Llevar Conjugation: All Spanish Tenses

Llevar (to carry, to take, to wear) is one of the most used verbs in Spanish and it is completely regular: it follows the -ar verb pattern in every tense, so it is an ideal model verb to learn early.

Indicative Tenses of Llevar

Llevar in the Present (Presente)

Habits, current facts and general truths: Siempre llevo el móvil en el bolsillo (I always carry my phone in my pocket).

Present tense rules →

Llevar in the Preterite (Pretérito indefinido)

Completed actions at a specific moment in the past: Ayer llevé a los niños al colegio (Yesterday I took the children to school).

Preterite rules →

Llevar in the Present Perfect (Pretérito perfecto)

Past connected to the present: Hoy he llevado el coche al taller (Today I have taken the car to the garage).

Present perfect rules →

Llevar in the Imperfect (Pretérito imperfecto)

Habitual or ongoing actions in the past: De pequeño llevaba siempre la misma mochila (As a kid I always wore the same backpack).

Imperfect rules →

Llevar in the Past Perfect (Pluscuamperfecto)

An action before another past action: Cuando llegué, ya habían llevado las cajas al almacén (When I arrived, they had already taken the boxes to the warehouse).

Past perfect rules →

Llevar in the Future (Futuro simple)

Plans and predictions: Mañana llevaré el paquete a correos (Tomorrow I will take the package to the post office).

Future tense rules →

Llevar in the Future Perfect (Futuro perfecto)

An action that will be completed in the future: Para mañana ya habré llevado todo el material (By tomorrow I will have taken all the material).

Future perfect rules →

Llevar in the Conditional (Condicional simple)

Advice and hypothetical situations: Yo en tu lugar llevaría un abrigo (If I were you, I would take a coat).

Conditional rules →

Llevar in the Conditional Perfect (Condicional compuesto)

Hypotheses about the past: Habría llevado el paraguas, pero no sabía que llovería (I would have taken the umbrella, but I didn't know it would rain).

Conditional perfect rules →

Subjunctive Tenses of Llevar

Present Subjunctive of Llevar (Presente de subjuntivo)

Wishes, doubts and emotions: Quiero que lleves el coche al taller (I want you to take the car to the garage).

Present subjunctive rules →

Present Perfect Subjunctive of Llevar (Pretérito perfecto de subjuntivo)

Evaluating a recent past action: Espero que hayas llevado el pasaporte (I hope you have taken your passport).

Perfect subjunctive rules →

Imperfect Subjunctive of Llevar (Pretérito imperfecto de subjuntivo)

Hypothetical conditions: Si llevaras paraguas, no te mojarías (If you carried an umbrella, you wouldn't get wet).

Imperfect subjunctive rules →

Past Perfect Subjunctive of Llevar (Pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo)

Unreal hypotheses about the past: Si hubieras llevado el mapa, no nos habríamos perdido (If you had taken the map, we wouldn't have gotten lost).

Past perfect subjunctive rules →

Imperative of Llevar

Affirmative Commands of Llevar (Imperativo afirmativo)

Orders and requests: ¡Lleva el paraguas, va a llover! (Take the umbrella, it's going to rain!)

Affirmative commands rules →

Negative Commands of Llevar (Imperativo negativo)

Prohibitions and negative advice: No lleves tanto peso en la mochila (Don't carry so much weight in your backpack).

Negative commands rules →

Expressions with Llevar

• Llevar a cabo - to carry out, to accomplish something
• Llevarse bien con alguien - to get along well with someone
• Llevar la contraria - to contradict, to take the opposite view
• Llevar las de perder - to be at a clear disadvantage