Tronar Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb tronar means to thunder, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. Tronar is a weather verb, used almost only in the third person singular: truena, tronó, tronaba. It describes thunder, and it often appears with llover in descriptions of storms. Like every Spanish verb, tronar 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 Truena toda la noche — "It thunders all night". 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.

The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: trueno, truenas, truena and truenan — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: tronamos, tronáis. tronar is a weather verb, so in practice you will meet it in the third person singular: truena, tronó, tronaba. The tables below show the full paradigm the engine returns, but everyday use is impersonal.

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: tronar
  • English: to thunder
  • Verb type: stem-changing -ar verb (o → ue)
  • Ending: -ar
  • Gerund: tronando
  • Past participle: tronado
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + tronado)

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for tronar, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

Full conjugation tables

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for tronar. The imperfect subjunctive is shown in its -ra forms; the -se forms use the same stem.

Present indicative

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | trueno | | tú | truenas | | él/ella/Ud. | truena | | nosotros/as | tronamos | | vosotros/as | tronáis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | truenan |

Preterite

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | troné | | tú | tronaste | | él/ella/Ud. | tronó | | nosotros/as | tronamos | | vosotros/as | tronasteis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | tronaron |

Imperfect

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | tronaba | | tú | tronabas | | él/ella/Ud. | tronaba | | nosotros/as | tronábamos | | vosotros/as | tronabais | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | tronaban |

Future

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | tronaré | | tú | tronarás | | él/ella/Ud. | tronará | | nosotros/as | tronaremos | | vosotros/as | tronaréis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | tronarán |

Conditional

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | tronaría | | tú | tronarías | | él/ella/Ud. | tronaría | | nosotros/as | tronaríamos | | vosotros/as | tronaríais | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | tronarían |

Present perfect

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

Pluperfect

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

Future perfect

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

Conditional perfect

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

Present subjunctive

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | truene | | tú | truenes | | él/ella/Ud. | truene | | nosotros/as | tronemos | | vosotros/as | tronéis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | truenen |

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | tronara | | tú | tronaras | | él/ella/Ud. | tronara | | nosotros/as | tronáramos | | vosotros/as | tronarais | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | tronaran |

Imperative (affirmative)

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | tú | truena | | él/ella/Ud. | truene | | nosotros/as | tronemos | | vosotros/as | tronad | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | truenen |

Imperative (negative)

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | tú | truenes | | él/ella/Ud. | truene | | nosotros/as | tronemos | | vosotros/as | tronéis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | truenen |

Gerund and past participle

Form Spanish Use
Gerund tronando with estar for the progressive: está tronando
Past participle tronado with haber for the perfect tenses: he tronado

How to use each tense

Present indicative

Use the present for routines, general facts and what is happening right now. The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: trueno, truenas, truena and truenan — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: tronamos, tronáis. For tronar, the present indicative looks like this in a real sentence: Truena toda la noche — "It thunders all night".

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 tronar, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Ayer, tronó en la sierra — "Yesterday, It thundered in the mountains".

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 tronar, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: De niño, tronaba antes de la tormenta — "As a child, It used to thunder before the storm".

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 tronar, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Mañana, tronará con fuerza en verano — "Tomorrow, It will thunder loudly in summer".

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 tronar, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Tronaría toda la noche si pudiera — "It would thunder all night if I could".

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 tronar, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Hoy, ha tronado en la sierra — "Today, It has thundered in the mountains".

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 tronar, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Ya había tronado antes de la tormenta antes de salir — "It had already thundered before the storm before leaving".

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 tronar, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Para mañana, habrá tronado con fuerza en verano — "By tomorrow, It will have thundered loudly in summer".

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 tronar, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Habría tronado toda la noche con más tiempo — "It would have thundered all night with more time".

Present subjunctive

Use the present subjunctive after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and hope, such as espero que or quiero que. The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: trueno, truenas, truena and truenan — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: tronamos, tronáis. For tronar, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que truene en la sierra — "I hope It thunders in the mountains".

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

Use the imperfect subjunctive after past wishes and in si clauses about the past. The -ra forms are 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 tronar, the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) looks like this in a real sentence: Si tronara antes de la tormenta, todo cambiaría — "If It thundered before the storm, everything would change".

Imperative (affirmative)

Use the affirmative imperative for direct commands, instructions and invitations. The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: trueno, truenas, truena and truenan — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: tronamos, tronáis. For tronar, the imperative (affirmative) looks like this in a real sentence: ¡Que truene con fuerza en verano! — "I hope it thunders loudly in summer!".

Imperative (negative)

Use the negative imperative, always with no, to tell someone not to do something. The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: trueno, truenas, truena and truenan — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: tronamos, tronáis. For tronar, the imperative (negative) looks like this in a real sentence: ¡Que no truene toda la noche! — "I hope it doesn't thunder all night!".

Example sentences

Ten natural sentences with tronar, covering different tenses and persons. Each one uses a form from the tables above.

