The Spanish indicative mood is used to express facts, certainties, and objective truths. It is the mood of reality—used when you know something to be true, has happened, or will happen. It encompasses 10 verb tenses, including the present, preterite, imperfect, future, and conditional. To understand the indicative, it helps to contrast it with the subjunctive mood, which expresses doubts, wishes, or emotions.
Simple Tenses
Present
Things happening right now or habitual actions. (Yo como / I eat)
Imperfect
Ongoing or habitual actions in the past. (Yo comía / I used to eat)
Future
Actions that will happen. (Yo comeré / I will eat)
Conditional
Actions that would happen, often under certain conditions. (Yo comería / I would eat)
Preterite
Completed actions in the past. (Yo comí / I ate)
Compound Tenses
Compound tenses are formed using the auxiliary verb haber + past participle.
Present Perfect
Present Perfect: Actions completed in the past that connect to the present (Yo he comido / I have eaten)
Past Perfect (Pluscuamperfecto)
An action completed before another past action (Yo había comido / I had eaten)
Future Perfect
An action that will have been completed by a certain time in the future (Yo habré comido / I will have eaten)
Conditional Perfect
Actions that would have happened in the past (Yo habría comido / I would have eaten)
Preterite Perfect
An action completed immediately before another past action (rarely used outside literature) (Yo hube comido / I had eaten)