Seguir Conjugation in Spanish, Translation, and Examples

The Spanish verb seguir is a fairly common verb that usually means to follow or chase, or to continue. Seguir is an irregular verb, which means it does not follow the same conjugation pattern as other regular -ir verbs. The only other verbs that follow the same conjugation pattern are those based on seguir, such as conseguir (to attain or achieve) and perseguir (to pursue, prosecute or persecute). However, there are other verbs that have similar conjugations as seguir, such as decir, vestir, and pedir, since these are also stem changing verbs where the e sometimes changes to i.

In the following tables you can see the conjugations of seguir with examples and translations. The conjugations included are in the present, past, and future indicative mood, the present and past subjunctive mood, the imperative mood, as well as other verb forms.

Using the Verb Seguir

The verb seguir can be used in several ways. Below are some examples:

To physically follow someone: El detective sigue al sospechoso. (The detective follows the suspect.)
To follow someone you admire: Carla sigue a ese cantante. (Carla follows that singer.)
To understand: Cuando te lo explico, ¿me sigues? (When I explain it to you, do you follow?)
To continue doing something: Pedro sigue estudiando inglés. (Pedro continues studying English.)
To keep doing something: Mi hermano me sigue molestando. (My brother keeps bothering me.)

Seguir Present Indicative

Notice that in the present tense the stem e changes to i in all of the conjugations except nosotros and vosotros.

Yo	sigo	Yo sigo a mi cantante favorito.	I follow my favorite singer.
Tú	sigues	Tú sigues trabajando en esa compañía.	You continue to work at that company.
Usted/él/ella	sigue	Ella sigue al ladrón.	She follows the robber.
Nosotros	seguimos	Nosotros seguimos intentando ganar el juego.	We keep trying to win the game.
Vosotros	seguís	Vosotros seguís a los estudiantes durante sus estudios.	You follow the students during their studies.
Ustedes/ellos/ellas	siguen	Ellos siguen la clase del profesor.	They follow the professor's class.

Seguir Preterite Indicative

Notice that in the preterite tense, the stem change e to i only occurs in the third person conjugations, both singular and plural (él/ella/usted, ellos/ellas/ustedes).

Yo	seguí	Yo seguí a mi cantante favorito.	I followed my favorite singer.
Tú	seguiste	Tú seguiste trabajando en esa compañía.	You continued to work at that company.
Usted/él/ella	siguió	Ella siguió al ladrón.	She followed the robber.
Nosotros	seguimos	Nosotros seguimos intentando ganar el juego.	We kept trying to win the game.
Vosotros	seguisteis	Vosotros seguisteis a los estudiantes durante sus estudios.	You followed the students during their studies.
Ustedes/ellos/ellas	siguieron	Ellos siguieron la clase del profesor.	They followed the professor's class.

Seguir Imperfect Indicative

In the imperfect tense, seguir is conjugated regularly. The imperfect usually describes ongoing or repeated actions in the past and can be translated to English as "was following" or "used to follow."

Yo	seguía	Yo seguía a mi cantante favorito.	I used to follow my favorite singer.
Tú	seguías	Tú seguías trabajando en esa compañía.	You kept working at that company.
Usted/él/ella	seguía	Ella seguía al ladrón.	She used to follow the robber.
Nosotros	seguíamos	Nosotros seguíamos intentando ganar el juego.	We used to keep trying to win the game.
Vosotros	seguíais	Vosotros seguíais a los estudiantes durante sus estudios.	You used to follow the students during their studies.
Ustedes/ellos/ellas	seguían	Ellos seguían la clase del profesor.	They used to follow the professor's class.

Seguir Future Indicative

The future tense of seguir is conjugated regularly, starting with the infinitive seguir and adding the future endings.

Yo	seguiré	Yo seguiré a mi cantante favorito.	I will follow my favorite singer.
Tú	seguirás	Tú seguirás trabajando en esa compañía.	You will keep working at that company.
Usted/él/ella	seguirá	Ella seguirá al ladrón.	She will follow the robber.
Nosotros	seguiremos	Nosotros seguiremos intentando ganar el juego.	We will keep trying to win the game.
Vosotros	seguiréis	Vosotros seguiréis a los estudiantes durante sus estudios.	You will follow the students during their studies.
Ustedes/ellos/ellas	seguirán	Ellos seguirán la clase del profesor.	They will follow the professor's class.

Seguir Periphrastic Future Indicative

The periphrastic future is formed with the verb ir (to go), the preposition a, and the infinitive seguir.

Yo	voy a seguir	Yo voy a seguir a mi cantante favorito.	I am going to follow my favorite singer.
Tú	vas a seguir	Tú vas a seguir trabajando en esa compañía.	You are going to keep working at that company.
Usted/él/ella	va a seguir	Ella va a seguir al ladrón.	She is going to follow the robber.
Nosotros	vamos a seguir	Nosotros vamos a seguir intentando ganar el juego.	We are going to keep trying to win the game.
Vosotros	vais a seguir	Vosotros vais a seguir a los estudiantes durante sus estudios.	You are going to follow the students during their studies.
Ustedes/ellos/ellas	van a seguir	Ellos van a seguir la clase del profesor.	They are going to follow the professor's class.

Seguir Present Progressive/Gerund Form

The gerund, also called the present participle, is a verb form that in Spanish usually ends in -ando (for -ar verbs) or in -iendo (for -er or -ir verbs). It can be used to form the present progressive and other progressive tenses. The gerund for seguir has the stem change e to i.

