Introduction
Soñar means «to dream». Soñar means to dream, asleep or awake: dreaming about travelling, dreaming of a better job, daydreaming in class. It is an o → ue stem-changing verb (sueño, sueñas), and it is followed by con: soñar con viajar. Do not confuse it with sonar, to sound. It is a irregular -ar verb, stem-changing (o → ue), so the tables below show you exactly how it behaves in every tense. On this page you will find the full conjugation of soñar 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 sueño con viajar todos los días.» — I dream about travelling every day.
Quick facts
| Infinitive | soñar |
| English | to dream |
| Verb type | Irregular -ar verb, stem-changing (o → ue) |
| Gerund | soñando |
| Past participle | soñado |
| Auxiliary verb | haber |
Full conjugation tables
Gerund: soñando · Past participle: soñado
Present Indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | sueño |
| tú | sueñas |
| él/ella/Ud. | sueña |
| nosotros/as | soñamos |
| vosotros/as | soñáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | sueñan |
The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For soñar, the yo form is sueño, as in «Yo sueño» in the examples below. This is one of the tenses where soñar does not follow the regular -ar 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 | soñé |
| tú | soñaste |
| él/ella/Ud. | soñó |
| nosotros/as | soñamos |
| vosotros/as | soñasteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | soñaron |
The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. «Ayer yo soñé» is the classic use. Do not confuse it with the imperfect: the preterite moves the story forward, one finished event at a time.
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | soñaba |
| tú | soñabas |
| él/ella/Ud. | soñaba |
| nosotros/as | soñábamos |
| vosotros/as | soñabais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | soñaban |
The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. «De pequeño, yo soñaba» shows the habitual use. It sets the scene while the preterite reports what happened inside it.
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | soñaré |
| tú | soñarás |
| él/ella/Ud. | soñará |
| nosotros/as | soñaremos |
| vosotros/as | soñaréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | soñarán |
The future tense states what will happen. For soñar the future is built on the infinitive: «Mañana yo soñaré». It is also used for predictions and promises, and in spoken Spanish it often alternates with ir a + infinitive.
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | soñaría |
| tú | soñarías |
| él/ella/Ud. | soñaría |
| nosotros/as | soñaríamos |
| vosotros/as | soñaríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | soñarían |
The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. «Si tuviera más tiempo, yo soñaría» is the typical pattern. It shares its stem with the future and changes only the endings.
Present Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he soñado |
| tú | has soñado |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha soñado |
| nosotros/as | hemos soñado |
| vosotros/as | habéis soñado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han soñado |
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 soñado». In Spain it is used for anything that happened today; in Latin America the preterite is often preferred.
Pluperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había soñado |
| tú | habías soñado |
| él/ella/Ud. | había soñado |
| nosotros/as | habíamos soñado |
| vosotros/as | habíais soñado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían soñado |
The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event: «Cuando llegué, ya había soñado». 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 soñado |
| tú | habrás soñado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá soñado |
| nosotros/as | habremos soñado |
| vosotros/as | habréis soñado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán soñado |
The future perfect looks back from a future point: by then, something will already have happened. «Para mañana, yo habré soñado» 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 soñado |
| tú | habrías soñado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría soñado |
| nosotros/as | habríamos soñado |
| vosotros/as | habríais soñado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían soñado |
The conditional perfect expresses what would have happened: «Yo habría soñado 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 | sueñe |
| tú | sueñes |
| él/ella/Ud. | sueñe |
| nosotros/as | soñemos |
| vosotros/as | soñéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | sueñen |
The present subjunctive appears after wishes, doubts, emotions and impersonal expressions: «Espero que él sueñe». 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 soñar does not follow the regular -ar pattern, so learn the forms in the table above rather than guessing them from the infinitive.
Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra forms)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | soñara |
| tú | soñaras |
| él/ella/Ud. | soñara |
| nosotros/as | soñáramos |
| vosotros/as | soñarais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | soñaran |
The imperfect subjunctive is the past partner of the present subjunctive, used after past-tense triggers and in si-clauses: «Si él soñara, 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.
Imperative — Affirmative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | sueña |
| él/ella/Ud. | sueñe |
| nosotros/as | soñemos |
| vosotros/as | soñad |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | sueñen |
There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.
The affirmative imperative gives direct commands and instructions: «¡Sueña!». 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 soñar does not follow the regular -ar pattern, so learn the forms in the table above rather than guessing them from the infinitive.
Imperative — Negative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | sueñes |
| él/ella/Ud. | sueñe |
| nosotros/as | soñemos |
| vosotros/as | soñéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | sueñen |
There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.
The negative imperative tells someone not to do something: «¡No sueñes!». 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 soñar does not follow the regular -ar pattern, so learn the forms in the table above rather than guessing them from the infinitive.
Example sentences
- Yo sueño con viajar todos los días. — I dream about travelling every day.
- Mi hermana sueña con viajar mucho. — My sister dreams about travelling a lot.
- Ayer yo soñé con viajar por la tarde. — Yesterday I dreamed about travelling in the afternoon.
