Portarse Conjugation | How to Conjugate Portarse in Spanish

Portarse means “to behave,” “to conduct oneself,” or colloquially “to do especially well.” You will learn its fully regular pronominal -AR conjugation and behavior patterns.

Portarse conjugation at a glance

Verb type: Regular AR. RAE defines portarse as acting or proceeding in a particular way. Its verbal morphology is regular -AR, as shown by porto / porté / porte, with person-matched clitics.

Portarse gerund, past participle, and infinitive

The pronominal infinitive keeps se. The gerund can carry an attached clitic, and compound non-finite forms combine the clitic with haber. The participle portado remains invariant in compound forms.

Form	Spanish	Natural English guide
Infinitive	portarse	to behave / conduct oneself
Gerund	portándose	behaving
Past participle	portado	behaved
Compound infinitive	haberse portado	to have behaved
Compound gerund	habiéndose portado	having behaved

Portarse meaning and essential uses

RAE explicitly defines pronominal portarse as acting or proceeding in a particular manner: Se portó muy fríamente conmigo.

It also records a colloquial sense of performing especially well in a situation. Common learner phrases are portarse bien / mal and portarse con alguien de cierta manera.

Portarse regular conjugation and pronoun placement

Portarse follows regular -AR verbal morphology. Add the matching clitic before finite forms: me porto, te portaste, se portará, nos portemos.

Affirmative commands attach the clitic: pórtate, pórtese, portémonos, portaos, pórtense. Negative commands keep the clitic before the subjunctive.

Portarse indicative and periphrastic conjugations

Portarse 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	me porto	I behave / conduct myself
Tú — you, singular informal	te portas	you behave / conduct yourself
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se porta	he / she behaves / conducts himself or herself; you behave / conduct yourself (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos portamos	we behave / conduct ourselves
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os portáis	you behave / conduct yourselves (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se portan	they behave / conduct themselves; you behave / conduct yourselves (plural)

• Me porto bien en clase. — I behave well in class.

Portarse 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	me porté	I behaved / conducted myself
Tú — you, singular informal	te portaste	you behaved / conducted yourself
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se portó	he / she behaved / conducted himself / herself; you behaved / conducted yourself (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos portamos	we behaved / conducted ourselves
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os portasteis	you behaved / conducted yourselves (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se portaron	they behaved / conducted themselves; you behaved / conducted yourselves (plural)

• Ayer me porté mal con mi hermano. — Yesterday I behaved badly toward my brother.

Portarse imperfect conjugation

Imperfect (el pretérito imperfecto) — Use it for habitual, descriptive, background, or ongoing past situations. The clitic precedes the finite form of haber, followed by invariant portado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me portaba	I used to behave / conduct myself / was behaving
Tú — you, singular informal	te portabas	you used to behave / conduct yourself / were behaving
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se portaba	he / she used to behave / conduct himself / herself / was behaving; you used to behave / conduct yourself / were behaving (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos portábamos	we used to behave / conduct ourselves / were behaving
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os portabais	you used to behave / conduct yourselves / were behaving (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se portaban	they used to behave / conduct themselves / were behaving; you used to behave / conduct yourselves / were behaving (plural)

• De niño me portaba muy bien en casa. — As a child, I used to behave very well at home.

Portarse present progressive

Present progressive — This verbal periphrasis focuses on an action or process in progress. The main table places the clitic before estar. Enclisis is also standard: estoy portándome.

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

• Me estoy portando mejor últimamente. — I am behaving better lately.

Portarse near future conjugation

Near future — This verbal periphrasis expresses an intention, plan, or expected event. The main table places the clitic before ir. Attaching it to the infinitive is also standard: voy a portarme.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me voy a portar	I am going to behave / conduct myself
Tú — you, singular informal	te vas a portar	you are going to behave / conduct yourself
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se va a portar	he / she is going to behave / conduct himself / herself; you are going to behave / conduct yourself (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos vamos a portar	we are going to behave / conduct ourselves
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os vais a portar	you are going to behave / conduct yourselves (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se van a portar	they are going to behave / conduct themselves; you are going to behave / conduct yourselves (plural)

• Me voy a portar bien durante la reunión. — I am going to behave well during the meeting.

Portarse 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	me portaré	I will behave / conduct myself
Tú — you, singular informal	te portarás	you will behave / conduct yourself
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se portará	he / she will behave / conduct himself / herself; you will behave / conduct yourself (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos portaremos	we will behave / conduct ourselves
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os portaréis	you will behave / conduct yourselves (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se portarán	they will behave / conduct themselves; you will behave / conduct yourselves (plural)

• Nos portaremos con respeto. — We will behave respectfully.

Portarse 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	me portaría	I would behave / conduct myself
Tú — you, singular informal	te portarías	you would behave / conduct yourself
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se portaría	he / she would behave / conduct himself / herself; you would behave / conduct yourself (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos portaríamos	we would behave / conduct ourselves
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os portaríais	you would behave / conduct yourselves (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se portarían	they would behave / conduct themselves; you would behave / conduct yourselves (plural)

• Me portaría mejor si entendiera las reglas. — I would behave better if I understood the rules.

