Conjugation of 'Pensar'

Pensar, a verb usually meaning "to think," is a prototypical stem-changing verb. The -e- in the stem (pens-) changes to -ie- when stressed, and in all other situations the verb is regularly conjugated.

Other verbs following the pattern of pensar include acertar, alentar, apretar, arrendar, atravesar, calentar, cerrar, confesar, despertar, encerrar, enterrar, gobernar, helar, manifestar, merendar, recomendar, reventar, sembrar and sentar.

Irregular forms are shown below in boldface. Translations are given as a guide and in real life may vary with context.

Infinitive of Pensar

pensar (to think)

Gerund of Pensar

pensando (thinking)

Participle of Pensar

pensado (thought)

Present Indicative of Pensar

yo pienso, tú piensas, usted/él/ella piensa, nosotros/as pensamos, vosotros/as pensáis, ustedes/ellos/ellas piensan (I think, you think, he thinks, etc.)

Preterite of Pensar

yo pensé, tú pensaste, usted/él/ella pensó, nosotros/as pensamos, vosotros/as pensasteis, ustedes/ellos/ellas pensaron (I thought, you thought, she thought, etc.)

Imperfect Indicative of Pensar

yo pensaba, tú pensabas, usted/él/ella pensaba, nosotros/as pensábamos, vosotros/as pensabais, ustedes/ellos/ellas pensaban (I used to think, you used to think, he used to think, etc.)

Future Indicative of Pensar

yo pensaré, tú pensarás, usted/él/ella pensará, nosotros/as pensaremos, vosotros/as pensaréis, ustedes/ellos/ellas pensarán (I will think, you will think, he will think, etc.)

Conditional of Pensar

yo pensaría, tú pensarías, usted/él/ella pensaría, nosotros/as pensaríamos, vosotros/as pensaríais, ustedes/ellos/ellas pensarían (I would think, you would think, she would think, etc.)

Present Subjunctive of Pensar

que yo piense, que tú pienses, que usted/él/ella piense, que nosotros/as pensemos, que vosotros/as penséis, que ustedes/ellos/ellas piensen (that I think, that you think, that she think, etc.)

Imperfect Subjunctive of Pensar

que yo pensara (pensase), que tú pensaras (pensases), que usted/él/ella pensara (pensase), que nosotros/as pensáramos (pensásemos), que vosotros/as pensarais (pensaseis), que ustedes/ellos/ellas pensaran (pensasen) (that I thought, that you thought, that he thought, etc.)

Imperative of Pensar

piensa tú, no pienses tú, piense usted, pensemos nosotros/as, pensad vosotros/as, no penséis vosotros/as, piensen ustedes (think, don't think, think, let's think, etc.)

Compound Tenses of Pensar

The perfect tenses are made by using the appropriate form of haber and the past participle, pensado. The progressive tenses use estar with the gerund, pensando.

Sample Sentences Showing Conjugation of Pensar and Similarly Conjugated Verbs

Quien no quiere pensar es un fanático. Quien no puede pensar es un idiota. Quien no osa pensar es un cobarde. (Whoever does not want to think is a fanatic. Whoever cannot think is an idiot. Whoever does not dare to think is a coward. Infinitive.)

Aún no he pensado en la cuestión del retiro. (I still haven't thought about the question of retirement. Present perfect.)

¿Cómo calienta un microondas los alimentos? (How does a microwave oven heat up food? Present indicative.)

Los padres pensaron que perderían el derecho de vivir en Estados Unidos. (The parents thought they would lose the right to live in the United States. Preterite.)

Hasta ahora todos los expertos recomendaban que lo ideal era comer cinco veces al día. (Until now all the experts recommended that the ideal was to eat five times a day. Imperfect.)

Nos manifestaremos hasta tener una solución. (We will demonstrate until we have a solution. Future.)

Mi madre siempre sabe lo que estamos pensando. (My mother always knows what we are thinking. Present progressive.)

No pude evitar preguntarme si pensaríamos lo mismo doce horas más tarde. (I couldn't avoid asking myself if we would think the same thing 12 hours later. Conditional.)

Los jueces no permitirá que gobierne los socialistas. (The judges will not allow the socialists to govern. Present subjunctive.)

No sé lo que ocurriría si yo pensara como tú. (I don't know what would happen if I thought like you. Imperfect subjunctive.)

¡Despierta América! (Wake up, America! Imperative.)