Sembrar Conjugation in Spanish
The Spanish verb sembrar means to sow — it also means to plant, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. Sembrar is a regular -ar verb, so the tables below show you exactly how it behaves in every tense. On this page you will find the full conjugation of sembrar in all thirteen tenses, notes on when to use each one, example sentences, the mistakes learners make most often, a ten-question quiz and answers to the questions students ask about this verb. For example, in the present tense you say Yo sembro tomates — "I sow tomatoes" — and in the preterite you say Yo sembré flores en el jardín — "I sowed flowers in the garden". 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.
Quick facts
- Infinitive: sembrar
- English: to sow, to plant
- Verb type: regular -ar verb
- Ending: -ar
- Gerund: sembrando
- Past participle: sembrado
- Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + sembrado)
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for sembrar, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for sembrar. The imperfect subjunctive is shown in its -ra forms; the -se forms use the same stem. For reflexive verbs, the pronoun column shows the reflexive pronoun that goes before each form.
Gerund: sembrando · Past participle: sembrado
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | sembro |
| tú | sembras |
| él/ella/Ud. | sembra |
| nosotros/as | sembramos |
| vosotros/as | sembráis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | sembran |
Preterite
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | sembré |
| tú | sembraste |
| él/ella/Ud. | sembró |
| nosotros/as | sembramos |
| vosotros/as | sembrasteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | sembraron |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | sembraba |
| tú | sembrabas |
| él/ella/Ud. | sembraba |
| nosotros/as | sembrábamos |
| vosotros/as | sembrabais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | sembraban |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | sembraré |
| tú | sembrarás |
| él/ella/Ud. | sembrará |
| nosotros/as | sembraremos |
| vosotros/as | sembraréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | sembrarán |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | sembraría |
| tú | sembrarías |
| él/ella/Ud. | sembraría |
| nosotros/as | sembraríamos |
| vosotros/as | sembraríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | sembrarían |
Present perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he sembrado |
| tú | has sembrado |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha sembrado |
| nosotros/as | hemos sembrado |
| vosotros/as | habéis sembrado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han sembrado |
Pluperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había sembrado |
| tú | habías sembrado |
| él/ella/Ud. | había sembrado |
| nosotros/as | habíamos sembrado |
| vosotros/as | habíais sembrado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían sembrado |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré sembrado |
| tú | habrás sembrado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá sembrado |
| nosotros/as | habremos sembrado |
| vosotros/as | habréis sembrado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán sembrado |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría sembrado |
| tú | habrías sembrado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría sembrado |
| nosotros/as | habríamos sembrado |
| vosotros/as | habríais sembrado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían sembrado |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | sembre |
| tú | sembres |
| él/ella/Ud. | sembre |
| nosotros/as | sembremos |
| vosotros/as | sembréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | sembren |
Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | sembrara |
| tú | sembraras |
| él/ella/Ud. | sembrara |
| nosotros/as | sembráramos |
| vosotros/as | sembrarais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | sembraran |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | sembra |
| él/ella/Ud. | sembre |
| nosotros/as | sembremos |
| vosotros/as | sembrad |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | sembren |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | sembres |
| él/ella/Ud. | sembre |
| nosotros/as | sembremos |
| vosotros/as | sembréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | sembren |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | Spanish | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Gerund | sembrando | with estar for the progressive: estoy sembrando |
| Past participle | sembrado | with haber for the perfect tenses: he sembrado |
How to use each tense
Present indicative
Use the present for routines, general facts and what is happening right now. It is the tense you will use most often in everyday conversation, for habits with words like todos los días and for statements that are true in general. For sembrar, the present indicative looks like this in a real sentence: Yo sembro flores en el jardín — "I sow flowers in the garden". Learn the present indicative forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Preterite
Use the preterite for finished actions in the past — things that started and ended, often with time words like ayer, anoche or la semana pasada. The preterite moves a story forward, one completed event at a time. For sembrar, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Yo sembré trigo en primavera — "I sowed wheat in spring". Learn the preterite forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Imperfect
