Construir Conjugation | How to Conjugate Construir in Spanish

Construir means “to build” or “to construct.” You will learn where y appears in its conjugation, how construyendo is formed, and how to use the verb for physical and abstract building.

Construir conjugation at a glance

Verb type: Irregular. Linguistically, construir is an -IR verb with a predictable y alternation in forms such as construyo — “I build,” construyó — “he / she built,” construyeron — “they built,” and construya — “that I build.” Its gerund is construyendo — “building,” while construido — “built” — is a regular participle.

Construir gerund, past participle, and infinitive

The infinitive names the verb, the gerund supports progressive constructions, and the past participle combines with haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — in compound forms. With haber, the participle does not agree with the subject.

Form	Spanish	Natural English guide
Infinitive	construir	to build, to construct
Gerund	construyendo	building
Past participle	construido	built

Construir meaning and essential uses

Construir — “to build” or “to construct” — commonly takes a direct object naming what is created: Construyen una casa. — “They are building a house.”

The verb also applies to non-physical results when something is formed step by step: Construimos una relación de confianza. — “We build a relationship of trust.” The same conjugation pattern applies in both uses.

Construir irregular conjugation patterns

Construir inserts y in several families to preserve the sound pattern before vowel endings: construyo — “I build,” construyes — “you build,” and construyen — “they build” — contrast with construimos — “we build” — and construís — “you all build.” The preterite changes only in construyó — “he / she built” — and construyeron — “they built.” The present subjunctive uses construy- throughout, and the imperfect and future subjunctive inherit construy- from the third-person preterite. The gerund is construyendo — “building.”

Construir indicative and periphrastic conjugations

Construir present tense conjugation

Present indicative (el presente de indicativo) — Use it for current actions, habits, and general statements. The y appears in construyo — “I build,” construyes — “you build,” construye — “he / she builds,” and construyen — “they build”; construimos — “we build” — and construís — “you all build” — keep i.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	construyo	I build
Tú — you, singular informal	construyes	you build
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	construye	he / she builds; you build (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	construimos	we build
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	construís	you build (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	construyen	they build; you build (plural)

• Construyen viviendas cerca de la estación. — They build homes near the station.

Construir preterite conjugation

Preterite (el pretérito perfecto simple / pretérito indefinido) — Use it for completed or bounded past events. The third-person forms insert y: construyó — “he / she built” — and construyeron — “they built”; the other rows retain the regular -IR pattern.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	construí	I built
Tú — you, singular informal	construiste	you built
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	construyó	he / she built; you built (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	construimos	we built
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	construisteis	you built (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	construyeron	they built; you built (plural)

• La empresa construyó el edificio en 2018. — The company built the building in 2018.

Construir imperfect conjugation

Imperfect (el pretérito imperfecto) — Use it for past habits, background descriptions, or situations viewed as ongoing. Construir uses the regular imperfect ending pattern in this system.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	construía	I used to build / was building
Tú — you, singular informal	construías	you used to build / were building
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	construía	he / she used to build / was building; you used to build / were building (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	construíamos	we used to build / were building
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	construíais	you used to build / were building (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	construían	they used to build / were building; you used to build / were building (plural)

• Mi abuelo construía muebles de madera. — My grandfather used to build wooden furniture.

Construir present progressive

Present progressive — This verbal periphrasis focuses on an action or process in progress. Form it with a present form of estar — “to be” — plus construyendo — “building.”

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

• Estamos construyendo una nueva terraza. — We are building a new terrace.

Construir near future conjugation

Near future — This verbal periphrasis expresses plans or expected future events. Form it with a present form of ir — “to go” — followed by a and construir — “to build, to construct.”

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

• Van a construir una escuela aquí. — They are going to build a school here.

Construir future tense conjugation

Simple future (el futuro simple) — Use it for future reference and, where context supports it, probability. The endings attach to the full infinitive construir — “to build, to construct.”

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	construiré	I will build
Tú — you, singular informal	construirás	you will build
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	construirá	he / she will build; you will build (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	construiremos	we will build
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	construiréis	you will build (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	construirán	they will build; you will build (plural)

• Construiremos una solución más estable. — We will build a more stable solution.

Construir conditional conjugation

Simple conditional (el condicional simple) — Use it for hypothetical results, polite softening, and other conditional meanings. The endings attach to the full infinitive construir — “to build, to construct.”

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	construiría	I would build
Tú — you, singular informal	construirías	you would build
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	construiría	he / she would build; you would build (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	construiríamos	we would build
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	construiríais	you would build (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	construirían	they would build; you would build (plural)

• Construiría una casa más pequeña. — I would build a smaller house.

Construir present perfect conjugation

Present perfect (el pretérito perfecto compuesto) — Use it for completed events connected to the present; its regional distribution varies. Form it with the corresponding finite form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus construido — “built.”

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

• Han construido tres edificios nuevos. — They have built three new buildings.

Construir past perfect conjugation

Past perfect / pluperfect (el pretérito pluscuamperfecto) — Use it for an event completed before another past reference point. Form it with the corresponding finite form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus construido — “built.”

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

• Ya habíamos construido la estructura principal. — We had already built the main structure.

Construir future perfect conjugation

Future perfect (el futuro perfecto) — Use it for something expected to be completed by a future reference point. Form it with the corresponding finite form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus construido — “built.”

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

• Para junio habremos construido la mitad del proyecto. — By June we will have built half of the project.

