Faltar Conjugation | How to Conjugate Faltar in Spanish

Faltar means “to be missing,” “to lack,” “to be absent,” or “to miss.” You will learn its regular -AR forms and the different subject patterns behind these common meanings.

Faltar conjugation at a glance

Verb type: Regular AR. Faltar is morphologically regular: falto — “I am absent / miss,” falté — “I was absent / missed,” and falte — “that I be absent / miss” — all use normal -AR endings. Its main difficulty is syntax, not conjugation.

Faltar 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 faltado remains invariant in those compounds.

Form	Spanish	Natural English guide
Infinitive	faltar	to be absent / miss
Gerund	faltando	being absent / missing
Past participle	faltado	been absent / missed

Faltar meaning and essential uses

Faltar has several common intransitive uses. For attendance, use faltar a — “to miss / be absent from”: Falté a clase ayer. — “I missed class yesterday.”

For a missing thing or insufficient amount, the missing element is normally the grammatical subject: Me falta tiempo. — “I do not have enough time / I am short of time.” and Faltan dos días. — “Two days remain.” The singular/plural form follows the thing that is missing or remaining.

Faltar regular conjugation pattern

The stem falt- remains stable across the paradigm. Present falto — “I am absent / miss,” preterite falté — “I was absent / missed,” and present subjunctive falte — “that I be absent / miss” — take regular -AR endings.

The gerund faltando — “being absent / missing” — and participle faltado — “been absent / missed” — are regular. No stem change or spelling alternation occurs.

Faltar indicative and periphrastic conjugations

Faltar 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 present paradigm.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	falto	I am absent / miss [something]
Tú — you, singular informal	faltas	you are absent / miss [something]
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	falta	he / she is absent / misses [something]; you are absent / miss [something] (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	faltamos	we are absent / miss [something]
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	faltáis	you are absent / miss [something] (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	faltan	they are absent / miss [something]; you are absent / miss [something] (plural)

• Falto a clase muy pocas veces. — I miss class very rarely.

Faltar preterite conjugation

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

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	falté	I was absent / missed [something]
Tú — you, singular informal	faltaste	you were absent / missed [something]
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	faltó	he / she was absent / missed [something]; you were absent / missed [something] (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	faltamos	we were absent / missed [something]
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	faltasteis	you were absent / missed [something] (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	faltaron	they were absent / missed [something]; you were absent / missed [something] (plural)

• Ayer falté a una reunión. — Yesterday I missed a meeting.

Faltar imperfect conjugation

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

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	faltaba	I used to be absent / used to miss [something]
Tú — you, singular informal	faltabas	you used to be absent / used to miss [something]
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	faltaba	he / she used to be absent / used to miss [something]; you used to be absent / used to miss [something] (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	faltábamos	we used to be absent / used to miss [something]
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	faltabais	you used to be absent / used to miss [something] (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	faltaban	they used to be absent / used to miss [something]; you used to be absent / used to miss [something] (plural)

• Antes faltaba al entrenamiento los viernes. — I used to miss practice on Fridays.

Faltar present progressive

Present progressive — This verbal periphrasis focuses on an action or process in progress. Form it with present estar — “to be” — plus faltando — “being absent / missing.”

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

• Estoy faltando demasiado a clase este mes. — I am missing too much class this month.

Faltar 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 faltar — “to be absent / miss.”

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

• Voy a faltar al trabajo mañana. — I am going to be absent from work tomorrow.

Faltar future tense conjugation

Simple future (el futuro simple) — Use it for future reference and, when useful, 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	faltaré	I will be absent / miss
Tú — you, singular informal	faltarás	you will be absent / miss
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	faltará	he / she will be absent / miss; you will be absent / miss (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	faltaremos	we will be absent / miss
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	faltaréis	you will be absent / miss (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	faltarán	they will be absent / miss; you will be absent / miss (plural)

• Faltaré a la reunión si sigo enfermo. — I will miss the meeting if I am still sick.

Faltar 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	faltaría	I would be absent / miss
Tú — you, singular informal	faltarías	you would be absent / miss
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	faltaría	he / she would be absent / miss; you would be absent / miss (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	faltaríamos	we would be absent / miss
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	faltaríais	you would be absent / miss (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	faltarían	they would be absent / miss; you would be absent / miss (plural)

• Faltaría al entrenamiento si tuviera fiebre. — I would miss practice if I had a fever.

Faltar 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 faltado — “been absent / missed.”

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

• He faltado dos días esta semana. — I have been absent for two days this week.