Use the imperfect for background, habits and actions in progress in the past, often with words like antes, de niño or mientras. It describes how things used to be, not one finished event. For sembrar, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo sembraba tomates — "I used to sow tomatoes". Learn the imperfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Future
Use the future for plans, predictions and promises, often with mañana, el año que viene or pronto. It talks about what will happen, not what is happening now. For sembrar, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Yo sembraré flores en el jardín — "I will sow flowers in the garden". Learn the future forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Conditional
Use the conditional for polite requests, hypotheticals and what would happen, often in si clauses. It softens a request and describes imagined situations. For sembrar, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Yo sembraría trigo en primavera — "I would sow wheat in spring". Learn the conditional forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Present perfect
Use the present perfect for recent actions and experiences, often with hoy, esta semana or ya. It connects the past with the present moment. For sembrar, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo he sembrado tomates — "I have sown tomatoes". Learn the present perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Pluperfect
Use the pluperfect when one past action happened before another past action. It is the past of the past, and it usually appears with antes de or ya. For sembrar, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo había sembrado flores en el jardín — "I had sown flowers in the garden". Learn the pluperfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Future perfect
Use the future perfect for something that will already be finished by a future time, often with para mañana or para el viernes. For sembrar, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo habré sembrado trigo en primavera — "I will have sown wheat in spring". Learn the future perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Conditional perfect
Use the conditional perfect for what would have happened under different conditions. It looks back at a past that never happened. For sembrar, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo habría sembrado tomates — "I would have sown tomatoes". Learn the conditional perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Present subjunctive
Use the present subjunctive after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and hope, such as espero que or quiero que. The subjunctive does not state a fact; it states an attitude towards the action. For sembrar, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él sembre flores en el jardín — "I hope he sows flowers in the garden". Learn the present subjunctive forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)
Use the imperfect subjunctive after past wishes and in si clauses about the past, and note the -ra forms shown here; the -se forms use the same stem. For sembrar, the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) looks like this in a real sentence: Si yo sembrara trigo en primavera, todo cambiaría — "If I sowed wheat in spring, everything would change". Learn the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Imperative (affirmative)
Use the affirmative imperative for direct commands, instructions and invitations. It tells someone to do something, and it has no yo form. For sembrar, the imperative (affirmative) looks like this in a real sentence: Sembre tomates — "Let him sow tomatoes". Learn the imperative (affirmative) forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Imperative (negative)
Use the negative imperative, always with no, to tell someone not to do something. It uses the subjunctive forms, so it looks different from the affirmative commands. For sembrar, the imperative (negative) looks like this in a real sentence: No sembres flores en el jardín — "Don't sow flowers in the garden". Learn the imperative (negative) forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with sembrar, covering different tenses and persons. Each one uses a form from the tables above.
- Yo sembro trigo en primavera — "I sow wheat in spring"
- Él sembra tomates — "He sows tomatoes"
- Yo sembré flores en el jardín — "I sowed flowers in the garden"
- Yo sembraba trigo en primavera — "I used to sow wheat in spring"
- Tú sembrarás tomates — "You will sow tomatoes"
- Yo sembraría flores en el jardín — "I would sow flowers in the garden"
- Él ha sembrado trigo en primavera — "He has sown wheat in spring"
- Espero que él sembre tomates — "I hope he sows tomatoes"
- Yo había sembrado flores en el jardín — "I had sown flowers in the garden"
- Ellos sembraban trigo en primavera — "They used to sow wheat in spring"
Common mistakes
- Wrong: Ellos sembra tomates — Right: Ellos sembran tomates — Ellos needs the ellos form sembran. The singular sembra belongs with él, ella or a singular noun.
- Wrong: Ayer, yo sembro — Right: Ayer, yo sembré — The present tense cannot describe a finished action yesterday. Ayer forces the preterite, so the form must change to sembré.
