Present
| pido | |
| pides | |
| pedís | |
| pide | |
| pedimos | |
| pedís | |
| piden |
- e → i in the stem: pido, pides, pide, piden
Spanish -ir verb
Pedir conjugation: pido, pidió, pidiendo
pedir: to ask for
Pedir changes e → i in two places: wherever the present stem is stressed (pido) and in the él and ellos preterite (pidió, pidieron). Every subjunctive form keeps the i.
At a glance
Where pedir breaks the pattern
Pedir is irregular in the present and preterite.
e → i in the stem
pido, pides, pide, piden · Present
e → i in él and ellos
pidió, pidieron · Preterite
Irregular gerund pidiendo
pidiendo
The present subjunctive, imperfect subjunctive (-ra), imperfect subjunctive (-se), future subjunctive, affirmative imperative and negative imperative are built from those forms, so they have nothing new to learn.
Quick facts
- pedido · regular
- pidiendo · not pediendo
- Only three affirmative commands have their own forms: tú pide, vos pedí and vosotros pedid. Every other command, and every negative one, is the present subjunctive: pida, pidamos, pidan; no pidas.
Focused practice
Practise pedir now
Type the forms from memory, irregular ones first.
Conjugation tables for pedir
Marked letters break the regular -ir pattern. Vosotros: Spain. Vos: voseo regions such as Argentina.
Indicative
Preterite
| pedí | |
| pediste | |
| pediste | |
| pidió | |
| pedimos | |
| pedisteis | |
| pidieron |
- e → i in él and ellos: pidió, pidieron
Imperfect
| pedía | |
| pedías | |
| pedías | |
| pedía | |
| pedíamos | |
| pedíais | |
| pedían |
Future
| pediré | |
| pedirás | |
| pedirás | |
| pedirá | |
| pediremos | |
| pediréis | |
| pedirán |
Present Perfect
| he pedido | |
| has pedido | |
| has pedido | |
| ha pedido | |
| hemos pedido | |
| habéis pedido | |
| han pedido |
- haber + pedido
Past Perfect
| había pedido | |
| habías pedido | |
| habías pedido | |
| había pedido | |
| habíamos pedido | |
| habíais pedido | |
| habían pedido |
- haber + pedido
Future Perfect
| habré pedido | |
| habrás pedido | |
| habrás pedido | |
| habrá pedido | |
| habremos pedido | |
| habréis pedido | |
| habrán pedido |
- haber + pedido
Conditional
Conditional
| pediría | |
| pedirías | |
| pedirías | |
| pediría | |
| pediríamos | |
| pediríais | |
| pedirían |
Conditional Perfect
| habría pedido | |
| habrías pedido | |
| habrías pedido | |
| habría pedido | |
| habríamos pedido | |
| habríais pedido | |
| habrían pedido |
- haber + pedido
Subjunctive
Present Subjunctive
| pida | |
| pidas | |
| pidas | |
| pida | |
| pidamos | |
| pidáis | |
| pidan |
- Built on the present yo form pido
Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra)
| pidiera | |
| pidieras | |
| pidieras | |
| pidiera | |
| pidiéramos | |
| pidierais | |
| pidieran |
- Built on the preterite ellos form pidieron
Imperfect Subjunctive (-se)
| pidiese | |
| pidieses | |
| pidieses | |
| pidiese | |
| pidiésemos | |
| pidieseis | |
| pidiesen |
- Built on the preterite ellos form pidieron
Future Subjunctive
| pidiere | |
| pidieres | |
| pidieres | |
| pidiere | |
| pidiéremos | |
| pidiereis | |
| pidieren |
- Built on the preterite ellos form pidieron
Present Perfect Subjunctive
| haya pedido | |
| hayas pedido | |
| hayas pedido | |
| haya pedido | |
| hayamos pedido | |
| hayáis pedido | |
| hayan pedido |
- haber + pedido
Past Perfect Subjunctive
| hubiera pedido | |
| hubieras pedido | |
| hubieras pedido | |
| hubiera pedido | |
| hubiéramos pedido | |
| hubierais pedido | |
| hubieran pedido |
- haber + pedido
Future Perfect Subjunctive
| hubiere pedido | |
| hubieres pedido | |
| hubieres pedido | |
| hubiere pedido | |
| hubiéremos pedido | |
| hubiereis pedido | |
| hubieren pedido |
- haber + pedido
Imperative
Affirmative Imperative
| pide | |
| pedí | |
| pida | |
| pidamos | |
| pedid | |
| pidan |
Negative Imperative
| no pidas | |
| no pidas | |
| no pida | |
| no pidamos | |
| no pidáis | |
| no pidan |
- Built on the present subjunctive
Usage
Pedir or preguntar
English “ask” covers two Spanish verbs. Pedir is to ask for something or ask someone to do something: pidió un café, te pido un favor. Preguntar is to ask a question: me preguntó la hora.
Pedir already contains “for”, so it takes its object directly: pedir ayuda, not pedir por ayuda. Pedir por means to pray or plead for someone: pedir por los enfermos.
When you ask someone to do something, pedir que takes the subjunctive: le pedí que me llamara. In a restaurant, pedir is to order: ¿ya han pedido?
Two fixed phrases are worth learning as units: pedir prestado is to borrow (le pedí prestado el coche) and pedir perdón is to apologize.
Other verbs with the same pattern include servir, repetir, seguir and conseguir: sirvió, repitió, siguió.
Easy to confuse
- pedimos is both the present and preterite nosotros form; only context tells them apart.
Check yourself
Try before revealing
Yo ___. (pedir · present)
Say or form the answer before you check it.
Try before revealing
Ella ___. (pedir · preterite)
Say or form the answer before you check it.
Related verbs
Same set of irregularities
- seguir to follow or continue
- conseguir to get, to obtain
- servir to serve
- repetir to repeat
Other verbs with stem changes in the present
Other verbs with third-person preterite changes
- sentir to feel
- convertir to convert
- morir to die
- sugerir to suggest