the gerund and past participle of pensar?
The gerund is pensando — use it with estar for actions in progress. The past participle is pensado — use it with haber for the perfect tenses, as in he pensado (I have thought).
What is the difference between pensar and creer?
Pensar is to think; creer is to believe something is true. If you are unsure, check the full table for creer and compare the meanings in context.
How do I say “I think” in Spanish?
Say “Yo pienso en ti.” — “I think about you every day.” The yo form of the present is pienso, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- pensar in the present tense — the full table and uses for this verb in its most practised tense.
- pensar 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.
- Venir conjugation — another everyday Spanish verb.
- Salir conjugation — another everyday Spanish verb.
- Volver 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 pensar with the interactive tool.
- Verb Quiz — practise pensar with the interactive tool.
- Subjunctive Helper — practise pensar with the interactive tool.