Introduction
Servir means «to serve». Servir means to serve food or drink, and also to be useful for something: «¿Para qué sirve esto?» (What is this for?). It is a stem-changing -ir verb, so its stem vowel changes in several forms, and it is essential in restaurants, at home and at work. It is a irregular -ir verb, stem-changing (e → i), so the tables below show you exactly how it behaves in every tense. On this page you will find the full conjugation of servir 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: «Yo sirvo la cena todos los días.» — I serve dinner every day.
Quick facts
| Infinitive | servir |
| English | to serve |
| Verb type | Irregular -ir verb, stem-changing (e → i) |
| Gerund | sirviendo |
| Past participle | servido |
| Auxiliary verb | haber |
Full conjugation tables
Gerund: sirviendo · Past participle: servido
Present Indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | sirvo |
| tú | sirves |
| él/ella/Ud. | sirve |
| nosotros/as | servimos |
| vosotros/as | servís |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | sirven |
The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For servir, the yo form is sirvo, as in «Yo sirvo» in the examples below. This is one of the tenses where servir does not follow the regular -ir pattern, so learn the forms in the table above rather than guessing them from the infinitive. Use the present for routines («todos los días») and for general truths.
Preterite
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | serví |
| tú | serviste |
| él/ella/Ud. | sirvió |
| nosotros/as | servimos |
| vosotros/as | servisteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | sirvieron |
The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. «Ayer yo serví» is the classic use. Do not confuse it with the imperfect: the preterite moves the story forward, one finished event at a time. This is one of the tenses where servir does not follow the regular -ir pattern, so learn the forms in the table above rather than guessing them from the infinitive.
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | servía |
| tú | servías |
| él/ella/Ud. | servía |
| nosotros/as | servíamos |
| vosotros/as | servíais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | servían |
The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. «De pequeño, yo servía» shows the habitual use. It sets the scene while the preterite reports what happened inside it.
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | serviré |
| tú | servirás |
| él/ella/Ud. | servirá |
| nosotros/as | serviremos |
| vosotros/as | serviréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | servirán |
The future tense states what will happen. For servir the future is built on the infinitive: «Mañana yo serviré». It is also used for predictions and promises, and in spoken Spanish it often alternates with ir a + infinitive.
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | serviría |
| tú | servirías |
| él/ella/Ud. | serviría |
| nosotros/as | serviríamos |
| vosotros/as | serviríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | servirían |
The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. «Si tuviera más tiempo, yo serviría» is the typical pattern. It shares its stem with the future and changes only the endings.
Present Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he servido |
| tú | has servido |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha servido |
| nosotros/as | hemos servido |
| vosotros/as | habéis servido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han servido |
The present perfect connects the past with the present: something that has happened, often today or recently. It is haber in the present plus the past participle: «Hoy yo he servido». In Spain it is used for anything that happened today; in Latin America the preterite is often preferred.
Pluperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había servido |
| tú | habías servido |
| él/ella/Ud. | había servido |
| nosotros/as | habíamos servido |
| vosotros/as | habíais servido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían servido |
The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event: «Cuando llegué, ya había servido». It is haber in the imperfect plus the past participle, and it is the tense for explaining what had already happened when something else took place.
Future Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré servido |
| tú | habrás servido |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá servido |
| nosotros/as | habremos servido |
| vosotros/as | habréis servido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán servido |
The future perfect looks back from a future point: by then, something will already have happened. «Para mañana, yo habré servido» is the pattern — haber in the future plus the past participle. It is less common in speech but regular in formal writing.
Conditional Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría servido |
| tú | habrías servido |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría servido |
| nosotros/as | habríamos servido |
| vosotros/as | habríais servido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían servido |
The conditional perfect expresses what would have happened: «Yo habría servido si hubiera podido». It is haber in the conditional plus the past participle, and it is the tense for regrets and missed chances.
Present Subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | sirva |
| tú | sirvas |
| él/ella/Ud. | sirva |
| nosotros/as | sirvamos |
| vosotros/as | sirváis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | sirvan |
The present subjunctive appears after wishes, doubts, emotions and impersonal expressions: «Espero que él sirva». The trigger is in the main clause; the subjunctive is the mood of uncertainty, desire and influence. Learn the yo form first — most of the table follows from it. This is one of the tenses where servir does not follow the regular -ir pattern, so learn the forms in the table above rather than guessing them from the infinitive.
Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra forms)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | sirviera |
| tú | sirvieras |
| él/ella/Ud. | sirviera |
| nosotros/as | sirviéramos |
| vosotros/as | sirvierais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | sirvieran |
The imperfect subjunctive is the past partner of the present subjunctive, used after past-tense triggers and in si-clauses: «Si él sirviera, todo sería distinto». The table above shows the -ra forms, the ones you will hear most often. There is also a less common -se set built on the same stem. This is one of the tenses where servir does not follow the regular -ir pattern, so learn the forms in the table above rather than guessing them from the infinitive.
Imperative — Affirmative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | sirve |
| él/ella/Ud. | sirva |
| nosotros/as | sirvamos |
| vosotros/as | servid |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | sirvan |
There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.
The affirmative imperative gives direct commands and instructions: «¡Sirve!». There is no yo form — you cannot command yourself. The tú form is the one you will use with friends and family, and the usted form with people you address formally. This is one of the tenses where servir does not follow the regular -ir pattern, so learn the forms in the table above rather than guessing them from the infinitive.
Imperative — Negative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | sirvas |
| él/ella/Ud. | sirva |
| nosotros/as | sirvamos |
| vosotros/as | sirváis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | sirvan |
There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.
