Encender Conjugation | How to Conjugate Encender in Spanish

Encender means “to turn on,” “to light,” or “to ignite.” You will learn its e → ie present change, regular past/future families, subjunctive forms, commands, and figurative uses.

Encender conjugation at a glance

Verb type: Irregular. RAE gives enciendo, enciendes, enciende, encendemos, encendéis, encienden. Stressed present-family forms use enciend-, while nosotros/nosotras and vosotros/vosotras retain encend-.

Encender 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 encendido remains invariant in those compounds.

Form	Spanish	Natural English guide
Infinitive	encender	to turn on / light / ignite
Gerund	encendiendo	turning on / lighting / igniting
Past participle	encendido	turned on / lit / ignited

Encender meaning and essential uses

RAE records encender for making something begin to burn or produce light, and specifically for making an electrical device operate: Enciendo la luz. — “I turn on the light.”

It also has figurative uses for arousing or inflaming emotions, conflict, enthusiasm, or anger. Pronominal encenderse can mean becoming lit, heated, excited, or flushed.

Encender irregular conjugation patterns

Present indicative uses enciend- in stressed forms: enciendo, enciendes, enciende, encienden. Nosotros/nosotras and vosotros/vosotras use encendemos / encendéis.

Present subjunctive follows the same stress split: encienda, enciendas, encienda, encendamos, encendáis, enciendan. Preterite, imperfect, future, conditional, gerund, and participle are otherwise regular.

Encender indicative and periphrastic conjugations

Encender present tense conjugation

Present indicative (el presente de indicativo) — Use it for current situations, habits, facts, and contextually near-future reference. Stressed forms use enciend-; nosotros/nosotras and vosotros/vosotras retain encend-.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	enciendo	I turn on / light / ignite
Tú — you, singular informal	enciendes	you turn on / light / ignite
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	enciende	he / she turns on / lights / ignites; you turn on / light / ignite (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	encendemos	we turn on / light / ignite
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	encendéis	you turn on / light / ignite (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	encienden	they turn on / light / ignite; you turn on / light / ignite (plural)

• Enciendo la luz al entrar. — I turn on the light when I enter.

Encender 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	encendí	I turned on / lit / ignited
Tú — you, singular informal	encendiste	you turned on / lit / ignited
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	encendió	he / she turned on / lit / ignited; you turned on / lit / ignited (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	encendimos	we turned on / lit / ignited
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	encendisteis	you turned on / lit / ignited (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	encendieron	they turned on / lit / ignited; you turned on / lit / ignited (plural)

• Ayer encendí el ordenador temprano. — Yesterday I turned on the computer early.

Encender 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 encendido.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	encendía	I used to turn on / light / ignite / was turning on / lighting / igniting
Tú — you, singular informal	encendías	you used to turn on / light / ignite / were turning on / lighting / igniting
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	encendía	he / she used to turn on / light / ignite / was turning on / lighting / igniting; you used to turn on / light / ignite / were turning on / lighting / igniting (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	encendíamos	we used to turn on / light / ignite / were turning on / lighting / igniting
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	encendíais	you used to turn on / light / ignite / were turning on / lighting / igniting (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	encendían	they used to turn on / light / ignite / were turning on / lighting / igniting; you used to turn on / light / ignite / were turning on / lighting / igniting (plural)

• Antes encendíamos la calefacción en octubre. — We used to turn on the heating in October.

Encender present progressive

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

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

• Estoy encendiendo una vela. — I am lighting a candle.

Encender near future conjugation

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

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

• Voy a encender el horno. — I am going to turn on the oven.

Encender 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	encenderé	I will turn on / light / ignite
Tú — you, singular informal	encenderás	you will turn on / light / ignite
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	encenderá	he / she will turn on / light / ignite; you will turn on / light / ignite (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	encenderemos	we will turn on / light / ignite
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	encenderéis	you will turn on / light / ignite (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	encenderán	they will turn on / light / ignite; you will turn on / light / ignite (plural)

• Encenderemos las luces al anochecer. — We will turn on the lights at dusk.

Encender 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	encendería	I would turn on / light / ignite
Tú — you, singular informal	encenderías	you would turn on / light / ignite
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	encendería	he / she would turn on / light / ignite; you would turn on / light / ignite (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	encenderíamos	we would turn on / light / ignite
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	encenderíais	you would turn on / light / ignite (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	encenderían	they would turn on / light / ignite; you would turn on / light / ignite (plural)

• Encendería la calefacción si hiciera más frío. — I would turn on the heating if it were colder.

