Spanish Verb Crear Conjugation, Usage, and Examples

African family building sand castles
Ellos están creando un castillo de arena. (They are creating a sand castle).

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The verb crear in Spanish means to create. It is used in the same contexts that you would use the verb "to create" in English.

When conjugating the verb crear, be careful not to confuse it with the verb creer, which sounds very similar but means "to believe." In the present tense first person singular conjugation (yo), I create and I believe are actually both yo creo, so you need context in order to know which verb you are using. Another similar-sounding verb that you should be careful with is criar, which means "to raise" or "to bring up."

The verb crear is a regular -ar verb. Other regular -ar verbs are hablar (to talk), usar (to use), and enseñar (to teach or show). In the tables below, you can find the conjugations of crear in several moods and tenses: indicative (present, past, and future), subjunctive (present and past), and imperative.

Present Indicative

Yo creo Yo creo figuras de origami. I create origami figures.
creas Tú creas obras de arte. You create works of art.
Usted/él/ella crea Ella crea un negocio exitoso. She creates a successful business.
Nosotros creamos Nosotros creamos empleos en la compañía. We create jobs in the company.
Vosotros creáis Vosotros creáis un ambiente amistoso en el trabajo. You create a friendly environment at work.
Ustedes/ellos/ellas crean Ellos crean alimentos saludables en la fábrica. They create healthy foods at the factory.

Preterite Indicative

To talk about completed actions in the past, you need the preterite tense.

Yo creé Yo creé figuras de origami. I created origami figures.
creaste Tú creaste obras de arte. You created works of art.
Usted/él/ella creó Ella creó un negocio exitoso. She created a successful business.
Nosotros creamos Nosotros creamos empleos en la compañía. We created jobs in the company.
Vosotros creasteis Vosotros creasteis un ambiente amistoso en el trabajo. You created a friendly environment at work.
Ustedes/ellos/ellas crearon Ellos crearon alimentos saludables en la fábrica. They created healthy foods at the factory.

Imperfect Indicative

To talk about ongoing or habitual actions in the past, you need the imperfect tense. In English the imperfect is translated as "was creating" or "used to create."

Yo creaba Yo creaba figuras de origami. I used to create origami figures.
creabas Tú creabas obras de arte. You used to create works of art.
Usted/él/ella creaba Ella creaba un negocio exitoso. She used to create a successful business.
Nosotros creábamos Nosotros creábamos empleos en la compañía. We used to create jobs in the company.
Vosotros creabais Vosotros creabais un ambiente amistoso en el trabajo. You used to create a friendly environment at work.
Ustedes/ellos/ellas creaban Ellos creaban alimentos saludables en la fábrica. They used to create healthy foods at the factory.

Future Indicative

Yo crearé Yo crearé figuras de origami. I will create origami figures.
crearás Tú crearás obras de arte. You will create works of art.
Usted/él/ella creará Ella creará un negocio exitoso. She will create a successful business.
Nosotros crearemos Nosotros crearemos empleos en la compañía. We will create jobs in the company.
Vosotros crearéis Vosotros crearéis un ambiente amistoso en el trabajo. You will create a friendly environment at work.
Ustedes/ellos/ellas crearán Ellos crearán alimentos saludables en la fábrica. They will create healthy foods at the factory.

Periphrastic Future Indicative 

Yo voy a crear Yo voy a crear figuras de origami. I am going to create origami figures.
vas a crear Tú vas a crear obras de arte. You are going to create works of art.
Usted/él/ella va a crear Ella va a crear un negocio exitoso. She is going to create a successful business.
Nosotros vamos a crear Nosotros vamos a crear empleos en la compañía. We are going to create jobs in the company.
Vosotros vais a crear Vosotros vais a crear un ambiente amistoso en el trabajo. You are going to create a friendly environment at work.
Ustedes/ellos/ellas van a crear Ellos van a crear alimentos saludables en la fábrica. They are going to create healthy foods at the factory.

Present Progressive/Gerund Form

The gerund or present participle is the equivalent of the -ing form in English. This verb form in Spanish is used as an adverb or to form progressive verb tenses like the present progressive.

Present Progressive of Crear está creando Ella está creando un negocio exitoso. She is creating a successful business.

Past Participle

The past participle can sometimes be used as an adjective or to form perfect tenses, like the present perfect and pluperfect.

Present Perfect of Crear ha creado Ella ha creado un negocio exitoso. She has created a successful business.

Conditional Indicative

If you want to talk about possibilities or probabilities, you need the conditional tense.

