Soportar Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb soportar means to put up with, to bear, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. Soportar means to put up with or to bear, and it covers bearing pain, heat, noise and a difficult person: soportar el dolor, soportar el calor. It is a fully regular -ar verb. Note the false friend: soportar never means to support in the sense of holding something up — that is sujetar or apoyar. Like every Spanish verb, soportar 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 soporto el dolor de la pierna, and in the preterite you say soporté el ruido de la obra. 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: soportar
  • English: to put up with, to bear
  • Verb type: regular -ar verb
  • Ending: -ar
  • Gerund: soportando
  • Past participle: soportado
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + soportado)

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for soportar, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one. Soportar never means to support something physically: that is sujetar. Soportar el calor is to bear the heat.

Full conjugation tables

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for soportar. 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.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo soporto
tú soportas
él/ella/Ud. soporta
nosotros/as soportamos
vosotros/as soportáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. soportan

Preterite

Person Form
yo soporté
tú soportaste
él/ella/Ud. soportó
nosotros/as soportamos
vosotros/as soportasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. soportaron

Imperfect

Person Form
yo soportaba
tú soportabas
él/ella/Ud. soportaba
nosotros/as soportábamos
vosotros/as soportabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. soportaban

Future

Person Form
yo soportaré
tú soportarás
él/ella/Ud. soportará
nosotros/as soportaremos
vosotros/as soportaréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. soportarán

Conditional

Person Form
yo soportaría
tú soportarías
él/ella/Ud. soportaría
nosotros/as soportaríamos
vosotros/as soportaríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. soportarían

Present perfect

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

Pluperfect

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

Future perfect

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

Conditional perfect

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

Present subjunctive

Person Form
yo soporte
tú soportes
él/ella/Ud. soporte
nosotros/as soportemos
vosotros/as soportéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. soporten

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

Person Form
yo soportara
tú soportaras
él/ella/Ud. soportara
nosotros/as soportáramos
vosotros/as soportarais
ellos/ellas/Uds. soportaran

Imperative (affirmative)

Person Form
tú soporta
él/ella/Ud. soporte
nosotros/as soportemos
vosotros/as soportad
ellos/ellas/Uds. soporten

Imperative (negative)

Person Form
tú soportes
él/ella/Ud. soporte
nosotros/as soportemos
vosotros/as soportéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. soporten

Gerund and past participle

Form Spanish Use
Gerund soportando with estar for the progressive: estoy soportando
Past participle soportado with haber for the perfect tenses: he soportado

How to use each tense

Present indicative

Use the present for routines, general facts and what is happening right now. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For soportar, the present looks like this in a real sentence: Soporto el dolor de la pierna. Learn the present 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 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 soportar, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Ayer, soporté el calor del verano. 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 de niño, antes or mientras. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For soportar, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: De niño, soportaba el ruido de la obra. 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. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For soportar, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Mañana, soportaré a su jefe en el trabajo. 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 with si clauses. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For soportar, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Soportaría el dolor de la pierna si pudiera. 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. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For soportar, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Hoy, he soportado el calor del verano. 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. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For soportar, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Había soportado el ruido de la obra antes de salir. 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. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For soportar, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Para mañana, habré soportado a su jefe en el trabajo. 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. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For soportar, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Habría soportado el dolor de la pierna con más tiempo. 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. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For soportar, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él soporte el calor del verano. 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 this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For soportar, the imperfect subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Si él soportara el ruido de la obra, todo cambiaría. Learn the imperfect subjunctive 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. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For soportar, the affirmative imperative looks like this in a real sentence: ¡Soporta a su jefe en el trabajo! Learn the affirmative imperative 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. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For soportar, the negative imperative looks like this in a real sentence: No soportes el dolor de la pierna. Learn the negative imperative 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 soportar, covering different tenses and persons. Each one uses a form from the tables above.

