Vencer Conjugation in Spanish
The Spanish verb vencer means to defeat — it also means to overcome, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. Vencer is a spelling-changing -er (c → z before o/a) verb, so the tables below show you exactly how it behaves in every tense. It has a spelling change (c → z before o/a), which keeps the pronunciation of the stem the same when the ending changes. On this page you will find the full conjugation of vencer 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 venzo a su rival — "I defeat his rival" — and in the preterite you say Yo vencí el miedo — "I defeated fear". 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: vencer
- English: to defeat, to overcome
- Verb type: spelling-changing -er (c → z before o/a) verb
- Ending: -er
- Gerund: venciendo
- Past participle: vencido
- Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + vencido)
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for vencer, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for vencer. 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: venciendo · Past participle: vencido
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | venzo |
| tú | vences |
| él/ella/Ud. | vence |
| nosotros/as | vencemos |
| vosotros/as | vencéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | vencen |
Preterite
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | vencí |
| tú | venciste |
| él/ella/Ud. | venció |
| nosotros/as | vencimos |
| vosotros/as | vencisteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | vencieron |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | vencía |
| tú | vencías |
| él/ella/Ud. | vencía |
| nosotros/as | vencíamos |
| vosotros/as | vencíais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | vencían |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | venceré |
| tú | vencerás |
| él/ella/Ud. | vencerá |
| nosotros/as | venceremos |
| vosotros/as | venceréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | vencerán |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | vencería |
| tú | vencerías |
| él/ella/Ud. | vencería |
| nosotros/as | venceríamos |
| vosotros/as | venceríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | vencerían |
Present perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he vencido |
| tú | has vencido |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha vencido |
| nosotros/as | hemos vencido |
| vosotros/as | habéis vencido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han vencido |
Pluperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había vencido |
| tú | habías vencido |
| él/ella/Ud. | había vencido |
| nosotros/as | habíamos vencido |
| vosotros/as | habíais vencido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían vencido |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré vencido |
| tú | habrás vencido |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá vencido |
| nosotros/as | habremos vencido |
| vosotros/as | habréis vencido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán vencido |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría vencido |
| tú | habrías vencido |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría vencido |
| nosotros/as | habríamos vencido |
| vosotros/as | habríais vencido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían vencido |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | venza |
| tú | venzas |
| él/ella/Ud. | venza |
| nosotros/as | venzamos |
| vosotros/as | vencáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | venzan |
Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | venciera |
| tú | vencieras |
| él/ella/Ud. | venciera |
| nosotros/as | venciéramos |
| vosotros/as | vencierais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | vencieran |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | vence |
| él/ella/Ud. | venza |
| nosotros/as | venzamos |
| vosotros/as | venced |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | venzan |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | venzas |
| él/ella/Ud. | venza |
| nosotros/as | venzamos |
| vosotros/as | vencáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | venzan |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | Spanish | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Gerund | venciendo | with estar for the progressive: estoy venciendo |
| Past participle | vencido | with haber for the perfect tenses: he vencido |
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 vencer, the present indicative looks like this in a real sentence: Yo venzo el miedo — "I defeat fear". 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. Watch the yo form: it is venzo, with c changing to z before o, while the other persons keep the plain stem.
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 vencer, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Yo vencí en el partido — "I defeated in the match". 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 vencer, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo vencía a su rival — "I used to defeat his rival". 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 vencer, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Yo venceré el miedo — "I will defeat fear". 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 in si clauses. It softens a request and describes imagined situations. For vencer, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Yo vencería en el partido — "I would defeat in the match". 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. It connects the past with the present moment. For vencer, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo he vencido a su rival — "I have defeated his rival". 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 vencer, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo había vencido el miedo — "I had defeated fear". 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 vencer, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo habré vencido en el partido — "I will have defeated in the match". 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 vencer, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo habría vencido a su rival — "I would have defeated his rival". 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 vencer, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él venza el miedo — "I hope he defeats fear". 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. The subjunctive keeps the z spelling from the yo form: venza, venzas, venza.
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 vencer, the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) looks like this in a real sentence: Si yo venciera en el partido, todo cambiaría — "If I defeated in the match, 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 vencer, the imperative (affirmative) looks like this in a real sentence: Venza a su rival — "Let him defeat his rival". 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 vencer, the imperative (negative) looks like this in a real sentence: No venzas el miedo — "Don't defeat fear". 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 vencer, covering different tenses and persons. Each one uses a form from the tables above.
