Imaginar Conjugation | How to Conjugate Imaginar in Spanish

Imaginar means “to imagine,” “to suppose,” or “to picture mentally.” You will learn its regular -AR conjugation and the common patterns imaginar algo, imaginar que, and pronominal imaginarse.

Imaginar conjugation at a glance

Verb type: Regular AR. Imaginar keeps the stable stem imagin- and takes ordinary -AR endings. Its gerund imaginando — “imagining” — and participle imaginado — “imagined” — are regular.

Imaginar 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 imaginado remains invariant in those compounds.

Form	Spanish	Natural English guide
Infinitive	imaginar	to imagine
Gerund	imaginando	imagining
Past participle	imaginado	imagined

Imaginar meaning and essential uses

Imaginar — “to imagine / picture” — is commonly transitive: Imagino una casa junto al mar. — “I imagine a house by the sea.”

It also introduces a proposition with que — “that”: Imagino que llegarán tarde. — “I imagine they will arrive late.” RAE also records pronominal use, as in Me imagino la escena. — “I picture the scene.”

Imaginar regular conjugation pattern

The stem imagin- remains unchanged across the core paradigm. Forms such as imagino — “I imagine,” imaginé — “I imagined,” and imagine — “that I imagine” — use the expected -AR endings.

There is no stem change, spelling alternation, irregular preterite stem, irregular future stem, irregular gerund, or irregular participle.

Imaginar indicative and periphrastic conjugations

Imaginar present tense conjugation

Present indicative (el presente de indicativo) — Use it for current situations, habits, facts, and contextually near-future reference. The verb uses the regular -AR forms shown below.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	imagino	I imagine
Tú — you, singular informal	imaginas	you imagine
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	imagina	he / she imagines; you imagine (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	imaginamos	we imagine
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	imagináis	you imagine (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	imaginan	they imagine; you imagine (plural)

• Imagino una solución sencilla. — I imagine a simple solution.

Imaginar preterite conjugation

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

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	imaginé	I imagined
Tú — you, singular informal	imaginaste	you imagined
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	imaginó	he / she imagined; you imagined (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	imaginamos	we imagined
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	imaginasteis	you imagined (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	imaginaron	they imagined; you imagined (plural)

• Ayer imaginé un final diferente. — Yesterday I imagined a different ending.

Imaginar imperfect conjugation

Imperfect (el pretérito imperfecto) — Use it for habitual, descriptive, background, or ongoing past situations. Form it with the appropriate form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus the invariant participle imaginado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	imaginaba	I used to imagine / was imagining
Tú — you, singular informal	imaginabas	you used to imagine / were imagining
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	imaginaba	he / she used to imagine / was imagining; you used to imagine / were imagining (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	imaginábamos	we used to imagine / were imagining
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	imaginabais	you used to imagine / were imagining (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	imaginaban	they used to imagine / were imagining; you used to imagine / were imagining (plural)

• De niño imaginaba mundos fantásticos. — As a child, I used to imagine fantastic worlds.

Imaginar present progressive

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

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

• Estoy imaginando cómo quedará la habitación. — I am imagining what the room will look like.

Imaginar 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 imaginar.

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

• Voy a imaginar otra posibilidad. — I am going to imagine another possibility.

Imaginar future tense conjugation

Simple future (el futuro simple) — Use it for future reference and, where useful, probability. The verb uses the regular -AR forms shown below.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	imaginaré	I will imagine
Tú — you, singular informal	imaginarás	you will imagine
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	imaginará	he / she will imagine; you will imagine (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	imaginaremos	we will imagine
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	imaginaréis	you will imagine (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	imaginarán	they will imagine; you will imagine (plural)

• Imaginaré varios escenarios antes de decidir. — I will imagine several scenarios before deciding.

Imaginar conditional conjugation

Conditional (el condicional simple) — Use it for hypothetical outcomes, softened statements, or related conditional meanings. The verb uses the regular -AR forms shown below.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	imaginaría	I would imagine
Tú — you, singular informal	imaginarías	you would imagine
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	imaginaría	he / she would imagine; you would imagine (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	imaginaríamos	we would imagine
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	imaginaríais	you would imagine (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	imaginarían	they would imagine; you would imagine (plural)

• Imaginaría una solución más flexible. — I would imagine a more flexible solution.