  1. Soporto el dolor de la pierna. — I bear the pain in his leg.
  2. Soporta el calor del verano. — He/she bears the summer heat.
  3. Ayer, soporté el ruido de la obra. — Yesterday, I bore the building-site noise.
  4. Antes, nosotros soportábamos a su jefe en el trabajo. — Before, we used to bear his boss at work.
  5. Mañana, tú soportarás el dolor de la pierna. — Tomorrow, you will bear the pain in his leg.
  6. Yo soportaría el calor del verano si tuviera más tiempo. — I would bear the summer heat if I had more time.
  7. Él ha soportado el ruido de la obra. — He has borne the building-site noise.
  8. Espero que él soporte a su jefe en el trabajo. — I hope he bears his boss at work.
  9. Yo ya había soportado el dolor de la pierna antes de salir. — I had already borne the pain in his leg before leaving.
  10. Ellos soportaban el calor del verano cuando eran jóvenes. — They used to bear the summer heat when they were young.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo soporta el dolor de la pierna. — Right: Yo soporto el dolor de la pierna. — The person matters: soporta is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is soporto. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
  2. Wrong: Ayer yo soporto el calor del verano. — Right: Ayer yo soporté el calor del verano. — The present and the preterite are different tenses: soporto is happening now, while soporté is a finished action in the past. Use the preterite with ayer.
  3. Wrong: Treating soportar and aguantar as identical in every context. — Right: Soportar means to put up with, to bear, while aguantar means to put up with, to endure. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: soportar fits sentences such as Soporto el dolor de la pierna, while aguantar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy soportado el calor del verano. — Right: Yo he soportado el calor del verano. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he soportado, has soportado, ha soportado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  5. Wrong: De niño, yo soporté el ruido de la obra todos los días. — Right: De niño, yo soportaba el ruido de la obra todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (soportaba), not the preterite. The preterite (soporté) is for one finished action.

Quiz: test yourself

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

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ el dolor de la pierna. (present tense) A. soporto B. soportas C. soporta D. soportamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Ayer, él ___ el calor del verano. (preterite) A. soporté B. soportaste C. soportamos D. soportó

  3. Complete the sentence: Antes, nosotros ___ el ruido de la obra. (imperfect) A. soportabas B. soporto C. soportábamos D. soportaba

  4. Complete the sentence: Mañana, tú ___ a su jefe en el trabajo. (future) A. soportaremos B. soportarás C. soportaré D. soportará

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ el dolor de la pierna si pudiera. (conditional) A. soportaría B. soportarías C. soportaríamos D. soporto

  6. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ___ el calor del verano. (present subjunctive) A. soportes B. soportemos C. soporto D. soporte

  7. Complete the sentence: Si yo ___ el ruido de la obra, todo cambiaría. (imperfect subjunctive, -ra form) A. soportáramos B. soporto C. soportara D. soportaras

  8. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ a su jefe en el trabajo. (present perfect) A. ha soportado B. hemos soportado C. he soportado D. has soportado

  9. Complete the command: ¡___ el dolor de la pierna! (affirmative imperative, tú) A. soporta B. soporte C. soportemos D. soportad

  10. Which is the gerund of soportar, used with estar for the progressive? A. soportado B. soporto C. soporté D. soportando

Answer key

  1. soporto — The yo present tense of soportar is soporto.
  2. soportó — The él/ella/Ud. preterite of soportar is soportó.
  3. soportábamos — The nosotros/as imperfect of soportar is soportábamos.
  4. soportarás — The tú future of soportar is soportarás.
  5. soportaría — The yo conditional of soportar is soportaría.
  6. soporte — The él/ella/Ud. present subjunctive of soportar is soporte.
  7. soportara — The yo imperfect subjunctive, -ra form of soportar is soportara.
  8. hemos soportado — The nosotros/as present perfect of soportar is hemos soportado.
  9. soporta — The affirmative tú imperative of soportar is soporta.
  10. soportando — The gerund of soportar is soportando: estoy soportando. The participle soportado is used with haber instead.

Frequently asked questions

What does soportar mean in English?

Soportar means to put up with, to bear. It is used in everyday situations such as Soporto el dolor de la pierna. The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

Is soportar regular or irregular?

Soportar is a fully regular -ar verb, so every tense follows the standard endings for its class. Once you know the regular pattern, you can produce every form on this page, including soporto in the present and soporté in the preterite.

What is the difference between soportar and aguantar?

Soportar means to put up with, to bear, while aguantar means to put up with, to endure. They are easy to confuse because they appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use soportar when you mean to put up with, to bear, as in Soporto el dolor de la pierna, and use aguantar for to put up with, to endure. When in doubt, check the object of the sentence — it usually shows which verb fits.

How do I say “I put up with” in the past?

It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: yo soporté el calor del verano. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: yo soportaba el ruido de la obra. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: yo he soportado el calor del verano.

How do I practise soportar?

Start with the present tense table, then drill the preterite and the imperfect, since those two past tenses cause the most mistakes. Try the soportar examples and quiz page for more sentences, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure.

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