Yo crearía Yo crearía figuras de origami si supiera cómo hacerlo. I would create origami figures if I knew how to do it.
crearías Tú crearías obras de arte si fueras artista. You would create works of art if you were an artist.
Usted/él/ella crearía Ella crearía un negocio exitoso si tuviera tiempo. She would create a successful business if she had time.
Nosotros crearíamos Nosotros crearíamos empleos en la compañía, pero no tenemos dinero. We would create jobs in the company, but we don't have money.
Vosotros crearíais Vosotros crearíais un ambiente amistoso en el trabajo si quisieras. You would create a friendly environment at work if you wanted to.
Ustedes/ellos/ellas crearían Ellos crearían alimentos saludables en la fábrica si pudieran. They would create healthy foods at the factory if they could.

Present Subjunctive

The present subjunctive is the mood used when a sentence has two clauses and expresses desire, doubt, denial, emotion, negation, possibility, or other subjective situations.

Que yo cree El maestro quiere que yo cree figuras de origami. The teacher wants me to create origami figures.
Que tú crees Tu familia pide que tú crees obras de arte. Your family asks that you create works of art.
Que usted/él/ella cree Patricio espera que ella cree un negocio exitoso. Patricio hopes that she create a successful business. 
Que nosotros creemos Los empleados quieren que nosotros creemos empleos en la compañía. The employees want us to create jobs in the company.
Que vosotros creéis La jefa espera que vosotros creéis un ambiente amistoso en el trabajo. The boss hopes that you create a friendly environment at work.
Que ustedes/ellos/ellas creen Los consumidores quieren que ustedes creen alimentos saludables en la fábrica. The consumers want you to create healthy foods in the factory.

Imperfect Subjunctive

The imperfect subjunctive is used in the same contexts as the present subjunctive, but in the past. It can be conjugated in two different ways:

Option 1

Que yo creara El maestro quería que yo creara figuras de origami. The teacher wanted me to create origami figures.
Que tú crearas Tu familia pedía que tú crearas obras de arte. Your family asked that you create works of art.
Que usted/él/ella creara Patricio esperaba que ella creara un negocio exitoso. Patricio hoped that she would create a successful business. 
Que nosotros creáramos Los empleados querían que nosotros creáramos empleos en la compañía. The employees wanted us to create jobs in the company.
Que vosotros crearais La jefa esperaba que vosotros crearais un ambiente amistoso en el trabajo. The boss hoped that you would create a friendly environment at work.
Que ustedes/ellos/ellas crearan Los consumidores querían que ustedes crearan alimentos saludables en la fábrica. The consumers wanted you to create healthy foods in the factory.

Option 2

Que yo crease El maestro quería que yo crease figuras de origami. The teacher wanted me to create origami figures.
Que tú creases Tu familia pedía que tú creases obras de arte. Your family asked that you create works of art.
Que usted/él/ella crease Patricio esperaba que ella crease un negocio exitoso. Patricio hoped that she would create a successful business. 
Que nosotros creásemos Los empleados querían que nosotros creásemos empleos en la compañía. The employees wanted us to create jobs in the company.
Que vosotros creaseis La jefa esperaba que vosotros creaseis un ambiente amistoso en el trabajo. The boss hoped that you would create a friendly environment at work.
Que ustedes/ellos/ellas creasen Los consumidores querían que ustedes creasen alimentos saludables en la fábrica. The consumers wanted you to create healthy foods in the factory.

Imperative

To give someone an order or a command, you need the imperative mood. In the tables below you can see the positive and negative commands.

Positive Commands

crea ¡Crea obras de arte! Create works of art!
Usted cree ¡Cree un negocio exitoso! Create a successful business!
Nosotros creemos ¡Creemos empleos en la compañía! Let's create jobs in the company!
Vosotros cread ¡Cread un ambiente amistoso en el trabajo! Create a friendly environment at work!
Ustedes creen ¡Creen alimentos saludables en la fábrica! Create healthy food in the factory!

Negative Commands

no crees ¡No crees obras de arte! Don't create works of art!
Usted no cree ¡No cree un negocio exitoso! Don't create a successful business!
Nosotros no creemos ¡No creemos empleos en la compañía! Let's not create jobs in the company!
Vosotros no creéis ¡No creéis un ambiente amistoso en el trabajo! Don't create a friendly environment at work!
Ustedes no creen ¡No creen alimentos saludables en la fábrica! Don't create healthy foods in the factory!
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Meiners, Jocelly. "Spanish Verb Crear Conjugation, Usage, and Examples." ThoughtCo, Apr. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/spanish-verb-crear-conjugation-4777469. Meiners, Jocelly. (2023, April 5). Spanish Verb Crear Conjugation, Usage, and Examples. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/spanish-verb-crear-conjugation-4777469 Meiners, Jocelly. "Spanish Verb Crear Conjugation, Usage, and Examples." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/spanish-verb-crear-conjugation-4777469 (accessed March 19, 2024).