Vivir Conjugation 101: Conjugate Vivir In Spanish

Since it’s a regular verb in all tenses, vivir conjugation charts can help you get familiar with the regular endings for -IR verbs. So, in this guide, you’ll learn how to conjugate vivir in Spanish. Here’s what we’ll cover:

• Vivir Overview 
• Indicative Tenses of Vivir 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 Vivir Conjugations 
  • Present Subjunctive tense
  • Present Perfect Subjunctive tense
  • Imperfect Subjunctive tense
  • Past Perfect Subjunctive tense
• Imperative (Commands) of Vivir Conjugations
  • Affirmative Commands
  • Negative Commands
• Uses & Examples
• Download Vivir Conjugation Tables & Uses Cheat sheets
• Vivir Conjugation Practice Quiz

Overview of Vivir

Indicative Conjugations of Vivir

Present tense

The present tense conjugations of vivir are used to express the place where a person currently lives. For example: Nosotros vivimos en México.

Preterite tense

Vivir preterite conjugations are all regular. Use the preterite tense forms of ‘vivir’ to explain where or with whom someone lived at a specific moment in the past. Yo viví con mis abuelos durante dos años.

Imperfect tense

When conjugated to the past imperfect tense, vivir is used to talk about where a person used to live in the past. For instance: Cuando era niña, Samantha vivía con su abuela.

Near future

The immediate future of ‘vivir’ communicates that a person is planning to live somewhere or with someone else soon in the future. For instance: No sé dónde vamos a vivir. This verb in the Spanish near future tense is formed with ir (present tense) + a + vivir and can be translated as “going to live”.

Future simple tense

Vivir future conjugations communicate that someone will live somewhere at some point in the future. For example: Algún día viviremos en París.

Conditional tense

Use the conditional forms of ‘vivir’ to say that a person would live in a certain place or with someone else if some circumstances are met. This tense also allows you to make a hypothesis about where a person would live. Si tuviéramos dinero, viviríamos en una casa más grande.

Present perfect tense

Haber in the present tense + vivido (past participle) is the formula of the Spanish present perfect tense. Use these ‘vivir’ conjugations to express that someone has or hasn’t lived somewhere. For instance: Janeth ha vivido aquí toda su vida. 

Past perfect

Vivir conjugated to the past perfect tense expresses that someone had lived somewhere before some other reference point in the past. Nunca había vivido en el campo. To form the past perfect, use the imperfect form of ‘haber’ and the past participle form of ‘vivir’.

Future perfect

Vivir to the future perfect tense expresses that someone will have lived by or before a certain time in the future. These conjugations are also used to express that something might have lived somewhere. For instance: ¿Dónde habrá vivido mi abuela?

Conditional perfect

The conditional perfect conjugations of vivir are used to say that someone would have lived somewhere or with another person as long as a past condition had been met. These conjugations also allow you to make hypotheses in the past. For instance: Yo nunca habría vivido contigo.

Progressive tenses

Use the progressive tenses of vivir to describe where someone is living at the moment of speaking. For example: Sonia y Juan están viviendo juntos.

Vivir Subjunctive Conjugations

The Spanish subjunctive allows you to express wishes, doubt or hypothetical situations. Below are the vivir conjugation charts for the subjunctive tenses.

Present subjunctive

Vivir subjunctive conjugations allow you to express wishes or request something regarding a person’s living situation. For example: Quiero que vivas feliz.

Present perfect subjunctive

Haber in the present subjunctive + vivido is the formula to build the present perfect subjunctive of ‘vivir’. When using this tense, ‘vivir’ conveys uncertainty about where someone has lived. Dudo que Ulises haya vivido aquí todo este tiempo.

Imperfect subjunctive

Use the imperfect subjunctive conjugations of ‘vivir’ to refer to past suggestions, requests, wishes or expectations you had about a person’s living situation. Nos recomendaron que no viviéramos aquí. 

The imperfect subjunctive has two conjugation models depending on which type of Spanish you’re using:

Latin American Spanish version

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

Castilian Spanish version

Past perfect subjunctive

In the past perfect subjunctive, vivir conveys that someone or something would have lived somewhere if a past circumstance was met. You can also use these conjugations to express regrets or hypothetical results if someone had lived in a certain place or with another person. For example: De haber podido, hubiera vivido en Cancún.

Vivir Imperative Conjugations

To tell people what to do or not to do, we use the Spanish imperative mood. 

Affirmative commands

Use the affirmative imperative forms of ‘vivir’ to give instructions to someone about their living situation. For example: Vivid con alegría.

Negative commands

To order people to not live in a certain place or with a particular person, use negative commands. For instance: No vivas aquí, es peligroso

Meanings of Vivir & Examples

Now that you’ve learned how to conjugate vivir in Spanish, you should check the examples below to see how to use this verb correctly.

Vivir is the direct translation of ‘to live’. You can use it with the preposition en to explain where someone lives or with con to express that you live with another person. 

¿Cuánto llevas viviendo aquí?
How long have you been living here? 

No sabía que vivías con Juan. 
I didn’t know that you lived with Juan. 

Si pudieras elegir, ¿dónde vivirías?
If you could choose, where would you live?

Take Note: Although it’s commonly used to build the present progressive (estar + gerund), the Spanish present participle of ‘vivir’ can also be used with seguir to talk about the amount of time you’ve lived in a place. 

Download Vivir Conjugation Tables & Uses Cheat sheets

Click the button below to download the cheat sheets PDF I’ve assembled with all of the vivir conjugation charts, meanings, and uses so you can study them at your own pace.

Download Conjugations PDF

Practice Quiz: Vivir Conjugation

Now that you’ve learned how to conjugate despertarse in Spanish, you can practice your skills conjugating a reflexive, stem-changing verb with the vivir conjugation practice quiz.