Perdonar Conjugation | How to Conjugate Perdonar in Spanish

Perdonar means “to forgive,” “to pardon,” or “to excuse.” You will learn its fully regular -AR conjugation and its main person, offense, debt, and apology-related patterns.

Perdonar conjugation at a glance

Verb type: Regular AR. RAE gives perdono, perdonas / perdonás, perdona, perdonamos, perdonáis, perdonan, with gerund perdonando and participle perdonado.

Perdonar gerund, past participle, and infinitive

The infinitive names the verb, the gerund supports progressive constructions, and the past participle combines with haber. The participle perdonado remains invariant in compound forms.

Form	Spanish	Natural English guide
Infinitive	perdonar	to forgive / pardon / excuse
Gerund	perdonando	forgiving / pardoning / excusing
Past participle	perdonado	forgiven / pardoned / excused

Perdonar meaning and essential uses

RAE’s main sense is remitting or forgiving a debt, offense, fault, crime, or similar wrong. A person forgiven is commonly expressed as a direct object with personal a.

It can also mean excusing someone from an obligation or refraining from taking an opportunity. Everyday speech often uses perdona / perdone as an apology or attention-getting formula.

Perdonar regular conjugation pattern

The stem perdon- remains unchanged throughout the core paradigm: perdono, perdoné, perdonaba, perdonaré, perdone.

There are no stem changes, spelling alternations, irregular tense stems, irregular gerunds, or irregular participles.

Perdonar indicative and periphrastic conjugations

Perdonar 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 paradigm.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	perdono	I forgive / pardon / excuse
Tú — you, singular informal	perdonas	you forgive / pardon / excuse
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	perdona	he / she forgives / pardons / excuses; you forgive / pardon / excuse (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	perdonamos	we forgive / pardon / excuse
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	perdonáis	you forgive / pardon / excuse (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	perdonan	they forgive / pardon / excuse; you forgive / pardon / excuse (plural)

• Perdono a mis amigos cuando reconocen sus errores. — I forgive my friends when they admit their mistakes.

Perdonar 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	perdoné	I forgave / pardoned / excused
Tú — you, singular informal	perdonaste	you forgave / pardoned / excused
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	perdonó	he / she forgave / pardoned / excused; you forgave / pardoned / excused (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	perdonamos	we forgave / pardoned / excused
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	perdonasteis	you forgave / pardoned / excused (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	perdonaron	they forgave / pardoned / excused; you forgave / pardoned / excused (plural)

• Ayer perdoné una deuda pequeña. — Yesterday I forgave a small debt.

Perdonar imperfect conjugation

Imperfect (el pretérito imperfecto) — Use it for habitual, descriptive, background, or ongoing past situations. Form it with the appropriate form of haber plus invariant perdonado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	perdonaba	I used to forgive / pardon / excuse / was forgiving / pardoning / excusing
Tú — you, singular informal	perdonabas	you used to forgive / pardon / excuse / were forgiving / pardoning / excusing
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	perdonaba	he / she used to forgive / pardon / excuse / was forgiving / pardoning / excusing; you used to forgive / pardon / excuse / were forgiving / pardoning / excusing (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	perdonábamos	we used to forgive / pardon / excuse / were forgiving / pardoning / excusing
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	perdonabais	you used to forgive / pardon / excuse / were forgiving / pardoning / excusing (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	perdonaban	they used to forgive / pardon / excuse / were forgiving / pardoning / excusing; you used to forgive / pardon / excuse / were forgiving / pardoning / excusing (plural)

• Antes perdonábamos esos errores con facilidad. — We used to forgive those mistakes easily.

Perdonar present progressive

Present progressive — This verbal periphrasis focuses on an action or process in progress. Form it with present estar plus perdonando.

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

• Estoy perdonando una falta que me molestó mucho. — I am forgiving an offense that bothered me a lot.

Perdonar near future conjugation

Near future — This verbal periphrasis expresses an intention, plan, or expected event. Form it with present ir + a + perdonar.

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

• Voy a perdonar a Marta por llegar tarde. — I am going to forgive Marta for arriving late.

Perdonar future tense conjugation

Simple future (el futuro simple) — Use it for future reference and, where useful, probability. The table uses the verified paradigm.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	perdonaré	I will forgive / pardon / excuse
Tú — you, singular informal	perdonarás	you will forgive / pardon / excuse
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	perdonará	he / she will forgive / pardon / excuse; you will forgive / pardon / excuse (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	perdonaremos	we will forgive / pardon / excuse
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	perdonaréis	you will forgive / pardon / excuse (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	perdonarán	they will forgive / pardon / excuse; you will forgive / pardon / excuse (plural)

• Perdonaremos el error si se corrige. — We will forgive the error if it is corrected.

Perdonar conditional conjugation

Conditional (el condicional simple) — Use it for hypothetical outcomes, softened statements, or related conditional meanings. The table uses the verified paradigm.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	perdonaría	I would forgive / pardon / excuse
Tú — you, singular informal	perdonarías	you would forgive / pardon / excuse
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	perdonaría	he / she would forgive / pardon / excuse; you would forgive / pardon / excuse (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	perdonaríamos	we would forgive / pardon / excuse
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	perdonaríais	you would forgive / pardon / excuse (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	perdonarían	they would forgive / pardon / excuse; you would forgive / pardon / excuse (plural)

• Perdonaría esa falta si pidiera disculpas. — I would forgive that offense if he or she apologized.

