Escuchar Conjugation | How to Conjugate Escuchar in Spanish

Escuchar means “to listen” or “to listen to.” You will learn its regular -AR paradigm, direct-object usage, gerund escuchando, participle escuchado, compound tenses, subjunctive forms, and commands.

Escuchar conjugation at a glance

Verb type: Regular AR. Escuchar keeps the stable stem escuch- and takes ordinary -AR endings: escucho — “I listen / listen to,” escuché — “I listened,” and escuche — “that I listen.”

Escuchar gerund, past participle, and infinitive

The infinitive names the verb, the gerund is its non-finite -ing form, and the past participle combines with haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — in compound forms. The participle escuchado remains invariant in those compounds.

Form	Spanish	Natural English guide
Infinitive	escuchar	to listen / listen to
Gerund	escuchando	listening / listening to
Past participle	escuchado	listened / listened to

Escuchar meaning and essential uses

Escuchar means paying attention to what is heard. RAE lists it primarily as transitive in this sense: Escucho música. — “I listen to music.” Spanish does not require an equivalent of English “to” before the direct object.

It also means heeding advice, a warning, or a suggestion: Escucha mi consejo. — “Listen to my advice.”

Escuchar regular conjugation pattern

The stem escuch- remains unchanged throughout the core paradigm. Present escucho — “I listen,” preterite escuché — “I listened,” and present subjunctive escuche — “that I listen” — all use regular -AR endings.

The gerund escuchando — “listening” — and participle escuchado — “listened” — are regular. There is no stem change, spelling alternation, irregular preterite stem, or irregular future stem.

Escuchar indicative and periphrastic conjugations

Escuchar present tense conjugation

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

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	escucho	I listen / listen to
Tú — you, singular informal	escuchas	you listen / listen to
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	escucha	he / she listens / listens to; you listen / listen to (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	escuchamos	we listen / listen to
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	escucháis	you listen / listen to (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	escuchan	they listen / listen to; you listen / listen to (plural)

• Escucho música mientras trabajo. — I listen to music while I work.

Escuchar preterite conjugation

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

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	escuché	I listened / listened to
Tú — you, singular informal	escuchaste	you listened / listened to
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	escuchó	he / she listened / listened to; you listened / listened to (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	escuchamos	we listened / listened to
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	escuchasteis	you listened / listened to (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	escucharon	they listened / listened to; you listened / listened to (plural)

• Ayer escuché el mensaje completo. — Yesterday I listened to the whole message.

Escuchar imperfect conjugation

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

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	escuchaba	I used to listen / listen to / was listening / listening to
Tú — you, singular informal	escuchabas	you used to listen / listen to / were listening / listening to
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	escuchaba	he / she used to listen / listen to / was listening / listening to; you used to listen / listen to / were listening / listening to (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	escuchábamos	we used to listen / listen to / were listening / listening to
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	escuchabais	you used to listen / listen to / were listening / listening to (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	escuchaban	they used to listen / listen to / were listening / listening to; you used to listen / listen to / were listening / listening to (plural)

• Antes escuchaba la radio por la mañana. — I used to listen to the radio in the morning.

Escuchar present progressive

Present progressive — This verbal periphrasis normally uses present estar plus the target verb’s gerund. Form it with present estar — “to be” — plus escuchando — “listening / listening to.”

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

• Estamos escuchando las instrucciones. — We are listening to the instructions.

Escuchar near future conjugation

Near future — This verbal periphrasis uses present ir + a + infinitive. Form it with present ir — “to go” — plus a — “to” — and escuchar.

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

• Voy a escuchar el episodio esta noche. — I am going to listen to the episode tonight.

Escuchar future tense conjugation

Simple future (el futuro simple) — Use it for future reference and, where useful, probability. The endings attach to the full infinitive.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	escucharé	I will listen / listen to
Tú — you, singular informal	escucharás	you will listen / listen to
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	escuchará	he / she will listen / listen to; you will listen / listen to (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	escucharemos	we will listen / listen to
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	escucharéis	you will listen / listen to (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	escucharán	they will listen / listen to; you will listen / listen to (plural)

• Escucharé tu opinión antes de decidir. — I will listen to your opinion before deciding.

Escuchar conditional conjugation

Conditional (el condicional simple) — Use it for hypothetical or softened meanings. The endings attach to the full infinitive.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	escucharía	I would listen / listen to
Tú — you, singular informal	escucharías	you would listen / listen to
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	escucharía	he / she would listen / listen to; you would listen / listen to (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	escucharíamos	we would listen / listen to
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	escucharíais	you would listen / listen to (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	escucharían	they would listen / listen to; you would listen / listen to (plural)

• Escucharía el audio de nuevo. — I would listen to the audio again.

Escuchar present perfect conjugation

Present perfect (el pretérito perfecto compuesto) — Use it for completed situations connected to a present reference frame; distribution varies regionally. Form it with the appropriate form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus the invariant participle escuchado — “listened / listened to.”