Portarse present perfect conjugation

Present perfect (el pretérito perfecto compuesto) — Use it for completed events connected to a present reference frame; regional distribution varies. The clitic precedes the finite form of haber, followed by invariant portado.

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

• Me he portado bien toda la semana. — I have behaved well all week.

Portarse past perfect conjugation

Past perfect (el pretérito pluscuamperfecto) — Use it for an event completed before another past reference point. The clitic precedes the finite form of haber, followed by invariant portado.

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

• Ya nos habíamos portado correctamente antes. — We had already behaved properly before.

Portarse future perfect conjugation

Future perfect (el futuro perfecto) — Use it for an event expected to be completed before a future reference point. The clitic precedes the finite form of haber, followed by invariant portado.

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

• Para entonces se habrán portado bien durante varias horas. — By then they will have behaved well for several hours.

Portarse conditional perfect conjugation

Conditional perfect (el condicional compuesto) — Use it for a hypothetical completed outcome. The clitic precedes the finite form of haber, followed by invariant portado.

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

• Me habría portado de otra manera con más información. — I would have behaved differently with more information.

Portarse subjunctive conjugations

Portarse 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	me porte	that I behave / conduct myself
Tú — you, singular informal	te portes	that you behave / conduct yourself
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se porte	that he / she behave / conduct himself / herself; that you behave / conduct yourself (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos portemos	that we behave / conduct ourselves
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os portéis	that you behave / conduct yourselves (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se porten	that they behave / conduct themselves; that you behave / conduct yourselves (plural)

• Quiero que te portes bien. — I want you to behave well.

Portarse 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. The clitic precedes the finite form of haber, followed by invariant portado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me portara	that I behaved / conducted myself
Tú — you, singular informal	te portaras	that you behaved / conducted yourself
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se portara	that he / she behaved / conducted himself / herself; that you behaved / conducted yourself (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos portáramos	that we behaved / conducted ourselves
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os portarais	that you behaved / conducted yourselves (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se portaran	that they behaved / conducted themselves; that you behaved / conducted yourselves (plural)

• Preferían que nos portáramos con más calma. — They preferred that we behave more calmly.
• Era mejor que te portases con respeto. — It was better for you to behave respectfully.

Portarse 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	me portare	if / when I should behave / conduct myself
Tú — you, singular informal	te portares	if / when you should behave / conduct yourself
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se portare	if / when he / she should behave / conduct himself / herself; if / when you should behave / conduct yourself (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos portáremos	if / when we should behave / conduct ourselves
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os portareis	if / when you should behave / conduct yourselves (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se portaren	if / when they should behave / conduct themselves; if / when you should behave / conduct yourselves (plural)

• Quien se portare de manera inapropiada deberá salir. — Whoever should behave inappropriately must leave.

Portarse 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. The clitic precedes the finite form of haber, followed by invariant portado.

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

• Me alegra que te hayas portado bien. — I am glad that you behaved well.

Portarse 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. The clitic precedes the finite form of haber, followed by invariant portado.

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

• Si me hubiera portado mal, habría pedido disculpas. — If I had behaved badly, I would have apologized.
• Si te hubieses portado con más calma, la conversación habría sido más fácil. — If you had behaved more calmly, the conversation would have been easier.

Portarse 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. The clitic precedes the finite form of haber, followed by invariant portado.

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

• Si se hubieren portado mal otros participantes, deberán recibir la misma advertencia. — If other participants should have behaved badly, they must receive the same warning.

Portarse imperative and commands

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

Portarse affirmative commands

Affirmative commands attach the clitic and recompute stress: pórtate, pórtese, portémonos, portaos, pórtense.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Tú — you, singular informal	pórtate	behave
Usted — you, singular formal	pórtese	behave (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	portémonos	let’s behave
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	portaos	behave (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	pórtense	behave (plural)

• Pórtate bien durante la visita. — Behave well during the visit.

Portarse negative commands

Negative commands use subjunctive-based forms, with no before the person-matched clitic and the verb.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Tú — you, singular informal	no te portes	do not behave
Usted — you, singular formal	no se porte	do not behave (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	no nos portemos	let’s not behave
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	no os portéis	do not behave (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	no se porten	do not behave (plural)

• No te portes mal con tus compañeros. — Do not behave badly toward your classmates.

Common constructions with Portarse

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

• portarse bien / mal. — to behave well / badly.
• portarse con alguien + adverbial expression. — to behave toward someone in a particular way.
• portarse de manera + adjective. — to conduct oneself in a particular manner.
• portarse. — colloquially, to do especially well or come through in a situation.

Example sentences with Portarse

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

• Los niños se portaron muy bien. — The children behaved very well.
• No te portes así conmigo. — Do not behave like that toward me.
• Se está portando de forma responsable. — He / she is behaving responsibly.
• Espero que te portes bien mañana. — I hope you behave well tomorrow.
• Nos hemos portado con respeto. — We have behaved respectfully.
• Pórtense bien durante la actividad. — Behave well during the activity.

Regional and usage notes for Portarse

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

• Vos te portás bien en clase. — You behave well in class. (voseo)
• Portate bien durante la visita. — Behave well during the visit. (affirmative vos command)

Portarse is fully regular morphologically. Keep the pronominal clitic and focus on high-frequency complements such as bien / mal, con alguien, and manner expressions.