- De pequeño, yo soñaba con viajar muchas veces. — As a child, I used to dream about travelling often.
- Mañana yo soñaré con viajar sin falta. — Tomorrow I will dream about travelling without fail.
- Si tuviera más tiempo, yo soñaría con viajar ahora mismo. — If I had more time, I would dream about travelling right now.
- Hoy yo he soñado cada noche dos veces. — Today I have dreamed every night twice.
- Espero que él sueñe con viajar pronto. — I hope he dreams about travelling soon.
- ¡Sueña con viajar y lucha por ello! — Dream about travelling and fight for it!
- Ahora mismo estoy soñando con viajar. — Right now I am dreaming about travelling.
Common mistakes
1. Using the regular stem in the present
Wrong: sono
Right: sueño
Soñar does not keep its infinitive stem here. The correct form is sueño; the regular-looking sono 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 soñaba con viajar.
Right: Ayer yo soñé con viajar.
Yesterday's finished action needs the preterite, soñé. The imperfect soñaba describes what used to happen or what was going on, not a single completed event.
3. Confusing it with a similar verb
Wrong: *Sueño viajar.
Right: Sueño con viajar.
Soñar takes con before what you dream about: soñar con viajar, soñar con una casa nueva.
4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
Wrong: Espero que tú sueñas con viajar.
Right: Espero que tú sueñes con viajar.
After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: sueñes, not the indicative sueñas. Wishes, hopes and doubts all trigger this change.
5. Using the affirmative imperative after no
Wrong: No sueña con viajar.
Right: No sueñes con viajar.
Negative commands use the subjunctive-based forms: no sueñes. The affirmative sueña can never follow no.
Quiz
Test yourself on the forms above. Choose the correct answer, then check the key below.
1. What is the yo form of soñar in the present tense?
- (a) soñamos
- (b) sueña
- (c) sueñas
- (d) sueño
2. What is the él/ella form of soñar in the preterite?
- (a) soñamos
- (b) soñaste
- (c) soñé
- (d) soñó
3. What is the nosotros form of soñar in the imperfect?
- (a) soñaba
- (b) soñabas
- (c) soñábamos
4. What is the tú form of soñar in the future tense?
- (a) soñaremos
- (b) soñará
- (c) soñarás
- (d) soñaré
5. What is the ellos form of soñar in the conditional?
- (a) soñaría
- (b) soñarían
- (c) soñarías
6. What is the yo form of soñar in the present perfect?
- (a) ha soñado
- (b) has soñado
- (c) he soñado
- (d) hemos soñado
7. After «Espero que…», what is the tú form of soñar?
- (a) soñemos
- (b) sueñe
- (c) sueñes
8. What is the nosotros form of soñar in the imperfect subjunctive (-ra)?
- (a) soñara
- (b) soñáramos
- (c) soñaras
9. What is the gerund of soñar?
- (a) soñado
- (b) soñando
- (c) soñar
- (d) sueño
10. What is the past participle of soñar?
- (a) soñado
- (b) soñando
- (c) soñar
- (d) soñé
Answer key
1. (d) sueño — In the present, the yo form of soñar is sueño. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
2. (d) soñó — In the preterite, the el form of soñar is soñó. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
3. (c) soñábamos — In the imperfect, the nosotros form of soñar is soñábamos. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
4. (c) soñarás — In the future, the tu form of soñar is soñarás. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
5. (b) soñarían — In the conditional, the ellos form of soñar is soñarían. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
6. (c) he soñado — In the present perfect, the yo form of soñar is he soñado. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
7. (c) sueñes — In the present subjunctive, the tu form of soñar is sueñes. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
8. (b) soñáramos — In the imperfect subjunctive, the nosotros form of soñar is soñáramos. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
9. (b) soñando — The gerund of soñar is soñando. It is used with estar for the progressive: «Estoy soñando».
10. (a) soñado — The past participle of soñar is soñado. It follows haber in all the perfect tenses: «he soñado».
Frequently asked questions
Is soñar regular or irregular?
No — soñar is a stem-changing verb (o → ue). The stem vowel changes in the present tense, the present subjunctive and the imperative, and the tenses affected are: present, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative. The nosotros and vosotros forms keep the original stem.
What are the gerund and past participle of soñar?
The gerund is soñando and the past participle is soñado. Use the gerund with estar for actions in progress («Estoy soñando») and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses («he soñado»).
What is the difference between soñar and sonar?
Soñar and sonar are often confused. Sonar is to sound or to ring; soñar, with the ñ, is to dream.
How do I say «I dream» in Spanish?
Say «Yo sueño». That is the yo form of the present tense, the form you need for talking about yourself right now.
Which forms of soñar change the stem?
The stem changes (o → ue) 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: sonar-dream-present-tense
- More examples and a quiz: sonar-dream-examples-and-quiz
- Browse all Spanish verbs: /spanish/
- Full list of irregular verbs: spanish-irregular-verbs
- Related verb: temer
- Related verb: amar
- Related verb: dormir
- Conjugate any verb: verb-conjugator
- Test yourself: verb-quiz