What does caer mean in English?

Caer means "to fall" in English.

How do you conjugate caer in Spanish?

Caer 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 caer?

Common idiomatic expressions using caer include: "caer bien/mal" (to like/dislike (someone)), "caer en la cuenta" (to realize / to get it), "dejar caer" (to drop (hints)). These expressions are frequently used in everyday Spanish conversation.

What should I know about using caer?

Caer is irregular in first person present: caigo

How do you use caer in a sentence?

Example: "Me caí en la calle." which means "I fell in the street." in English.

Caer

to fall

🎯

Infinitive (infinitivo)

Base form of the verb

caer

🏃

Gerund (gerundio)

Present participle (-ing form)

cayendo

📋

Past Participle

Used in compound tenses

caído

Simple Tenses

⚡

Present Indicative (presente de indicativo)

Present actions and habitual activities

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	caigo I fall	I fall
tú	caes you fall	you fall
él/ella/usted	cae he/she/you falls	he/she/you falls
nosotros	caemos we fall	we fall
vosotros	caéis you all fall	you all fall
ellos/ustedes	caen they/you all fall	they/you all fall

🕰️

Imperfect Indicative (imperfecto de indicativo)

Ongoing past actions and descriptions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	caía I used to fall	I used to fall
tú	caías you used to fall	you used to fall
él/ella/usted	caía he/she/you used to fall	he/she/you used to fall
nosotros	caíamos we used to fall	we used to fall
vosotros	caíais you all used to fall	you all used to fall
ellos/ustedes	caían they/you all used to fall	they/you all used to fall

📅

Preterit (pretérito)

Completed past actions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	caí I fallen	I fallen
tú	caíste you fallen	you fallen
él/ella/usted	cayó he/she/you fallen	he/she/you fallen
nosotros	caímos we fallen	we fallen
vosotros	caísteis you all fallen	you all fallen
ellos/ustedes	cayeron they/you all fallen	they/you all fallen

🔮

Future (futuro)

Future actions and intentions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	caeré I will fall	I will fall
tú	caerás you will fall	you will fall
él/ella/usted	caerá he/she/you will fall	he/she/you will fall
nosotros	caeremos we will fall	we will fall
vosotros	caeréis you all will fall	you all will fall
ellos/ustedes	caerán they/you all will fall	they/you all will fall

🎯

Conditional (potencial simple)

Hypothetical and conditional actions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	caería I would fall	I would fall
tú	caerías you would fall	you would fall
él/ella/usted	caería he/she/you would fall	he/she/you would fall
nosotros	caeríamos we would fall	we would fall
vosotros	caeríais you all would fall	you all would fall
ellos/ustedes	caerían they/you all would fall	they/you all would fall

💭

Present Subjunctive (presente de subjuntivo)

Subjective present actions and desires

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	caiga that I fall	that I fall
tú	caigas that you fall	that you fall
él/ella/usted	caiga that he/she/you fall	that he/she/you fall
nosotros	caigamos that we fall	that we fall
vosotros	caigáis that you all fall	that you all fall
ellos/ustedes	caigan that they/you all fall	that they/you all fall

🌙

Imperfect Subjunctive (imperfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective past actions and hypothetical situations

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	cayera or cayera that I fallen	that I fallen
tú	cayeras or cayeras that you fallen	that you fallen
él/ella/usted	cayera or cayera that he/she/you fallen	that he/she/you fallen
nosotros	cayéramos or cayéramos that we fallen	that we fallen
vosotros	cayerais or cayerais that you all fallen	that you all fallen
ellos/ustedes	cayeran or cayeran that they/you all fallen	that they/you all fallen

Compound Tenses

✅

Present Perfect (perfecto de indicativo)

Actions completed recently or with present relevance

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

⏪

Pluperfect Indicative (pluscuamperfecto de indicativo)

Actions completed before another past action

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

📍

Preterit Perfect (pretérito anterior)

Actions completed immediately before another past action

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

🎊

Future Perfect (futuro perfecto)

Actions that will be completed by a future time

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

🔄

Conditional Perfect (potencial compuesto)

Actions that would have been completed under certain conditions

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

💫

Subjunctive Present Perfect (perfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective actions completed in relation to the present

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

🌌

Subjunctive Past Perfect (pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective actions completed before another past action

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

❗

Commands (imperativo)

Commands and direct orders

Person	Command	English
tú	cae	fall! (you)
usted	caiga	fall! (you formal)
nosotros	caigamos	let's fall!
vosotros	caed	fall! (you all)
ustedes	caigan	fall! (you all)

🚫

Negative Commands (imperativo negativo)

Negative commands and prohibitions

Person	Command	English
tú	no caigas	don't fall! (you)
usted	no caiga	don't fall! (you formal)
nosotros	no caigamos	let's not fall!
vosotros	no caigáis	don't fall! (you all)
ustedes	no caigan	don't fall! (you all)

More About "caer"

Idiomatic Expressions

caer bien/mal

to like/dislike (someone)

💡 Opinion about a person

caer en la cuenta

to realize / to get it

💡 Understanding something

dejar caer

to drop (hints)

💡 Hinting at something

Examples in Context

Me caí en la calle.

I fell in the street.

Preterite

Me cae muy bien tu amigo.

I really like your friend.

Present

Ha caído nieve toda la noche.

Snow has fallen all night.

Present Perfect

La hoja caerá del árbol.

The leaf will fall from the tree.

Future

Usage Notes

•Caer is irregular in first person present: caigo
•Irregular preterite: caí, caíste, cayó (í accent)
•Main meaning: to fall
•Reflexive "caerse" emphasizes the falling action
•"Caer bien/mal" means to like/dislike someone

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Caer

Simple Tenses

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