Spanish Verb Esperar Conjugation

Esperar is a common Spanish verb that can mean "to hope for," "to wait," and "to expect." You can figure out which meaning is intended by looking at the context, sentence structure, and whether esperar is followed by a verb in the subjunctive mood.

This article explains some of the different uses of esperar in Spanish, as well as esperar conjugations in the present, past, conditional, and future indicative, the present and past subjunctive, the imperative, and other verb forms.

Four Ways of Using the Verb Esperar

'Esperar Que' Followed by a Verb

The phrase esperar que is typically followed by a verb. If that verb is in the subjunctive mood, esperar can often be understood to mean "hope," while if that verb is in the indicative mood, it usually can be understood to mean "expect."

The use of the indicative mood suggests some degree of certainty, while the subjunctive mood indicates desire. The use of the subjunctive following esperar que is far more common. Also, the following phrases are common:

• ¡Espero que sí! (I hope so!)
• ¡Espero que no! (I hope not!)

'To Wait' or 'To Wait For'

This is one of the most common meanings of esperar, as seen in the following examples:

• Por favor espera aquí por un momento. (Please wait here for a moment.)
• Bajaron al andén y esperaron el tren. (They stepped down to the platform and waited for the train.)
• Esperamos la llegada de la policía federal. (We are waiting for the arrival of the federal police.)

'To Expect'

This is another common meaning that is determined by the context:

• El amor llega cuando uno menos lo espera. (Love comes when you least expect it.)
• Para el 2028 esperamos la llegada de unos 406 mil turistas. (For 2028 we are expecting the arrival of some 406,000 tourists. Note how in some contexts "hope for" could be a suitable translation.)

The phrase estar esperando can be used in the same way as the English "to be expecting" when referring to pregnancy: Carme Chacón confirma que el bebé que está esperando es un niño. (Carme Chacon confirms that the baby she is expecting is a boy.)

Using Esperar Like Gustar

Esperar is sometimes used in a sentence with inverted word order, like gustar and some other verbs. A better translation in such cases is "await":

• Al dólar le esperan tiempos peores. (Worse times await the dollar.)
• Me espera una vida nueva en algún lugar del mundo. (A new life awaits me somewhere in the world.)
• ¿Qué avances tecnológicos nos esperan en el futuro? (What technological advancements await in the future?

Present Indicative

Esperar is conjugated in the same way as other regular -ar verbs.

Yo	espero	Yo espero el autobús por la mañana.	I wait for the bus in the morning.
Tú	esperas	Tú esperas a tu amigo en el aeropuerto.	You wait for your friend at the airport.
Usted/él/ella	espera	Ella espera triunfar en la competencia.	She hopes to succeed in the competition.
Nosotros	esperamos	Nosotros esperamos verte pronto.	We hope to see you soon.
Vosotros	esperáis	Vosotros esperáis al bebé para agosto.	You expect the baby in August.
Ustedes/ellos/ellas	esperan	Ellos esperan lluvia esta tarde.	They expect rain this afternoon.

Preterite Indicative

The preterite tense is used to talk about events that happened in the past and have been completed.

Yo	esperé	Yo esperé el autobús por la mañana.	I waited for the bus in the morning.
Tú	esperaste	Tú esperaste a tu amigo en el aeropuerto.	You waited for your friend at the airport.
Usted/él/ella	esperó	Ella esperó triunfar en la competencia.	She hoped to succeed in the competition.
Nosotros	esperamos	Nosotros esperamos verte pronto.	We hoped to see you soon.
Vosotros	esperasteis	Vosotros esperasteis al bebé para agosto.	You expected the baby in August.
Ustedes/ellos/ellas	esperaron	Ellos esperaron lluvia esta tarde.	They expected rain this afternoon.

Imperfect Indicative

The imperfect tense is used to talk about actions in the past that were ongoing or repeated, and it can be translated to English as "was waiting" or "used to wait."

