Lo siento, no entiendo
Survival phrases: no entiendo (I don't understand), ¿entiendes? (do you understand?), ¿me entiendes? (you know what I mean?). Entenderse = to get along: nos entendemos muy bien. Comprender means the same and is fully regular.
Indicative tenses of entender
Facts and things that happen: the tenses you'll use most.
Present indicative
| yo | entiendoI understand |
|---|---|
| tú | entiendesyou understand |
| él/ella/usted | entiendehe/she understands |
| nosotros/as | entendemoswe understand |
| vosotros/as | entendéisyou all understand |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | entiendenthey understand |
Stem change e → ie, except for nosotros and vosotros: entendemos.
Preterite indicative
| yo | entendíI understood |
|---|---|
| tú | entendisteyou understood |
| él/ella/usted | entendióhe/she understood |
| nosotros/as | entendimoswe understood |
| vosotros/as | entendisteisyou all understood |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | entendieronthey understood |
Imperfect indicative
| yo | entendíaI used to understand |
|---|---|
| tú | entendíasyou used to understand |
| él/ella/usted | entendíahe/she used to understand |
| nosotros/as | entendíamoswe used to understand |
| vosotros/as | entendíaisyou all used to understand |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | entendíanthey used to understand |
Present continuous indicative
| yo | estoy entendiendoI am understanding |
|---|---|
| tú | estás entendiendoyou are understanding |
| él/ella/usted | está entendiendohe/she is understanding |
| nosotros/as | estamos entendiendowe are understanding |
| vosotros/as | estáis entendiendoyou all are understanding |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | están entendiendothey are understanding |
estar + gerund
Informal future indicative
| yo | voy a entenderI am going to understand |
|---|---|
| tú | vas a entenderyou are going to understand |
| él/ella/usted | va a entenderhe/she is going to understand |
| nosotros/as | vamos a entenderwe are going to understand |
| vosotros/as | vais a entenderyou all are going to understand |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | van a entenderthey are going to understand |
ir a + infinitive
Future indicative
| yo | entenderéI will understand |
|---|---|
| tú | entenderásyou will understand |
| él/ella/usted | entenderáhe/she will understand |
| nosotros/as | entenderemoswe will understand |
| vosotros/as | entenderéisyou all will understand |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | entenderánthey will understand |
Conditional indicative
| yo | entenderíaI would understand |
|---|---|
| tú | entenderíasyou would understand |
| él/ella/usted | entenderíahe/she would understand |
| nosotros/as | entenderíamoswe would understand |
| vosotros/as | entenderíaisyou all would understand |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | entenderíanthey would understand |
Present perfect indicative
| yo | he entendidoI have understood |
|---|---|
| tú | has entendidoyou have understood |
| él/ella/usted | ha entendidohe/she has understood |
| nosotros/as | hemos entendidowe have understood |
| vosotros/as | habéis entendidoyou all have understood |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | han entendidothey have understood |
haber (present) + past participle
Past perfect indicative
| yo | había entendidoI had understood |
|---|---|
| tú | habías entendidoyou had understood |
| él/ella/usted | había entendidohe/she had understood |
| nosotros/as | habíamos entendidowe had understood |
| vosotros/as | habíais entendidoyou all had understood |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | habían entendidothey had understood |
haber (imperfect) + past participle
Future perfect indicative
| yo | habré entendidoI will have understood |
|---|---|
| tú | habrás entendidoyou will have understood |
| él/ella/usted | habrá entendidohe/she will have understood |
| nosotros/as | habremos entendidowe will have understood |
| vosotros/as | habréis entendidoyou all will have understood |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | habrán entendidothey will have understood |
haber (future) + past participle
Conditional perfect indicative
| yo | habría entendidoI would have understood |
|---|---|
| tú | habrías entendidoyou would have understood |
| él/ella/usted | habría entendidohe/she would have understood |
| nosotros/as | habríamos entendidowe would have understood |
| vosotros/as | habríais entendidoyou all would have understood |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | habrían entendidothey would have understood |
haber (conditional) + past participle
Subjunctive tenses of entender
Wishes, doubts, emotions and "if" sentences.