- Yo venzo en el partido — "I defeat in the match"
- Él vence a su rival — "He defeats his rival"
- Yo vencí el miedo — "I defeated fear"
- Yo vencía en el partido — "I used to defeat in the match"
- Tú vencerás a su rival — "You will defeat his rival"
- Yo vencería el miedo — "I would defeat fear"
- Él ha vencido en el partido — "He has defeated in the match"
- Espero que él venza a su rival — "I hope he defeats his rival"
- Yo había vencido el miedo — "I had defeated fear"
- Ellos vencían en el partido — "They used to defeat in the match"
Common mistakes
- Wrong: Ellos vence a su rival — Right: Ellos vencen a su rival — Ellos needs the ellos form vencen. The singular vence belongs with él, ella or a singular noun.
- Wrong: Ayer, yo venzo — Right: Ayer, yo vencí — The present tense cannot describe a finished action yesterday. Ayer forces the preterite, so the form must change to vencí.
- Wrong: De niño, yo vencí todos los días. — Right: Todos los días, yo vencía — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (vencía), not the preterite. The preterite (vencí) is for one finished action.
- Wrong: Yo soy vencido el miedo. — Right: Yo he vencido el miedo. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he vencido, has vencido, ha vencido. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
- Wrong: Espero que él vence a su rival. — Right: Espero que él venza a su rival. — After espero que, Spanish needs the subjunctive: venza. The indicative vence is wrong here.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on vencer. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
Complete the sentence: Yo ___ a su rival. (present tense) A. han vencido B. venceré C. venzamos D. venzo
Complete the sentence: Él ___ a su rival. (preterite) A. venzo B. venció C. venced D. vencías
Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ a su rival. (imperfect) A. venceréis B. vencerías C. vencíamos D. habéis vencido
Complete the sentence: Tú ___ a su rival. (future) A. habíais vencido B. habías vencido C. habrán vencido D. vencerás
Complete the sentence: Yo ___ a su rival. (conditional) A. venza B. vencería C. habrían vencido D. vencíamos
Complete the sentence: Espero que él ___ a su rival. (present subjunctive) A. venzas B. venza C. vencieran D. habías vencido
Complete the sentence: Si yo ___ a su rival, todo cambiaría. (imperfect subjunctive, -ra form) A. vencíamos B. habéis vencido C. venció D. venciera
Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ a su rival. (present perfect) A. vences B. habíais vencido C. había vencido D. hemos vencido
Complete the command: No ___ a su rival. (negative imperative, tú) A. venzamos B. venza C. vencáis D. venzas
Which is the gerund of vencer, used with estar for the progressive? A. venzo B. venceré C. vencido D. venciendo
Answer key
- venzo — The yo present tense of vencer is venzo.
- venció — The él/ella/Ud. preterite of vencer is venció.
- vencíamos — The nosotros/as imperfect of vencer is vencíamos.
- vencerás — The tú future of vencer is vencerás.
- vencería — The yo conditional of vencer is vencería.
- venza — The él/ella/Ud. present subjunctive of vencer is venza.
- venciera — The yo imperfect subjunctive, -ra form of vencer is venciera.
- hemos vencido — The nosotros/as present perfect of vencer is hemos vencido.
- venzas — The negative tú imperative uses the present subjunctive form with no before it: venzas.
- venciendo — The gerund of vencer is venciendo: estoy venciendo. The participle vencido is used with haber instead.
Frequently asked questions
What does vencer mean in English?
Vencer means to defeat, to overcome. It is used in everyday situations such as Yo venzo a su rival. The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.
Is vencer regular?
Mostly. Vencer follows the regular -er endings, but it has a spelling change (c → z before o/a). The tables on this page show every form, so you can see exactly where the spelling changes.
How do I say “I defeat” in the past?
It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: Yo vencí el miedo. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Yo vencía en el partido. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Yo he vencido a su rival.
How do I practise vencer?
Start with the present tense table, then drill the preterite and the imperfect, since those two past tenses cause the most mistakes. Try the vencer examples and quiz page for more sentences, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure.
Related links
- Vencer in the present tense — the full present-tense table for vencer.
- Vencer examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice for vencer.
- Spanish verbs — the Spanish hub, with every verb and tense guide.
- Volverse conjugation — another -er verb to compare with vencer.
- Yacer conjugation — another -er verb to compare with vencer.
- Ponerse conjugation — another -er verb to compare with vencer.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — test yourself on real conjugated forms.
- Verb Conjugator — conjugate any Spanish verb in every tense.