Pensar conjugation: main tenses of "to think" in Spanish
Pensar means "to think". Stem-changing -ar verb (e → ie). Present tense: pienso, piensas, piensa, pensamos, pensáis, piensan. Preterite: pensé, pensaste, pensó… The past participle is pensado and the gerund is pensando.
Infinitive
pensar
Pronunciation
pehn-SAHR
IPA
/penˈsaɾ/
Meaning
to think
Type
Stem-changing -ar verb (e → ie)
Gerund
pensando
Past participle
pensado
Pronunciation is spelled out in English, one syllable at a time, with the stressed syllable in capitals. Highlighted forms differ from the regular pattern. Tap any form to hear it.
Pensar in the indicative
PresentePresent
what happens now or usually
yo
pienso (irregular)
tú
piensas (irregular)
él / ella / usted
piensa (irregular)
nosotros
pensamos
vosotros
pensáis
ellos / ellas / ustedes
piensan (irregular)
Pretérito indefinidoPreterite
a finished action in the past
yo
pensé
tú
pensaste
él / ella / usted
pensó
nosotros
pensamos
vosotros
pensasteis
ellos / ellas / ustedes
pensaron
Pretérito imperfectoImperfect
an ongoing or repeated action in the past
yo
pensaba
tú
pensabas
él / ella / usted
pensaba
nosotros
pensábamos
vosotros
pensabais
ellos / ellas / ustedes
pensaban
Futuro simpleFuture
what will happen
yo
pensaré
tú
pensarás
él / ella / usted
pensará
nosotros
pensaremos
vosotros
pensaréis
ellos / ellas / ustedes
pensarán
Condicional simpleConditional
what would happen
yo
pensaría
tú
pensarías
él / ella / usted
pensaría
nosotros
pensaríamos
vosotros
pensaríais
ellos / ellas / ustedes
pensarían
Pretérito perfectoPresent perfect
haber + past participle: what has happened
yo
he pensado
tú
has pensado
él / ella / usted
ha pensado
nosotros
hemos pensado
vosotros
habéis pensado
ellos / ellas / ustedes
han pensado
Compound tenses of pensar
The helper verb is conjugated while pensar stays in one form: the participle pensado, the gerund pensando or the infinitive.
Pretérito pluscuamperfecto Past perfect
había pensado, habías pensado, había pensado, habíamos pensado, habíais pensado, habían pensado
voy a pensar, vas a pensar, va a pensar, vamos a pensar, vais a pensar, van a pensar
Presente continuo (estar + gerundio) Present continuous
estoy pensando, estás pensando, está pensando, estamos pensando, estáis pensando, están pensando
Pensar in the subjunctive
Presente de subjuntivoPresent subjunctive
after quiero que, espero que, cuando
yo
piense (irregular)
tú
pienses (irregular)
él / ella / usted
piense (irregular)
nosotros
pensemos
vosotros
penséis
ellos / ellas / ustedes
piensen (irregular)
Imperfecto de subjuntivoImperfect subjunctive
after si and quería que
yo
pensara
tú
pensaras
él / ella / usted
pensara
nosotros
pensáramos
vosotros
pensarais
ellos / ellas / ustedes
pensaran
The imperfect subjunctive has a second, equally correct set of forms in -se; swap -ra for -se: pensara → pensase.
Pensar in the imperative
Imperativoaffirmative
telling someone to do it
tú
piensa
usted
piense
nosotros
pensemos
vosotros
pensad
ustedes
piensen
Imperativo negativonegative
telling someone not to: no + the subjunctive
tú
no pienses
usted
no piense
nosotros
no pensemos
vosotros
no penséis
ustedes
no piensen
What is irregular about pensar
The stem vowel e becomes ie whenever it is stressed: pienso, piensas, piensa, piensan in the present, piense, pienses, piense, piensen in the present subjunctive, and the commands piensa, piense, piensen. In the nosotros and vosotros forms the stress falls on the ending, so e stays: pensamos, pensáis, pensemos, penséis. Every other tense is regular: pensé, pensaba, pensaré, pensando, pensado.
Conjugated the same way: cerrar, despertar, recomendar, calentar, sentar.
Common mistakes with pensar
Pienso de ti.→Pienso en ti.
To have someone or something on your mind is pensar en. Pensar de asks for an opinion: ¿Qué piensas de la película?
yo penso / nosotros piensamos→yo pienso / nosotros pensamos
The change e → ie follows the stress: it appears when the stem is stressed (pienso) and disappears when the ending is (pensamos, pensáis).
No pienso que es verdad.→No pienso que sea verdad.
Affirmative pienso que takes the indicative (Pienso que es verdad), but the negative no pienso que calls for the subjunctive.
When to use pensar
Three patterns, three meanings: pensar en is "to think about" (Pienso en el viaje), pensar de is "to have an opinion of" (¿Qué piensas de él?), and pensar + infinitive is "to plan to" (Pienso ir mañana).
Pensar in sentences
Pienso en ti todos los días. I think about you every day.
Pensé que era más tarde. I thought it was later.
Pensaba llamarte esta noche. I was planning to call you tonight.
Lo pensaré. I'll think about it.
Piensa antes de hablar. Think before you speak.
How to remember pensar
pensar[pehn-SAHR] sounds like the English “pen, sir”. Picture this:
“Pen, sir?” — you think best with a pen: ideas drip straight into the notebook.
A sound-alike plus a vivid scene is the keyword method: the sound pulls the meaning along. How it works.
Practice the pensar conjugation
Practice pensar
Six quick questions on this verb: pick the right form. Nothing to sign up for, nothing is saved.
FAQ
Is pensar a regular or irregular verb?
Stem-changing -ar verb (e → ie). In the tables on this page, 11 forms differ from the regular pattern; they are highlighted.
Tables: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and UniMorph, CC BY-SA 3.0, cross-checked on September 30, 2026. Notes on mistakes and the examples were written with the help of our model (AI); every form in the examples is matched against the chart, and the text was proofread separately. How we make it.