Present
| rompo | |
| rompes | |
| rompés | |
| rompe | |
| rompemos | |
| rompéis | |
| rompen |
Spanish -er verb
Romper conjugation and the participle roto
romper: to break
Romper is a regular -er verb with one trap: its past participle is roto. Every compound tense inherits it, so he roto, había roto and habré roto all depend on that one form.
At a glance
Where romper breaks the pattern
Romper is regular in every simple tense. Only its past participle, roto, is irregular, and all seven compound tenses are built on it.
Irregular past participle roto
roto · all compound tenses
Quick facts
- roto · irregular, not rompido
- rompiendo · regular
- Only three affirmative commands have their own forms: tú rompe, vos rompé and vosotros romped. Every other command, and every negative one, is the present subjunctive: rompa, rompamos, rompan; no rompas.
Focused practice
Practise romper now
Type the forms from memory, irregular ones first.
Conjugation tables for romper
Marked letters break the regular -er pattern. Vosotros: Spain. Vos: voseo regions such as Argentina.
Indicative
Preterite
| rompí | |
| rompiste | |
| rompiste | |
| rompió | |
| rompimos | |
| rompisteis | |
| rompieron |
Imperfect
| rompía | |
| rompías | |
| rompías | |
| rompía | |
| rompíamos | |
| rompíais | |
| rompían |
Future
| romperé | |
| romperás | |
| romperás | |
| romperá | |
| romperemos | |
| romperéis | |
| romperán |
Present Perfect
| he roto | |
| has roto | |
| has roto | |
| ha roto | |
| hemos roto | |
| habéis roto | |
| han roto |
- haber + roto
Past Perfect
| había roto | |
| habías roto | |
| habías roto | |
| había roto | |
| habíamos roto | |
| habíais roto | |
| habían roto |
- haber + roto
Future Perfect
| habré roto | |
| habrás roto | |
| habrás roto | |
| habrá roto | |
| habremos roto | |
| habréis roto | |
| habrán roto |
- haber + roto
Conditional
Conditional
| rompería | |
| romperías | |
| romperías | |
| rompería | |
| romperíamos | |
| romperíais | |
| romperían |
Conditional Perfect
| habría roto | |
| habrías roto | |
| habrías roto | |
| habría roto | |
| habríamos roto | |
| habríais roto | |
| habrían roto |
- haber + roto
Subjunctive
Present Subjunctive
| rompa | |
| rompas | |
| rompas | |
| rompa | |
| rompamos | |
| rompáis | |
| rompan |
Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra)
| rompiera | |
| rompieras | |
| rompieras | |
| rompiera | |
| rompiéramos | |
| rompierais | |
| rompieran |
Imperfect Subjunctive (-se)
| rompiese | |
| rompieses | |
| rompieses | |
| rompiese | |
| rompiésemos | |
| rompieseis | |
| rompiesen |
Future Subjunctive
| rompiere | |
| rompieres | |
| rompieres | |
| rompiere | |
| rompiéremos | |
| rompiereis | |
| rompieren |
Present Perfect Subjunctive
| haya roto | |
| hayas roto | |
| hayas roto | |
| haya roto | |
| hayamos roto | |
| hayáis roto | |
| hayan roto |
- haber + roto
Past Perfect Subjunctive
| hubiera roto | |
| hubieras roto | |
| hubieras roto | |
| hubiera roto | |
| hubiéramos roto | |
| hubierais roto | |
| hubieran roto |
- haber + roto
Future Perfect Subjunctive
| hubiere roto | |
| hubieres roto | |
| hubieres roto | |
| hubiere roto | |
| hubiéremos roto | |
| hubiereis roto | |
| hubieren roto |
- haber + roto
Imperative
Affirmative Imperative
| rompe | |
| rompé | |
| rompa | |
| rompamos | |
| romped | |
| rompan |
Negative Imperative
| no rompas | |
| no rompas | |
| no rompa | |
| no rompamos | |
| no rompáis | |
| no rompan |
Usage
Roto, se rompió and romper con
Learners who know the rule “-er verbs take -ido” produce rompido. It isn’t standard Spanish. The participle is roto, and it also works as an adjective that agrees with the noun: la ventana está rota, los platos rotos.
When something breaks by accident, Spanish usually makes the object the subject and adds se: se rompió el vaso (the glass broke). Adding an indirect object pronoun shows who it happened to without blaming them: se me rompió el móvil (my phone broke on me). Rompí el móvil presents you as the one who broke it.
Romper con means to break up with someone or to break with a tradition: rompió con su novio, romper con el pasado. Romper a + infinitive means to suddenly start: rompió a llorar (she burst into tears).
For machines that stop working, Spain often uses estropearse (se estropeó la lavadora) and Mexico descomponerse. In the Río de la Plata, se rompió la heladera is the normal way to say the fridge broke down.
Check yourself
Try before revealing
Yo ___. (romper · present perfect)
Say or form the answer before you check it.
Try before revealing
Yo ___. (romper · preterite)
Say or form the answer before you check it.
Related verbs
Practise the pattern in context
- Preterite practice
- Present subjunctive practice
- Past participles as adjectives : using roto as an adjective