Cambiar Conjugation | How to Conjugate Cambiar in Spanish

Cambiar means “to change,” “to exchange,” or “to replace.” You will learn its fully regular -AR conjugation and its main transitive, intransitive, exchange, and change-of-state patterns.

Cambiar conjugation at a glance

Verb type: Regular AR. RAE gives cambio, cambias, cambia, cambiamos, cambiáis, cambian. Its gerund cambiando and participle cambiado are regular.

Cambiar gerund, past participle, and infinitive

The infinitive names the verb, the gerund supports progressive constructions, and the past participle combines with haber in compound forms. The participle cambiado remains invariant in those compounds.

Form	Spanish	Natural English guide
Infinitive	cambiar	to change / exchange
Gerund	cambiando	changing / exchanging
Past participle	cambiado	changed / exchanged

Cambiar meaning and essential uses

Cambiar can be transitive: replacing, modifying, or exchanging something, as in Cambio la contraseña. — “I change the password.”

It can also be intransitive when the subject itself changes: El tiempo cambia. — “The weather changes.” Common frames include cambiar algo por algo — “exchange something for something” and cambiar de + noun.

Cambiar regular conjugation pattern

The stem cambi- remains unchanged throughout the core paradigm. Forms such as cambio, cambié, and cambie take ordinary -AR endings.

The letter sequence bi causes no irregularity here: cambiamos, cambiáis, cambiemos, cambiéis are regular. Gerund cambiando and participle cambiado are also regular.

Cambiar indicative and periphrastic conjugations

Cambiar present tense conjugation

Present indicative (el presente de indicativo) — Use it for current situations, habits, facts, and contextually near-future reference. The table uses the verified paradigm.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	cambio	I change / exchange
Tú — you, singular informal	cambias	you change / exchange
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	cambia	he / she changes / exchanges; you change / exchange (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	cambiamos	we change / exchange
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	cambiáis	you change / exchange (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	cambian	they change / exchange; you change / exchange (plural)

• Cambio la contraseña cada seis meses. — I change the password every six months.

Cambiar preterite conjugation

Preterite (el pretérito perfecto simple / pretérito indefinido) — Use it for completed or bounded past events. The table uses the verified paradigm.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	cambié	I changed / exchanged
Tú — you, singular informal	cambiaste	you changed / exchanged
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	cambió	he / she changed / exchanged; you changed / exchanged (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	cambiamos	we changed / exchanged
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	cambiasteis	you changed / exchanged (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	cambiaron	they changed / exchanged; you changed / exchanged (plural)

• Ayer cambié de opinión. — Yesterday I changed my mind.

Cambiar imperfect conjugation

Imperfect (el pretérito imperfecto) — Use it for habitual, descriptive, background, or ongoing past situations. Form it with the appropriate form of haber plus invariant cambiado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	cambiaba	I used to change / exchange / was changing / exchanging
Tú — you, singular informal	cambiabas	you used to change / exchange / were changing / exchanging
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	cambiaba	he / she used to change / exchange / was changing / exchanging; you used to change / exchange / were changing / exchanging (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	cambiábamos	we used to change / exchange / were changing / exchanging
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	cambiabais	you used to change / exchange / were changing / exchanging (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	cambiaban	they used to change / exchange / were changing / exchanging; you used to change / exchange / were changing / exchanging (plural)

• Antes cambiábamos de tren en esa estación. — We used to change trains at that station.

Cambiar present progressive

Present progressive — This verbal periphrasis focuses on an action or process in progress. Form it with present estar plus cambiando.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	estoy cambiando	I am changing / exchanging
Tú — you, singular informal	estás cambiando	you are changing / exchanging
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	está cambiando	he / she is changing / exchanging; you are changing / exchanging (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	estamos cambiando	we are changing / exchanging
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	estáis cambiando	you are changing / exchanging (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	están cambiando	they are changing / exchanging; you are changing / exchanging (plural)

• Estoy cambiando la configuración. — I am changing the settings.

Cambiar near future conjugation

Near future — This verbal periphrasis expresses an intention, plan, or expected event. Form it with present ir + a + cambiar.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	voy a cambiar	I am going to change / exchange
Tú — you, singular informal	vas a cambiar	you are going to change / exchange
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	va a cambiar	he / she is going to change / exchange; you are going to change / exchange (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	vamos a cambiar	we are going to change / exchange
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	vais a cambiar	you are going to change / exchange (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	van a cambiar	they are going to change / exchange; you are going to change / exchange (plural)

• Voy a cambiar de trabajo. — I am going to change jobs.

Cambiar future tense conjugation

Simple future (el futuro simple) — Use it for future reference and, where useful, probability. The table uses the verified paradigm.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	cambiaré	I will change / exchange
Tú — you, singular informal	cambiarás	you will change / exchange
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	cambiará	he / she will change / exchange; you will change / exchange (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	cambiaremos	we will change / exchange
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	cambiaréis	you will change / exchange (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	cambiarán	they will change / exchange; you will change / exchange (plural)

• Cambiaremos el horario mañana. — We will change the schedule tomorrow.

