What does servir mean in English?

Servir means "to serve" in English.

How do you conjugate servir in Spanish?

Servir 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 servir?

Common idiomatic expressions using servir include: "servir de" (to serve as / to function as), "no servir para nada" (to be useless). These expressions are frequently used in everyday Spanish conversation.

What should I know about using servir?

Servir is a stem-changing verb: e→i

How do you use servir in a sentence?

Example: "Serví la comida." which means "I served the food." in English.

Servir

to serve

🎯

Infinitive (infinitivo)

Base form of the verb

servir

🏃

Gerund (gerundio)

Present participle (-ing form)

sirviendo

📋

Past Participle

Used in compound tenses

servido

Simple Tenses

⚡

Present Indicative (presente de indicativo)

Present actions and habitual activities

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	sirvo I serve	I serve
tú	sirves you serve	you serve
él/ella/usted	sirve he/she/you serves	he/she/you serves
nosotros	servimos we serve	we serve
vosotros	servís you all serve	you all serve
ellos/ustedes	sirven they/you all serve	they/you all serve

🕰️

Imperfect Indicative (imperfecto de indicativo)

Ongoing past actions and descriptions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	servía I used to serve	I used to serve
tú	servías you used to serve	you used to serve
él/ella/usted	servía he/she/you used to serve	he/she/you used to serve
nosotros	servíamos we used to serve	we used to serve
vosotros	servíais you all used to serve	you all used to serve
ellos/ustedes	servían they/you all used to serve	they/you all used to serve

📅

Preterit (pretérito)

Completed past actions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	serví I served	I served
tú	serviste you served	you served
él/ella/usted	sirvió he/she/you served	he/she/you served
nosotros	servimos we served	we served
vosotros	servisteis you all served	you all served
ellos/ustedes	sirvieron they/you all served	they/you all served

🔮

Future (futuro)

Future actions and intentions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	serviré I will serve	I will serve
tú	servirás you will serve	you will serve
él/ella/usted	servirá he/she/you will serve	he/she/you will serve
nosotros	serviremos we will serve	we will serve
vosotros	serviréis you all will serve	you all will serve
ellos/ustedes	servirán they/you all will serve	they/you all will serve

🎯

Conditional (potencial simple)

Hypothetical and conditional actions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	serviría I would serve	I would serve
tú	servirías you would serve	you would serve
él/ella/usted	serviría he/she/you would serve	he/she/you would serve
nosotros	serviríamos we would serve	we would serve
vosotros	serviríais you all would serve	you all would serve
ellos/ustedes	servirían they/you all would serve	they/you all would serve

💭

Present Subjunctive (presente de subjuntivo)

Subjective present actions and desires

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	sirva that I serve	that I serve
tú	sirvas that you serve	that you serve
él/ella/usted	sirva that he/she/you serve	that he/she/you serve
nosotros	sirvamos that we serve	that we serve
vosotros	sirváis that you all serve	that you all serve
ellos/ustedes	sirvan that they/you all serve	that they/you all serve

🌙

Imperfect Subjunctive (imperfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective past actions and hypothetical situations

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	sirviera or sirviese that I served	that I served
tú	sirvieras or sirvieses that you served	that you served
él/ella/usted	sirviera or sirviese that he/she/you served	that he/she/you served
nosotros	sirviéramos or sirviésemos that we served	that we served
vosotros	sirvierais or sirvieseis that you all served	that you all served
ellos/ustedes	sirvieran or sirviesen that they/you all served	that they/you all served

Compound Tenses

✅

Present Perfect (perfecto de indicativo)

Actions completed recently or with present relevance

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

⏪

Pluperfect Indicative (pluscuamperfecto de indicativo)

Actions completed before another past action

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

📍

Preterit Perfect (pretérito anterior)

Actions completed immediately before another past action

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

🎊

Future Perfect (futuro perfecto)

Actions that will be completed by a future time

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

🔄

Conditional Perfect (potencial compuesto)

Actions that would have been completed under certain conditions

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

💫

Subjunctive Present Perfect (perfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective actions completed in relation to the present

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

🌌

Subjunctive Past Perfect (pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective actions completed before another past action

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

❗

Commands (imperativo)

Commands and direct orders

Person	Command	English
tú	sirve	serve! (you)
usted	sirva	serve! (you formal)
nosotros	servamos	let's serve!
vosotros	servid	serve! (you all)
ustedes	sirvan	serve! (you all)

🚫

Negative Commands (imperativo negativo)

Negative commands and prohibitions

Person	Command	English
tú	no sirvas	don't serve! (you)
usted	no sirva	don't serve! (you formal)
nosotros	no servamos	let's not serve!
vosotros	no serváis	don't serve! (you all)
ustedes	no sirvan	don't serve! (you all)

More About "servir"

Idiomatic Expressions

servir de

to serve as / to function as

💡 Acting in a capacity

no servir para nada

to be useless

💡 Being worthless or ineffective

Examples in Context

Serví la comida.

I served the food.

Preterite

¿En qué puedo servirle?

How can I help you?

Present

He servido en el ejército.

I have served in the army.

Present Perfect

Te serviré más café.

I will serve you more coffee.

Future

Usage Notes

•Servir is a stem-changing verb: e→i
•Main meanings: to serve, to be useful
•Conjugated like pedir
•Common in restaurants and service contexts

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Servir

Simple Tenses

Compound Tenses

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