Me cae bien
Caer bien / mal works like gustar and is how Spanish speakers say they like (or don't like) someone as a person: tu hermano me cae muy bien. Caerse = to fall over: me caí de la bici. ¡Ya caigo! = oh, now I get it!
Indicative tenses of caer
Facts and things that happen: the tenses you'll use most.
Present indicative
| yo | caigoI fall |
|---|---|
| tú | caesyou fall |
| él/ella/usted | caehe/she falls |
| nosotros/as | caemoswe fall |
| vosotros/as | caéisyou all fall |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | caenthey fall |
Only the yo form is irregular: caigo (extra ig).
Preterite indicative
| yo | caíI fell |
|---|---|
| tú | caísteyou fell |
| él/ella/usted | cayóhe/she fell |
| nosotros/as | caímoswe fell |
| vosotros/as | caísteisyou all fell |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | cayeronthey fell |
The i becomes y: cayó, cayeron.
Imperfect indicative
| yo | caíaI used to fall |
|---|---|
| tú | caíasyou used to fall |
| él/ella/usted | caíahe/she used to fall |
| nosotros/as | caíamoswe used to fall |
| vosotros/as | caíaisyou all used to fall |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | caíanthey used to fall |
Present continuous indicative
| yo | estoy cayendoI am falling |
|---|---|
| tú | estás cayendoyou are falling |
| él/ella/usted | está cayendohe/she is falling |
| nosotros/as | estamos cayendowe are falling |
| vosotros/as | estáis cayendoyou all are falling |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | están cayendothey are falling |
estar + gerund
Informal future indicative
| yo | voy a caerI am going to fall |
|---|---|
| tú | vas a caeryou are going to fall |
| él/ella/usted | va a caerhe/she is going to fall |
| nosotros/as | vamos a caerwe are going to fall |
| vosotros/as | vais a caeryou all are going to fall |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | van a caerthey are going to fall |
ir a + infinitive
Future indicative
| yo | caeréI will fall |
|---|---|
| tú | caerásyou will fall |
| él/ella/usted | caeráhe/she will fall |
| nosotros/as | caeremoswe will fall |
| vosotros/as | caeréisyou all will fall |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | caeránthey will fall |
Conditional indicative
| yo | caeríaI would fall |
|---|---|
| tú | caeríasyou would fall |
| él/ella/usted | caeríahe/she would fall |
| nosotros/as | caeríamoswe would fall |
| vosotros/as | caeríaisyou all would fall |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | caeríanthey would fall |
Present perfect indicative
| yo | he caídoI have fallen |
|---|---|
| tú | has caídoyou have fallen |
| él/ella/usted | ha caídohe/she has fallen |
| nosotros/as | hemos caídowe have fallen |
| vosotros/as | habéis caídoyou all have fallen |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | han caídothey have fallen |
haber (present) + past participle
Past perfect indicative
| yo | había caídoI had fallen |
|---|---|
| tú | habías caídoyou had fallen |
| él/ella/usted | había caídohe/she had fallen |
| nosotros/as | habíamos caídowe had fallen |
| vosotros/as | habíais caídoyou all had fallen |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | habían caídothey had fallen |
haber (imperfect) + past participle
Future perfect indicative
| yo | habré caídoI will have fallen |
|---|---|
| tú | habrás caídoyou will have fallen |
| él/ella/usted | habrá caídohe/she will have fallen |
| nosotros/as | habremos caídowe will have fallen |
| vosotros/as | habréis caídoyou all will have fallen |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | habrán caídothey will have fallen |
haber (future) + past participle
Conditional perfect indicative
| yo | habría caídoI would have fallen |
|---|---|
| tú | habrías caídoyou would have fallen |
| él/ella/usted | habría caídohe/she would have fallen |
| nosotros/as | habríamos caídowe would have fallen |
| vosotros/as | habríais caídoyou all would have fallen |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | habrían caídothey would have fallen |
haber (conditional) + past participle
Subjunctive tenses of caer
Wishes, doubts, emotions and "if" sentences.
