What does abrir mean in English?

Abrir means "to open" in English.

How do you conjugate abrir in Spanish?

Abrir is conjugated across all Spanish tenses including present, preterite, imperfect, future, conditional, subjunctive, and more. Each tense has specific conjugations for yo, tú, él/ella/usted, nosotros, vosotros, and ellos/ustedes. You can see complete conjugation tables with audio pronunciations on this page.

What are common idiomatic expressions with abrir?

Common idiomatic expressions using abrir include: "abrir el apetito" (to whet one's appetite), "abrir los ojos" (to open one's eyes / to wise up). These expressions are frequently used in everyday Spanish conversation.

What should I know about using abrir?

Abrir is a regular -ir verb with irregular past participle

How do you use abrir in a sentence?

Example: "Abrí la ventana." which means "I opened the window." in English.

Abrir

to open

🎯

Infinitive (infinitivo)

Base form of the verb

abrir

🏃

Gerund (gerundio)

Present participle (-ing form)

abriendo

📋

Past Participle

Used in compound tenses

abierto

Simple Tenses

⚡

Present Indicative (presente de indicativo)

Present actions and habitual activities

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	abro I open	I open
tú	abres you open	you open
él/ella/usted	abre he/she/you opens	he/she/you opens
nosotros	abrimos we open	we open
vosotros	abrís you all open	you all open
ellos/ustedes	abren they/you all open	they/you all open

🕰️

Imperfect Indicative (imperfecto de indicativo)

Ongoing past actions and descriptions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	abría I used to open	I used to open
tú	abrías you used to open	you used to open
él/ella/usted	abría he/she/you used to open	he/she/you used to open
nosotros	abríamos we used to open	we used to open
vosotros	abríais you all used to open	you all used to open
ellos/ustedes	abrían they/you all used to open	they/you all used to open

📅

Preterit (pretérito)

Completed past actions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	abrí I opened	I opened
tú	abriste you opened	you opened
él/ella/usted	abrió he/she/you opened	he/she/you opened
nosotros	abrimos we opened	we opened
vosotros	abristeis you all opened	you all opened
ellos/ustedes	abrieron they/you all opened	they/you all opened

🔮

Future (futuro)

Future actions and intentions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	abriré I will open	I will open
tú	abrirás you will open	you will open
él/ella/usted	abrirá he/she/you will open	he/she/you will open
nosotros	abriremos we will open	we will open
vosotros	abriréis you all will open	you all will open
ellos/ustedes	abrirán they/you all will open	they/you all will open

🎯

Conditional (potencial simple)

Hypothetical and conditional actions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	abriría I would open	I would open
tú	abrirías you would open	you would open
él/ella/usted	abriría he/she/you would open	he/she/you would open
nosotros	abriríamos we would open	we would open
vosotros	abriríais you all would open	you all would open
ellos/ustedes	abrirían they/you all would open	they/you all would open

💭

Present Subjunctive (presente de subjuntivo)

Subjective present actions and desires

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	abra that I open	that I open
tú	abras that you open	that you open
él/ella/usted	abra that he/she/you open	that he/she/you open
nosotros	abramos that we open	that we open
vosotros	abráis that you all open	that you all open
ellos/ustedes	abran that they/you all open	that they/you all open

🌙

Imperfect Subjunctive (imperfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective past actions and hypothetical situations

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	abriera or abriese that I opened	that I opened
tú	abrieras or abrieses that you opened	that you opened
él/ella/usted	abriera or abriese that he/she/you opened	that he/she/you opened
nosotros	abriéramos or abriésemos that we opened	that we opened
vosotros	abrierais or abrieseis that you all opened	that you all opened
ellos/ustedes	abrieran or abriesen that they/you all opened	that they/you all opened

Compound Tenses

✅

Present Perfect (perfecto de indicativo)

Actions completed recently or with present relevance

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	he abierto I have opened	I have opened
tú	has abierto you have opened	you have opened
él/ella/usted	ha abierto he/she/you have opened	he/she/you have opened
nosotros	hemos abierto we have opened	we have opened
vosotros	habéis abierto you all have opened	you all have opened
ellos/ustedes	han abierto they/you all have opened	they/you all have opened