Present subjunctive
| yo | entienda(that) I understand |
|---|---|
| tú | entiendas(that) you understand |
| él/ella/usted | entienda(that) he/she understands |
| nosotros/as | entendamos(that) we understand |
| vosotros/as | entendáis(that) you all understand |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | entiendan(that) they understand |
Imperfect subjunctive
| yo | entendiera(if) I understood |
|---|---|
| tú | entendieras(if) you understood |
| él/ella/usted | entendiera(if) he/she understood |
| nosotros/as | entendiéramos(if) we understood |
| vosotros/as | entendierais(if) you all understood |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | entendieran(if) they understood |
Future subjunctive
| yo | entendiere(if) I understand |
|---|---|
| tú | entendieres(if) you understand |
| él/ella/usted | entendiere(if) he/she understands |
| nosotros/as | entendiéremos(if) we understand |
| vosotros/as | entendiereis(if) you all understand |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | entendieren(if) they understand |
rarely used: legal & formal texts
Present perfect subjunctive
| yo | haya entendido(that) I have understood |
|---|---|
| tú | hayas entendido(that) you have understood |
| él/ella/usted | haya entendido(that) he/she has understood |
| nosotros/as | hayamos entendido(that) we have understood |
| vosotros/as | hayáis entendido(that) you all have understood |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | hayan entendido(that) they have understood |
haber (present subj.) + past participle
Past perfect subjunctive
| yo | hubiera entendido(if) I had understood |
|---|---|
| tú | hubieras entendido(if) you had understood |
| él/ella/usted | hubiera entendido(if) he/she had understood |
| nosotros/as | hubiéramos entendido(if) we had understood |
| vosotros/as | hubierais entendido(if) you all had understood |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | hubieran entendido(if) they had understood |
haber (imperfect subj.) + past participle
Future perfect subjunctive
| yo | hubiere entendido(if) I will have understood |
|---|---|
| tú | hubieres entendido(if) you will have understood |
| él/ella/usted | hubiere entendido(if) he/she will have understood |
| nosotros/as | hubiéremos entendido(if) we will have understood |
| vosotros/as | hubiereis entendido(if) you all will have understood |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | hubieren entendido(if) they will have understood |
rarely used: legal & formal texts
Imperative tenses of entender
Commands and instructions.
Affirmative imperative
| tú | entiendeunderstand! |
|---|---|
| usted | entiendaunderstand! (formal) |
| nosotros/as | entendamoslet's understand! |
| vosotros/as | entendedunderstand! (you all) |
| ustedes | entiendanunderstand! (you all, formal) |
Negative imperative
| tú | no entiendasdon't understand! |
|---|---|
| usted | no entiendadon't understand! (formal) |
| nosotros/as | no entendamoslet's not understand! |
| vosotros/as | no entendáisdon't understand! (you all) |
| ustedes | no entiendandon't understand! (you all, formal) |
Practice entender
Two quick exercises. No sign-up, no app: just you and entender.
How to use entender
Entiendo un poco de español.
I understand a bit of Spanish.
Lo siento, no entiendo.
Sorry, I don't understand.
¿Me entiendes?
Do you understand me?
Nos entendemos muy bien.
We get along really well.
No entiendo de coches.
I don't know anything about cars.
Example sentences with entender
- No entiendo nada.I don't understand anything.
- ¿Entiendes lo que digo?Do you understand what I'm saying?
- No entendí la pregunta.I didn't understand the question.
- Al principio no entendía nada.At first I didn't understand anything.
- Algún día lo entenderás.Someday you'll understand.
- Él lo entendería.He would understand.
- Espero que lo entiendas.I hope you understand.
- ¿Lo has entendido?Have you understood it?
Verbs like entender
Like entender (entiendo), these verbs change e → ie in the present. Its synonym comprender is fully regular.
Frequently asked questions about entender
Is entender regular or irregular?
Entender is a stem-changing verb: e → ie in the present (entiendo), present subjunctive (entienda) and commands. All other tenses are regular.
How do you conjugate entender in the present tense?
entiendo, entiendes, entiende, entendemos, entendéis, entienden.
How do you conjugate entender in the preterite?
entendí, entendiste, entendió, entendimos, entendisteis, entendieron. The preterite is regular.
Entender or comprender?
They mean the same. Entender is more common in conversation; comprender is regular and a bit more formal.
How do you say "I don't understand" in Spanish?
No entiendo. Add ¿puedes repetir, por favor? (can you repeat, please?).
What is the past participle of entender?
The past participle is entendido and the gerund is entendiendo. ¡Entendido! = got it!
Free cheat sheet
All 18 tenses of entender, on one page.
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