Conjugations
Present Presente
Habits, current states, and general facts.
| Subject | Verb form | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| yo | empleo | |
| tú | empleas | |
| él / ella / usted | emplea | |
| nosotros / nosotras | empleamos | |
| vosotros / vosotras | empleáis | |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | emplean |
Preterite Pretérito perfecto simple
Actions viewed as completed events in the past.
| Subject | Verb form | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| yo | empleé | |
| tú | empleaste | |
| él / ella / usted | empleó | |
| nosotros / nosotras | empleamos | |
| vosotros / vosotras | empleasteis | |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | emplearon |
Imperfect Pretérito imperfecto
Past habits, descriptions, and actions in progress.
| Subject | Verb form | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| yo | empleaba | |
| tú | empleabas | |
| él / ella / usted | empleaba | |
| nosotros / nosotras | empleábamos | |
| vosotros / vosotras | empleabais | |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | empleaban |
Future Futuro simple
Future events; also used to express a guess about the present.
| Subject | Verb form | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| yo | emplearé | |
| tú | emplearás | |
| él / ella / usted | empleará | |
| nosotros / nosotras | emplearemos | |
| vosotros / vosotras | emplearéis | |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | emplearán |
Conditional Condicional simple
Hypothetical events and some polite requests.
| Subject | Verb form | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| yo | emplearía | |
| tú | emplearías | |
| él / ella / usted | emplearía | |
| nosotros / nosotras | emplearíamos | |
| vosotros / vosotras | emplearíais | |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | emplearían |
Present subjunctive Presente de subjuntivo
Used in certain clauses expressing wishes, doubt, feelings, and other non-asserted situations.
| Subject | Verb form | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| yo | emplee | |
| tú | emplees | |
| él / ella / usted | emplee | |
| nosotros / nosotras | empleemos | |
| vosotros / vosotras | empleéis | |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | empleen |
Use ustedes for plural “you” in Latin America. Its verb form matches ellos / ellas. Vos forms are not included. Google voice when available; device voice as a fallback.
Meaning & usage
- to hire, to employ (to give someone a job)
- to use (employ, apply)
- to use (consume, spend)
English glosses are a starting point. The meaning of a verb can change with context, a preposition, or se. Read the full dictionary entry ↗
Meanings and conjugation data adapted from English Wiktionary contributors via Kaikki.org / Wiktextract. Frequency scores from wordfreq 3.1.1 by Robyn Speer and contributors. Adapted data is available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Entry source · Sources, download & limitations