Encender 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 encendido.

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

• He encendido el ordenador. — I have turned on the computer.

Encender 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 encendido.

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

• Ya habíamos encendido el fuego. — We had already lit the fire.

Encender 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 encendido.

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

• Para entonces habrán encendido todas las luces. — By then they will have turned on all the lights.

Encender 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 encendido.

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

• Habría encendido la lámpara antes. — I would have turned on the lamp earlier.

Encender subjunctive conjugations

Encender 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. Stressed forms use enciend-, while nosotros/nosotras and vosotros/vosotras use encend-.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	encienda	that I turn on / light / ignite
Tú — you, singular informal	enciendas	that you turn on / light / ignite
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	encienda	that he / she turn on / light / ignite; that you turn on / light / ignite (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	encendamos	that we turn on / light / ignite
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	encendáis	that you turn on / light / ignite (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	enciendan	that they turn on / light / ignite; that you turn on / light / ignite (plural)

• Quiero que enciendas la luz. — I want you to turn on the light.

Encender 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 encendido.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	encendiera	that I turned on / lit / ignited
Tú — you, singular informal	encendieras	that you turned on / lit / ignited
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	encendiera	that he / she turned on / lit / ignited; that you turned on / lit / ignited (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	encendiéramos	that we turned on / lit / ignited
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	encendierais	that you turned on / lit / ignited (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	encendieran	that they turned on / lit / ignited; that you turned on / lit / ignited (plural)

• Preferían que encendiéramos el fuego fuera. — They preferred that we light the fire outside.
• Era mejor que encendieses el horno antes. — It was better for you to turn on the oven earlier.

Encender 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	encendiere	if / when I should turn on / light / ignite
Tú — you, singular informal	encendieres	if / when you should turn on / light / ignite
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	encendiere	if / when he / she should turn on / light / ignite; if / when you should turn on / light / ignite (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	encendiéremos	if / when we should turn on / light / ignite
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	encendiereis	if / when you should turn on / light / ignite (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	encendieren	if / when they should turn on / light / ignite; if / when you should turn on / light / ignite (plural)

• Quien encendiere un equipo restringido deberá registrarlo. — Whoever should turn on restricted equipment must record it.

Encender 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 encendido.

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

• Me alegra que hayas encendido la calefacción. — I am glad that you turned on the heating.

Encender 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 encendido.

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

• Si hubiera encendido la luz, habría visto el escalón. — If I had turned on the light, I would have seen the step.
• Si hubieses encendido el horno antes, la comida estaría lista. — If you had turned on the oven earlier, the food would be ready.

Encender 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 encendido.

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

• Si hubieren encendido equipos adicionales, deberán apagar los que no se utilicen. — If they should have turned on additional equipment, they must turn off what is not being used.

Encender imperative and commands

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

Encender 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	enciende	turn on
Usted — you, singular formal	encienda	turn on (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	encendamos	let’s turn on
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	encended	turn on (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	enciendan	turn on (plural)

• Enciende la luz, por favor. — Turn on the light, please.

Encender 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 enciendas	do not turn on
Usted — you, singular formal	no encienda	do not turn on (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	no encendamos	let’s not turn on
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	no encendáis	do not turn on (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	no enciendan	do not turn on (plural)

• No enciendas fuego aquí. — Do not light a fire here.

Common constructions with Encender

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

• encender la luz / un aparato. — to turn on a light / device.
• encender una vela / fuego. — to light a candle / fire.
• encender un sentimiento / conflicto / debate. — figuratively, to ignite or inflame a feeling, conflict, or debate.
• encenderse. — to light up / become activated / flare up, depending on context.

Example sentences with Encender

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

• Enciende el ordenador. — Turn on the computer.
• La chispa encendió el fuego. — The spark ignited the fire.
• Sus palabras encendieron el debate. — His / her words inflamed the debate.
• Espero que enciendas la calefacción. — I hope you turn on the heating.
• Ya han encendido las luces. — They have already turned on the lights.
• Enciende solo los equipos necesarios. — Turn on only the necessary equipment.

Regional and usage notes for Encender

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

• Vos encendés la luz al entrar. — You turn on the light when you enter. (voseo)
• Encendé el horno ahora. — Turn on the oven now. (affirmative vos command)

For encender, track stressed e → ie: enciendo / encienda versus unstressed encendemos / encendamos. Preterite, future, gerund encendiendo, and participle encendido remain regular.