Sentir Conjugation in Spanish
sentir means “feel” in English, and it is one of the first verbs Spanish learners meet — it sits at number 33 in VerbFlow’s frequency list. You use it for feeling cold, joy or pain, for feeling that something is true, and for sensing something. 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 sentir — 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 siento frío en invierno todos los días.” — “I feel cold in winter every day.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: sentir
- English: to feel
- Verb type: Irregular — stem-changing (e → ie)
- Irregular in: present, present-subjunctive, preterite, imperfect-subjunctive, gerund, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative
- Gerund: sintiendo
- Past participle: sentido
- 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 sentir. 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 | siento |
| tú | sientes |
| él/ella/Ud. | siente |
| nosotros/as | sentimos |
| vosotros/as | sentís |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | sienten |
Preterite
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | sentí |
| tú | sentiste |
| él/ella/Ud. | sintió |
| nosotros/as | sentimos |
| vosotros/as | sentisteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | sintieron |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | sentía |
| tú | sentías |
| él/ella/Ud. | sentía |
| nosotros/as | sentíamos |
| vosotros/as | sentíais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | sentían |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | sentiré |
| tú | sentirás |
| él/ella/Ud. | sentirá |
| nosotros/as | sentiremos |
| vosotros/as | sentiréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | sentirán |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | sentiría |
| tú | sentirías |
| él/ella/Ud. | sentiría |
| nosotros/as | sentiríamos |
| vosotros/as | sentiríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | sentirían |
Present perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he sentido |
| tú | has sentido |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha sentido |
| nosotros/as | hemos sentido |
| vosotros/as | habéis sentido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han sentido |
Pluperfect (past perfect)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había sentido |
| tú | habías sentido |
| él/ella/Ud. | había sentido |
| nosotros/as | habíamos sentido |
| vosotros/as | habíais sentido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían sentido |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré sentido |
| tú | habrás sentido |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá sentido |
| nosotros/as | habremos sentido |
| vosotros/as | habréis sentido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán sentido |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría sentido |
| tú | habrías sentido |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría sentido |
| nosotros/as | habríamos sentido |
| vosotros/as | habríais sentido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían sentido |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | sienta |
| tú | sientas |
| él/ella/Ud. | sienta |
| nosotros/as | sintamos |
| vosotros/as | sintáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | sientan |
Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | sintiera |
| tú | sintieras |
| él/ella/Ud. | sintiera |
| nosotros/as | sintiéramos |
| vosotros/as | sintierais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | sintieran |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | siente |
| él/ella/Ud. | sienta |
| nosotros/as | sintamos |
| vosotros/as | sentid |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | sientan |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | sientas |
| él/ella/Ud. | sienta |
| nosotros/as | sintamos |
| vosotros/as | sintáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | sientan |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | Spanish |
|---|---|
| Gerund | sintiendo |
| Past participle | sentido |
When to use each tense
Present indicative
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. With sentir 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 siento frío en invierno todos los días.” — “I feel cold in winter every day.”
Preterite
The preterite is used for completed actions in the past. With sentir 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 sentiste mucha alegría ayer.” — “You felt great joy yesterday.”
Imperfect
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and background description. For example: “Él sentía mucha calma antes.” — “He used to feel great calm before.”
Future
The future is used for what will happen, predictions and probability. For example: “Yo sentiré frío en invierno mañana.” — “I will feel cold in winter tomorrow.”
Conditional
The conditional is used for what would happen, polite requests and hypothetical situations. For example: “Tú sentirías mucha alegría algún día.” — “You would feel great joy 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 sentido mucha calma esta semana.” — “He has felt great calm this week.”
Pluperfect (past perfect)
The pluperfect (past perfect) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Yo había sentido frío en invierno antes de la fiesta.” — “I had felt cold in winter 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 sentido mucha alegría para mañana.” — “You will have felt great joy by tomorrow.”
Conditional perfect
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Él habría sentido mucha calma ayer.” — “He would have felt great calm yesterday.”
Present subjunctive
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. With sentir 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 sienta frío en invierno.” — “It is important that i feel cold in winter.”
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 sentir 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 sintieras mucha alegría.” — “I wish you felt great joy.”
Imperative (affirmative)
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. With sentir 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: “¡Siente mucha calma!” — “Feel great calm!”
Imperative (negative)
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. With sentir 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 sientas frío en invierno.” — “Do not feel cold in winter.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with sentir, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the Spanish and try to produce it from the English.
- “Yo siento frío en invierno todos los días.” — “I feel cold in winter every day.”
- “Tú sentiste mucha alegría ayer.” — “You felt great joy yesterday.”
- “Él sentía mucha calma antes.” — “He used to feel great calm before.”
- “Yo sentiré mucha alegría mañana.” — “I will feel great joy tomorrow.”
- “Tú sentirías frío en invierno algún día.” — “You would feel cold in winter someday.”
- “Él ha sentido mucha calma esta semana.” — “He has felt great calm this week.”
- “Yo había sentido frío en invierno antes de la fiesta.” — “I had felt cold in winter before the party.”
- “Tú habrás sentido mucha alegría para mañana.” — “You will have felt great joy by tomorrow.”