  1. Truena toda la noche — "It thunders all night"
  2. Truena en la sierra — "It thunders in the mountains"
  3. Ayer, tronó antes de la tormenta — "Yesterday, It thundered before the storm"
  4. Antes, tronaba con fuerza en verano — "Before, It used to thunder loudly in summer"
  5. Mañana, tronará sobre el valle — "Tomorrow, It will thunder over the valley"
  6. Tronaría toda la noche si tuviera más tiempo — "It would thunder all night if I had more time"
  7. Ha tronado en la sierra — "It has thundered in the mountains"
  8. Espero que truene antes de la tormenta — "I hope It thunders before the storm"
  9. Ya había tronado con fuerza en verano antes de salir — "It had already thundered loudly in summer before leaving"
  10. Tronaba sobre el valle cuando eran jóvenes — "It used to thunder over the valley when they were young"

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo trueno toda la noche. — Right: Truena toda la noche — tronar is a weather verb, used in the third person singular: Truena toda la noche. It has no personal subject.
  2. Wrong: Yo trono en la sierra. — Right: Yo trueno en la sierra. — tronar is a stem-changing verb (o → ue): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is trueno, not trono.
  3. Wrong: Espero que truena en la sierra — Right: Espero que truene en la sierra — After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: Espero que truene en la sierra — not the indicative Espero que truena en la sierra.
  4. Wrong: Ayer, truena antes de la tormenta — Right: Ayer, tronó antes de la tormenta — Ayer points to a finished action in the past, so it needs the preterite: Ayer, tronó antes de la tormenta.
  5. Wrong: De niño, tronó con fuerza en verano todos los días — Right: De niño, tronaba con fuerza en verano todos los días — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect, not the preterite: De niño, tronaba con fuerza en verano todos los días.

Quiz: test yourself

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

  1. Complete the sentence: ______ toda la noche — "It thunders all night" (present) A. truena B. tronó C. tronaba D. tronará

  2. Complete the sentence: ______ en la sierra — "It thundered in the mountains" (preterite) A. tronó B. truena C. tronaba D. tronará

  3. Complete the sentence: ______ antes de la tormenta — "It used to thunder before the storm" (imperfect) A. tronó B. tronará C. tronaba D. truena

  4. Complete the sentence: ______ con fuerza en verano — "It will thunder loudly in summer" (future) A. tronó B. tronaba C. tronará D. truena

  5. Complete the sentence: ______ sobre el valle — "It would thunder over the valley" (conditional) A. tronaría B. truena C. tronó D. tronaba

  6. Complete the sentence: Espero que ______ toda la noche — "I hope It thunders all night" (present subjunctive) A. truene B. truena C. tronó D. tronaba

  7. Complete the sentence: Si ______ en la sierra, todo cambiaría — "If It thundered in the mountains, everything would change" (imperfect subjunctive) A. truena B. tronó C. tronaba D. tronara

  8. Complete the sentence: ______ antes de la tormenta — "It has thundered before the storm" (present perfect) A. tronó B. tronaba C. ha tronado D. truena

  9. Complete the sentence: ______ con fuerza en verano — "It will have thundered loudly in summer" (future perfect) A. habrá tronado B. truena C. tronó D. tronaba

  10. Which is the gerund of tronar, used with estar for the progressive? A. tronando B. tronado C. trueno D. troné

Answer key

  1. truena — The present form is truena.
  2. tronó — The preterite form is tronó.
  3. tronaba — The imperfect form is tronaba.
  4. tronará — The future form is tronará.
  5. tronaría — The conditional form is tronaría.
  6. truene — The present subjunctive form is truene.
  7. tronara — The imperfect subjunctive form is tronara.
  8. ha tronado — The present perfect form is ha tronado.
  9. habrá tronado — The future perfect form is habrá tronado.
  10. tronando — The gerund of tronar is tronando: estoy tronando. The participle tronado is used with haber instead.

Frequently asked questions

What does tronar mean in English?

tronar means to thunder. It is used in everyday situations such as Truena toda la noche — "It thunders all night". The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

Is tronar regular?

No. tronar is a stem-changing -ar verb (o → ue). The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: trueno, truenas, truena and truenan — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: tronamos, tronáis. The nosotros and vosotros forms keep the plain stem, which is the part learners most often get right by accident.

What is the gerund and the past participle of tronar?

The gerund is tronando and the past participle is tronado. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.

How do I say "I thunder" in the past?

It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: Ayer, tronó en la sierra — "Yesterday, It thundered in the mountains". For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: De niño, tronaba antes de la tormenta — "As a child, It used to thunder before the storm". For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Hoy, ha tronado en la sierra — "Today, It has thundered in the mountains".

What is the difference between tronar and llover?

Llover is to rain and tronar is to thunder. The two often appear together — llueve y truena — but they describe different parts of a storm. Tronar is a weather verb, used almost only in the third person singular: truena, tronó, tronaba. It describes thunder, and it often appears with llover in descriptions of storms.

Is tronar only used in the third person?

In practice, yes. tronar is a weather verb, so you will hear it as truena or tronó, with no personal subject. The tables show the full paradigm the engine returns, but everyday Spanish keeps weather verbs impersonal.

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