Vigilar Conjugation in Spanish
The Spanish verb vigilar means to watch over, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. Vigilar is a regular -ar verb, so the tables below show you exactly how it behaves in every tense. On this page you will find the full conjugation of vigilar 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 vigilo a los niños — "I watch over the children" — and in the preterite you say Yo vigilé la casa — "I watched over the house". 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: vigilar
- English: to watch over
- Verb type: regular -ar verb
- Ending: -ar
- Gerund: vigilando
- Past participle: vigilado
- Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + vigilado)
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for vigilar, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for vigilar. 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: vigilando · Past participle: vigilado
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | vigilo |
| tú | vigilas |
| él/ella/Ud. | vigila |
| nosotros/as | vigilamos |
| vosotros/as | vigiláis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | vigilan |
Preterite
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | vigilé |
| tú | vigilaste |
| él/ella/Ud. | vigiló |
| nosotros/as | vigilamos |
| vosotros/as | vigilasteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | vigilaron |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | vigilaba |
| tú | vigilabas |
| él/ella/Ud. | vigilaba |
| nosotros/as | vigilábamos |
| vosotros/as | vigilabais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | vigilaban |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | vigilaré |
| tú | vigilarás |
| él/ella/Ud. | vigilará |
| nosotros/as | vigilaremos |
| vosotros/as | vigilaréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | vigilarán |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | vigilaría |
| tú | vigilarías |
| él/ella/Ud. | vigilaría |
| nosotros/as | vigilaríamos |
| vosotros/as | vigilaríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | vigilarían |
Present perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he vigilado |
| tú | has vigilado |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha vigilado |
| nosotros/as | hemos vigilado |
| vosotros/as | habéis vigilado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han vigilado |
Pluperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había vigilado |
| tú | habías vigilado |
| él/ella/Ud. | había vigilado |
| nosotros/as | habíamos vigilado |
| vosotros/as | habíais vigilado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían vigilado |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré vigilado |
| tú | habrás vigilado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá vigilado |
| nosotros/as | habremos vigilado |
| vosotros/as | habréis vigilado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán vigilado |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría vigilado |
| tú | habrías vigilado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría vigilado |
| nosotros/as | habríamos vigilado |
| vosotros/as | habríais vigilado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían vigilado |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | vigile |
| tú | vigiles |
| él/ella/Ud. | vigile |
| nosotros/as | vigilemos |
| vosotros/as | vigiléis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | vigilen |
Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | vigilara |
| tú | vigilaras |
| él/ella/Ud. | vigilara |
| nosotros/as | vigiláramos |
| vosotros/as | vigilarais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | vigilaran |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | vigila |
| él/ella/Ud. | vigile |
| nosotros/as | vigilemos |
| vosotros/as | vigilad |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | vigilen |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | vigiles |
| él/ella/Ud. | vigile |
| nosotros/as | vigilemos |
| vosotros/as | vigiléis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | vigilen |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | Spanish | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Gerund | vigilando | with estar for the progressive: estoy vigilando |
| Past participle | vigilado | with haber for the perfect tenses: he vigilado |
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 vigilar, the present indicative looks like this in a real sentence: Yo vigilo la casa — "I watch over the house". 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.
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 vigilar, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Yo vigilé de cerca — "I watched over closely". 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 vigilar, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo vigilaba a los niños — "I used to watch over the children". 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 vigilar, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Yo vigilaré la casa — "I will watch over the house". 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 vigilar, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Yo vigilaría de cerca — "I would watch over closely". 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 vigilar, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo he vigilado a los niños — "I have watched over the children". 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 vigilar, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo había vigilado la casa — "I had watched over the house". 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 vigilar, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo habré vigilado de cerca — "I will have watched over closely". 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 vigilar, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo habría vigilado a los niños — "I would have watched over the children". 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 vigilar, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él vigile la casa — "I hope he watches over the house". 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 vigilar, the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) looks like this in a real sentence: Si yo vigilara de cerca, todo cambiaría — "If I watched over closely, 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 vigilar, the imperative (affirmative) looks like this in a real sentence: Vigile a los niños — "Let him watch over the children". 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 vigilar, the imperative (negative) looks like this in a real sentence: No vigiles la casa — "Don't watch over the house". 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 vigilar, covering different tenses and persons. Each one uses a form from the tables above.
