What does preguntar mean in English?

Preguntar means "to ask" in English.

How do you conjugate preguntar in Spanish?

Preguntar 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 preguntar?

Common idiomatic expressions using preguntar include: "preguntar por" (to ask about / to ask for), "preguntarse" (to wonder). These expressions are frequently used in everyday Spanish conversation.

What should I know about using preguntar?

Preguntar is a regular -ar verb

How do you use preguntar in a sentence?

Example: "Le pregunté la hora." which means "I asked him the time." in English.

What are synonyms for preguntar?

Spanish synonyms for preguntar include: cuestionar, interrogar. The exact synonym to use depends on the context and specific meaning intended.

Preguntar

to ask

🎯

Infinitive (infinitivo)

Base form of the verb

preguntar

🏃

Gerund (gerundio)

Present participle (-ing form)

preguntando

📋

Past Participle

Used in compound tenses

preguntado

Simple Tenses

⚡

Present Indicative (presente de indicativo)

Present actions and habitual activities

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	pregunto I ask	I ask
tú	preguntas you ask	you ask
él/ella/usted	pregunta he/she/you asks	he/she/you asks
nosotros	preguntamos we ask	we ask
vosotros	preguntáis you all ask	you all ask
ellos/ustedes	preguntan they/you all ask	they/you all ask

🕰️

Imperfect Indicative (imperfecto de indicativo)

Ongoing past actions and descriptions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	preguntaba I used to ask	I used to ask
tú	preguntabas you used to ask	you used to ask
él/ella/usted	preguntaba he/she/you used to ask	he/she/you used to ask
nosotros	preguntábamos we used to ask	we used to ask
vosotros	preguntabais you all used to ask	you all used to ask
ellos/ustedes	preguntaban they/you all used to ask	they/you all used to ask

📅

Preterit (pretérito)

Completed past actions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	pregunté I asked	I asked
tú	preguntaste you asked	you asked
él/ella/usted	preguntó he/she/you asked	he/she/you asked
nosotros	preguntamos we asked	we asked
vosotros	preguntasteis you all asked	you all asked
ellos/ustedes	preguntaron they/you all asked	they/you all asked

🔮

Future (futuro)

Future actions and intentions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	preguntaré I will ask	I will ask
tú	preguntarás you will ask	you will ask
él/ella/usted	preguntará he/she/you will ask	he/she/you will ask
nosotros	preguntaremos we will ask	we will ask
vosotros	preguntaréis you all will ask	you all will ask
ellos/ustedes	preguntarán they/you all will ask	they/you all will ask

🎯

Conditional (potencial simple)

Hypothetical and conditional actions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	preguntaría I would ask	I would ask
tú	preguntarías you would ask	you would ask
él/ella/usted	preguntaría he/she/you would ask	he/she/you would ask
nosotros	preguntaríamos we would ask	we would ask
vosotros	preguntaríais you all would ask	you all would ask
ellos/ustedes	preguntarían they/you all would ask	they/you all would ask

💭

Present Subjunctive (presente de subjuntivo)

Subjective present actions and desires

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	pregunte that I ask	that I ask
tú	preguntes that you ask	that you ask
él/ella/usted	pregunte that he/she/you ask	that he/she/you ask
nosotros	preguntemos that we ask	that we ask
vosotros	preguntéis that you all ask	that you all ask
ellos/ustedes	pregunten that they/you all ask	that they/you all ask

🌙

Imperfect Subjunctive (imperfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective past actions and hypothetical situations

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	preguntara or preguntase that I asked	that I asked
tú	preguntaras or preguntases that you asked	that you asked
él/ella/usted	preguntara or preguntase that he/she/you asked	that he/she/you asked
nosotros	preguntáramos or preguntásemos that we asked	that we asked
vosotros	preguntarais or preguntaseis that you all asked	that you all asked
ellos/ustedes	preguntaran or preguntasen that they/you all asked	that they/you all asked

Compound Tenses

✅

Present Perfect (perfecto de indicativo)

Actions completed recently or with present relevance

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

⏪

Pluperfect Indicative (pluscuamperfecto de indicativo)

Actions completed before another past action

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

📍

Preterit Perfect (pretérito anterior)

Actions completed immediately before another past action

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

🎊

Future Perfect (futuro perfecto)

Actions that will be completed by a future time

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

🔄

Conditional Perfect (potencial compuesto)

Actions that would have been completed under certain conditions

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

💫

Subjunctive Present Perfect (perfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective actions completed in relation to the present

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

🌌

Subjunctive Past Perfect (pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective actions completed before another past action

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

❗

Commands (imperativo)

Commands and direct orders

Person	Command	English
tú	pregunta	ask! (you)
usted	pregunte	ask! (you formal)
nosotros	preguntemos	let's ask!
vosotros	preguntad	ask! (you all)
ustedes	pregunten	ask! (you all)

🚫

Negative Commands (imperativo negativo)

Negative commands and prohibitions

Person	Command	English
tú	no preguntes	don't ask! (you)
usted	no pregunte	don't ask! (you formal)
nosotros	no preguntemos	let's not ask!
vosotros	no preguntéis	don't ask! (you all)
ustedes	no pregunten	don't ask! (you all)

More About "preguntar"

Idiomatic Expressions

preguntar por

to ask about / to ask for

💡 Inquiring about someone or something

preguntarse

to wonder

💡 Thinking about a question oneself

Examples in Context

Le pregunté la hora.

I asked him the time.

Preterite

¿Puedo preguntarte algo?

Can I ask you something?

Present

Me pregunto por qué no vino.

I wonder why he didn't come.

Present

Te preguntaré cuando lo vea.

I will ask you when I see him.

Future

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms:

cuestionar(to question)

More formal or skeptical

interrogar(to interrogate)

Formal, often legal context

Usage Notes

•Preguntar is a regular -ar verb
•Main meaning: to ask (a question)
•Distinguished from "pedir" (to ask for something)
•Reflexive "preguntarse" means "to wonder"
•Takes indirect object: Le pregunté (I asked him/her)
•Common with "si": preguntar si... (to ask if/whether...)

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Preguntar

Simple Tenses

Compound Tenses

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