Present Progressive of Seguir

está siguiendo

Ella está siguiendo al ladrón.

She is following the robber.

Seguir Past Participle

The past participle is a verb form that usually ends in -ado (for -ar verbs) or -ido (for -er or -ir verbs). It can be used to form perfect tenses with the auxiliary verb haber.

Present Perfect of Seguir

ha seguido

Ella ha seguido al ladrón.

She has followed the robber.

Seguir Conditional Indicative

The conditional tense is similar to the future tense in that it uses the infinitive as the stem, and then you can add the conditional endings.

Yo	seguiría	Yo seguiría a mi cantante favorito si tuviera tiempo.	I would follow my favorite singer if I had time.
Tú	seguirías	Tú seguirías trabajando en esa compañía si pagaran mejor.	You would keep working at that company if they paid better.
Usted/él/ella	seguiría	Ella seguiría al ladrón si pudiera correr.	She would follow the robber if she could run.
Nosotros	seguiríamos	Nosotros seguiríamos intentando ganar el juego, pero es muy difícil.	We would keep trying to win the game, but it is very difficult.
Vosotros	seguiríais	Vosotros seguiríais a los estudiantes durante sus estudios, pero no queréis.	You would follow the students during their studies, but you don't want to.
Ustedes/ellos/ellas	seguirían	Ellos seguirían la clase del profesor si fuera más fácil.	They would follow the professor's class if it were easier.

Seguir Present Subjunctive

The present subjunctive conjugations all have the stem change e to i.

Que yo	siga	Paula sugiere que yo siga a mi cantante favorito.	Paula suggests that I follow my favorite singer.
Que tú	sigas	Tu jefe espera que tú sigas trabajando en esa compañía.	Your boss hopes that you keep working at that company.
Que usted/él/ella	siga	El policía quiere que ella siga al ladrón.	The police officer wants her to follow the robber.
Que nosotros	sigamos	Pepe recomienda que nosotros sigamos tratando de ganar el juego.	Pepe recommends that we keep trying to win the game.
Que vosotros	sigáis	El consejero sugiere que vosotros sigáis a los estudiantes durante sus estudios.	The counselor suggests that you follow the students during their studies.
Que ustedes/ellos/ellas	sigan	El decano espera que ellos sigan la clase del profesor.	The dean wants them to follow the professor's class.

Seguir Imperfect Subjunctive

The imperfect subjunctive can be conjugated in two different ways:

Option 1

Que yo	siguiera	Paula sugirió que yo siguiera a mi cantante favorito.	Paula suggested that I follow my favorite singer.
Que tú	siguieras	Tu jefe esperaba que tú siguieras trabajando en esa compañía.	Your boss hoped that you would keep working at that company.
Que usted/él/ella	siguiera	El policía quería que ella siguiera al ladrón.	The police officer wanted her to follow the robber.
Que nosotros	siguiéramos	Pepe recomendaba que nosotros siguiéramos tratando de ganar el juego.	Pepe recommended that we keep trying to win the game.
Que vosotros	siguierais	El consejero sugirió que vosotros siguierais a los estudiantes durante sus estudios.	The counselor suggested that you follow the students during their studies.
Que ustedes/ellos/ellas	siguieran	El decano esperaba que ellos siguieran la clase del profesor.	The dean hoped that they follow the professor's class.

Option 2

Que yo	siguiese	Paula sugirió que yo siguiese a mi cantante favorito.	Paula suggested that I follow my favorite singer.
Que tú	siguieses	Tu jefe esperaba que tú siguieses trabajando en esa compañía.	Your boss hoped that you would keep working at that company.
Que usted/él/ella	siguiese	El policía quería que ella siguiese al ladrón.	The police officer wanted her to follow the robber.
Que nosotros	siguiésemos	Pepe recomendaba que nosotros siguiésemos tratando de ganar el juego.	Pepe recommended that we keep trying to win the game.
Que vosotros	siguieseis	El consejero sugirió que vosotros siguieseis a los estudiantes durante sus estudios.	The counselor suggested that you follow the students during their studies.
Que ustedes/ellos/ellas	siguiesen	El decano esperaba que ellos siguiesen la clase del profesor.	The dean hoped that they follow the professor's class.

Seguir Imperative

The imperative mood consists of verb conjugations used to give orders or commands.

Positive Commands

Tú	sigue	¡Sigue trabajando en esa compañía!	Keep working at that company!
Usted	siga	¡Siga al ladrón!	Follow the robber!
Nosotros	sigamos	¡Sigamos tratando de ganar el juego!	Let's keep trying to win the game!
Vosotros	seguid	¡Seguid a los estudiantes durante sus estudios!	Follow the students during their studies!
Ustedes	sigan	¡Sigan la clase del profesor!	Follow the professor's class!

Negative Commands

Tú	no sigas	¡No sigas trabajando en esa compañía!	Don't keep working at that company!
Usted	no siga	¡No siga al ladrón!	Don' follow the robber!
Nosotros	no sigamos	¡No sigamos tratando de ganar el juego!	Let's not keep trying to win the game!
Vosotros	no sigáis	¡No sigáis a los estudiantes durante sus estudios!	Don't follow the students during their studies!
Ustedes	no sigan	¡No sigan la clase del profesor!	Don't follow the professor's class!

Spanish Verb Seguir Conjugation