¿Para qué sirve?
¿Para qué sirve esto? = what is this for? No sirve para nada = it's useless. ¿En qué puedo servirle? = how can I help you? (in shops). And servirse = to help yourself: sírvete (help yourself).
Indicative tenses of servir
Facts and things that happen: the tenses you'll use most.
Present indicative
| yo | sirvoI serve |
|---|---|
| tú | sirvesyou serve |
| él/ella/usted | sirvehe/she serves |
| nosotros/as | servimoswe serve |
| vosotros/as | servísyou all serve |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | sirventhey serve |
Stem change e → i, except for nosotros and vosotros: servimos.
Preterite indicative
| yo | servíI served |
|---|---|
| tú | servisteyou served |
| él/ella/usted | sirvióhe/she served |
| nosotros/as | servimoswe served |
| vosotros/as | servisteisyou all served |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | sirvieronthey served |
Only él/ella and ellos change: sirvió, sirvieron.
Imperfect indicative
| yo | servíaI used to serve |
|---|---|
| tú | servíasyou used to serve |
| él/ella/usted | servíahe/she used to serve |
| nosotros/as | servíamoswe used to serve |
| vosotros/as | servíaisyou all used to serve |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | servíanthey used to serve |
Present continuous indicative
| yo | estoy sirviendoI am serving |
|---|---|
| tú | estás sirviendoyou are serving |
| él/ella/usted | está sirviendohe/she is serving |
| nosotros/as | estamos sirviendowe are serving |
| vosotros/as | estáis sirviendoyou all are serving |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | están sirviendothey are serving |
estar + gerund
Informal future indicative
| yo | voy a servirI am going to serve |
|---|---|
| tú | vas a serviryou are going to serve |
| él/ella/usted | va a servirhe/she is going to serve |
| nosotros/as | vamos a servirwe are going to serve |
| vosotros/as | vais a serviryou all are going to serve |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | van a servirthey are going to serve |
ir a + infinitive
Future indicative
| yo | serviréI will serve |
|---|---|
| tú | servirásyou will serve |
| él/ella/usted | serviráhe/she will serve |
| nosotros/as | serviremoswe will serve |
| vosotros/as | serviréisyou all will serve |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | serviránthey will serve |
Conditional indicative
| yo | serviríaI would serve |
|---|---|
| tú | serviríasyou would serve |
| él/ella/usted | serviríahe/she would serve |
| nosotros/as | serviríamoswe would serve |
| vosotros/as | serviríaisyou all would serve |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | serviríanthey would serve |
Present perfect indicative
| yo | he servidoI have served |
|---|---|
| tú | has servidoyou have served |
| él/ella/usted | ha servidohe/she has served |
| nosotros/as | hemos servidowe have served |
| vosotros/as | habéis servidoyou all have served |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | han servidothey have served |
haber (present) + past participle
Past perfect indicative
| yo | había servidoI had served |
|---|---|
| tú | habías servidoyou had served |
| él/ella/usted | había servidohe/she had served |
| nosotros/as | habíamos servidowe had served |
| vosotros/as | habíais servidoyou all had served |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | habían servidothey had served |
haber (imperfect) + past participle
Future perfect indicative
| yo | habré servidoI will have served |
|---|---|
| tú | habrás servidoyou will have served |
| él/ella/usted | habrá servidohe/she will have served |
| nosotros/as | habremos servidowe will have served |
| vosotros/as | habréis servidoyou all will have served |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | habrán servidothey will have served |
haber (future) + past participle
Conditional perfect indicative
| yo | habría servidoI would have served |
|---|---|
| tú | habrías servidoyou would have served |
| él/ella/usted | habría servidohe/she would have served |
| nosotros/as | habríamos servidowe would have served |
| vosotros/as | habríais servidoyou all would have served |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | habrían servidothey would have served |
haber (conditional) + past participle
Subjunctive tenses of servir
Wishes, doubts, emotions and "if" sentences.
