Perder conjugation Spanish verb

How perder conjugates

Perder is an e→ie stem-changing -er verb. The e becomes ie when it is stressed, which happens in the present (pierdo, pierdes, pierde, pierden), the present subjunctive (pierda) and the tú command (pierde), but not in perdemos or perdéis. The preterite, imperfect, future and conditional are fully regular: perdí, perdía, perderé, perdería. Entender follows the same model.

Perder in example sentences

• Present

  Siempre pierdo las llaves cuando tengo prisa.

  I always lose my keys when I'm in a hurry.

• Preterite

  Perdimos el contrato porque otra empresa ofreció un precio más bajo.

  We lost the contract because another company offered a lower price.

• Present perfect

  El equipo ha perdido mucho tiempo en reuniones innecesarias.

  The team has wasted a lot of time in pointless meetings.

• Imperfect

  De niño perdía los guantes cada invierno.

  As a kid I lost my gloves every winter.

• Future

  Si no salimos ya, perderemos el vuelo a Bogotá.

  If we don't leave now, we'll miss the flight to Bogotá.

• Present subjunctive

  No quiero que pierdas esta oportunidad de ascenso.

  I don't want you to miss this chance at a promotion.

• Conditional

  Sin ese cliente, la empresa perdería casi el veinte por ciento de sus ventas.

  Without that client, the company would lose almost twenty percent of its sales.

• Past perfect

  Cuando llegué a la clínica, ya había perdido mi cita.

  By the time I got to the clinic, I had already missed my appointment.

Common phrases with perder

perder el tiempo

to waste time

perder el vuelo / el autobús

to miss the flight / the bus

perderse

to get lost; to miss out on

perder peso

to lose weight

perder la paciencia

to lose patience

echar a perder

to spoil, to ruin

Mistakes to avoid

• Applying the stem change everywhere: it is perdemos, not pierdemos, and the preterite is perdí, perdió, not pierdí.
• Using perder for missing a person: to say you miss someone, use extrañar (Latin America) or echar de menos. Te extraño, not Te pierdo.
• Forgetting the reflexive for getting lost: Me perdí en el centro, not Perdí en el centro.

Perder tense by tense

• Perder present
• Perder preterite
• Perder imperfect
• Perder future
• Perder conditional
• Perder present subjunctive
• Perder affirmative commands

Related verbs

• entender to understand
• pensar to think; to plan to
• querer to want; to love

Most common Spanish verbs

• ser
• estar
• tener
• haber
• hacer
• ir
• poder
• decir
• dar
• ver
• saber
• querer

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