Perdonar 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 plus invariant perdonado.

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

• He perdonado muchas cosas. — I have forgiven many things.

Perdonar 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 plus invariant perdonado.

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

• Ya habíamos perdonado aquella deuda. — We had already forgiven that debt.

Perdonar 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 plus invariant perdonado.

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

• Para entonces habrán perdonado varias faltas. — By then they will have forgiven several offenses.

Perdonar conditional perfect conjugation

Conditional perfect (el condicional compuesto) — Use it for a hypothetical completed outcome. Form it with the appropriate form of haber plus invariant perdonado.

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

• Habría perdonado el retraso con una explicación. — I would have forgiven the delay with an explanation.

Perdonar subjunctive conjugations

Perdonar 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 verified paradigm.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	perdone	that I forgive / pardon / excuse
Tú — you, singular informal	perdones	that you forgive / pardon / excuse
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	perdone	that he / she forgive / pardon / excuse; that you forgive / pardon / excuse (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	perdonemos	that we forgive / pardon / excuse
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	perdonéis	that you forgive / pardon / excuse (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	perdonen	that they forgive / pardon / excuse; that you forgive / pardon / excuse (plural)

• Quiero que perdones a tu compañero. — I want you to forgive your classmate.

Perdonar 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 plus invariant perdonado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	perdonara	that I forgave / pardoned / excused
Tú — you, singular informal	perdonaras	that you forgave / pardoned / excused
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	perdonara	that he / she forgave / pardoned / excused; that you forgave / pardoned / excused (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	perdonáramos	that we forgave / pardoned / excused
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	perdonarais	that you forgave / pardoned / excused (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	perdonaran	that they forgave / pardoned / excused; that you forgave / pardoned / excused (plural)

• Preferían que perdonáramos el error. — They preferred that we forgive the mistake.
• Era mejor que perdonases aquella falta. — It was better for you to forgive that offense.

Perdonar 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 belong mainly to formal, legal, proverbial, literary, or historical registers.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	perdonare	if / when I should forgive / pardon / excuse
Tú — you, singular informal	perdonares	if / when you should forgive / pardon / excuse
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	perdonare	if / when he / she should forgive / pardon / excuse; if / when you should forgive / pardon / excuse (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	perdonáremos	if / when we should forgive / pardon / excuse
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	perdonareis	if / when you should forgive / pardon / excuse (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	perdonaren	if / when they should forgive / pardon / excuse; if / when you should forgive / pardon / excuse (plural)

• Quien perdonare una deuda deberá dejar constancia. — Whoever should forgive a debt must make a record of it.

Perdonar 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 plus invariant perdonado.

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

• Me alegra que hayas perdonado a Marta. — I am glad that you forgave Marta.

Perdonar 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 plus invariant perdonado.

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

• Si hubiera perdonado antes, habría evitado más tensión. — If I had forgiven earlier, I would have avoided more tension.
• Si hubieses perdonado la deuda, el saldo sería distinto. — If you had forgiven the debt, the balance would be different.

Perdonar 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 plus invariant perdonado.

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

• Si hubieren perdonado obligaciones adicionales, deberán documentarlo. — If they should have waived additional obligations, they must document it.

Perdonar imperative and commands

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

Perdonar affirmative commands

Use the regular 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	perdona	forgive
Usted — you, singular formal	perdone	forgive (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	perdonemos	let’s forgive
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	perdonad	forgive (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	perdonen	forgive (plural)

• Perdona el retraso. — Forgive the delay.

Perdonar negative commands

Negative commands use subjunctive-based forms, with no before the verb.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Tú — you, singular informal	no perdones	do not forgive
Usted — you, singular formal	no perdone	do not forgive (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	no perdonemos	let’s not forgive
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	no perdonéis	do not forgive (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	no perdonen	do not forgive (plural)

• No perdones una falta grave sin entender lo ocurrido. — Do not forgive a serious offense without understanding what happened.

Common constructions with Perdonar

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

• perdonar a alguien. — to forgive / pardon someone.
• perdonar algo a alguien. — to forgive someone for something / forgive something owed.
• perdonar una deuda / falta / ofensa. — to forgive a debt, fault, or offense.
• perdona / perdone. — excuse me / sorry, depending on context.

Example sentences with Perdonar

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

• Perdona, ¿puedo pasar? — Excuse me, may I pass?
• No puedo perdonar esa mentira todavía. — I cannot forgive that lie yet.
• Ella perdonó a su amigo. — She forgave her friend.
• Espero que me perdones. — I hope you forgive me.
• Han perdonado la deuda. — They have forgiven the debt.
• Perdone la molestia. — Please excuse the inconvenience.

Regional and usage notes for Perdonar

The core tables retain tú, usted, vosotros/vosotras, and ustedes. Voseo changes some second-person singular forms where vos is used.

• Vos perdonás con facilidad. — You forgive easily. (voseo)
• Perdoná el retraso, por favor. — Forgive the delay, please. (affirmative vos command)

Perdonar is fully regular. Focus on object structure and common formulas: forgive a person, forgive a fault or debt, and recognize perdona / perdone as frequent polite expressions.