What does pedir mean in English?

Pedir means "to request/ask for" in English.

How do you conjugate pedir in Spanish?

Pedir 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 pedir?

Common idiomatic expressions using pedir include: "pedir prestado" (to borrow), "pedir disculpas" (to apologize), "pedir la mano" (to propose marriage). These expressions are frequently used in everyday Spanish conversation.

What should I know about using pedir?

Pedir is a stem-changing verb: e→i in multiple tenses

What verbs are related to pedir?

Verbs related to pedir include: despedir, impedir. These verbs share similar meanings, stems, or conjugation patterns.

How do you use pedir in a sentence?

Example: "Pido un café, por favor." which means "I'll have a coffee, please." in English.

What are synonyms for pedir?

Spanish synonyms for pedir include: solicitar, rogar. The exact synonym to use depends on the context and specific meaning intended.

Pedir

to request/ask for

🎯

Infinitive (infinitivo)

Base form of the verb

pedir

🏃

Gerund (gerundio)

Present participle (-ing form)

pidiendo

📋

Past Participle

Used in compound tenses

pedido

Simple Tenses

⚡

Present Indicative (presente de indicativo)

Present actions and habitual activities

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	pido I request/ask for	I request/ask for
tú	pides you request/ask for	you request/ask for
él/ella/usted	pide he/she/you request/ask fors	he/she/you request/ask fors
nosotros	pedimos we request/ask for	we request/ask for
vosotros	pedís you all request/ask for	you all request/ask for
ellos/ustedes	piden they/you all request/ask for	they/you all request/ask for

🕰️

Imperfect Indicative (imperfecto de indicativo)

Ongoing past actions and descriptions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	pedía I used to request/ask for	I used to request/ask for
tú	pedías you used to request/ask for	you used to request/ask for
él/ella/usted	pedía he/she/you used to request/ask for	he/she/you used to request/ask for
nosotros	pedíamos we used to request/ask for	we used to request/ask for
vosotros	pedíais you all used to request/ask for	you all used to request/ask for
ellos/ustedes	pedían they/you all used to request/ask for	they/you all used to request/ask for

📅

Preterit (pretérito)

Completed past actions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	pedí I request/ask fored	I request/ask fored
tú	pediste you request/ask fored	you request/ask fored
él/ella/usted	pidió he/she/you request/ask fored	he/she/you request/ask fored
nosotros	pedimos we request/ask fored	we request/ask fored
vosotros	pedisteis you all request/ask fored	you all request/ask fored
ellos/ustedes	pidieron they/you all request/ask fored	they/you all request/ask fored

🔮

Future (futuro)

Future actions and intentions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	pediré I will request/ask for	I will request/ask for
tú	pedirás you will request/ask for	you will request/ask for
él/ella/usted	pedirá he/she/you will request/ask for	he/she/you will request/ask for
nosotros	pediremos we will request/ask for	we will request/ask for
vosotros	pediréis you all will request/ask for	you all will request/ask for
ellos/ustedes	pedirán they/you all will request/ask for	they/you all will request/ask for

🎯

Conditional (potencial simple)

Hypothetical and conditional actions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	pediría I would request/ask for	I would request/ask for
tú	pedirías you would request/ask for	you would request/ask for
él/ella/usted	pediría he/she/you would request/ask for	he/she/you would request/ask for
nosotros	pediríamos we would request/ask for	we would request/ask for
vosotros	pediríais you all would request/ask for	you all would request/ask for
ellos/ustedes	pedirían they/you all would request/ask for	they/you all would request/ask for

💭

Present Subjunctive (presente de subjuntivo)

Subjective present actions and desires

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	pida that I request/ask for	that I request/ask for
tú	pidas that you request/ask for	that you request/ask for
él/ella/usted	pida that he/she/you request/ask for	that he/she/you request/ask for
nosotros	pidamos that we request/ask for	that we request/ask for
vosotros	pidáis that you all request/ask for	that you all request/ask for
ellos/ustedes	pidan that they/you all request/ask for	that they/you all request/ask for

