Escribir Conjugation: All Spanish Tenses

Escribir (to write) is a very common Spanish verb. It is almost regular: it follows the -ir verb pattern in every tense, except for its participle, which is irregular: escrito (not "escribido"). That form appears in every compound tense.

Indicative Tenses of Escribir

Escribir in the Present (Presente)

Habits, current facts and general truths: Escribo en mi diario cada noche (I write in my diary every night).

Present tense rules →

Escribir in the Preterite (Pretérito indefinido)

Completed actions at a specific moment in the past: Ayer escribí tres correos (Yesterday I wrote three emails).

Preterite rules →

Escribir in the Present Perfect (Pretérito perfecto)

Past connected to the present: Hoy he escrito dos cartas (Today I have written two letters).

Present perfect rules →

Escribir in the Imperfect (Pretérito imperfecto)

Habitual or ongoing actions in the past: De joven escribía poemas a menudo (As a young person I used to write poems often).

Imperfect rules →

Escribir in the Past Perfect (Pluscuamperfecto)

An action before another past action: Cuando llegó el editor, ya había escrito el capítulo (When the editor arrived, I had already written the chapter).

Past perfect rules →

Escribir in the Future (Futuro simple)

Plans and predictions: Mañana escribiré el informe (Tomorrow I will write the report).

Future tense rules →

Escribir in the Future Perfect (Futuro perfecto)

An action that will be completed in the future: Para junio ya habré escrito toda la novela (By June I will have written the whole novel).

Future perfect rules →

Escribir in the Conditional (Condicional simple)

Advice and hypothetical situations: Yo en tu lugar le escribiría una disculpa (If I were you, I would write an apology).

Conditional rules →

Escribir in the Conditional Perfect (Condicional compuesto)

Hypotheses about the past: Te habría escrito antes, pero perdí tu dirección (I would have written to you sooner, but I lost your address).

Conditional perfect rules →

Subjunctive Tenses of Escribir

Present Subjunctive of Escribir (Presente de subjuntivo)

Wishes, doubts and emotions: Quiero que escribas con más cuidado (I want you to write more carefully).

Present subjunctive rules →

Present Perfect Subjunctive of Escribir (Pretérito perfecto de subjuntivo)

Evaluating a recent past action: Espero que hayas escrito el examen (I hope you have written the exam).

Perfect subjunctive rules →

Imperfect Subjunctive of Escribir (Pretérito imperfecto de subjuntivo)

Hypothetical conditions: Si escribieras más a menudo, mejorarías mucho (If you wrote more often, you would improve a lot).

Imperfect subjunctive rules →

Past Perfect Subjunctive of Escribir (Pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo)

Unreal hypotheses about the past: Si hubieras escrito antes, lo habríamos resuelto (If you had written earlier, we would have solved it).

Past perfect subjunctive rules →

Imperative of Escribir

Affirmative Commands of Escribir (Imperativo afirmativo)

Orders and requests: ¡Escribe tu nombre aquí, por favor! (Write your name here, please!)

Affirmative commands rules →

Negative Commands of Escribir (Imperativo negativo)

Prohibitions and negative advice: No escribas con lápiz en el formulario (Don't write in pencil on the form).

Negative commands rules →

Expressions with Escribir

• Escribir a mano - to write by hand (with a pen or pencil, no keyboard)
• Escribir a máquina - to type on a typewriter
• Escribir de su puño y letra - to write something personally, in one's own hand
• Estar escrito - to be destined, to be inevitable