Valer Conjugation | How to Conjugate Valer in Spanish

Valer means “to be worth,” “to be valid,” or “to be useful.” You will learn its valgo / valga family, irregular future stem valdr-, regular past forms, and common value and utility patterns.

Valer conjugation at a glance

Verb type: Irregular. Valer uses valgo — “I am worth / valid” — in the first-person present, valg- throughout the present subjunctive, and valdr- in the future and conditional.

Valer 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 valido remains invariant in those compounds.

Form	Spanish	Natural English guide
Infinitive	valer	to be worth / be valid
Gerund	valiendo	being worth / being valid
Past participle	valido	been worth / been valid

Valer meaning and essential uses

Valer commonly expresses monetary or equivalent value: Este libro vale veinte euros. — “This book is worth twenty euros.” RAE also records equivalence, validity, and being worthy of appreciation.

A frequent utility pattern is valer para + noun / infinitive: Esta caja vale para guardar herramientas. — “This box is useful for storing tools.” The pronominal valerse de means using or making use of something or someone.

Valer irregular conjugation patterns

The present is valgo, vales, vale, valemos, valéis, valen. The preterite and imperfect are regular: valí / valía families.

Future and conditional use valdr-: valdré / valdría. Present subjunctive uses valg-: valga, valgas, valgamos, valgáis, valgan. Past/future subjunctive use regular valier-.

Valer indicative and periphrastic conjugations

Valer present tense conjugation

Present indicative (el presente de indicativo) — Use it for current situations, habits, facts, and contextually near-future reference. The first-person singular is valgo; the remaining present forms use val-.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	valgo	I am worth / am valid
Tú — you, singular informal	vales	you are worth / are valid
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	vale	he / she is worth / is valid; you are worth / are valid (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	valemos	we are worth / are valid
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	valéis	you are worth / are valid (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	valen	they are worth / are valid; you are worth / are valid (plural)

• Este libro vale veinte euros. — This book is worth twenty euros.

Valer 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	valí	I was worth / was valid
Tú — you, singular informal	valiste	you were worth / were valid
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	valió	he / she was worth / was valid; you were worth / were valid (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	valimos	we were worth / were valid
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	valisteis	you were worth / were valid (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	valieron	they were worth / were valid; you were worth / were valid (plural)

• Ayer el billete valió menos por el cambio de precio. — Yesterday the ticket was worth less because of the price change.

Valer 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 invariant valido.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	valía	I used to be worth / used to be valid
Tú — you, singular informal	valías	you used to be worth / used to be valid
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	valía	he / she used to be worth / used to be valid; you used to be worth / used to be valid (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	valíamos	we used to be worth / used to be valid
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	valíais	you used to be worth / used to be valid (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	valían	they used to be worth / used to be valid; you used to be worth / used to be valid (plural)

• Antes esa tarjeta valía para entrar. — That card used to be valid for entry.

Valer present progressive

Present progressive — restricted by ordinary meaning. A full six-person paradigm such as “I am being worth” is not a natural learner target. Use progressive valer only where the meaning is genuinely dynamic, especially third-person value or usefulness contexts.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	está valiendo	it / he / she is currently proving valuable; you are currently proving valuable (formal)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	están valiendo	they are currently proving valuable; you are currently proving valuable (plural)

• Esta mejora está valiendo más de lo previsto. — This improvement is currently proving more valuable than expected.

Valer 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 valer.

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

• Esta propiedad va a valer más el próximo año. — This property is going to be worth more next year.

Valer future tense conjugation

Simple future (el futuro simple) — Use it for future reference and, where useful, probability. The future uses the irregular stem valdr-.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	valdré	I will be worth / be valid
Tú — you, singular informal	valdrás	you will be worth / be valid
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	valdrá	he / she will be worth / be valid; you will be worth / be valid (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	valdremos	we will be worth / be valid
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	valdréis	you will be worth / be valid (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	valdrán	they will be worth / be valid; you will be worth / be valid (plural)

• El equipo valdrá más después de la reparación. — The equipment will be worth more after the repair.

Valer conditional conjugation

Conditional (el condicional simple) — Use it for hypothetical outcomes, softened statements, or related conditional meanings. The conditional uses the irregular stem valdr-.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	valdría	I would be worth / be valid
Tú — you, singular informal	valdrías	you would be worth / be valid
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	valdría	he / she would be worth / be valid; you would be worth / be valid (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	valdríamos	we would be worth / be valid
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	valdríais	you would be worth / be valid (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	valdrían	they would be worth / be valid; you would be worth / be valid (plural)

• Ese documento valdría como prueba en otro contexto. — That document would be valid as evidence in another context.

Valer 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 invariant valido.

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

• Este cupón ha valido hasta hoy. — This coupon has been valid until today.