🌙

Imperfect Subjunctive (imperfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective past actions and hypothetical situations

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	pidiera or pidiese that I request/ask fored	that I request/ask fored
tú	pidieras or pidieses that you request/ask fored	that you request/ask fored
él/ella/usted	pidiera or pidiese that he/she/you request/ask fored	that he/she/you request/ask fored
nosotros	pidiéramos or pidiésemos that we request/ask fored	that we request/ask fored
vosotros	pidierais or pidieseis that you all request/ask fored	that you all request/ask fored
ellos/ustedes	pidieran or pidiesen that they/you all request/ask fored	that they/you all request/ask fored

Compound Tenses

✅

Present Perfect (perfecto de indicativo)

Actions completed recently or with present relevance

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

⏪

Pluperfect Indicative (pluscuamperfecto de indicativo)

Actions completed before another past action

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

📍

Preterit Perfect (pretérito anterior)

Actions completed immediately before another past action

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

🎊

Future Perfect (futuro perfecto)

Actions that will be completed by a future time

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

🔄

Conditional Perfect (potencial compuesto)

Actions that would have been completed under certain conditions

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

💫

Subjunctive Present Perfect (perfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective actions completed in relation to the present

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

🌌

Subjunctive Past Perfect (pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective actions completed before another past action

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

❗

Commands (imperativo)

Commands and direct orders

Person	Command	English
tú	pide	request/ask for! (you)
usted	pida	request/ask for! (you formal)
nosotros	pidamos	let's request/ask for!
vosotros	pedid	request/ask for! (you all)
ustedes	pidan	request/ask for! (you all)

🚫

Negative Commands (imperativo negativo)

Negative commands and prohibitions

Person	Command	English
tú	no pidas	don't request/ask for! (you)
usted	no pida	don't request/ask for! (you formal)
nosotros	no pedamos	let's not request/ask for!
vosotros	no pedáis	don't request/ask for! (you all)
ustedes	no pidan	don't request/ask for! (you all)

More About "pedir"

Idiomatic Expressions

pedir prestado

to borrow

💡 Requesting to use something temporarily

pedir disculpas

to apologize

💡 Asking for forgiveness

pedir la mano

to propose marriage

💡 Asking for someone's hand in marriage

pedir cuentas

to demand an explanation

💡 Holding someone accountable

pedir la luna

to ask for the moon

💡 Requesting something impossible

no pedir más

to want nothing more / to be satisfied

💡 Being completely content

Examples in Context

Pido un café, por favor.

I'll have a coffee, please.

Present

Le pedí ayuda a mi hermano.

I asked my brother for help.

Preterite

¿Qué vas a pedir?

What are you going to order?

Future Periphrastic

He pedido perdón muchas veces.

I have asked for forgiveness many times.

Present Perfect

Te pediré un favor mañana.

I will ask you for a favor tomorrow.

Future

Related Verbs

despedir(to fire, say goodbye)

compound - to fire/say goodbye

impedir(to prevent)

compound - to prevent

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms:

solicitar(to request, apply for)

More formal, especially in writing

rogar(to beg, plead)

More desperate or urgent request

Antonyms:

dar(to give)

ofrecer(to offer)

Usage Notes

•Pedir is a stem-changing verb: e→i in multiple tenses
•Stem changes: e→i in present (pido, pides), preterite (pidió, pidieron), and present participle (pidiendo)
•Main meanings: to ask for, to request, to order (in restaurant)
•Distinguished from "preguntar" (to ask a question) - pedir asks for things, preguntar asks questions
•Present subjunctive: pida, pidas, pida (e→i)
•Takes indirect object pronoun: Le pedí ayuda (I asked him/her for help)
•Used in restaurants: pedir la cuenta (to ask for the bill)
•Common phrases: pedir perdón (apologize), pedir prestado (borrow)

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Pedir

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