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

• He escuchado esa canción muchas veces. — I have listened to that song many times.

Escuchar past perfect conjugation

Past perfect (el pretérito pluscuamperfecto) — Use it for something completed before another past reference point. Form it with the appropriate form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus the invariant participle escuchado — “listened / listened to.”

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

• Ya habíamos escuchado la advertencia. — We had already listened to the warning.

Escuchar future perfect conjugation

Future perfect (el futuro perfecto) — Use it for something 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 escuchado — “listened / listened to.”

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

• Para entonces habrán escuchado todas las grabaciones. — By then they will have listened to all the recordings.

Escuchar 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 escuchado — “listened / listened to.”

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

• Habría escuchado con más atención. — I would have listened more carefully.

Escuchar subjunctive conjugations

Escuchar 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 expected present-subjunctive family for this verb.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	escuche	that I listen / listen to
Tú — you, singular informal	escuches	that you listen / listen to
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	escuche	that he / she listen / listen to; that you listen / listen to (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	escuchemos	that we listen / listen to
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	escuchéis	that you listen / listen to (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	escuchen	that they listen / listen to; that you listen / listen to (plural)

• Quiero que escuches la pronunciación. — I want you to listen to the pronunciation.

Escuchar 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 shown after the table. Form it with the appropriate form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus the invariant participle escuchado — “listened / listened to.”

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	escuchara	that I listened / listened to
Tú — you, singular informal	escucharas	that you listened / listened to
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	escuchara	that he / she listened / listened to; that you listened / listened to (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	escucháramos	that we listened / listened to
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	escucharais	that you listened / listened to (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	escucharan	that they listened / listened to; that you listened / listened to (plural)

• Preferían que escucháramos primero. — They preferred that we listen first.
• Era mejor que escuchases el audio completo. — It was better for you to listen to the full audio.

Escuchar 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 forms share the same historical family as the imperfect subjunctive.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	escuchare	if / when I should listen / listen to
Tú — you, singular informal	escuchares	if / when you should listen / listen to
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	escuchare	if / when he / she should listen / listen to; if / when you should listen / listen to (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	escucháremos	if / when we should listen / listen to
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	escuchareis	if / when you should listen / listen to (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	escucharen	if / when they should listen / listen to; if / when you should listen / listen to (plural)

• Quien escuchare la grabación deberá mantener la confidencialidad. — Whoever should listen to the recording must maintain confidentiality.

Escuchar present perfect subjunctive conjugation

Present perfect subjunctive (el pretérito perfecto de subjuntivo) — Use it when a completed situation 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 escuchado — “listened / listened to.”

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

• Me alegra que hayas escuchado el consejo. — I am glad that you listened to the advice.

Escuchar 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 escuchado — “listened / listened to.”

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

• Si hubiéramos escuchado antes, habríamos evitado el error. — If we had listened earlier, we would have avoided the mistake.
• Si hubieses escuchado la explicación, lo habrías entendido. — If you had listened to the explanation, you would have understood it.

Escuchar 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. Form it with the appropriate form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus the invariant participle escuchado — “listened / listened to.”

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

• Si hubieren escuchado la grabación, deberán declararlo. — If they should have listened to the recording, they must declare it.

Escuchar imperative and commands

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

Escuchar affirmative commands

Use the verified affirmative command forms for direct instructions when the meaning supports an instruction naturally.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Tú — you, singular informal	escucha	listen
Usted — you, singular formal	escuche	listen (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	escuchemos	let’s listen
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	escuchad	listen (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	escuchen	listen (plural)

• Escucha con atención. — Listen carefully.

Escuchar negative commands

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

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Tú — you, singular informal	no escuches	do not listen
Usted — you, singular formal	no escuche	do not listen (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	no escuchemos	let’s not listen
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	no escuchéis	do not listen (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	no escuchen	do not listen (plural)

• No escuches esa conversación. — Do not listen to that conversation.

Common constructions with Escuchar

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

• escuchar algo. — to listen to something.
• escuchar a alguien. — to listen to someone.
• escuchar un consejo o aviso. — to heed / listen to advice or a warning.

Example sentences with Escuchar

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

• Escucha esta canción. — Listen to this song.
• No escuchamos bien el anuncio. — We did not hear / listen to the announcement well.
• Estoy escuchando un pódcast. — I am listening to a podcast.
• Espero que escuches mi consejo. — I hope you listen to my advice.
• Ya he escuchado el audio. — I have already listened to the audio.
• Escuchen primero y respondan después. — Listen first and respond afterward.

Regional and usage notes for Escuchar

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 escuchás música mientras trabajás. — You listen to music while you work. (voseo)
• Escuchá con atención. — Listen carefully. (affirmative vos command)

Escuchar is morphologically straightforward. The main usage point for English speakers is syntactic: Spanish normally takes the thing heard as a direct object, so escuchar música means “to listen to music” without an extra preposition.