Perder Conjugation | How to Conjugate Perder in Spanish

Perder means “to lose,” “to miss,” or “to waste.” You will learn its e → ie present change, regular preterite and future families, subjunctive forms, commands, and common pronominal extensions.

Perder conjugation at a glance

Verb type: Irregular. Perder has an e → ie stem change in stressed present-family forms. Those forms use pierd-, as in pierdo — “I lose,” while nosotros/nosotras and vosotros/vosotras keep perd-.

Perder 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 perdido remains invariant in those compounds.

Form	Spanish	Natural English guide
Infinitive	perder	to lose / miss
Gerund	perdiendo	losing / missing
Past participle	perdido	lost / missed

Perder meaning and essential uses

Perder is commonly transitive: Pierdo las llaves. — “I lose the keys.” It also means failing to catch or attend something: Perdí el tren. — “I missed the train.”

Other common meanings include losing a game and wasting something valuable: Perdimos el partido. — “We lost the match.” No pierdas tiempo. — “Do not waste time.” The pronominal perderse commonly means “to get lost.”

Perder irregular conjugation patterns

Stressed present indicative forms use pierd-: pierdo, pierdes, pierde, pierden. Nosotros/nosotras and vosotros/vosotras keep perd-: perdemos, perdéis.

The present subjunctive follows the same distribution: pierda, pierdas, pierda, perdamos, perdáis, pierdan. The preterite, imperfect, future, conditional, gerund perdiendo, and participle perdido otherwise follow the regular -ER pattern.

Perder indicative and periphrastic conjugations

Perder present tense conjugation

Present indicative (el presente de indicativo) — Use it for current situations, habits, facts, and contextually near-future reference. Stressed forms use pierd-; nosotros/nosotras and vosotros/vosotras keep perd-.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	pierdo	I lose / miss
Tú — you, singular informal	pierdes	you lose / miss
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	pierde	he / she loses / misses; you lose / miss (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	perdemos	we lose / miss
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	perdéis	you lose / miss (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	pierden	they lose / miss; you lose / miss (plural)

• Pierdo las llaves con demasiada frecuencia. — I lose my keys too often.

Perder preterite conjugation

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

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	perdí	I lost / missed
Tú — you, singular informal	perdiste	you lost / missed
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	perdió	he / she lost / missed; you lost / missed (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	perdimos	we lost / missed
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	perdisteis	you lost / missed (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	perdieron	they lost / missed; you lost / missed (plural)

• Ayer perdí el autobús. — Yesterday I missed the bus.

Perder 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 perdido.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	perdía	I used to lose / miss / was losing / missing
Tú — you, singular informal	perdías	you used to lose / miss / were losing / missing
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	perdía	he / she used to lose / miss / was losing / missing; you used to lose / miss / were losing / missing (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	perdíamos	we used to lose / miss / were losing / missing
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	perdíais	you used to lose / miss / were losing / missing (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	perdían	they used to lose / miss / were losing / missing; you used to lose / miss / were losing / missing (plural)

• Antes perdía mucho tiempo buscando archivos. — I used to waste a lot of time looking for files.

Perder present progressive

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

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

• Estoy perdiendo la paciencia. — I am losing patience.

Perder 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 perder.

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

• Voy a perder el tren si no salgo ahora. — I am going to miss the train if I do not leave now.

Perder 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	perderé	I will lose / miss
Tú — you, singular informal	perderás	you will lose / miss
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	perderá	he / she will lose / miss; you will lose / miss (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	perderemos	we will lose / miss
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	perderéis	you will lose / miss (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	perderán	they will lose / miss; you will lose / miss (plural)

• Perderemos el descuento si esperamos demasiado. — We will lose the discount if we wait too long.

Perder conditional conjugation

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

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	perdería	I would lose / miss
Tú — you, singular informal	perderías	you would lose / miss
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	perdería	he / she would lose / miss; you would lose / miss (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	perderíamos	we would lose / miss
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	perderíais	you would lose / miss (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	perderían	they would lose / miss; you would lose / miss (plural)

• Perdería menos tiempo con un sistema mejor. — I would waste less time with a better system.