The negative imperative tells someone not to do something: «¡No sirvas!». Unlike the affirmative imperative, the negative forms come from the present subjunctive, which is why they look different. Never use the affirmative form after no. This is one of the tenses where servir does not follow the regular -ir pattern, so learn the forms in the table above rather than guessing them from the infinitive.
Example sentences
- Yo sirvo la cena todos los días. — I serve dinner every day.
- Mi hermana sirve la cena mucho. — My sister serves dinner a lot.
- Ayer yo serví la cena por la tarde. — Yesterday I served dinner in the afternoon.
- De pequeño, yo servía la cena muchas veces. — As a child, I used to serve dinner often.
- Mañana yo serviré la cena sin falta. — Tomorrow I will serve dinner without fail.
- Si tuviera más tiempo, yo serviría la cena ahora mismo. — If I had more time, I would serve dinner right now.
- Hoy yo he servido a los clientes dos veces. — Today I have served the customers twice.
- Espero que él sirva la cena pronto. — I hope he serves dinner soon.
- ¡Sirve la cena a los invitados! — Serve dinner to the guests!
- Ahora mismo estoy sirviendo la cena. — Right now I am serving dinner.
Common mistakes
1. Using the regular stem in the present
Wrong: servo
Right: sirvo
Servir does not keep its infinitive stem here. The correct form is sirvo; the regular-looking servo is a form learners invent by applying the standard endings to the wrong stem.
2. Using the imperfect for a finished event
Wrong: Ayer yo servía la cena.
Right: Ayer yo serví la cena.
Yesterday's finished action needs the preterite, serví. The imperfect servía describes what used to happen or what was going on, not a single completed event.
3. Confusing it with a similar verb
Wrong: *Sirvo un poco de arroz.
Right: Me sirvo un poco de arroz.
When you serve yourself, servir becomes reflexive: me sirvo, te sirves. Without the pronoun, the sentence means you are serving someone else.
4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
Wrong: Espero que tú sirves la cena.
Right: Espero que tú sirvas la cena.
After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: sirvas, not the indicative sirves. Wishes, hopes and doubts all trigger this change.
5. Using the regular gerund
Wrong: serviendo
Right: sirviendo
The gerund of servir is irregular: sirviendo, not serviendo. Use it with estar for the progressive: «Estoy sirviendo».
Quiz
Test yourself on the forms above. Choose the correct answer, then check the key below.
1. What is the yo form of servir in the present tense?
- (a) servimos
- (b) sirve
- (c) sirves
- (d) sirvo
2. What is the él/ella form of servir in the preterite?
- (a) servimos
- (b) serviste
- (c) serví
- (d) sirvió
3. What is the nosotros form of servir in the imperfect?
- (a) servía
- (b) servíamos
- (c) servías
4. What is the tú form of servir in the future tense?
- (a) serviremos
- (b) servirá
- (c) servirás
- (d) serviré
5. What is the ellos form of servir in the conditional?
- (a) serviría
- (b) servirían
- (c) servirías
6. What is the yo form of servir in the present perfect?
- (a) ha servido
- (b) has servido
- (c) he servido
- (d) hemos servido
7. After «Espero que…», what is the tú form of servir?
- (a) sirva
- (b) sirvamos
- (c) sirvas
8. What is the nosotros form of servir in the imperfect subjunctive (-ra)?
- (a) sirviera
- (b) sirviéramos
- (c) sirvieras
9. What is the gerund of servir?
- (a) servido
- (b) servir
- (c) sirviendo
- (d) sirvo
10. What is the past participle of servir?
- (a) servido
- (b) servir
- (c) serví
- (d) sirviendo
Answer key
1. (d) sirvo — In the present, the yo form of servir is sirvo. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
2. (d) sirvió — In the preterite, the el form of servir is sirvió. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
3. (b) servíamos — In the imperfect, the nosotros form of servir is servíamos. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
4. (c) servirás — In the future, the tu form of servir is servirás. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
5. (b) servirían — In the conditional, the ellos form of servir is servirían. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
6. (c) he servido — In the present perfect, the yo form of servir is he servido. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
7. (c) sirvas — In the present subjunctive, the tu form of servir is sirvas. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
8. (b) sirviéramos — In the imperfect subjunctive, the nosotros form of servir is sirviéramos. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
9. (c) sirviendo — The gerund of servir is sirviendo. It is used with estar for the progressive: «Estoy sirviendo».
10. (a) servido — The past participle of servir is servido. It follows haber in all the perfect tenses: «he servido».
Frequently asked questions
Is servir regular or irregular?
No — servir is a stem-changing verb (e → i). The stem vowel changes in the present tense, the present subjunctive and the imperative, and the tenses affected are: present, present-subjunctive, preterite, imperfect-subjunctive, gerund, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative. The nosotros and vosotros forms keep the original stem.
What are the gerund and past participle of servir?
The gerund is sirviendo and the past participle is servido. Use the gerund with estar for actions in progress («Estoy sirviendo») and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses («he servido»).
What is the difference between servir and atender?
Servir and atender are often confused. Atender is to attend to customers; servir is to serve the food or drink itself.
How do I say «I serve» in Spanish?
Say «Yo sirvo». That is the yo form of the present tense, the form you need for talking about yourself right now.
Which forms of servir change the stem?
The stem changes (e → i) in the present tense, the present subjunctive and the imperative — everywhere except the nosotros and vosotros forms. The preterite, imperfect, future and conditional keep the infinitive stem, except where the verb has an extra preterite change.
Related links
- Practise this verb in one tense: servir-present-tense
- More examples and a quiz: servir-examples-and-quiz
- Browse all Spanish verbs: /spanish/
- Full list of irregular verbs: spanish-irregular-verbs
- Related verb: cocinar
- Related verb: comer
- Related verb: beber
- Conjugate any verb: verb-conjugator
- Test yourself: verb-quiz