Promover Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb promover means to promote, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. Promover has two senses: to promote a cause or activity, and to promote a person to a higher position: promover a su empleado a director. Like every Spanish verb, promover 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 Yo promuevo el turismo en la región — "I promote tourism in the region". 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: promuevo, promueves, promueve and promueven — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: promovemos, promovéis.

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: promover
  • English: to promote
  • Verb type: stem-changing -er verb (o → ue)
  • Ending: -er
  • Gerund: promoviendo
  • Past participle: promovido
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + promovido)

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

Full conjugation tables

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

Present indicative

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | promuevo | | tú | promueves | | él/ella/Ud. | promueve | | nosotros/as | promovemos | | vosotros/as | promovéis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | promueven |

Preterite

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | promoví | | tú | promoviste | | él/ella/Ud. | promovió | | nosotros/as | promovimos | | vosotros/as | promovisteis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | promovieron |

Imperfect

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | promovía | | tú | promovías | | él/ella/Ud. | promovía | | nosotros/as | promovíamos | | vosotros/as | promovíais | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | promovían |

Future

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | promoveré | | tú | promoverás | | él/ella/Ud. | promoverá | | nosotros/as | promoveremos | | vosotros/as | promoveréis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | promoverán |

Conditional

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | promovería | | tú | promoverías | | él/ella/Ud. | promovería | | nosotros/as | promoveríamos | | vosotros/as | promoveríais | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | promoverían |

Present perfect

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

Pluperfect

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

Future perfect

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

Conditional perfect

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

Present subjunctive

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | promueva | | tú | promuevas | | él/ella/Ud. | promueva | | nosotros/as | promovamos | | vosotros/as | promováis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | promuevan |

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | promoviera | | tú | promovieras | | él/ella/Ud. | promoviera | | nosotros/as | promoviéramos | | vosotros/as | promovierais | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | promovieran |

Imperative (affirmative)

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | tú | promueve | | él/ella/Ud. | promueva | | nosotros/as | promovamos | | vosotros/as | promoved | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | promuevan |

Imperative (negative)

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | tú | promuevas | | él/ella/Ud. | promueva | | nosotros/as | promovamos | | vosotros/as | promováis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | promuevan |

Gerund and past participle

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

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: promuevo, promueves, promueve and promueven — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: promovemos, promovéis. For promover, the present indicative looks like this in a real sentence: Yo promuevo el turismo en la región — "I promote tourism in the region".

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 promover, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Ayer, yo promoví la salud entre los jóvenes — "Yesterday, I promoted health among young people".

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 promover, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: De niño, yo promovía a su empleado a director — "As a child, I used to promote his employee to director".

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 promover, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Mañana, yo promoveré la cultura local — "Tomorrow, I will promote local culture".

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 promover, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Yo promovería el turismo en la región si pudiera — "I would promote tourism in the region 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 promover, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Hoy, yo he promovido la salud entre los jóvenes — "Today, I have promoted health among young people".

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 promover, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo ya había promovido a su empleado a director antes de salir — "I already had promoted his employee to director 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 promover, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Para mañana, yo habré promovido la cultura local — "By tomorrow, I will have promoted local culture".

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 promover, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo habría promovido el turismo en la región con más tiempo — "I would have promoted tourism in the region 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: promuevo, promueves, promueve and promueven — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: promovemos, promovéis. For promover, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él promueva la salud entre los jóvenes — "I hope he promotes health among young people".

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 promover, the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) looks like this in a real sentence: Si yo promoviera a su empleado a director, todo cambiaría — "If I promoted his employee to director, 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: promuevo, promueves, promueve and promueven — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: promovemos, promovéis. For promover, the imperative (affirmative) looks like this in a real sentence: Promueve la cultura local. — "Promote local culture.".

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: promuevo, promueves, promueve and promueven — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: promovemos, promovéis. For promover, the imperative (negative) looks like this in a real sentence: No promuevas el turismo en la región. — "Do not promote tourism in the region.".