Faltar 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 faltado — “been absent / missed.”

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

• Ya había faltado a otra cita. — I had already missed another appointment.

Faltar 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 faltado — “been absent / missed.”

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

• Para entonces habrán faltado varias personas. — By then several people will have been absent.

Faltar 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 faltado — “been absent / missed.”

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

• Habría faltado al trabajo si hubiera estado enfermo. — I would have missed work if I had been sick.

Faltar subjunctive conjugations

Faltar 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 regular present-subjunctive family.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	falte	that I be absent / miss
Tú — you, singular informal	faltes	that you be absent / miss
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	falte	that he / she be absent / miss; that you be absent / miss (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	faltemos	that we be absent / miss
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	faltéis	that you be absent / miss (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	falten	that they be absent / miss; that you be absent / miss (plural)

• No quiero que faltes a clase. — I do not want you to miss class.

Faltar 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. Form it with the appropriate form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus the invariant participle faltado — “been absent / missed.”

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	faltara	that I were absent / missed [something]
Tú — you, singular informal	faltaras	that you were absent / missed [something]
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	faltara	that he / she were absent / missed [something]; that you were absent / missed [something] (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	faltáramos	that we were absent / missed [something]
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	faltarais	that you were absent / missed [something] (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	faltaran	that they were absent / missed [something]; that you were absent / missed [something] (plural)

• Preferían que faltáramos solo si era necesario. — They preferred that we be absent only if necessary.
• Era mejor que faltases a la reunión si tenías fiebre. — It was better for you to miss the meeting if you had a fever.

Faltar 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 family as the imperfect subjunctive.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	faltare	if / when I should be absent / miss
Tú — you, singular informal	faltares	if / when you should be absent / miss
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	faltare	if / when he / she should be absent / miss; if / when you should be absent / miss (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	faltáremos	if / when we should be absent / miss
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	faltareis	if / when you should be absent / miss (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	faltaren	if / when they should be absent / miss; if / when you should be absent / miss (plural)

• Quien faltare a tres sesiones deberá justificarlo. — Whoever should miss three sessions must provide justification.

Faltar 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 faltado — “been absent / missed.”

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

• Me alegra que no hayas faltado hoy. — I am glad that you were not absent today.

Faltar 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 faltado — “been absent / missed.”

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

• Si hubiera faltado ayer, habría perdido la explicación. — If I had been absent yesterday, I would have missed the explanation.
• Si hubieses faltado a la cita, tendrías que pedir otra. — If you had missed the appointment, you would have to request another one.

Faltar 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 faltado — “been absent / missed.”

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

• Si hubieren faltado sin justificación, se registrará la ausencia. — If they should have been absent without justification, the absence will be recorded.

Faltar 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.

Faltar affirmative commands

Affirmative command forms are morphologically valid, but they are most natural in the attendance sense “to miss / be absent from,” not in the missing-quantity meaning of me falta — “I lack / am missing.”

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Tú — you, singular informal	falta	be absent
Usted — you, singular formal	falte	be absent (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	faltemos	let’s be absent
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	faltad	be absent (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	falten	be absent (plural)

• Falta al entrenamiento si tienes fiebre. — Miss practice if you have a fever.

Faltar 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 faltes	do not be absent
Usted — you, singular formal	no falte	do not be absent (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	no faltemos	let’s not be absent
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	no faltéis	do not be absent (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	no falten	do not be absent (plural)

• No faltes a la reunión. — Do not miss the meeting.

Common constructions with Faltar

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

• faltar a + class, meeting, or obligation. — to miss / be absent from a class, meeting, or obligation.
• me falta + singular thing. — I lack / am missing a singular thing.
• me faltan + plural things. — I lack / am missing plural things.

Example sentences with Faltar

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

• Me falta tiempo para terminar. — I do not have enough time to finish.
• Nos faltan dos documentos. — We are missing two documents.
• Faltan diez minutos para empezar. — Ten minutes remain before we start.
• Ayer faltaron tres estudiantes. — Three students were absent yesterday.
• Espero que no faltes mañana. — I hope you are not absent tomorrow.
• No faltes a clase sin avisar. — Do not miss class without telling anyone.

Regional and usage notes for Faltar

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 faltás a clase muy pocas veces. — You miss class very rarely. (voseo)
• Faltá al entrenamiento solo si estás enfermo. — Miss practice only if you are sick. (affirmative vos command)

Faltar is regular in form but not in sentence structure. For attendance, use faltar a — “to miss / be absent from”; for missing quantities, let the missing thing control singular or plural agreement.