⏪

Pluperfect Indicative (pluscuamperfecto de indicativo)

Actions completed before another past action

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	había abierto I had opened	I had opened
tú	habías abierto you had opened	you had opened
él/ella/usted	había abierto he/she/you had opened	he/she/you had opened
nosotros	habíamos abierto we had opened	we had opened
vosotros	habíais abierto you all had opened	you all had opened
ellos/ustedes	habían abierto they/you all had opened	they/you all had opened

📍

Preterit Perfect (pretérito anterior)

Actions completed immediately before another past action

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	hube abierto I had opened	I had opened
tú	hubiste abierto you had opened	you had opened
él/ella/usted	hubo abierto he/she/you had opened	he/she/you had opened
nosotros	hubimos abierto we had opened	we had opened
vosotros	hubisteis abierto you all had opened	you all had opened
ellos/ustedes	hubieron abierto they/you all had opened	they/you all had opened

🎊

Future Perfect (futuro perfecto)

Actions that will be completed by a future time

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	habré abierto I will have opened	I will have opened
tú	habrás abierto you will have opened	you will have opened
él/ella/usted	habrá abierto he/she/you will have opened	he/she/you will have opened
nosotros	habremos abierto we will have opened	we will have opened
vosotros	habréis abierto you all will have opened	you all will have opened
ellos/ustedes	habrán abierto they/you all will have opened	they/you all will have opened

🔄

Conditional Perfect (potencial compuesto)

Actions that would have been completed under certain conditions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	habría abierto I would have opened	I would have opened
tú	habrías abierto you would have opened	you would have opened
él/ella/usted	habría abierto he/she/you would have opened	he/she/you would have opened
nosotros	habríamos abierto we would have opened	we would have opened
vosotros	habríais abierto you all would have opened	you all would have opened
ellos/ustedes	habrían abierto they/you all would have opened	they/you all would have opened

💫

Subjunctive Present Perfect (perfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective actions completed in relation to the present

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	haya abierto that I have opened	that I have opened
tú	hayas abierto that you have opened	that you have opened
él/ella/usted	haya abierto that he/she/you have opened	that he/she/you have opened
nosotros	hayamos abierto that we have opened	that we have opened
vosotros	hayáis abierto that you all have opened	that you all have opened
ellos/ustedes	hayan abierto that they/you all have opened	that they/you all have opened

🌌

Subjunctive Past Perfect (pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective actions completed before another past action

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	hubiera abierto that I had opened	that I had opened
tú	hubieras abierto that you had opened	that you had opened
él/ella/usted	hubiera abierto that he/she/you had opened	that he/she/you had opened
nosotros	hubiéramos abierto that we had opened	that we had opened
vosotros	hubierais abierto that you all had opened	that you all had opened
ellos/ustedes	hubieran abierto that they/you all had opened	that they/you all had opened

❗

Commands (imperativo)

Commands and direct orders

Person	Command	English
tú	abre	open! (you)
usted	abra	open! (you formal)
nosotros	abramos	let's open!
vosotros	abrid	open! (you all)
ustedes	abran	open! (you all)

🚫

Negative Commands (imperativo negativo)

Negative commands and prohibitions

Person	Command	English
tú	no abras	don't open! (you)
usted	no abra	don't open! (you formal)
nosotros	no abramos	let's not open!
vosotros	no abráis	don't open! (you all)
ustedes	no abran	don't open! (you all)

More About "abrir"

Idiomatic Expressions

abrir el apetito

to whet one's appetite

💡 Making someone hungry

abrir los ojos

to open one's eyes / to wise up

💡 Becoming aware of reality

Examples in Context

Abrí la ventana.

I opened the window.

Preterite

La tienda abre a las nueve.

The store opens at nine.

Present

He abierto una cuenta bancaria.

I have opened a bank account.

Present Perfect

Abriremos el regalo mañana.

We will open the gift tomorrow.

Future

Synonyms & Antonyms

Antonyms:

cerrar(to close)

Usage Notes

•Abrir is a regular -ir verb with irregular past participle
•Irregular past participle: abierto (not "abrido")
•Main meaning: to open
•Used in perfect tenses with irregular participle: he abierto

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Abrir

Simple Tenses

Compound Tenses

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