Valer 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 invariant valido.

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

• La autorización ya había valido para una solicitud anterior. — The authorization had already been valid for an earlier application.

Valer 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 invariant valido.

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

• Para entonces el certificado habrá valido durante un año. — By then the certificate will have been valid for one year.

Valer 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 invariant valido.

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

• Ese permiso habría valido con otra fecha. — That permit would have been valid with another date.

Valer subjunctive conjugations

Valer 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 valg- throughout.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	valga	that I be worth / be valid
Tú — you, singular informal	valgas	that you be worth / be valid
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	valga	that he / she be worth / be valid; that you be worth / be valid (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	valgamos	that we be worth / be valid
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	valgáis	that you be worth / be valid (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	valgan	that they be worth / be valid; that you be worth / be valid (plural)

• Quiero que este documento valga como justificante. — I want this document to be valid as supporting evidence.

Valer 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 invariant valido.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	valiera	that I were worth / were valid
Tú — you, singular informal	valieras	that you were worth / were valid
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	valiera	that he / she were worth / were valid; that you were worth / were valid (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	valiéramos	that we were worth / were valid
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	valierais	that you were worth / were valid (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	valieran	that they were worth / were valid; that you were worth / were valid (plural)

• Preferían que la tarjeta valiera para todos los accesos. — They preferred the card to be valid for all access points.
• Era importante que el certificado valiese también en el extranjero. — It was important that the certificate be valid abroad too.

Valer 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	valiere	if / when I should be worth / be valid
Tú — you, singular informal	valieres	if / when you should be worth / be valid
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	valiere	if / when he / she should be worth / be valid; if / when you should be worth / be valid (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	valiéremos	if / when we should be worth / be valid
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	valiereis	if / when you should be worth / be valid (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	valieren	if / when they should be worth / be valid; if / when you should be worth / be valid (plural)

• El documento que valiere como prueba deberá conservarse. — Any document that should be valid as evidence must be preserved.

Valer 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 invariant valido.

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

• Me alegra que el permiso haya valido. — I am glad that the permit was valid.

Valer 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 invariant valido.

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

• Si el documento hubiera valido como prueba, lo habrían aceptado. — If the document had been valid as evidence, they would have accepted it.
• Si la tarjeta hubiese valido todavía, habríamos podido entrar. — If the card had still been valid, we could have entered.

Valer 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 invariant valido.

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

• Si hubiere valido como autorización, deberá archivarse. — If it should have been valid as authorization, it must be filed.

Valer imperative and commands

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

Valer affirmative commands

Usage-sensitive. RAE records vale / valé, valga, valed, valgan, but direct commands built from ordinary “be worth / be valid” meanings are uncommon. Treat these forms as reference morphology and use them only where an exhortative or formal jussive reading is natural.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Tú — you, singular informal	vale	be worth
Usted — you, singular formal	valga	be worth (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	valgamos	let’s be worth
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	valed	be worth (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	valgan	be worth (plural)

• Valga este ejemplo como referencia. — Let this example serve as a reference. (formal jussive use)

Valer negative commands

Usage-sensitive. The negative forms are morphologically valid and subjunctive-based, but direct commands with the core value/validity meaning are marked. Use them only in a context that makes the exhortative meaning clear.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Tú — you, singular informal	no valgas	do not be worth
Usted — you, singular formal	no valga	do not be worth (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	no valgamos	let’s not be worth
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	no valgáis	do not be worth (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	no valgan	do not be worth (plural)

• No valgas menos por compararte con otros. — Do not consider yourself worth less because you compare yourself with others. (marked exhortative use)

Common constructions with Valer

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

• valer una cantidad. — to be worth / cost a certain amount.
• valer para + noun or infinitive. — to be useful / suitable for something.
• valer como + noun. — to count / be valid as something.
• valerse de alguien o algo. — to make use of / rely on someone or something.

Example sentences with Valer

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

• ¿Cuánto vale este libro? — How much is this book worth?
• Este pasaporte ya no vale. — This passport is no longer valid.
• Esta caja vale para guardar herramientas. — This box is useful for storing tools.
• Espero que el documento valga como justificante. — I hope the document is valid as supporting evidence.
• Se valió de una herramienta sencilla. — He / she made use of a simple tool.
• En Spain, vale can also function as an interjection meaning okay. — In Spain, vale can also function as an interjection meaning okay.

Regional and usage notes for Valer

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 valés mucho para este equipo. — You are very valuable to this team. (voseo)
• Valé por tus propios méritos. — Be worthy through your own merits. (affirmative vos, marked exhortative use)

For valer, learn three irregular anchors: valgo, present-subjunctive valg-, and future/conditional valdr-. Many everyday uses are third-person because the subject is often the object, document, price, or tool being evaluated.