Entender Conjugation: All Spanish Tenses

Entender (to understand) is a very common Spanish verb and it is irregular: it belongs to the -er verbs with an e→ie stem change. The stem e turns into ie in the stressed forms (entiendo, entiende, entienden), but it stays as e in nosotros/vosotros and in tenses such as the preterite or the future (entendemos, entendí, entenderé). The participle is regular: entendido.

Indicative Tenses of Entender

Entender in the Present (Presente)

Habits, current facts and general truths: Ahora entiendo lo que quieres decir (Now I understand what you mean).

Present tense rules →

Entender in the Preterite (Pretérito indefinido)

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

Preterite rules →

Entender in the Present Perfect (Pretérito perfecto)

Past connected to the present: Hoy he entendido la lección a la primera (Today I understood the lesson right away).

Present perfect rules →

Entender in the Imperfect (Pretérito imperfecto)

Habitual or ongoing actions in the past: De pequeño no entendía las bromas de los mayores (As a child I didn't understand grown-ups' jokes).

Imperfect rules →

Entender in the Past Perfect (Pluscuamperfecto)

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

Past perfect rules →

Entender in the Future (Futuro simple)

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

Future tense rules →

Entender in the Future Perfect (Futuro perfecto)

An action that will be completed in the future: Para entonces ya habremos entendido el plan (By then we will have understood the plan).

Future perfect rules →

Entender in the Conditional (Condicional simple)

Advice and hypothetical situations: Si me lo explicaras, lo entendería mejor (If you explained it to me, I would understand it better).

Conditional rules →

Entender in the Conditional Perfect (Condicional compuesto)

Hypotheses about the past: Lo habría entendido si me lo hubieras dicho antes (I would have understood it if you had told me earlier).

Conditional perfect rules →

Subjunctive Tenses of Entender

Present Subjunctive of Entender (Presente de subjuntivo)

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

Present subjunctive rules →

Present Perfect Subjunctive of Entender (Pretérito perfecto de subjuntivo)

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

Perfect subjunctive rules →

Imperfect Subjunctive of Entender (Pretérito imperfecto de subjuntivo)

Hypothetical conditions: Si entendieras el idioma, todo sería más fácil (If you understood the language, everything would be easier).

Imperfect subjunctive rules →

Past Perfect Subjunctive of Entender (Pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo)

Unreal hypotheses about the past: Si hubieras entendido antes, no habría pasado nada (If you had understood earlier, nothing would have happened).

Past perfect subjunctive rules →

Imperative of Entender

Affirmative Commands of Entender (Imperativo afirmativo)

Orders and requests: ¡Entiende que es por tu bien! (Understand that it's for your own good!)

Affirmative commands rules →

Negative Commands of Entender (Imperativo negativo)

Prohibitions and negative advice: No entiendas esto como una crítica (Don't take this as a criticism).

Negative commands rules →

Expressions with Entender

• Entenderse con alguien - to get along or reach an agreement with someone
• Dar a entender - to imply something without saying it directly
• Se entiende - it's understandable, it makes sense
• No entender ni jota - to not understand a thing
• Entender de algo - to know about a subject, to be knowledgeable