Enseñar Conjugation | How to Conjugate Enseñar in Spanish

Enseñar means “to teach” or “to show.” You will learn its fully regular -AR paradigm, the stable ñ in every form, common object patterns, compound tenses, subjunctive forms, and commands.

Enseñar conjugation at a glance

Verb type: Regular AR. Enseñar is fully regular: the stem enseñ- remains stable and takes ordinary -AR endings. Key forms include enseño — “I teach / show,” enseñé — “I taught / showed,” enseñando — “teaching / showing,” and enseñado — “taught / shown.”

Enseñar 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. The participle enseñado remains invariant in those compounds.

Form	Spanish	Natural English guide
Infinitive	enseñar	to teach / show
Gerund	enseñando	teaching / showing
Past participle	enseñado	taught / shown

Enseñar meaning and essential uses

Enseñar — “to teach / show” — is commonly transitive. It can take the content taught as a direct object: Enseña español. — “He / she teaches Spanish.”

It also means showing something so that another person can see it: Te enseño la foto. — “I show you the photo.” A person learning a skill can be introduced with an indirect object and the skill with a + infinitive — “to + verb”: Le enseño a conducir. — “I teach him / her to drive.”

Enseñar regular conjugation pattern

The stem enseñ- keeps ñ throughout the paradigm. The present enseño — “I teach / show,” preterite enseñé — “I taught / showed,” and subjunctive enseñe — “that I teach / show” — all use regular -AR endings.

There is no stem change, spelling alternation, irregular preterite stem, irregular future stem, irregular gerund, or irregular participle. The written ñ is part of the lexical stem and must never be simplified to n.

Enseñar indicative and periphrastic conjugations

Enseñar present tense conjugation

Present indicative (el presente de indicativo) — Use it for current actions, habits, facts, and contextually near-future events. The lexical stem takes the regular -AR present endings.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	enseño	I teach / show
Tú — you, singular informal	enseñas	you teach / show
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	enseña	he / she teaches / shows; you teach / show (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	enseñamos	we teach / show
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	enseñáis	you teach / show (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	enseñan	they teach / show; you teach / show (plural)

• Enseño español a adultos. — I teach Spanish to adults.

Enseñar preterite conjugation

Preterite (el pretérito perfecto simple / pretérito indefinido) — Use it for completed or bounded past events. The verb uses the regular -AR preterite family.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	enseñé	I taught / showed
Tú — you, singular informal	enseñaste	you taught / showed
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	enseñó	he / she taught / showed; you taught / showed (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	enseñamos	we taught / showed
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	enseñasteis	you taught / showed (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	enseñaron	they taught / showed; you taught / showed (plural)

• Ayer enseñé la oficina al nuevo empleado. — Yesterday I showed the office to the new employee.

Enseñar imperfect conjugation

Imperfect (el pretérito imperfecto) — Use it for habitual, descriptive, background, or ongoing past situations. The verb uses the regular -AR imperfect family.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	enseñaba	I used to teach / show / was teaching / showing
Tú — you, singular informal	enseñabas	you used to teach / show / were teaching / showing
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	enseñaba	he / she used to teach / show / was teaching / showing; you used to teach / show / were teaching / showing (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	enseñábamos	we used to teach / show / were teaching / showing
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	enseñabais	you used to teach / show / were teaching / showing (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	enseñaban	they used to teach / show / were teaching / showing; you used to teach / show / were teaching / showing (plural)

• Antes enseñaba matemáticas en una escuela. — I used to teach mathematics at a school.

Enseñar present progressive

Present progressive — This verbal periphrasis focuses on an action or process in progress. Form it with present estar — “to be” — plus enseñando — “teaching / showing.”

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

• Estoy enseñando a mi hijo a cocinar. — I am teaching my son to cook.

Enseñar near future conjugation

Near future — This verbal periphrasis expresses an intention, plan, or expected event. Form it with present ir — “to go” — plus a — “to” — and enseñar — “to teach / show.”

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

• Voy a enseñarles las fotos. — I am going to show them the photos.

Enseñar 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; there is no separate irregular future or conditional stem.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	enseñaré	I will teach / show
Tú — you, singular informal	enseñarás	you will teach / show
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	enseñará	he / she will teach / show; you will teach / show (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	enseñaremos	we will teach / show
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	enseñaréis	you will teach / show (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	enseñarán	they will teach / show; you will teach / show (plural)

• Te enseñaré cómo funciona. — I will show you how it works.

Enseñar conditional conjugation

Conditional (el condicional simple) — Use it for hypothetical outcomes, softened statements, or related conditional meanings. The endings attach to the full infinitive; there is no separate irregular future or conditional stem.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	enseñaría	I would teach / show
Tú — you, singular informal	enseñarías	you would teach / show
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	enseñaría	he / she would teach / show; you would teach / show (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	enseñaríamos	we would teach / show
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	enseñaríais	you would teach / show (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	enseñarían	they would teach / show; you would teach / show (plural)

• Enseñaría allí si tuviera la oportunidad. — I would teach there if I had the opportunity.

Enseñar 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 — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus the invariant participle enseñado — “taught / shown.”