Cambiar conditional conjugation

Conditional (el condicional simple) — Use it for hypothetical outcomes, softened statements, or related conditional meanings. The table uses the verified paradigm.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	cambiaría	I would change / exchange
Tú — you, singular informal	cambiarías	you would change / exchange
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	cambiaría	he / she would change / exchange; you would change / exchange (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	cambiaríamos	we would change / exchange
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	cambiaríais	you would change / exchange (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	cambiarían	they would change / exchange; you would change / exchange (plural)

• Cambiaría esta parte del diseño. — I would change this part of the design.

Cambiar present perfect conjugation

Present perfect (el pretérito perfecto compuesto) — Use it for completed events connected to a present reference frame; regional distribution varies. Form it with the appropriate form of haber plus invariant cambiado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	he cambiado	I have changed / exchanged
Tú — you, singular informal	has cambiado	you have changed / exchanged
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	ha cambiado	he / she has changed / exchanged; you have changed / exchanged (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	hemos cambiado	we have changed / exchanged
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	habéis cambiado	you have changed / exchanged (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	han cambiado	they have changed / exchanged; you have changed / exchanged (plural)

• He cambiado la dirección. — I have changed the address.

Cambiar past perfect conjugation

Past perfect (el pretérito pluscuamperfecto) — Use it for an event completed before another past reference point. Form it with the appropriate form of haber plus invariant cambiado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	había cambiado	I had changed / exchanged
Tú — you, singular informal	habías cambiado	you had changed / exchanged
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	había cambiado	he / she had changed / exchanged; you had changed / exchanged (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	habíamos cambiado	we had changed / exchanged
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	habíais cambiado	you had changed / exchanged (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	habían cambiado	they had changed / exchanged; you had changed / exchanged (plural)

• Ya habíamos cambiado el plan. — We had already changed the plan.

Cambiar future perfect conjugation

Future perfect (el futuro perfecto) — Use it for an event expected to be completed before a future reference point. Form it with the appropriate form of haber plus invariant cambiado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	habré cambiado	I will have changed / exchanged
Tú — you, singular informal	habrás cambiado	you will have changed / exchanged
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	habrá cambiado	he / she will have changed / exchanged; you will have changed / exchanged (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	habremos cambiado	we will have changed / exchanged
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	habréis cambiado	you will have changed / exchanged (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	habrán cambiado	they will have changed / exchanged; you will have changed / exchanged (plural)

• Para entonces habrán cambiado todas las contraseñas. — By then they will have changed all the passwords.

Cambiar conditional perfect conjugation

Conditional perfect (el condicional compuesto) — Use it for a hypothetical completed outcome. Form it with the appropriate form of haber plus invariant cambiado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	habría cambiado	I would have changed / exchanged
Tú — you, singular informal	habrías cambiado	you would have changed / exchanged
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	habría cambiado	he / she would have changed / exchanged; you would have changed / exchanged (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	habríamos cambiado	we would have changed / exchanged
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	habríais cambiado	you would have changed / exchanged (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	habrían cambiado	they would have changed / exchanged; you would have changed / exchanged (plural)

• Habría cambiado de ruta. — I would have changed routes.

Cambiar subjunctive conjugations

Cambiar present subjunctive conjugation

Present subjunctive (el presente de subjuntivo) — Use it in subordinate environments involving wishes, influence, emotion, doubt or denial, evaluation, necessity, possibility, or non-specific reference. The table uses the verified paradigm.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	cambie	that I change / exchange
Tú — you, singular informal	cambies	that you change / exchange
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	cambie	that he / she change / exchange; that you change / exchange (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	cambiemos	that we change / exchange
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	cambiéis	that you change / exchange (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	cambien	that they change / exchange; that you change / exchange (plural)

• Quiero que cambies la fecha. — I want you to change the date.

Cambiar imperfect subjunctive conjugation

Imperfect subjunctive (el imperfecto de subjuntivo) — The main table uses the -ra series. The accepted -se series is also valid in many contexts and is demonstrated after the table. Form it with the appropriate form of haber plus invariant cambiado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	cambiara	that I changed / exchanged
Tú — you, singular informal	cambiaras	that you changed / exchanged
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	cambiara	that he / she changed / exchanged; that you changed / exchanged (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	cambiáramos	that we changed / exchanged
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	cambiarais	that you changed / exchanged (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	cambiaran	that they changed / exchanged; that you changed / exchanged (plural)

• Preferían que cambiáramos el horario. — They preferred that we change the schedule.
• Era mejor que cambiases de tren en Madrid. — It was better for you to change trains in Madrid.

Cambiar future subjunctive conjugation

Future subjunctive (el futuro de subjuntivo) — Rare in modern everyday Spanish. It survives mainly in formal, legal, proverbial, literary, or historical contexts. These rare reference forms belong mainly to formal, legal, proverbial, literary, or historical registers.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	cambiare	if / when I should change / exchange
Tú — you, singular informal	cambiares	if / when you should change / exchange
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	cambiare	if / when he / she should change / exchange; if / when you should change / exchange (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	cambiáremos	if / when we should change / exchange
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	cambiareis	if / when you should change / exchange (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	cambiaren	if / when they should change / exchange; if / when you should change / exchange (plural)

• Quien cambiare los datos deberá dejar constancia. — Whoever should change the data must leave a record.

