Comprender Conjugation: All Spanish Tenses

Comprender (to understand; to comprise, to include) is a very common Spanish verb and it is completely regular: it follows the -er verb pattern in every tense, so it is a great model verb to learn.

Indicative Tenses of Comprender

Comprender in the Present (Presente)

Habits, current facts and general truths: Comprendo perfectamente tu situación (I understand your situation perfectly).

Present tense rules →

Comprender in the Preterite (Pretérito indefinido)

Completed actions at a specific moment in the past: Por fin comprendí el problema (I finally understood the problem).

Preterite rules →

Comprender in the Present Perfect (Pretérito perfecto)

Past connected to the present: Ahora he comprendido lo que querías decir (Now I have understood what you meant).

Present perfect rules →

Comprender in the Imperfect (Pretérito imperfecto)

Habitual or ongoing actions in the past: De niño no comprendía los chistes de los adultos (As a child I didn't understand adults' jokes).

Imperfect rules →

Comprender in the Past Perfect (Pluscuamperfecto)

An action before another past action: Cuando me lo explicaron, ya lo había comprendido (When they explained it to me, I had already understood it).

Past perfect rules →

Comprender in the Future (Futuro simple)

Plans and predictions: Algún día comprenderás por qué lo hice (Some day you will understand why I did it).

Future tense rules →

Comprender in the Future Perfect (Futuro perfecto)

An action that will be completed in the future: Para entonces ya habrás comprendido todo (By then you will have understood everything).

Future perfect rules →

Comprender in the Conditional (Condicional simple)

Advice and hypothetical situations: Cualquiera comprendería tu reacción (Anyone would understand your reaction).

Conditional rules →

Comprender in the Conditional Perfect (Condicional compuesto)

Hypotheses about the past: Si me lo hubieras contado, lo habría comprendido (If you had told me, I would have understood it).

Conditional perfect rules →

Subjunctive Tenses of Comprender

Present Subjunctive of Comprender (Presente de subjuntivo)

Wishes, doubts and emotions: Quiero que comprendas mi punto de vista (I want you to understand my point of view).

Present subjunctive rules →

Present Perfect Subjunctive of Comprender (Pretérito perfecto de subjuntivo)

Evaluating a recent past action: Espero que hayas comprendido las instrucciones (I hope you have understood the instructions).

Perfect subjunctive rules →

Imperfect Subjunctive of Comprender (Pretérito imperfecto de subjuntivo)

Hypothetical conditions: Si comprendieras el idioma, lo disfrutarías más (If you understood the language, you would enjoy it more).

Imperfect subjunctive rules →

Past Perfect Subjunctive of Comprender (Pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo)

Unreal hypotheses about the past: Si hubieras comprendido el aviso, no habrías fallado (If you had understood the warning, you would not have failed).

Past perfect subjunctive rules →

Imperative of Comprender

Affirmative Commands of Comprender (Imperativo afirmativo)

Orders and requests: ¡Comprende que no fue mi intención! (Understand that it wasn't my intention!)

Affirmative commands rules →

Negative Commands of Comprender (Imperativo negativo)

Prohibitions and negative advice: No comprendas mal mis palabras (Don't misunderstand my words).

Negative commands rules →

Expressions with Comprender

• Hacerse comprender - to make yourself understood
• Dar a comprender - to give to understand, to imply something indirectly
• El precio comprende todo - the price includes / comprises everything
• Comprender mal - to misunderstand, to grasp something wrongly

Comprender is very close to entender (both mean to understand), but comprender tends to suggest deeper comprehension or comprising/including something.