Leer Conjugation | How to Conjugate Leer in Spanish

Leer means “to read.” You will learn its regular present, y-forms in the preterite and past-subjunctive families, irregular gerund leyendo, accented participle leído, and commands.

Leer conjugation at a glance

Verb type: Irregular. Leer is regular in many forms, but the sequence changes to y in leyó — “he / she read,” leyeron — “they read,” leyera — “that I read,” and leyendo — “reading.” Its participle is leído — “read.”

Leer 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 leído remains invariant in those compounds.

Form	Spanish	Natural English guide
Infinitive	leer	to read
Gerund	leyendo	reading
Past participle	leído	read

Leer meaning and essential uses

Leer — “to read” — is usually transitive: Leo el periódico. — “I read the newspaper.” The direct object can be a text, message, book, sign, or other interpretable material.

RAE also records broader senses such as interpreting or inferring information: Leo en su cara que está cansado. — “I can read from his / her face that he / she is tired.”

Leer conjugation pattern

The present uses the stable forms leo, lees, lee, leemos, leéis, leen. In the third-person preterite, the intervocalic sequence is represented with y: leyó — “he / she read” — and leyeron — “they read.”

The same ley- family appears in the imperfect and future subjunctive: leyera — “that I read” — and leyere — “if / when I should read.” The gerund is leyendo — “reading,” while the participle is leído — “read.”

Leer indicative and periphrastic conjugations

Leer present tense conjugation

Present indicative (el presente de indicativo) — Use it for current actions, habits, facts, and contextually near-future reference. The present forms are stable and do not use the y found in later families.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	leo	I read
Tú — you, singular informal	lees	you read
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	lee	he / she reads; you read (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	leemos	we read
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	leéis	you read (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	leen	they read; you read (plural)

• Leo las noticias cada mañana. — I read the news every morning.

Leer preterite conjugation

Preterite (el pretérito perfecto simple / pretérito indefinido) — Use it for completed or bounded past events. The third-person forms use leyó — “he / she read” — and leyeron — “they read.”

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	leí	I read
Tú — you, singular informal	leíste	you read
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	leyó	he / she read; you read (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	leímos	we read
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	leísteis	you read (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	leyeron	they read; you read (plural)

• Ayer leí un artículo interesante. — Yesterday I read an interesting article.

Leer imperfect conjugation

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

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	leía	I used to read / was reading
Tú — you, singular informal	leías	you used to read / were reading
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	leía	he / she used to read / was reading; you used to read / were reading (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	leíamos	we used to read / were reading
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	leíais	you used to read / were reading (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	leían	they used to read / were reading; you used to read / were reading (plural)

• De niño leía antes de dormir. — As a child, I used to read before sleeping.

Leer present progressive

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

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

• Estoy leyendo una novela. — I am reading a novel.

Leer 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 leer.

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

• Voy a leer el informe esta tarde. — I am going to read the report this afternoon.

Leer future tense conjugation

Simple future (el futuro simple) — Use it for future reference and, where 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	leeré	I will read
Tú — you, singular informal	leerás	you will read
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	leerá	he / she will read; you will read (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	leeremos	we will read
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	leeréis	you will read (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	leerán	they will read; you will read (plural)

• Leeré el capítulo mañana. — I will read the chapter tomorrow.

Leer 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	leería	I would read
Tú — you, singular informal	leerías	you would read
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	leería	he / she would read; you would read (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	leeríamos	we would read
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	leeríais	you would read (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	leerían	they would read; you would read (plural)

• Leería ese libro si tuviera tiempo. — I would read that book if I had time.

Leer 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 leído — “read.”

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

• Ya he leído el mensaje. — I have already read the message.

Leer 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 leído — “read.”

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

• Habíamos leído las instrucciones. — We had read the instructions.

Leer 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 leído — “read.”

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

• Para entonces habrán leído todo el documento. — By then they will have read the whole document.

Leer 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 leído — “read.”

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

• Habría leído más con mejor luz. — I would have read more with better light.

Leer subjunctive conjugations

Leer 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 present subjunctive uses the regular-looking lea... family.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	lea	that I read
Tú — you, singular informal	leas	that you read
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	lea	that he / she read; that you read (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	leamos	that we read
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	leáis	that you read (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	lean	that they read; that you read (plural)

• Quiero que leas esta página. — I want you to read this page.

Leer 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 leído — “read.”

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	leyera	that I read
Tú — you, singular informal	leyeras	that you read
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	leyera	that he / she read; that you read (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	leyéramos	that we read
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	leyerais	that you read (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	leyeran	that they read; that you read (plural)

• Preferían que leyéramos el texto en voz alta. — They preferred that we read the text aloud.
• Era mejor que leyeses primero las instrucciones. — It was better for you to read the instructions first.

Leer 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 use the leyer- family.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	leyere	if / when I should read
Tú — you, singular informal	leyeres	if / when you should read
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	leyere	if / when he / she should read; if / when you should read (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	leyéremos	if / when we should read
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	leyereis	if / when you should read (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	leyeren	if / when they should read; if / when you should read (plural)

• Quien leyere el documento deberá firmarlo. — Whoever should read the document must sign it.

Leer 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 leído — “read.”

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

• Me alegra que hayas leído el informe. — I am glad that you read the report.

Leer 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 leído — “read.”

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

• Si hubiéramos leído antes las condiciones, habríamos preguntado. — If we had read the terms earlier, we would have asked.
• Si hubieses leído el mensaje, lo sabrías. — If you had read the message, you would know.

Leer 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 leído — “read.”

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

• Si hubieren leído el documento, deberán confirmarlo. — If they should have read the document, they must confirm it.

Leer 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.

Leer affirmative commands

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

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Tú — you, singular informal	lee	read
Usted — you, singular formal	lea	read (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	leamos	let’s read
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	leed	read (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	lean	read (plural)

• Lee las instrucciones primero. — Read the instructions first.

Leer 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 leas	do not read
Usted — you, singular formal	no lea	do not read (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	no leamos	let’s not read
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	no leáis	do not read (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	no lean	do not read (plural)

• No leas mientras conduces. — Do not read while driving.

Common constructions with Leer

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

• leer algo. — to read something.
• leer en voz alta. — to read aloud.
• leer entre líneas. — to read between the lines.

Example sentences with Leer

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

• Leo un poco cada noche. — I read a little every night.
• ¿Has leído este libro? — Have you read this book?
• Estamos leyendo las instrucciones. — We are reading the instructions.
• Espero que leas el correo hoy. — I hope you read the email today.
• Ella leyó el mensaje dos veces. — She read the message twice.
• Lee cada frase en voz alta. — Read each sentence aloud.

Regional and usage notes for Leer

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

• Vos leés mucho durante las vacaciones. — You read a lot during vacation. (voseo)
• Leé esta página primero. — Read this page first. (affirmative vos command)

For leer, separate the stable present from the ley- family. Remember leyó / leyeron in the preterite, leyendo as the gerund, and leído as the accented participle.