What does establecer mean in English?

Establecer means "to establish" in English.

How do you conjugate establecer in Spanish?

Establecer 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 establecer?

Common idiomatic expressions using establecer include: "establecer contacto" (to establish contact), "establecerse en" (to settle in / to set up in). These expressions are frequently used in everyday Spanish conversation.

What should I know about using establecer?

Establecer is irregular in first person present: establezco (c→zc)

How do you use establecer in a sentence?

Example: "Establecieron la empresa en 1995." which means "They established the company in 1995." in English.

What are synonyms for establecer?

Spanish synonyms for establecer include: fundar, instaurar. The exact synonym to use depends on the context and specific meaning intended.

Establecer

to establish

🎯

Infinitive (infinitivo)

Base form of the verb

establecer

🏃

Gerund (gerundio)

Present participle (-ing form)

estableciendo

📋

Past Participle

Used in compound tenses

establecido

Simple Tenses

⚡

Present Indicative (presente de indicativo)

Present actions and habitual activities

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	establezco I establish	I establish
tú	estableces you establish	you establish
él/ella/usted	establece he/she/you establishs	he/she/you establishs
nosotros	establecemos we establish	we establish
vosotros	establecéis you all establish	you all establish
ellos/ustedes	establecen they/you all establish	they/you all establish

🕰️

Imperfect Indicative (imperfecto de indicativo)

Ongoing past actions and descriptions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	establecía I used to establish	I used to establish
tú	establecías you used to establish	you used to establish
él/ella/usted	establecía he/she/you used to establish	he/she/you used to establish
nosotros	establecíamos we used to establish	we used to establish
vosotros	establecíais you all used to establish	you all used to establish
ellos/ustedes	establecían they/you all used to establish	they/you all used to establish

📅

Preterit (pretérito)

Completed past actions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	establecí I established	I established
tú	estableciste you established	you established
él/ella/usted	estableció he/she/you established	he/she/you established
nosotros	establecimos we established	we established
vosotros	establecisteis you all established	you all established
ellos/ustedes	establecieron they/you all established	they/you all established

🔮

Future (futuro)

Future actions and intentions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	estableceré I will establish	I will establish
tú	establecerás you will establish	you will establish
él/ella/usted	establecerá he/she/you will establish	he/she/you will establish
nosotros	estableceremos we will establish	we will establish
vosotros	estableceréis you all will establish	you all will establish
ellos/ustedes	establecerán they/you all will establish	they/you all will establish

🎯

Conditional (potencial simple)

Hypothetical and conditional actions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	establecería I would establish	I would establish
tú	establecerías you would establish	you would establish
él/ella/usted	establecería he/she/you would establish	he/she/you would establish
nosotros	estableceríamos we would establish	we would establish
vosotros	estableceríais you all would establish	you all would establish
ellos/ustedes	establecerían they/you all would establish	they/you all would establish

💭

Present Subjunctive (presente de subjuntivo)

Subjective present actions and desires

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	establezca that I establish	that I establish
tú	establezcas that you establish	that you establish
él/ella/usted	establezca that he/she/you establish	that he/she/you establish
nosotros	establezcamos that we establish	that we establish
vosotros	establezcáis that you all establish	that you all establish
ellos/ustedes	establezcan that they/you all establish	that they/you all establish

🌙

Imperfect Subjunctive (imperfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective past actions and hypothetical situations

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	estableciera or estableciese that I established	that I established
tú	establecieras or establecieses that you established	that you established
él/ella/usted	estableciera or estableciese that he/she/you established	that he/she/you established
nosotros	estableciéramos or estableciésemos that we established	that we established
vosotros	establecierais or establecieseis that you all established	that you all established
ellos/ustedes	establecieran or estableciesen that they/you all established	that they/you all established

Compound Tenses

✅

Present Perfect (perfecto de indicativo)

Actions completed recently or with present relevance

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

⏪

Pluperfect Indicative (pluscuamperfecto de indicativo)

Actions completed before another past action

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

📍

Preterit Perfect (pretérito anterior)

Actions completed immediately before another past action

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

🎊

Future Perfect (futuro perfecto)

Actions that will be completed by a future time

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

🔄

Conditional Perfect (potencial compuesto)

Actions that would have been completed under certain conditions

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

💫

Subjunctive Present Perfect (perfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective actions completed in relation to the present

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

🌌

Subjunctive Past Perfect (pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective actions completed before another past action

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

❗

Commands (imperativo)

Commands and direct orders

Person	Command	English
tú	establece	establish! (you)
usted	establezca	establish! (you formal)
nosotros	establezcamos	let's establish!
vosotros	estableced	establish! (you all)
ustedes	establezcan	establish! (you all)

🚫

Negative Commands (imperativo negativo)

Negative commands and prohibitions

Person	Command	English
tú	no establezcas	don't establish! (you)
usted	no establezca	don't establish! (you formal)
nosotros	no establezcamos	let's not establish!
vosotros	no establezcáis	don't establish! (you all)
ustedes	no establezcan	don't establish! (you all)

More About "establecer"

Idiomatic Expressions

establecer contacto

to establish contact

💡 Making initial communication

establecerse en

to settle in / to set up in

💡 Making a permanent place somewhere

Examples in Context

Establecieron la empresa en 1995.

They established the company in 1995.

Preterite

El gobierno establece nuevas reglas.

The government establishes new rules.

Present

Se ha establecido en Madrid.

He has settled in Madrid.

Present Perfect

Estableceremos un nuevo sistema.

We will establish a new system.

Future

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms:

fundar(to found)

For organizations or cities

instaurar(to institute)

Very formal

Usage Notes

•Establecer is irregular in first person present: establezco (c→zc)
•Spelling change c→zc before o and a
•Main meaning: to establish, to set up, to settle
•Reflexive "establecerse" means "to settle" or "to set up shop"
•Conjugated like conocer
•Present subjunctive: establezca

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Establecer

Simple Tenses

Compound Tenses

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