Present
| quiero | |
| quieres | |
| querés | |
| quiere | |
| queremos | |
| queréis | |
| quieren |
- e → ie when the stem is stressed: quiero, quieres, quiere, quieren
Spanish -er verb
How to conjugate querer
querer: to want; to love
Querer stacks three irregularities: e → ie in the present, the preterite stem quis- and the future stem querr-. Its imperfect subjunctive, quisiera, doubles as the politest way to ask for something.
At a glance
Where querer breaks the pattern
Querer is irregular in the present, preterite, future and conditional.
e → ie when the stem is stressed
quiero, quieres, quiere, quieren · Present
Strong preterite stem quis-
quise, quisiste, quiso, quisimos, quisisteis, quisieron · Preterite
Future stem querr-
querré, querrás, querrá, querremos, querréis, querrán, querría, querrías, querríamos, querríais, querrían · Future, Conditional
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
- querido · regular
- queriendo · regular
- Only three affirmative commands have their own forms: tú quiere, vos queré and vosotros quered. Every other command, and every negative one, is the present subjunctive: quiera, queramos, quieran; no quieras.
Focused practice
Practise querer now
Type the forms from memory, irregular ones first.
Conjugation tables for querer
Marked letters break the regular -er pattern. Vosotros: Spain. Vos: voseo regions such as Argentina.
Indicative
Preterite
| quise | |
| quisiste | |
| quisiste | |
| quiso | |
| quisimos | |
| quisisteis | |
| quisieron |
- Strong preterite stem quis-: quise, quisiste, quiso, quisimos, quisisteis, quisieron
Imperfect
| quería | |
| querías | |
| querías | |
| quería | |
| queríamos | |
| queríais | |
| querían |
Future
| querré | |
| querrás | |
| querrás | |
| querrá | |
| querremos | |
| querréis | |
| querrán |
- Future stem querr-: querré, querrás, querrá, querremos, querréis, querrán
Present Perfect
| he querido | |
| has querido | |
| has querido | |
| ha querido | |
| hemos querido | |
| habéis querido | |
| han querido |
- haber + querido
Past Perfect
| había querido | |
| habías querido | |
| habías querido | |
| había querido | |
| habíamos querido | |
| habíais querido | |
| habían querido |
- haber + querido
Future Perfect
| habré querido | |
| habrás querido | |
| habrás querido | |
| habrá querido | |
| habremos querido | |
| habréis querido | |
| habrán querido |
- haber + querido
Conditional
Conditional
| querría | |
| querrías | |
| querrías | |
| querría | |
| querríamos | |
| querríais | |
| querrían |
- Future stem querr-: querría, querrías, querría, querríamos, querríais, querrían
Conditional Perfect
| habría querido | |
| habrías querido | |
| habrías querido | |
| habría querido | |
| habríamos querido | |
| habríais querido | |
| habrían querido |
- haber + querido
Subjunctive
Present Subjunctive
| quiera | |
| quieras | |
| quieras | |
| quiera | |
| queramos | |
| queráis | |
| quieran |
- Built on the present yo form quiero; queramos and queráis keep the regular stem
Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra)
| quisiera | |
| quisieras | |
| quisieras | |
| quisiera | |
| quisiéramos | |
| quisierais | |
| quisieran |
- Built on the preterite ellos form quisieron
Imperfect Subjunctive (-se)
| quisiese | |
| quisieses | |
| quisieses | |
| quisiese | |
| quisiésemos | |
| quisieseis | |
| quisiesen |
- Built on the preterite ellos form quisieron
Future Subjunctive
| quisiere | |
| quisieres | |
| quisieres | |
| quisiere | |
| quisiéremos | |
| quisiereis | |
| quisieren |
- Built on the preterite ellos form quisieron
Present Perfect Subjunctive
| haya querido | |
| hayas querido | |
| hayas querido | |
| haya querido | |
| hayamos querido | |
| hayáis querido | |
| hayan querido |
- haber + querido
Past Perfect Subjunctive
| hubiera querido | |
| hubieras querido | |
| hubieras querido | |
| hubiera querido | |
| hubiéramos querido | |
| hubierais querido | |
| hubieran querido |
- haber + querido
Future Perfect Subjunctive
| hubiere querido | |
| hubieres querido | |
| hubieres querido | |
| hubiere querido | |
| hubiéremos querido | |
| hubiereis querido | |
| hubieren querido |
- haber + querido
Imperative
Affirmative Imperative
| quiere | |
| queré | |
| quiera | |
| queramos | |
| quered | |
| quieran |
Negative Imperative
| no quieras | |
| no quieras | |
| no quiera | |
| no queramos | |
| no queráis | |
| no quieran |
- Built on the present subjunctive
Usage
Quise, quisiera and te quiero
The preterite of querer reports an attempt or a decision rather than a feeling: quise llamarte (I tried to call you), no quiso venir (she refused to come). For an ongoing wish in the past, use the imperfect: quería ir, pero no pude.
Quisiera is the standard polite form for requests and wishes: quisiera un café, por favor. It is softer than quiero and more common than the conditional querría for this.
When the person who wants and the person who acts are different, querer que takes the subjunctive: quiero que vengas. With the same person, use the infinitive: quiero venir, never quiero que yo venga.
Te quiero is how people say “I love you” to family, friends and partners. Te amo is stronger and more romantic, and how often people use it varies by country.
querer in sentences
-
Ahora mismo quiero un vaso de agua.
Right now I want a glass of water.
-
En aquella época, yo quería vivir cerca del mar.
Back then, I wanted to live near the sea.
-
Dentro de diez años, seguramente querré vivir cerca del mar.
Ten years from now, I will probably want to live near the sea.
-
Si pudiera elegir sin límites, sé que yo querría viajar por todo el mundo.
If I could choose without limits, I know I would want to travel around the world.
-
Es raro que yo quiera salir con tanta lluvia.
It is unusual for me to want to go out in such heavy rain.
-
Si yo quisiera más pan, pediría otra cesta.
If I wanted more bread, I would ask for another basket.
Check yourself
Try before revealing
Yo ___. (querer · present)
Say or form the answer before you check it.
Try before revealing
Yo ___. (querer · preterite)
Say or form the answer before you check it.
Try before revealing
Yo ___. (querer · future)
Say or form the answer before you check it.
Related verbs
Other verbs with strong preterite stems
Other verbs with irregular future and conditional
Other verbs with stem changes in the present
- entender to understand
- sentir to feel
- pensar to think
- almorzar to have lunch