Cambiar present perfect subjunctive conjugation

Present perfect subjunctive (el pretérito perfecto de subjuntivo) — Use it when a completed event appears inside a present- or future-oriented subjunctive environment. Form it with the appropriate form of haber plus invariant cambiado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	haya cambiado	that I have changed / exchanged
Tú — you, singular informal	hayas cambiado	that you have changed / exchanged
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	haya cambiado	that he / she has changed / exchanged; that you have changed / exchanged (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	hayamos cambiado	that we have changed / exchanged
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	hayáis cambiado	that you have changed / exchanged (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	hayan cambiado	that they have changed / exchanged; that you have changed / exchanged (plural)

• Me alegra que hayas cambiado de opinión. — I am glad that you changed your mind.

Cambiar past perfect subjunctive conjugation

Past perfect subjunctive (el pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo) — The main table uses hubiera; hubiese is an accepted auxiliary alternative in many contexts and is demonstrated after the table. Form it with the appropriate form of haber plus invariant cambiado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	hubiera cambiado	that I had changed / exchanged
Tú — you, singular informal	hubieras cambiado	that you had changed / exchanged
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	hubiera cambiado	that he / she had changed / exchanged; that you had changed / exchanged (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	hubiéramos cambiado	that we had changed / exchanged
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	hubierais cambiado	that you had changed / exchanged (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	hubieran cambiado	that they had changed / exchanged; that you had changed / exchanged (plural)

• Si hubiera cambiado la fecha, habría avisado. — If I had changed the date, I would have notified you.
• Si hubieses cambiado la contraseña, la cuenta sería más segura. — If you had changed the password, the account would be safer.

Cambiar future perfect subjunctive conjugation

Future perfect subjunctive (el futuro perfecto de subjuntivo) — Rare in modern everyday Spanish. Treat it as a formal or historical reference form, not an everyday conversational target. Form it with the appropriate form of haber plus invariant cambiado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	hubiere cambiado	if / when I should have changed / exchanged
Tú — you, singular informal	hubieres cambiado	if / when you should have changed / exchanged
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	hubiere cambiado	if / when he / she should have changed / exchanged; if / when you should have changed / exchanged (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	hubiéremos cambiado	if / when we should have changed / exchanged
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	hubiereis cambiado	if / when you should have changed / exchanged (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	hubieren cambiado	if / when they should have changed / exchanged; if / when you should have changed / exchanged (plural)

• Si hubieren cambiado las condiciones, deberán comunicarlo. — If they should have changed the conditions, they must report it.

Cambiar imperative and commands

Commands address another person directly. The nosotros/nosotras row is a present-subjunctive form used with exhortative “let’s…” value.

Cambiar affirmative commands

Use the verified affirmative command forms for direct instructions when the target meaning supports them naturally.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Tú — you, singular informal	cambia	change
Usted — you, singular formal	cambie	change (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	cambiemos	let’s change
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	cambiad	change (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	cambien	change (plural)

• Cambia la contraseña hoy. — Change the password today.

Cambiar negative commands

Negative commands use subjunctive-based forms, with no before the verb.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Tú — you, singular informal	no cambies	do not change
Usted — you, singular formal	no cambie	do not change (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	no cambiemos	let’s not change
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	no cambiéis	do not change (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	no cambien	do not change (plural)

• No cambies los datos sin permiso. — Do not change the data without permission.

Common constructions with Cambiar

These patterns show sentence frames that materially affect how the target verb is used.

• cambiar algo. — to change / replace something.
• cambiar de + job / train / opinion / clothes. — to change jobs, trains, opinion, clothes, etc.
• cambiar algo por algo. — to exchange something for something else.
• algo cambia. — something changes.

Example sentences with Cambiar

These examples reinforce useful forms and contexts already taught in the lesson.

• El tiempo cambia rápidamente. — The weather changes quickly.
• Quiero cambiar euros por dólares. — I want to exchange euros for dollars.
• Tenemos que cambiar de tren. — We have to change trains.
• Espero que cambies la contraseña. — I hope you change the password.
• Han cambiado mucho las cosas. — Things have changed a lot.
• Cambia primero la información incorrecta. — Change the incorrect information first.

Regional and usage notes for Cambiar

The core tables retain tú, usted, vosotros/vosotras, and ustedes. Voseo changes some second-person singular forms where vos is used.

• Vos cambiás de opinión a menudo. — You change your mind often. (voseo)
• Cambiá la contraseña ahora. — Change the password now. (affirmative vos command)

Cambiar is fully regular. The main learner challenge is syntactic: direct-object cambiar algo, intransitive change, cambiar de for category changes, and cambiar algo por algo for exchanges.