- “Es importante que él sienta mucha calma.” — “It is important that he feel great calm.”
- “¡Siente frío en invierno!” — “Feel cold in winter!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Yo sentir frío en invierno.”
✓ Right: “Yo siento frío en invierno.”
The infinitive sentir never takes a subject. After yo you need the conjugated present form siento.
2. Confusing sentir with pensar
✗ Wrong: “Yo pienso frío en invierno.”
✓ Right: “Yo siento frío en invierno.”
Sentir is to feel; pensar is to think with the mind.
3. Using the wrong auxiliary in perfect tenses
✗ Wrong: “Yo soy sentido frío en invierno.”
✓ Right: “Yo he sentido frío en invierno.”
Spanish perfect tenses are always built with haber, never with ser. The correct form is he + the participle sentido.
4. Dropping the written accent
✗ Wrong: “senti”
✓ Right: “sentí”
The accent on sentí 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 sento frío en invierno.”
✓ Right: “Yo siento frío en invierno.”
sentir changes its stem vowel in the present tense (e → ie), so the yo form is siento, not the unchanged stem.
6. Using the preterite for a habitual past action
✗ Wrong: “Yo sentí frío en invierno antes.” (said of a repeated habit)
✓ Right: “Yo sentía frío en invierno antes.”
The preterite sentí describes one finished action. For something you did regularly in the past, use the imperfect sentía.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on sentir. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the yo form of sentir in the Present indicative?
- A) sientes
- B) siente
- C) sentimos
- D) siento
What is the él/ella/Ud. form of sentir in the Preterite?
- A) sentiste
- B) sentimos
- C) sintió
- D) sentí
What is the nosotros/as form of sentir in the Imperfect?
- A) sentíais
- B) sentíamos
- C) sentía
- D) sentías
What is the tú form of sentir in the Future?
- A) sentirás
- B) sentiré
- C) sentirá
- D) sentiremos
What is the yo form of sentir in the Conditional?
- A) sentirías
- B) sentiríamos
- C) sentiríais
- D) sentiría
What is the él/ella/Ud. form of sentir in the Present subjunctive?
- A) sintamos
- B) sintáis
- C) sienta
- D) sientas
What is the yo form of sentir in the Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)?
- A) sintierais
- B) sintiera
- C) sintieras
- D) sintiéramos
What is the gerund of sentir?
- A) sintiendo
- B) viviendo
- C) tratando
- D) mirando
What is the past participle of sentir?
- A) vivido
- B) tratado
- C) mirado
- D) sentido
What does sentir mean in English?
- A) to try
- B) to look
- C) to feel
- D) to live
Answer key
- D) siento — the yo form of sentir in the present indicative is siento. The other options (sientes, siente, sentimos) are the same tense for different persons.
- C) sintió — the él/ella/Ud. form of sentir in the preterite is sintió. The other options (sentí, sentiste, sentimos) are the same tense for different persons.
- B) sentíamos — the nosotros/as form of sentir in the imperfect is sentíamos. The other options (sentía, sentías, sentía) are the same tense for different persons.
- A) sentirás — the tú form of sentir in the future is sentirás. The other options (sentiré, sentirá, sentiremos) are the same tense for different persons.
- D) sentiría — the yo form of sentir in the conditional is sentiría. The other options (sentirías, sentiría, sentiríamos) are the same tense for different persons.
- C) sienta — the él/ella/Ud. form of sentir in the present subjunctive is sienta. The other options (sienta, sientas, sintamos) are the same tense for different persons.
- B) sintiera — the yo form of sentir in the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) is sintiera. The other options (sintieras, sintiera, sintiéramos) are the same tense for different persons.
- A) sintiendo — the gerund of sentir is sintiendo; it is used with estar for the progressive. The other options are the gerunds of neighbouring verbs.
- D) sentido — the past participle of sentir is sentido; perfect tenses use haber + sentido. The other options are the participles of neighbouring verbs.
- C) to feel — sentir means “to feel” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.
Frequently asked questions
What does sentir mean in English?
sentir means “to feel”. You use it for feeling cold, joy or pain, for feeling that something is true, and for sensing something. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is sentir regular or irregular?
sentir is irregular — stem-changing (e → ie), and it is irregular in these tenses: present, present-subjunctive, preterite, imperfect-subjunctive, gerund, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative. The gerund is sintiendo and the past participle is sentido.
What are the gerund and past participle of sentir?
The gerund is sintiendo — use it with estar for actions in progress. The past participle is sentido — use it with haber for the perfect tenses, as in he sentido (I have felt).
What is the difference between sentir and pensar?
Sentir is to feel; pensar is to think with the mind. If you are unsure, check the full table for pensar and compare the meanings in context.
How do I say “I feel” in Spanish?
Say “Yo siento frío en invierno.” — “I feel cold in winter every day.” The yo form of the present is siento, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- sentir in the present tense — the full table and uses for this verb in its most practised tense.
- sentir 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.
- Vivir conjugation — another everyday Spanish verb.
- Tratar conjugation — another everyday Spanish verb.
- Mirar 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 sentir with the interactive tool.
- Verb Quiz — practise sentir with the interactive tool.
- Subjunctive Helper — practise sentir with the interactive tool.