Construir conditional perfect conjugation

Conditional perfect (el condicional compuesto) — Use it for hypothetical completed results or unreal past outcomes. Form it with the corresponding finite form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus construido — “built.”

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

• Habrían construido más viviendas con otro presupuesto. — They would have built more homes with a different budget.

Construir subjunctive conjugations

Construir present subjunctive conjugation

Present subjunctive (el presente de subjuntivo) — Use it in subordinate environments involving wishes, influence, emotion, doubt, evaluation, necessity, or possibility. The y appears throughout: construya — “that I build,” construyamos — “that we build,” and construyan — “that they build.”

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	construya	that I build
Tú — you, singular informal	construyas	that you build
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	construya	that he / she build; that you build (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	construyamos	that we build
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	construyáis	that you build (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	construyan	that they build; that you build (plural)

• Es importante que construyan una base segura. — It is important that they build a safe foundation.

Construir imperfect subjunctive conjugation

Imperfect subjunctive (el imperfecto de subjuntivo) — Use it in subordinate clauses linked to past, hypothetical, or unreal contexts. The main table uses the accepted -ra series. The -se series is also accepted in many contexts; the second example demonstrates it without claiming that the two series are mechanically interchangeable in every construction. Both series inherit the construy- base supplied by construyeron — “they built.”

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	construyera	that I built
Tú — you, singular informal	construyeras	that you built
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	construyera	that he / she built; that you built (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	construyéramos	that we built
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	construyerais	that you built (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	construyeran	that they built; that you built (plural)

• Queríamos que construyeran una entrada más amplia. — We wanted them to build a wider entrance.
• El arquitecto pidió que construyeses un muro más bajo. — The architect asked that you build a lower wall.

Construir 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 and is included here as a reference system.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	construyere	if / when I should build
Tú — you, singular informal	construyeres	if / when you should build
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	construyere	if / when he / she should build; if / when you should build (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	construyéremos	if / when we should build
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	construyereis	if / when you should build (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	construyeren	if / when they should build; if / when you should build (plural)

• Quien construyere en esta zona deberá cumplir la norma. — Whoever should build in this area must comply with the rule.

Construir 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 corresponding subjunctive form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus construido — “built.”

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

• Me alegra que hayan construido el acceso nuevo. — I am glad that they have built the new access.

Construir past perfect subjunctive conjugation

Past perfect subjunctive (el pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo) — Use it for earlier completed situations in unreal, counterfactual, or other subjunctive contexts. The main table uses hubiera — “had” in this subjunctive construction; hubiese — “had” — is an accepted auxiliary alternative in many contexts. Form it with the corresponding subjunctive form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus construido — “built.”

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

• Si hubiéramos construido antes, habríamos ahorrado dinero. — If we had built earlier, we would have saved money.
• Ojalá hubiesen construido una salida adicional. — I wish they had built an additional exit.

Construir future perfect subjunctive conjugation

Future perfect subjunctive (el futuro perfecto de subjuntivo) — Rare in modern everyday Spanish. It is a reference form used mainly in formal, legal, literary, or historical contexts. Form it with the corresponding subjunctive form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus construido — “built.”

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

• Si hubieren construido la obra conforme al plano, se aprobará la inspección. — If they should have built the work according to the plan, the inspection will be approved.

Construir imperative and commands

Commands address another person directly. Spanish draws command forms from different morphological sources depending on person and polarity; the nosotros/nosotras row is a present-subjunctive form used with exhortative “let’s…” value.

Construir affirmative commands

Use affirmative commands to direct someone to build something. The tú form is construye — “build,” while the formal and plural subjunctive-based rows use construy-; vosotros/vosotras uses construid — “build.”

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Tú — you, singular informal	construye	build
Usted — you, singular formal	construya	build (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	construyamos	let’s build
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	construid	build (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	construyan	build (plural)

• Construye una base firme antes de continuar. — Build a firm foundation before continuing.

Construir negative commands

Negative commands use subjunctive-based forms. The negative particle no — “not / do not” — precedes the command form.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Tú — you, singular informal	no construyas	do not build
Usted — you, singular formal	no construya	do not build (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	no construyamos	let’s not build
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	no construyáis	do not build (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	no construyan	do not build (plural)

• No construyas sobre terreno inestable. — Do not build on unstable ground.

Common constructions with Construir

These target-verb patterns are useful because they show the complements or sentence frames that commonly accompany the conjugated verb.

• Construir una casa. — To build a house.
• Construir una carretera. — To build a road.
• Construir una relación de confianza. — To build a relationship of trust.

Example sentences with Construir

These examples reinforce the target verb across useful forms and contexts already explained in the lesson.

• Construyo modelos pequeños en casa. — I build small models at home.
• El año pasado construyeron un puente nuevo. — Last year they built a new bridge.
• Antes construíamos muebles a mano. — We used to build furniture by hand.
• Quiero que construyas una base sólida. — I want you to build a solid foundation.
• Ya han construido la primera fase. — They have already built the first phase.
• Construye primero la estructura principal. — Build the main structure first.

Regional and usage notes for Construir

The core tables retain tú, usted, vosotros/vosotras, and ustedes for project comparability. In voseo regions, present-indicative and affirmative-command forms may differ from the core tú forms; the regional examples below do not replace the main paradigm.

• Vos construís estructuras muy resistentes. — You build very strong structures. (voseo)
• Construí una base firme. — Build a firm foundation. (affirmative vos command)

With construir, the main task is recognizing the y family: construyo, construyó, construyeron, construya, construyera, and construyendo. The future, conditional, imperfect, and participle remain regular and predictable.