Example sentences

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

  1. Yo promuevo el turismo en la región — "I promote tourism in the region"
  2. Mi amigo promueve la salud entre los jóvenes — "My friend promotes health among young people"
  3. Ayer, yo promoví a su empleado a director — "Yesterday, I promoted his employee to director"
  4. Antes, nosotros promovíamos la cultura local — "Before, we used to promote local culture"
  5. Mañana, tú promoverás el uso de la bicicleta — "Tomorrow, you will promote cycling"
  6. Yo promovería el turismo en la región si tuviera más tiempo — "I would promote tourism in the region if I had more time"
  7. Él ha promovido la salud entre los jóvenes — "He has promoted health among young people"
  8. Espero que él promueva a su empleado a director — "I hope he promotes his employee to director"
  9. Yo ya había promovido la cultura local antes de salir — "I already had promoted local culture before leaving"
  10. Ellos promovían el uso de la bicicleta cuando eran jóvenes — "They used to promote cycling when they were young"

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo promovo la salud entre los jóvenes. — Right: Yo promuevo la salud entre los jóvenes. — promover is a stem-changing verb (o → ue): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is promuevo, not promovo.
  2. Wrong: Espero que él promueve la salud entre los jóvenes — Right: Espero que él promueva la salud entre los jóvenes — After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: Espero que él promueva la salud entre los jóvenes — not the indicative Espero que él promueve la salud entre los jóvenes.
  3. Wrong: Ayer, yo promuevo a su empleado a director — Right: Ayer, yo promoví a su empleado a director — Ayer points to a finished action in the past, so it needs the preterite: Ayer, yo promoví a su empleado a director.
  4. Wrong: De niño, yo promoví la cultura local todos los días — Right: De niño, yo promovía la cultura local todos los días — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect, not the preterite: De niño, yo promovía la cultura local todos los días.
  5. Wrong: Yo promuevo en el turismo en la región. — Right: Yo promuevo el turismo en la región. — promover takes this complement directly, with no preposition: Yo promuevo el turismo en la región.

Quiz: test yourself

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

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ el turismo en la región — "I promote tourism in the region" (present) A. promovemos B. promuevo C. promueves D. promueve

  2. Complete the sentence: Él ______ la salud entre los jóvenes — "He promoted health among young people" (preterite) A. promovimos B. promovió C. promoví D. promoviste

  3. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ______ a su empleado a director — "We used to promote his employee to director" (imperfect) A. promovíamos B. promovía C. promovías D. promovíais

  4. Complete the sentence: Tú ______ la cultura local — "You will promote local culture" (future) A. promoveremos B. promoverás C. promoveré D. promoverá

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ el uso de la bicicleta — "I would promote cycling" (conditional) A. promoverías B. promoveríamos C. promoveríais D. promovería

  6. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ______ el turismo en la región — "I hope he promotes tourism in the region" (present subjunctive) A. promováis B. promueva C. promuevas D. promovamos

  7. Complete the sentence: Si yo ______ la salud entre los jóvenes, todo cambiaría — "If I promoted health among young people, everything would change" (imperfect subjunctive) A. promovierais B. promoviera C. promovieras D. promoviéramos

  8. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ______ a su empleado a director — "We have promoted his employee to director" (present perfect) A. ha promovido B. hemos promovido C. he promovido D. has promovido

  9. Complete the sentence: No ______ la cultura local. — "Do not promote local culture." (negative imperative) A. promováis B. promuevas C. promueva D. promovamos

  10. Which is the gerund of promover, used with estar for the progressive? A. promoviendo B. promovido C. promuevo D. promoví

Answer key

  1. promuevo — The present form for yo is promuevo.
  2. promovió — The preterite form for él/ella/Ud. is promovió.
  3. promovíamos — The imperfect form for nosotros/as is promovíamos.
  4. promoverás — The future form for tú is promoverás.
  5. promovería — The conditional form for yo is promovería.
  6. promueva — The present subjunctive form for él/ella/Ud. is promueva.
  7. promoviera — The imperfect subjunctive form for yo is promoviera.
  8. hemos promovido — The present perfect form for nosotros/as is hemos promovido.
  9. promuevas — The negative imperative form is promuevas.
  10. promoviendo — The gerund of promover is promoviendo: estoy promoviendo. The participle promovido is used with haber instead.

Frequently asked questions

What does promover mean in English?

promover means to promote. It is used in everyday situations such as Yo promuevo el turismo en la región — "I promote tourism in the region". The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

Is promover regular?

No. promover is a stem-changing -er verb (o → ue). The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: promuevo, promueves, promueve and promueven — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: promovemos, promovéis. 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 promover?

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

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

It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: Ayer, yo promoví la salud entre los jóvenes — "Yesterday, I promoted health among young people". For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: De niño, yo promovía a su empleado a director — "As a child, I used to promote his employee to director". For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Hoy, yo he promovido la salud entre los jóvenes — "Today, I have promoted health among young people".

What is the difference between promover and fomentar?

Fomentar is to encourage or foster something, such as reading or sport. Promover is wider — it also covers promoting people and launching campaigns. Promover has two senses: to promote a cause or activity, and to promote a person to a higher position: promover a su empleado a director.

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