Valer Conjugation in Spanish
The Spanish verb valer means to be worth, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. Valer is an irregular -er verb, so the tables below show you exactly how it behaves in every tense. It is irregular in the present indicative, future, conditional, present subjunctive and more, so the tables below are worth studying carefully. On this page you will find the full conjugation of valer 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, in the present tense you say Yo valgo mucho — "I am worth a lot" — and in the preterite you say Yo valí la pena — "I was worth it". 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: valer
- English: to be worth
- Verb type: irregular -er verb
- Ending: -er
- Gerund: valiendo
- Past participle: valido
- Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + valido)
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for valer, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for valer. 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.
Gerund: valiendo · Past participle: valido
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | valgo |
| tú | vales |
| él/ella/Ud. | vale |
| nosotros/as | valemos |
| vosotros/as | valéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | valen |
Preterite
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | valí |
| tú | valiste |
| él/ella/Ud. | valió |
| nosotros/as | valimos |
| vosotros/as | valisteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | valieron |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | valía |
| tú | valías |
| él/ella/Ud. | valía |
| nosotros/as | valíamos |
| vosotros/as | valíais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | valían |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | valdré |
| tú | valdrás |
| él/ella/Ud. | valdrá |
| nosotros/as | valdremos |
| vosotros/as | valdréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | valdrán |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | valdría |
| tú | valdrías |
| él/ella/Ud. | valdría |
| nosotros/as | valdríamos |
| vosotros/as | valdríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | valdrían |
Present perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he valido |
| tú | has valido |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha valido |
| nosotros/as | hemos valido |
| vosotros/as | habéis valido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han valido |
Pluperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había valido |
| tú | habías valido |
| él/ella/Ud. | había valido |
| nosotros/as | habíamos valido |
| vosotros/as | habíais valido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían valido |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré valido |
| tú | habrás valido |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá valido |
| nosotros/as | habremos valido |
| vosotros/as | habréis valido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán valido |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría valido |
| tú | habrías valido |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría valido |
| nosotros/as | habríamos valido |
| vosotros/as | habríais valido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían valido |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | valga |
| tú | valgas |
| él/ella/Ud. | valga |
| nosotros/as | valgamos |
| vosotros/as | valgáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | valgan |
Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | valiera |
| tú | valieras |
| él/ella/Ud. | valiera |
| nosotros/as | valiéramos |
| vosotros/as | valierais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | valieran |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | vale |
| él/ella/Ud. | valga |
| nosotros/as | valgamos |
| vosotros/as | valed |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | valgan |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | valgas |
| él/ella/Ud. | valga |
| nosotros/as | valgamos |
| vosotros/as | valgáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | valgan |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | Spanish | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Gerund | valiendo | with estar for the progressive: estoy valiendo |
| Past participle | valido | with haber for the perfect tenses: he valido |
How to use each tense
Present indicative
Use the present for routines, general facts and what is happening right now. It is the tense you will use most often in everyday conversation, for habits with words like todos los días and for statements that are true in general. For valer, the present indicative looks like this in a real sentence: Yo valgo la pena — "I am worth it". Learn the present indicative forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense. The yo form is irregular: valgo. The other persons follow the regular pattern.
Preterite
Use the preterite for finished actions in the past — things that started and ended, often with time words like ayer, anoche or la semana pasada. The preterite moves a story forward, one completed event at a time. For valer, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Yo valí dos euros — "I was worth two euros". 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 words like antes, de niño or mientras. It describes how things used to be, not one finished event. For valer, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo valía mucho — "I used to be worth a lot". 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. It talks about what will happen, not what is happening now. For valer, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Yo valdré la pena — "I will be worth it". 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. The future stem is irregular: valdr replaces the infinitive as the base, so the forms are valdré, valdrás and valdrá.
Conditional
Use the conditional for polite requests, hypotheticals and what would happen, often in si clauses. It softens a request and describes imagined situations. For valer, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Yo valdría dos euros — "I would be worth two euros". 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. The future stem is irregular: valdr replaces the infinitive as the base, so the forms are valdría, valdrías and valdría.
Present perfect
Use the present perfect for recent actions and experiences, often with hoy, esta semana or ya. It connects the past with the present moment. For valer, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo he valido mucho — "I have been worth a lot". 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. It is the past of the past, and it usually appears with antes de or ya. For valer, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo había valido la pena — "I had been worth it". 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, often with para mañana or para el viernes. For valer, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo habré valido dos euros — "I will have been worth two euros". 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. It looks back at a past that never happened. For valer, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo habría valido mucho — "I would have been worth a lot". 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. The subjunctive does not state a fact; it states an attitude towards the action. For valer, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él valga la pena — "I hope he is worth it". 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 valer, the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) looks like this in a real sentence: Si yo valiera dos euros, todo cambiaría — "If I was worth two euros, everything would change". Learn the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) 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. It tells someone to do something, and it has no yo form. For valer, the imperative (affirmative) looks like this in a real sentence: Valga mucho — "Let him be worth a lot". Learn the imperative (affirmative) 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. It uses the subjunctive forms, so it looks different from the affirmative commands. For valer, the imperative (negative) looks like this in a real sentence: No valgas la pena — "Don't be worth it". Learn the imperative (negative) 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 valer, covering different tenses and persons. Each one uses a form from the tables above.