Imaginar 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 imaginado.

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

• He imaginado muchas posibilidades. — I have imagined many possibilities.

Imaginar 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 imaginado.

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

• Ya habíamos imaginado ese problema. — We had already imagined that problem.

Imaginar 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 imaginado.

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

• Para entonces habrán imaginado distintos resultados. — By then they will have imagined different outcomes.

Imaginar 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 imaginado.

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

• Habría imaginado algo más sencillo. — I would have imagined something simpler.

Imaginar subjunctive conjugations

Imaginar 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 verb uses the regular -AR forms shown below.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	imagine	that I imagine
Tú — you, singular informal	imagines	that you imagine
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	imagine	that he / she imagine; that you imagine (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	imaginemos	that we imagine
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	imaginéis	that you imagine (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	imaginen	that they imagine; that you imagine (plural)

• Quiero que imagines el resultado final. — I want you to imagine the final result.

Imaginar 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 — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus the invariant participle imaginado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	imaginara	that I imagined
Tú — you, singular informal	imaginaras	that you imagined
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	imaginara	that he / she imagined; that you imagined (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	imagináramos	that we imagined
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	imaginarais	that you imagined (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	imaginaran	that they imagined; that you imagined (plural)

• Preferían que imagináramos otra situación. — They preferred that we imagine another situation.
• Era mejor que imaginases primero el contexto. — It was better for you to imagine the context first.

Imaginar 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 stem family as the imperfect subjunctive.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	imaginare	if / when I should imagine
Tú — you, singular informal	imaginares	if / when you should imagine
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	imaginare	if / when he / she should imagine; if / when you should imagine (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	imagináremos	if / when we should imagine
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	imaginareis	if / when you should imagine (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	imaginaren	if / when they should imagine; if / when you should imagine (plural)

• Quien imaginare una solución viable podrá proponerla. — Whoever should imagine a viable solution may propose it.

Imaginar 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 imaginado.

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

• Me alegra que hayas imaginado una alternativa. — I am glad that you have imagined an alternative.

Imaginar 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 imaginado.

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

• Si hubiéramos imaginado el problema antes, lo habríamos evitado. — If we had imagined the problem earlier, we would have avoided it.
• Si hubieses imaginado otra opción, la habríamos considerado. — If you had imagined another option, we would have considered it.

Imaginar 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 imaginado.

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

• Si hubieren imaginado una solución, deberán explicarla. — If they should have imagined a solution, they must explain it.

Imaginar imperative and commands

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

Imaginar 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	imagina	imagine
Usted — you, singular formal	imagine	imagine (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	imaginemos	let’s imagine
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	imaginad	imagine (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	imaginen	imagine (plural)

• Imagina una ciudad sin coches. — Imagine a city without cars.

Imaginar 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 imagines	do not imagine
Usted — you, singular formal	no imagine	do not imagine (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	no imaginemos	let’s not imagine
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	no imaginéis	do not imagine (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	no imaginen	do not imagine (plural)

• No imagines el peor resultado de inmediato. — Do not imagine the worst outcome immediately.

Common constructions with Imaginar

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

• imaginar algo. — to imagine something.
• imaginar que + clause. — to imagine / suppose that something is the case.
• imaginarse algo. — to picture / imagine something, pronominal use.

Example sentences with Imaginar

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

• Imagino que llegarán pronto. — I imagine they will arrive soon.
• No puedo imaginar una solución mejor. — I cannot imagine a better solution.
• Me imagino la escena perfectamente. — I can picture the scene perfectly.
• ¿Has imaginado cómo sería vivir allí? — Have you imagined what it would be like to live there?
• Espero que imagines varias opciones. — I hope you imagine several options.
• Imagina el resultado antes de empezar. — Imagine the result before starting.

Regional and usage notes for Imaginar

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 imaginás muchas posibilidades. — You imagine many possibilities. (voseo)
• Imaginá una solución diferente. — Imagine a different solution. (affirmative vos command)

Imaginar is morphologically regular. The key usage choice is what follows it: a direct object for a mental image, que — “that” — for a proposition, or the pronominal pattern imaginarse in contexts where speakers naturally use it.