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

• He enseñado este curso muchas veces. — I have taught this course many times.

Enseñar 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 — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus the invariant participle enseñado — “taught / shown.”

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

• Ya les había enseñado el documento. — I had already shown them the document.

Enseñar 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 — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus the invariant participle enseñado — “taught / shown.”

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

• Para entonces habremos enseñado todos los temas básicos. — By then we will have taught all the basic topics.

Enseñar conditional perfect conjugation

Conditional perfect (el condicional compuesto) — Use it for a hypothetical completed outcome. Form it with the appropriate form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus the invariant participle enseñado — “taught / shown.”

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

• Te habría enseñado el lugar si hubieras llegado antes. — I would have shown you the place if you had arrived earlier.

Enseñar subjunctive conjugations

Enseñar 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. It uses the regular present-subjunctive endings for a -AR verb.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	enseñe	that I teach / show
Tú — you, singular informal	enseñes	that you teach / show
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	enseñe	that he / she teach / show; that you teach / show (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	enseñemos	that we teach / show
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	enseñéis	that you teach / show (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	enseñen	that they teach / show; that you teach / show (plural)

• Quiero que me enseñes la foto. — I want you to show me the photo.

Enseñar 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; do not assume unrestricted interchangeability in every special construction. These forms are built from the third-person plural preterite family; the main table uses the -ra series.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	enseñara	that I taught / showed
Tú — you, singular informal	enseñaras	that you taught / showed
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	enseñara	that he / she taught / showed; that you taught / showed (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	enseñáramos	that we taught / showed
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	enseñarais	that you taught / showed (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	enseñaran	that they taught / showed; that you taught / showed (plural)

• Preferían que enseñáramos el método paso a paso. — They preferred that we teach the method step by step.
• Era mejor que enseñases primero el ejemplo. — It was better for you to show the example first.

Enseñar 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 share the same historical stem family as the imperfect subjunctive.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	enseñare	if / when I should teach / show
Tú — you, singular informal	enseñares	if / when you should teach / show
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	enseñare	if / when he / she should teach / show; if / when you should teach / show (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	enseñáremos	if / when we should teach / show
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	enseñareis	if / when you should teach / show (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	enseñaren	if / when they should teach / show; if / when you should teach / show (plural)

• Quien enseñare esta materia deberá acreditar experiencia. — Whoever should teach this subject must prove experience.

Enseñar 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 — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus the invariant participle enseñado — “taught / shown.”

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

• Me alegra que les hayas enseñado el procedimiento. — I am glad that you have taught them the procedure.

Enseñar 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 — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus the invariant participle enseñado — “taught / shown.”

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

• Si hubiéramos enseñado esa parte antes, habrían entendido mejor. — If we had taught that part earlier, they would have understood better.
• Si hubieses enseñado la foto, la habría reconocido. — If you had shown the photo, I would have recognized it.

Enseñar 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 — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus the invariant participle enseñado — “taught / shown.”

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

• Si hubieren enseñado el material, deberá constar en el informe. — If they should have shown the material, it must be recorded in the report.

Enseñar imperative and commands

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

Enseñar affirmative commands

Use affirmative commands for direct instructions when the target meaning supports them naturally. The table contains the five core addressee or exhortative rows.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Tú — you, singular informal	enseña	teach
Usted — you, singular formal	enseñe	teach (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	enseñemos	let’s teach
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	enseñad	teach (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	enseñen	teach (plural)

• Enséñame cómo se hace. — Show me how it is done.

Enseñar negative commands

Negative commands use subjunctive-based forms, with no — “not / do not” — before the command form.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Tú — you, singular informal	no enseñes	do not teach
Usted — you, singular formal	no enseñe	do not teach (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	no enseñemos	let’s not teach
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	no enseñéis	do not teach (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	no enseñen	do not teach (plural)

• No enseñes información privada. — Do not show private information.

Common constructions with Enseñar

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

• enseñar algo. — to teach / show something.
• enseñar algo a alguien. — to teach / show something to someone.
• enseñar a alguien a + infinitive. — to teach someone to do something.

Example sentences with Enseñar

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

• Mi profesora enseña español. — My teacher teaches Spanish.
• ¿Puedes enseñarme tu billete? — Can you show me your ticket?
• Le enseñaron a nadar de niño. — They taught him to swim as a child.
• Estoy enseñando un curso nuevo. — I am teaching a new course.
• Espero que me enseñes las fotos. — I hope you show me the photos.
• Enséñales cómo funciona. — Show them how it works.

Regional and usage notes for Enseñar

The core tables retain tú, usted, vosotros/vosotras, and ustedes for project comparability. Voseo changes some common second-person singular forms in regions where vos — “you, singular informal” — is used.

• Vos enseñás inglés por las tardes. — You teach English in the afternoons. (voseo)
• Enseñame la foto. — Show me the photo. (affirmative vos command with an attached clitic)

Enseñar is a model regular -AR verb. Preserve the ñ in every form, then focus on the sentence frame: what is taught or shown, who receives it, and whether an infinitive follows to express a taught skill.