Present subjunctive
| yo | caiga(that) I fall |
|---|---|
| tú | caigas(that) you fall |
| él/ella/usted | caiga(that) he/she falls |
| nosotros/as | caigamos(that) we fall |
| vosotros/as | caigáis(that) you all fall |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | caigan(that) they fall |
Imperfect subjunctive
| yo | cayera / cayese(if) I fell |
|---|---|
| tú | cayeras / cayeses(if) you fell |
| él/ella/usted | cayera / cayese(if) he/she fell |
| nosotros/as | cayéramos / cayésemos(if) we fell |
| vosotros/as | cayerais / cayeseis(if) you all fell |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | cayeran / cayesen(if) they fell |
Future subjunctive
| yo | cayere(if) I fall |
|---|---|
| tú | cayeres(if) you fall |
| él/ella/usted | cayere(if) he/she falls |
| nosotros/as | cayéremos(if) we fall |
| vosotros/as | cayereis(if) you all fall |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | cayeren(if) they fall |
rarely used: legal & formal texts
Present perfect subjunctive
| yo | haya caído(that) I have fallen |
|---|---|
| tú | hayas caído(that) you have fallen |
| él/ella/usted | haya caído(that) he/she has fallen |
| nosotros/as | hayamos caído(that) we have fallen |
| vosotros/as | hayáis caído(that) you all have fallen |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | hayan caído(that) they have fallen |
haber (present subj.) + past participle
Past perfect subjunctive
| yo | hubiera caído(if) I had fallen |
|---|---|
| tú | hubieras caído(if) you had fallen |
| él/ella/usted | hubiera caído(if) he/she had fallen |
| nosotros/as | hubiéramos caído(if) we had fallen |
| vosotros/as | hubierais caído(if) you all had fallen |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | hubieran caído(if) they had fallen |
haber (imperfect subj.) + past participle
Future perfect subjunctive
| yo | hubiere caído(if) I will have fallen |
|---|---|
| tú | hubieres caído(if) you will have fallen |
| él/ella/usted | hubiere caído(if) he/she will have fallen |
| nosotros/as | hubiéremos caído(if) we will have fallen |
| vosotros/as | hubiereis caído(if) you all will have fallen |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | hubieren caído(if) they will have fallen |
rarely used: legal & formal texts
Imperative tenses of caer
Commands and instructions.
Affirmative imperative
| tú | caefall! |
|---|---|
| usted | caigafall! (formal) |
| nosotros/as | caigamoslet's fall! |
| vosotros/as | caedfall! (you all) |
| ustedes | caiganfall! (you all, formal) |
Negative imperative
| tú | no caigasdon't fall! |
|---|---|
| usted | no caigadon't fall! (formal) |
| nosotros/as | no caigamoslet's not fall! |
| vosotros/as | no caigáisdon't fall! (you all) |
| ustedes | no caigandon't fall! (you all, formal) |
Practice caer
Two quick exercises. No sign-up, no app: just you and caer.
How to use caer
Me caí en la calle.
I fell over in the street.
Se me cayó el móvil.
I dropped my phone.
Me cae muy bien tu novia.
I really like your girlfriend.
Mi cumpleaños cae en lunes.
My birthday falls on a Monday.
¡Ah, ya caigo!
Oh, now I get it!
Example sentences with caer
- ¡Cuidado, que te caes!Careful, you'll fall!
- Se cayó por las escaleras.She fell down the stairs.
- Caía mucha nieve.A lot of snow was falling.
- No me cae bien.I don't like him.
- Si corres, te caerás.If you run, you'll fall.
- No te caigas.Don't fall.
- Se me han caído las llaves.I've dropped my keys.
- Está cayendo una tormenta.There's a storm coming down.
Verbs like caer
Traer and oír also get ig in the yo form (traigo, oigo). Leer has the same y in the preterite.
Frequently asked questions about caer
Is caer regular or irregular?
Caer is irregular: caigo (present yo), cayó, cayeron (preterite), caiga (subjunctive) and the gerund cayendo. The imperfect, future and conditional are regular.
How do you conjugate caer in the present tense?
caigo, caes, cae, caemos, caéis, caen.
How do you conjugate caer in the preterite?
caí, caíste, cayó, caímos, caísteis, cayeron.
What does "me cae bien" mean?
"I like him / her" (as a person). Me cae mal = I don't like him / her.
What is the difference between caer and caerse?
Caer = to fall (rain, leaves, prices). Caerse = to fall over / fall down (people, things). Se me cayó = I dropped it.
What is the past participle of caer?
The past participle is caído (with an accent) and the gerund is cayendo.
Free cheat sheet
All 18 tenses of caer, on one page.
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