- Yo valgo dos euros — "I am worth two euros"
- Él vale mucho — "It is worth a lot"
- Yo valí la pena — "I was worth it"
- Yo valía dos euros — "I used to be worth two euros"
- Tú valdrás mucho — "You will be worth a lot"
- Yo valdría la pena — "I would be worth it"
- Él ha valido dos euros — "It has been worth two euros"
- Espero que él valga mucho — "I hope he is worth a lot"
- Yo había valido la pena — "I had been worth it"
- Ellos valían dos euros — "They used to be worth two euros"
Common mistakes
- Wrong: Ellos vale mucho — Right: Ellos valen mucho — Ellos needs the ellos form valen. The singular vale belongs with él, ella or a singular noun.
- Wrong: Ayer, yo valgo — Right: Ayer, yo valí — The present tense cannot describe a finished action yesterday. Ayer forces the preterite, so the form must change to valí.
- Wrong: De niño, yo valí todos los días. — Right: Todos los días, yo valía — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (valía), not the preterite. The preterite (valí) is for one finished action.
- Wrong: Yo soy valido la pena. — Right: Yo he valido la pena. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he valido, has valido, ha valido. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
- Wrong: Espero que él vale mucho. — Right: Espero que él valga mucho. — After espero que, Spanish needs the subjunctive: valga. The indicative vale is wrong here.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on valer. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
Complete the sentence: Yo ___ mucho. (present tense) A. habría valido B. valgo C. valierais D. valdré
Complete the sentence: Él ___ mucho. (preterite) A. habré valido B. valió C. valdrían D. valían
Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ mucho. (imperfect) A. habrías valido B. valéis C. valíamos D. valió
Complete the sentence: Tú ___ mucho. (future) A. habríais valido B. habéis valido C. valí D. valdrás
Complete the sentence: Yo ___ mucho. (conditional) A. valdría B. había valido C. valdrías D. habían valido
Complete the sentence: Espero que él ___ mucho. (present subjunctive) A. valíamos B. valga C. valiste D. valían
Complete the sentence: Si yo ___ mucho, todo cambiaría. (imperfect subjunctive, -ra form) A. habrá valido B. habéis valido C. valiera D. valdrían
Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ mucho. (present perfect) A. hemos valido B. valen C. habíamos valido D. habré valido
Complete the command: No ___ mucho. (negative imperative, tú) A. valgas B. valgáis C. valga D. valgamos
Which is the gerund of valer, used with estar for the progressive? A. valdré B. valido C. valiendo D. valí
Answer key
- valgo — The yo present tense of valer is valgo.
- valió — The él/ella/Ud. preterite of valer is valió.
- valíamos — The nosotros/as imperfect of valer is valíamos.
- valdrás — The tú future of valer is valdrás.
- valdría — The yo conditional of valer is valdría.
- valga — The él/ella/Ud. present subjunctive of valer is valga.
- valiera — The yo imperfect subjunctive, -ra form of valer is valiera.
- hemos valido — The nosotros/as present perfect of valer is hemos valido.
- valgas — The negative tú imperative uses the present subjunctive form with no before it: valgas.
- valiendo — The gerund of valer is valiendo: estoy valiendo. The participle valido is used with haber instead.
Frequently asked questions
What does valer mean in English?
Valer means to be worth. It is used in everyday situations such as Yo valgo mucho. The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.
Is valer irregular?
Yes, in some tenses. Valer is irregular in present indicative, future, conditional, present subjunctive, imperative (affirmative) and others. The tables on this page give the exact forms, so learn the irregular tenses from the table rather than guessing them from the infinitive.
What is the gerund and the past participle of valer?
The gerund is valiendo, used with estar for the progressive: estoy valiendo. The past participle is valido, used with haber in the perfect tenses: he valido.
How do I say “I be worth” in the past?
It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: Yo valí la pena. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Yo valía dos euros. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Yo he valido mucho.
How do I practise valer?
Start with the present tense table, then drill the preterite and the imperfect, since those two past tenses cause the most mistakes. Try the valer examples and quiz page for more sentences, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure.
Related links
- Valer in the preterite tense — the full preterite-tense table for valer.
- Valer examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice for valer.
- Spanish verbs — the Spanish hub, with every verb and tense guide.
- Spanish irregular verbs — every common irregular verb, grouped by pattern.
- Vencer conjugation — another -er verb to compare with valer.
- Volverse conjugation — another -er verb to compare with valer.
- Yacer conjugation — another -er verb to compare with valer.
- Irregular Verb Finder — find irregular verbs and their patterns.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — test yourself on real conjugated forms.
- Verb Conjugator — conjugate any Spanish verb in every tense.