Abrir Conjugation 101: Conjugate Abrir In Spanish

Abrir is one of the few regular -IR verbs. Since this word is used in daily conversations and can help you practice this group of verbs, we’ll review the most important abrir conjugation patterns you need to know to learn fluent Spanish. Here is what we’ll go over: 

• Abrir Overview
• Indicative Tenses of Abrir Conjugations
  • Present tense
  • Preterite tense
  • Imperfect tense
  • Near Future tense
  • Future tense
  • Conditional tense
  • Present Perfect tense
  • Past Perfect tense
  • Future Perfect tense
  • Conditional Perfect tense
  • Progressive tenses
• Subjunctive Tenses of Abrir Conjugations
  • Present Subjunctive tense
  • Present Perfect Subjunctive tense
  • Imperfect Subjunctive tense
  • Past Perfect Subjunctive tense
• Imperative (Commands) of Abrir Conjugations
  • Affirmative Commands
  • Negative Commands
• Uses & Examples
• Download Abrir Conjugation Tables & Uses Cheat sheets
• Abrir Conjugation Practice Quiz

Overview of Abrir

Depending on the context, abrir means ‘to open’, ‘to open up’, ‘to turn on’, or ‘to unfold’. However, the abrir conjugation charts below contain one translation to keep the tables as organized as possible. Check more about this verb’s uses in the Uses & Meanings section. 

Indicative Conjugations of Abrir

Present tense

Use abrir present tense conjugations to say that someone is opening a place, a present, or a water faucet. For example: ¿A qué hora abren la tienda? 

Preterite tense

Abrir preterite conjugations are also regular. When conjugated to the preterite in Spanish, this verb conveys that someone opened something at a specific time in the past. For instance: Ayer abrimos nuestros regalos. 

Imperfect tense

The abrir imperfect conjugations are used to talk about the things people repeatedly opened in the past. Here is an example: Cuando era niña, mi hermana siempre abría mi mochila. 

Near future

To conjugate to the immediate future in Spanish, you must use the present tense conjugations of ir + a + abrir.  These forms of abrir allow you to communicate that someone will open something in the immediate future. For instance: ¿Quién va a abrir la puerta?

Future simple tense

Use the future simple conjugations of abrir to say that a person will open something at some time in the future. Algún día, abriré mi propio restaurante. 

Conditional tense

When conjugated to the Spanish conditional tense, this verb conveys that someone would open something. This tense can be combined with conditions if you need to express that a condition should be met for this action to happen. 

For example: Mis roomies nunca abrirían algo que no es suyo. 

Present perfect tense

Haber present tense conjugations + past participle of ‘abrir’ (abierto) is the formula you must use to conjugate to the present perfect tense in Spanish. These forms of abrir allow you to say whether someone has opened something or not. For example: Todavía no hemos abierto las ventanas. 

Take Note: Abrir is one of the few verbs with an irregular past participle form in Spanish. This is the only irregularity of this verb. 

Past perfect

Conjugate abrir to the past perfect tense to explain that a person had opened something before a past reference point. This tense is formed by using haber imperfect conjugations + abierto. For example: Antes de las 9, Sally había abierto todos sus paquetes. 

Future perfect

The future perfect forms of this verb are formed with haber (future tense) + past participle verb. These abrir conjugations express that a person will have opened something by or before a time in the future. For example: Antes del fin de mes, habremos abierto todos estos archivos. 

Conditional perfect

The Spanish conditional tense of this verb allows you to say that a person would have opened something such as a door, faucet, present, container, or business if a past condition had occurred. For example: Si hubiéramos sabido que eras tú, no habríamos abierto la puerta.

Progressive tenses

The Spanish progressive tenses are formed with estar indicative conjugations + a present participle verb (abriendo in this case). These conjugations of abrir allow you to say that someone is opening something at the moment in time of speaking. For example: Mi papá está abriendo el regalo que le trajimos. 

Abrir Subjunctive Conjugations

A verb conjugated to one of the subjunctive tenses is used to express someone’s hopes, expectations, wishes, advice, recommendations, demands, doubts, or hypothetical situations. In the following sections, we’ll review abrir conjugation charts for these tenses. 

Present subjunctive

The present subjunctive forms of abrir allow you to mention a person’s suggestions, hopes, or demands about someone opening something. For instance: Tengan cuidado cuando abran la puerta.

Present perfect subjunctive

Use the present subjunctive forms of haber + abierto to build the present perfect subjunctive tense. These conjugations allow you to express wishes or uncertainty about whether someone has already opened something or not. Quien haya abierto mi correo va a tener problemas. 

Imperfect subjunctive

Conjugate this verb to the imperfect subjunctive if you want to refer to past wishes, requests, expectations, or recommendations you had about a person opening something. For instance: Niños, les dije que sólo abrieran la llave del agua caliente. 

Castilian and Latin American Spanish have two different conjugation endings for the imperfect subjunctive tense:

Latin American Spanish version

Note: The abrir conjugation for vosotros isn’t included in the chart above because this pronoun is not used in Latin American Spanish.

Castilian Spanish version

Past perfect subjunctive

Conjugate abrir to the past perfect subjunctive to express that someone would have opened something if a past circumstance had taken place. You can also use this tense to say you wish you had or hadn’t opened something. Si hubieras abierto la puerta, no me habría mojado. 

Abrir Imperative Conjugations

The imperative is the mood we use to give commands in Spanish. 

Affirmative commands

Conjugate this verb to the Spanish affirmative imperative to order someone to open something. For instance: Chicos, abran sus libros en la página 20. 

Negative commands

If you wish to command someone not to open something, you must conjugate abrir to the negative imperative in Spanish. Here is an example: No abras el refrigerador si no lo necesitas. 

Meanings of Abrir & Examples

In the previous sections, we’ve reviewed how to conjugate abrir in Spanish. So, in this section, we’ll learn how to use this verb correctly. Based on the context and the type of words you use, abrir means to: 

• Open 
• Turn on (only water faucets) 
• Open up 
• Unfold or unwrap 
• Start or set up (businesses)

[Abrir conjugated] + [complement]

Alguien me abrió la bolsa.
Someone opened my bag.

Edith nunca se abre con nadie.
Edith never opens up to anyone.

Mis vecinos van a abrir un restaurante.
My neighbors are going to open a restaurant.

Take Note: Use direct object pronouns when you want to replace the thing someone opens. However, you must use indirect object pronouns if you’re opening something for someone (like a door). Finally, when using Spanish reflexive pronouns, abrir means to open up.

Download Abrir Conjugation Charts & Uses Cheat sheet

Abrir is one of the most fundamental verbs for Spanish beginners to learn. Since it has an irregular past participle, it can be difficult to remember. I’ve created a cheat sheet PDF you can download which includes all the abrir conjugation charts as well as its meanings and uses so you can study at your own pace.

Download Conjugations PDF

Practice Quiz: Abrir Conjugation

Now that you’ve seen how to conjugate this verb, the next step is to take the abrir conjugation practice quiz. It’s a great way to practice the regular -IR conjugations. You can also select which combination of tenses you want to include in the quiz.

Take Quiz