- Yo vigilo de cerca — "I watch over closely"
- Él vigila a los niños — "He watches over the children"
- Yo vigilé la casa — "I watched over the house"
- Yo vigilaba de cerca — "I used to watch over closely"
- Tú vigilarás a los niños — "You will watch over the children"
- Yo vigilaría la casa — "I would watch over the house"
- Él ha vigilado de cerca — "He has watched over closely"
- Espero que él vigile a los niños — "I hope he watches over the children"
- Yo había vigilado la casa — "I had watched over the house"
- Ellos vigilaban de cerca — "They used to watch over closely"
Common mistakes
- Wrong: Ellos vigila a los niños — Right: Ellos vigilan a los niños — Ellos needs the ellos form vigilan. The singular vigila belongs with él, ella or a singular noun.
- Wrong: Ayer, yo vigilo — Right: Ayer, yo vigilé — The present tense cannot describe a finished action yesterday. Ayer forces the preterite, so the form must change to vigilé.
- Wrong: De niño, yo vigilé todos los días. — Right: Todos los días, yo vigilaba — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (vigilaba), not the preterite. The preterite (vigilé) is for one finished action.
- Wrong: Yo soy vigilado la casa. — Right: Yo he vigilado la casa. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he vigilado, has vigilado, ha vigilado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
- Wrong: Espero que él vigila a los niños. — Right: Espero que él vigile a los niños. — After espero que, Spanish needs the subjunctive: vigile. The indicative vigila is wrong here.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on vigilar. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
Complete the sentence: Yo ___ a los niños. (present tense) A. habéis vigilado B. vigilo C. vigilabas D. habíais vigilado
Complete the sentence: Él ___ a los niños. (preterite) A. vigiló B. vigilas C. vigilaran D. vigilabais
Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ a los niños. (imperfect) A. vigilábamos B. vigilas C. hemos vigilado D. vigilara
Complete the sentence: Tú ___ a los niños. (future) A. ha vigilado B. vigilarás C. vigiléis D. vigiles
Complete the sentence: Yo ___ a los niños. (conditional) A. habíais vigilado B. vigilaría C. habías vigilado D. hemos vigilado
Complete the sentence: Espero que él ___ a los niños. (present subjunctive) A. vigilábamos B. habíamos vigilado C. vigilarás D. vigile
Complete the sentence: Si yo ___ a los niños, todo cambiaría. (imperfect subjunctive, -ra form) A. vigilaras B. habíamos vigilado C. vigilara D. vigilarán
Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ a los niños. (present perfect) A. vigiláramos B. vigilabais C. vigilemos D. hemos vigilado
Complete the command: No ___ a los niños. (negative imperative, tú) A. vigilen B. vigilemos C. vigiles D. vigiléis
Which is the gerund of vigilar, used with estar for the progressive? A. vigilado B. vigilando C. vigilé D. vigilaré
Answer key
- vigilo — The yo present tense of vigilar is vigilo.
- vigiló — The él/ella/Ud. preterite of vigilar is vigiló.
- vigilábamos — The nosotros/as imperfect of vigilar is vigilábamos.
- vigilarás — The tú future of vigilar is vigilarás.
- vigilaría — The yo conditional of vigilar is vigilaría.
- vigile — The él/ella/Ud. present subjunctive of vigilar is vigile.
- vigilara — The yo imperfect subjunctive, -ra form of vigilar is vigilara.
- hemos vigilado — The nosotros/as present perfect of vigilar is hemos vigilado.
- vigiles — The negative tú imperative uses the present subjunctive form with no before it: vigiles.
- vigilando — The gerund of vigilar is vigilando: estoy vigilando. The participle vigilado is used with haber instead.
Frequently asked questions
What does vigilar mean in English?
Vigilar means to watch over. It is used in everyday situations such as Yo vigilo a los niños. The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.
Is vigilar regular?
Yes. Vigilar is a regular -ar verb: vigilo, vigilas, vigila. The only thing to learn is the pattern of endings, which is the same for every regular -ar verb.
What is the gerund and the past participle of vigilar?
The gerund is vigilando, used with estar for the progressive: estoy vigilando. The past participle is vigilado, used with haber in the perfect tenses: he vigilado.
How do I say “I watch over” in the past?
It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: Yo vigilé la casa. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Yo vigilaba de cerca. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Yo he vigilado a los niños.
How do I practise vigilar?
Start with the present tense table, then drill the preterite and the imperfect, since those two past tenses cause the most mistakes. Try the vigilar examples and quiz page for more sentences, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure.
Related links
- Vigilar in the present tense — the full present-tense table for vigilar.
- Vigilar examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice for vigilar.
- Spanish verbs — the Spanish hub, with every verb and tense guide.
- Votar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with vigilar.
- Zumbar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with vigilar.
- Aliñar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with vigilar.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — test yourself on real conjugated forms.
- Verb Conjugator — conjugate any Spanish verb in every tense.