- Wrong: De niño, yo sembré todos los días. — Right: Todos los días, yo sembraba — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (sembraba), not the preterite. The preterite (sembré) is for one finished action.
- Wrong: Yo soy sembrado flores en el jardín. — Right: Yo he sembrado flores en el jardín. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he sembrado, has sembrado, ha sembrado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
- Wrong: Treating sembrar and plantar as identical in every context. — Right: Sembrar means to sow, while plantar means to plant. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: sembrar fits sentences such as Yo sembro tomates, while plantar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on sembrar. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
Complete the sentence: Yo ___ tomates. (present tense) A. sembramos B. sembro C. habrá sembrado D. sembréis
Complete the sentence: Él ___ tomates. (preterite) A. sembres B. sembró C. sembras D. sembrarais
Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ tomates. (imperfect) A. sembro B. sembraba C. sembraríamos D. sembrábamos
Complete the sentence: Tú ___ tomates. (future) A. sembraría B. sembráis C. sembraríamos D. sembrarás
Complete the sentence: Yo ___ tomates. (conditional) A. sembraría B. sembrarán C. habéis sembrado D. habremos sembrado
Complete the sentence: Espero que él ___ tomates. (present subjunctive) A. sembraste B. sembro C. sembre D. habremos sembrado
Complete the sentence: Si yo ___ tomates, todo cambiaría. (imperfect subjunctive, -ra form) A. hemos sembrado B. habríamos sembrado C. habremos sembrado D. sembrara
Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ tomates. (present perfect) A. hemos sembrado B. he sembrado C. habrías sembrado D. habías sembrado
Complete the command: No ___ tomates. (negative imperative, tú) A. sembre B. sembren C. sembréis D. sembres
Which is the gerund of sembrar, used with estar for the progressive? A. sembrado B. sembrando C. sembré D. sembraré
Answer key
- sembro — The yo present tense of sembrar is sembro.
- sembró — The él/ella/Ud. preterite of sembrar is sembró.
- sembrábamos — The nosotros/as imperfect of sembrar is sembrábamos.
- sembrarás — The tú future of sembrar is sembrarás.
- sembraría — The yo conditional of sembrar is sembraría.
- sembre — The él/ella/Ud. present subjunctive of sembrar is sembre.
- sembrara — The yo imperfect subjunctive, -ra form of sembrar is sembrara.
- hemos sembrado — The nosotros/as present perfect of sembrar is hemos sembrado.
- sembres — The negative tú imperative uses the present subjunctive form with no before it: sembres.
- sembrando — The gerund of sembrar is sembrando: estoy sembrando. The participle sembrado is used with haber instead.
Frequently asked questions
What does sembrar mean in English?
Sembrar means to sow, to plant. It is used in everyday situations such as Yo sembro tomates. The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.
Is sembrar regular?
Yes. Sembrar is a regular -ar verb: sembro, sembras, sembra. The only thing to learn is the pattern of endings, which is the same for every regular -ar verb.
What is the difference between sembrar and plantar?
Sembrar means to sow, while plantar means to plant. They are easy to confuse because they appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use sembrar when you mean to sow, as in Yo sembro tomates, and use plantar for to plant. When in doubt, check the object of the sentence — it usually shows which verb fits.
How do I say “I sow” in the past?
It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: Yo sembré flores en el jardín. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Yo sembraba trigo en primavera. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Yo he sembrado tomates.
How do I practise sembrar?
Start with the present tense table, then drill the preterite and the imperfect, since those two past tenses cause the most mistakes. Try the sembrar examples and quiz page for more sentences, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure.
Related links
- Sembrar in the present tense — the full present-tense table for sembrar.
- Sembrar examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice for sembrar.
- Spanish verbs — the Spanish hub, with every verb and tense guide.
- Separar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with sembrar.
- Silbar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with sembrar.
- Simular conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with sembrar.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — test yourself on real conjugated forms.
- Verb Conjugator — conjugate any Spanish verb in every tense.