Present subjunctive
| yo | sirva(that) I serve |
|---|---|
| tú | sirvas(that) you serve |
| él/ella/usted | sirva(that) he/she serves |
| nosotros/as | sirvamos(that) we serve |
| vosotros/as | sirváis(that) you all serve |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | sirvan(that) they serve |
Imperfect subjunctive
| yo | sirviera / sirviese(if) I served |
|---|---|
| tú | sirvieras / sirvieses(if) you served |
| él/ella/usted | sirviera / sirviese(if) he/she served |
| nosotros/as | sirviéramos / sirviésemos(if) we served |
| vosotros/as | sirvierais / sirvieseis(if) you all served |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | sirvieran / sirviesen(if) they served |
Future subjunctive
| yo | sirviere(if) I serve |
|---|---|
| tú | sirvieres(if) you serve |
| él/ella/usted | sirviere(if) he/she serves |
| nosotros/as | sirviéremos(if) we serve |
| vosotros/as | sirviereis(if) you all serve |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | sirvieren(if) they serve |
rarely used: legal & formal texts
Present perfect subjunctive
| yo | haya servido(that) I have served |
|---|---|
| tú | hayas servido(that) you have served |
| él/ella/usted | haya servido(that) he/she has served |
| nosotros/as | hayamos servido(that) we have served |
| vosotros/as | hayáis servido(that) you all have served |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | hayan servido(that) they have served |
haber (present subj.) + past participle
Past perfect subjunctive
| yo | hubiera servido(if) I had served |
|---|---|
| tú | hubieras servido(if) you had served |
| él/ella/usted | hubiera servido(if) he/she had served |
| nosotros/as | hubiéramos servido(if) we had served |
| vosotros/as | hubierais servido(if) you all had served |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | hubieran servido(if) they had served |
haber (imperfect subj.) + past participle
Future perfect subjunctive
| yo | hubiere servido(if) I will have served |
|---|---|
| tú | hubieres servido(if) you will have served |
| él/ella/usted | hubiere servido(if) he/she will have served |
| nosotros/as | hubiéremos servido(if) we will have served |
| vosotros/as | hubiereis servido(if) you all will have served |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | hubieren servido(if) they will have served |
rarely used: legal & formal texts
Imperative tenses of servir
Commands and instructions.
Affirmative imperative
| tú | sirveserve! |
|---|---|
| usted | sirvaserve! (formal) |
| nosotros/as | sirvamoslet's serve! |
| vosotros/as | servidserve! (you all) |
| ustedes | sirvanserve! (you all, formal) |
Negative imperative
| tú | no sirvasdon't serve! |
|---|---|
| usted | no sirvadon't serve! (formal) |
| nosotros/as | no sirvamoslet's not serve! |
| vosotros/as | no sirváisdon't serve! (you all) |
| ustedes | no sirvandon't serve! (you all, formal) |
Practice servir
Two quick exercises. No sign-up, no app: just you and servir.
How to use servir
Sirven la cena a las nueve.
They serve dinner at nine.
¿Para qué sirve esto?
What is this for?
Este cargador no sirve.
This charger doesn't work.
Sírvete más vino.
Help yourself to more wine.
¿En qué puedo servirle?
How can I help you?
Example sentences with servir
- Esto no sirve para nada.This is useless.
- ¿Te sirvo un café?Shall I pour you a coffee?
- El camarero nos sirvió muy rápido.The waiter served us very quickly.
- Antes servían tapas gratis.They used to serve free tapas.
- Esto te servirá.This will be useful to you.
- Espero que te sirva.I hope it helps.
- Sírvete tú mismo.Help yourself.
- ¿Ya te han servido?Have you been served yet?
Verbs like servir
Like servir (sirvo, sirvió), these verbs change e → i.
Frequently asked questions about servir
Is servir regular or irregular?
Servir is a stem-changing verb: e → i in the present (sirvo), the preterite (sirvió), the subjunctive (sirva) and the gerund (sirviendo). Other tenses are regular.
How do you conjugate servir in the present tense?
sirvo, sirves, sirve, servimos, servís, sirven.
How do you conjugate servir in the preterite?
serví, serviste, sirvió, servimos, servisteis, sirvieron.
What does "no sirve" mean?
"It doesn't work" or "it's no good": este bolígrafo no sirve.
What does "servir para" mean?
"To be used for / be good for": esto sirve para abrir latas (this is for opening cans).
What is the past participle of servir?
The past participle is servido and the gerund is sirviendo.
Free cheat sheet
All 18 tenses of servir, on one page.
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