Volver Conjugation 101: Conjugate Volver in Spanish

Volver is an -ER verb with an O to UE stem change. Since this verb is key for your communication, in this guide, we’ll check volver conjugation patterns. Here is an overview of what you’ll learn:

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

Overview of Volver

The verb volver in Spanish means ‘to return’, ‘to come back’, ‘to do again’, among other things. However, the conjugation charts below only have one translation to keep the tables as clear as possible. You can learn more about the meanings of ‘volver’ in the section Uses & Meanings. 

Indicative Conjugations of Volver

Present tense

Volver conjugations in the present have an O to UE stem change except for ‘nosotros’ and ‘vosotros’. Use the present indicative tense of volver to explain when a person returns from a certain place. For example: Mis papás vuelven mañana.

Preterite tense

As shown in the volver preterite conjugation chart below, this verb has no stem changes in the preterite tense. Conjugate this verb to the Spanish past preterite to communicate that someone returned at a specific moment in the past. You can also use these conjugations to express that a person did something again. 

For instance: Ayer, volví a hablar con Jessica. 

Imperfect tense

When conjugated to the Spanish past imperfect, this verb is used to describe how or when a person used to come back for an extended period of time in the past. For instance: Nunca volvíamos tarde. 

Near future

The immediate future in Spanish is formed by conjugating ir to the present tense + volver. When conjugated to the near future, this verb communicates that someone will return somewhere soon in the future. No te preocupes, vamos a volver muy pronto. 

Future simple tense

In the future simple tense, volver conveys that someone will return or do something again at some point in the future. For instance: Mañana, volveremos a hablar de este tema. 

Conditional tense

Conjugate this verb to the conditional tense in Spanish to communicate that a person would return somewhere. You can also use these volver conjugations to ask a person politely if they would come back to a place. For example: Si pudieras, ¿volverías a tu ciudad?

Present perfect tense

Haber in the present tense + vuelto (past participle) is the formula to conjugate to the present perfect tense in Spanish. Conjugate volver to this tense to express that a person has or hasn’t returned or repeated something. For instance: No he vuelto a verla. 

Past perfect

Volver in the Spanish past perfect form expresses that someone had returned somewhere before another past action or time frame. For example: No había vuelto a mi casa desde Navidad. 

Future perfect

In Spanish, the future perfect conjugations of haber convey that someone will have returned or done something again by or before a certain moment in the future. For example: Habremos vuelto antes de que te des cuenta. 

Conditional perfect

Conjugate volver to the conditional perfect tense to express that someone would have returned if a past action had been performed. For example: No habríamos vuelto, si no nos hubieras hablado.

Progressive tenses

Conjugate estar + present participle (volviendo, in this case) is the formula to form volver’s progressive tenses. Use these conjugations to explain that someone is returning somewhere at the moment of speaking. You can also use these forms to say that someone is currently repeating an activity. 

For example: Mi papá está volviendo a pintar la sala.

Volver Subjunctive Conjugations

To refer to wishes, requests, suggestions, expectations, doubts, or hypothetical situations, you must use the Spanish subjunctive mood. In the sections below, you’ll find the volver conjugation charts for the subjunctive tenses we currently use in Spanish. 

Present subjunctive

Volver subjunctive conjugations have an O to UE stem change for all subjects except ‘nosotros’ and ‘vosotros’. The present subjunctive conjugations of ‘volver’ are used to hope, request, or suggest someone to return to a place. For instance: Quiero que vuelvan temprano. 

Present perfect subjunctive

The present subjunctive forms of haber + vuelto (past participle form in Spanish) is the structure we use to conjugate volver to the present perfect subjunctive. These conjugations allow you to wish or express doubt about whether a person has already returned. 

For instance: ¿Crees que Lucía y Luis ya hayan vuelto de su viaje?

Imperfect subjunctive

The Spanish imperfect subjunctive tense refers to past suggestions, requests, and wishes someone had about a person coming back or redoing an activity. Te pedí que volvieras a hacer el pastel. 

Based on the type of Spanish you use, the imperfect subjunctive tense has two conjugation models: 

Latin American Spanish version

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

Castilian Spanish version

Past perfect subjunctive

Use volver conjugated to the Spanish past perfect subjunctive to express that someone would have returned somewhere if a past circumstance had taken place. These forms also express regret for returning or not returning to a place. 

For example: Si hubiera podido, hubiera vuelto antes.

Volver Imperative Conjugations

To command people to do or not do something, you must use Spanish commands or imperatives. 

Affirmative commands

Volver’s affirmative imperative conjugations also have an O to UE stem change that doesn’t affect the pronoun ‘vosotros’. Use these affirmative commands to order someone to return at a certain time or place. For example: Ve, pero vuelve en una hora. 

Negative commands

To order someone not to return, you must use the negative imperative in Spanish. When forming negative commands, volver is an O to UE stem-changing verb for all subject pronouns except for ‘vosotros’. Here is an example: Por favor, váyanse y no vuelvan. 

Meanings of Volver & Examples

Now that you’ve learned how to conjugate volver in Spanish, you should check these examples to see how to use this verb correctly in its various conjugated forms. 

1. Talking about returning to a place

[Volver conjugated] + [complement]

¿A qué hora vuelve mi papá?
What time does dad return?

Vuelva en una hora, por favor. 
Come back in an hour, please. 

Take Note: In Spanish, this verb cannot be used to talk about returning products or things you bought. In this case, you must use regresar or devolver. Devolver is formed with the suffix ‘volver’, meaning that it’s conjugated with volver’s conjugation pattern. 

2. Expressing that someone is doing something again

[Volver conjugated] + a + [infinitive verb]

¿Cuándo van a volver a venir?
When are you guys going to come again?

Estamos volviendo a ver The Office. 
We are watching The Office again. 

Take Note: Volver a + infinitive is a verb phrase that expresses repetition. The activity you’re repeating is expressed by a verb in the infinitive form.

Download Volver Conjugation Tables & Uses Cheat sheets

Volver is a common verb with stem changes in several tenses. You can download the cheat sheets PDF below which contains all the volver conjugation charts. It also has a short definitions and uses section where you’ll find example sentences for using this verb in real-world daily conversations.

Download Conjugations PDF

Practice Quiz: Volver Conjugation

Now that you’ve seen how to conjugate volver in Spanish, you can drill yourself on its different regular and stem-changing forms by taking this volver conjugation practice quiz.

Take Quiz