Perder 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 perdido.

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

• He perdido mi cartera. — I have lost my wallet.

Perder 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 perdido.

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

• Ya habíamos perdido una oportunidad similar. — We had already lost a similar opportunity.

Perder 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 perdido.

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

• Para entonces habrán perdido varias horas. — By then they will have lost several hours.

Perder 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 perdido.

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

• Habría perdido el vuelo sin tu mensaje. — I would have missed the flight without your message.

Perder subjunctive conjugations

Perder 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. Stressed forms use pierd-, while nosotros/nosotras and vosotros/vosotras keep perd-.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	pierda	that I lose / miss
Tú — you, singular informal	pierdas	that you lose / miss
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	pierda	that he / she lose / miss; that you lose / miss (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	perdamos	that we lose / miss
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	perdáis	that you lose / miss (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	pierdan	that they lose / miss; that you lose / miss (plural)

• Espero que no pierdas el documento. — I hope you do not lose the document.

Perder 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 perdido.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	perdiera	that I lost / missed
Tú — you, singular informal	perdieras	that you lost / missed
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	perdiera	that he / she lost / missed; that you lost / missed (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	perdiéramos	that we lost / missed
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	perdierais	that you lost / missed (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	perdieran	that they lost / missed; that you lost / missed (plural)

• Preferían que perdiéramos menos tiempo. — They preferred that we waste less time.
• Era importante que no perdieses la oportunidad. — It was important that you not miss the opportunity.

Perder 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	perdiere	if / when I should lose / miss
Tú — you, singular informal	perdieres	if / when you should lose / miss
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	perdiere	if / when he / she should lose / miss; if / when you should lose / miss (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	perdiéremos	if / when we should lose / miss
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	perdiereis	if / when you should lose / miss (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	perdieren	if / when they should lose / miss; if / when you should lose / miss (plural)

• Quien perdiere su tarjeta deberá comunicarlo inmediatamente. — Whoever should lose their card must report it immediately.

Perder 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 perdido.

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

• Me alegra que no hayas perdido el tren. — I am glad that you did not miss the train.

Perder 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 perdido.

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

• Si hubiera perdido la llave, no habría podido entrar. — If I had lost the key, I would not have been able to enter.
• Si hubieses perdido el vuelo, habrías llegado mañana. — If you had missed the flight, you would have arrived tomorrow.

Perder 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 perdido.

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

• Si hubieren perdido documentos, deberán informar de ello. — If they should have lost documents, they must report it.

Perder imperative and commands

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

Perder 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	pierde	lose
Usted — you, singular formal	pierda	lose (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	perdamos	let’s lose
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	perded	lose (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	pierdan	lose (plural)

• Pierde el miedo poco a poco. — Lose your fear little by little.

Perder 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 pierdas	do not lose
Usted — you, singular formal	no pierda	do not lose (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	no perdamos	let’s not lose
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	no perdáis	do not lose (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	no pierdan	do not lose (plural)

• No pierdas el recibo. — Do not lose the receipt.

Common constructions with Perder

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

• perder algo. — to lose something.
• perder un tren, vuelo, clase, or oportunidad. — to miss a train, flight, class, or opportunity.
• perder tiempo. — to waste / lose time.
• perderse. — to get lost / become lost.

Example sentences with Perder

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

• Perdimos el partido por un punto. — We lost the match by one point.
• No quiero perder esta oportunidad. — I do not want to miss this opportunity.
• Me perdí en el centro de la ciudad. — I got lost downtown.
• Espero que no pierdas tiempo. — I hope you do not waste time.
• ¿Has perdido alguna vez el pasaporte? — Have you ever lost your passport?
• No pierdas de vista tus objetivos. — Do not lose sight of your goals.

Regional and usage notes for Perder

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 perdés las llaves con frecuencia. — You lose your keys frequently. (voseo)
• Perdé el miedo y habla. — Lose your fear and speak. (affirmative vos command)

For perder, track the stressed e → ie forms in the present and present subjunctive. The remaining major tense families keep perd-, while pronominal perderse adds the frequent meaning “to get lost.”