Yo	esperaba	Yo esperaba el autobús por la mañana.	I used to wait for the bus in the morning.
Tú	esperabas	Tú esperabas a tu amigo en el aeropuerto.	You used to wait for your friend at the airport.
Usted/él/ella	esperaba	Ella esperaba triunfar en la competencia.	She was hoping to succeed in the competition.
Nosotros	esperábamos	Nosotros esperábamos verte pronto.	We were hoping to see you soon.
Vosotros	esperabais	Vosotros esperabais al bebé para agosto.	You were expecting the baby in August.
Ustedes/ellos/ellas	esperaban	Ellos esperaban lluvia esta tarde.	They were expecting rain this afternoon.

Future Indicative

Yo	esperaré	Yo esperaré el autobús por la mañana.	I will wait for the bus in the morning.
Tú	esperarás	Tú esperarás a tu amigo en el aeropuerto.	You will wait for your friend at the airport.
Usted/él/ella	esperará	Ella esperará triunfar en la competencia.	She will hope to succeed in the competition.
Nosotros	esperaremos	Nosotros esperaremos verte pronto.	We will hope to see you soon.
Vosotros	esperaréis	Vosotros esperaréis al bebé para agosto.	You will expect the baby in August.
Ustedes/ellos/ellas	esperarán	Ellos esperarán lluvia esta tarde.	They will expect rain this afternoon.

Periphrastic Future Indicative 

The periphrastic future is sometimes called the near future and is translated to English as "going to + verb."

Yo	voy a esperar	Yo voy a esperar el autobús por la mañana.	I am going to wait for the bus in the morning.
Tú	vas a esperar	Tú vas a esperar a tu amigo en el aeropuerto.	You are going to wait for your friend at the airport.
Usted/él/ella	va a esperar	Ella va a esperar triunfar en la competencia.	She is going to hope to succeed in the competition.
Nosotros	vamos a esperar	Nosotros vamos a esperar verte pronto.	We are going to hope to see you soon.
Vosotros	vais a esperar	Vosotros vais a esperar al bebé para agosto.	You are going to expect the baby for August.
Ustedes/ellos/ellas	van a esperar	Ellos van a esperar lluvia esta tarde.	They are going to expect rain this afternoon.

Present Progressive/Gerund Form

The verb form that ends in "-ing" in English is called the gerund or present participle in Spanish. It is often used to form progressive tenses like the present progressive.

Present Progressive of Esperar

está esperando

Ella está esperando triunfar en la competencia.

She is expecting to succeed in the competition.

Past Participle

In Spanish, the past participle usually ends in -ado or -ido, and is used to form perfect tenses like the present perfect.

Present Perfect of Esperar

ha esperado

Ella ha esperado triunfar en la competencia.

She has expected to succeed in the competition.

Esperar Conditional Indicative

The conditional tense is used to talk about possibilities, and is usually translated to English as "would + verb."

Yo	esperaría	Yo esperaría el autobús por la mañana si me despertara temprano.	I would wait for the bus in the morning if I were to wake up early .
Tú	esperarías	Tú esperarías a tu amigo en el aeropuerto si te viniera a visitar.	You would wait for your friend at the airport if he came to visit you.
Usted/él/ella	esperaría	Ella esperaría triunfar en la competencia, pero no es optimista.	She would hope to succeed in the competition, but she is not optimistic.
Nosotros	esperaríamos	Nosotros esperaríamos verte pronto, pero sabemos que es complicado.	We would hope to see you soon, but we know it is complicated.
Vosotros	esperaríais	Vosotros esperaríais al bebé para agosto si lo dijera el doctor.	You would expect the baby in August if the doctor said so.
Ustedes/ellos/ellas	esperarían	Ellos esperarían lluvia esta tarde si el pronóstico lo indicara.	They would expect rain this afternoon if the forecast were to indicate it.

