Valer conjugation Spanish verb

How valer conjugates

Valer adds a g in the yo present (valgo) and in the whole present subjunctive (valga, valgas, valgamos, valgan). The future and conditional use the stem valdr-: valdré, valdría. The preterite and imperfect are regular (valió, valía). The tú command is vale, and the past participle is valido (without an accent, unlike the adjective válido). In practice, the third person forms vale, valen, valió and valdría are the ones you will use most.

Valer in example sentences

• Present

  ¿Cuánto vale el envío urgente a Monterrey?

  How much does express shipping to Monterrey cost?

• Preterite

  El esfuerzo valió la pena: cerramos el contrato.

  The effort was worth it: we closed the deal.

• Imperfect

  Antes un café valía la mitad que ahora.

  A coffee used to cost half what it does now.

• Future

  Con la reforma, la casa valdrá mucho más.

  With the renovation, the house will be worth much more.

• Present perfect

  Ha valido la pena esperar al proveedor correcto.

  It has been worth waiting for the right supplier.

• Present subjunctive

  No creo que valga la pena viajar solo para una reunión de una hora.

  I don't think it's worth traveling just for a one-hour meeting.

• Conditional

  ¿Valdría la pena contratar a un consultor externo?

  Would it be worth hiring an outside consultant?

• Imperfect subjunctive

  Aunque valiera el doble, lo compraría igual.

  Even if it cost twice as much, I'd still buy it.

Common phrases with valer

valer la pena

to be worth it

¿Cuánto vale?

How much is it?

más vale + infinitive / que

it's better to... / it's better that...

no valer nada

to be worthless

valerse por sí mismo

to manage on one's own, be independent

¡Vale! (Spain)

Okay! / Sure!

Mistakes to avoid

• Writing *valo* or *valeré*. The forms are valgo and valdré.
• Translating worth with es: say Vale la pena, not *Es valor la pena* or *Es digno*.
• Using vale for okay in Latin America, where it sounds Spanish; there, está bien, dale or ok are more common.

Valer tense by tense

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

Related verbs

• salir to leave; to go out; to come out
• tener to have; to hold
• poner to put; to place; to set
• costar to cost; to be hard (for someone)

Most common Spanish verbs

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

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