Esperar Present Subjunctive

Que yo	espere	Mi madre sugiere que yo espere el autobús por la mañana.	My mother suggests that I wait for the bus in the morning.
Que tú	esperes	Marta pide que tú esperes a tu amigo en el aeropuerto.	Marta asks that you wait for your friend at the airport.
Que usted/él/ella	espere	El entrenador recomienda que ella espere triunfar en la competencia.	The coach recommends that she hope to succeed in the competition.
Que nosotros	esperemos	Erica desea que nosotros esperemos verte pronto.	Erica wishes that we hope to see you soon.
Que vosotros	esperéis	El médico recomienda que vosotros esperéis al bebé para agosto.	The doctor recommends that you expect the baby in August.
Que ustedes/ellos/ellas	esperen	El meteorólogo sugiere que ellos esperen lluvia esta tarde.	The meteorologist suggests that they expect rain this afternoon.

Esperar Imperfect Subjunctive

There are two different ways for conjugating the imperfect subjunctive. The first option below is more common.

Option 1

Que yo	esperara	Mi madre sugería que yo esperara el autobús por la mañana.	My mother suggested that I wait for the bus in the morning.
Que tú	esperaras	Marta pidió que tú esperaras a tu amigo en el aeropuerto.	Marta asked that you wait for your friend at the airport.
Que usted/él/ella	esperara	El entrenador recomendaba que ella esperara triunfar en la competencia.	The coach recommended that she hope to succeed in the competition.
Que nosotros	esperáramos	Erica deseaba que nosotros esperáramos verte pronto.	Erica wished that we hope to see you soon.
Que vosotros	esperarais	El médico recomendó que vosotros esperarais al bebé para agosto.	The doctor recommended that you expect the baby in August.
Que ustedes/ellos/ellas	esperaran	El meteorólogo sugirió que ellos esperaran lluvia esta tarde.	The meteorologist suggested that they expect rain this afternoon.

Option 2

Que yo	esperase	Mi madre sugería que yo esperase el autobús por la mañana.	My mother suggested that I wait for the bus in the morning.
Que tú	esperases	Marta pidió que tú esperases a tu amigo en el aeropuerto.	Marta asked that you wait for your friend at the airport.
Que usted/él/ella	esperase	El entrenador recomendaba que ella esperase triunfar en la competencia.	The coach recommended that she hope to succeed in the competition.
Que nosotros	esperásemos	Erica deseaba que nosotros esperásemos verte pronto.	Erica wished that we hope to see you soon.
Que vosotros	esperaseis	El médico recomendó que vosotros esperaseis al bebé para agosto.	The doctor recommended that you expect the baby in August.
Que ustedes/ellos/ellas	esperasen	El meteorólogo sugirió que ellos esperasen lluvia esta tarde.	The meteorologist suggested that they expect rain this afternoon.

Esperar Imperative

The imperative mood is used to give commands, and it has both positive and negative forms.

Positive Commands

Tú	espera	¡Espera a tu amigo en el aeropuerto!	Wait for your friend at the airport!
Usted	espere	¡Espere triunfar en la competencia!	Hope to succeed in the competition!
Nosotros	esperemos	¡Esperemos verte pronto!	Let's hope to see you soon!
Vosotros	esperad	¡Esperad al bebé para agosto!	Expect the baby in August!
Ustedes	esperen	¡Esperen lluvia esta tarde!	Expect rain this afternoon!

Negative Commands

Tú	no esperes	¡No esperes a tu amigo en el aeropuerto!	Don't wait for your friend at the airport!
Usted	no espere	¡No espere triunfar en la competencia!	Don't hope to succeed in the competition!
Nosotros	no esperemos	¡No esperemos verte pronto!	Let's not hope to see you soon!
Vosotros	no esperéis	¡No esperéis al bebé para agosto!	Don't expect the baby in August!
Ustedes	no esperen	¡No esperen lluvia esta tarde!	Don't expect rain this afternoon!