Querer Conjugation: How To Conjugate To Want In Spanish

The verb querer means both to want and to love in Spanish. The conjugation of querer in the present tense is: Yo quiero (I want), tú quieres (you want), él/ella, usted quiere (he/she wants, you want), nosotros queremos (we want), vosotros queréis (you want) and ellos/ellas quieren (they want).

Querer is an irregular verb. While its endings are the same as other regular ER verbs when conjugated in the present tense, its stem changes. This page on our site covers both regular and irregular Spanish ER verbs in detail.

As mentioned above, querer translates to both “to want” and “to love”. For the purpose of simplicity on this page, we mostly use the translation “to want” in our example sentences.

Further down the page we provide conjugation charts for querer with example sentences for the following six commonly used Spanish verb tenses:

• Present tense (presente de indicativo)
• Near future (futuro inmediato)
• Future tense (futuro)
• Preterite (pretérito)
• Present perfect indicative (perfecto de indicativo)
• Imperfect (imperfecto de indicativo)

Querer conjugation table

How to use querer

The verb querer can be followed by either a direct object or an infinitive. For example:

• Quiero un helado. I want an ice cream.
• Quiero comer un helado. I want to eat an ice cream.

The construction querer a + person means “to love”. For example:

• Te quiero mi amor! I love you, darling!
• ¿Me quieres? Do you love me?
• El hombre quiere a su esposa. The man loves his wife.

Querer conjugation at a glace

The following graphic covers querer conjugated in 12 tenses in the first-person singular (yo) form.

Querer conjugation charts

Present tense (presente de indicativo)

In the present tense, yo quiero translates to “I want”.

yo quiero	I want	Quiero comprar un coche nuevo este verano.	I want to buy a new car this summer.
tú quieres	you want	¿Qué quieres comer esta noche?	What do you want to eat tonight?
él/ella, usted quiere	he/she wants; you want	Quiere bailar con su novia.	He wants to dance with is girlfriend.
nosotros queremos	we want	Queremos vaijar a América del Sur.	We want to travel in South America.
vosotros queréis	you want	Queréis pasar dos semanas a Valencia.	You want to spend two weeks in Valencia.
ellos/ellas, ustedes quieren	you/they want	No quieren vender la casa.	They don't want to sell the house.

Near future (futuro inmediato)

The near future tense is formed with the following construction: ir conjugated in the present tense + a + infinitive. Yo voy a querer translates to “I’m going to want”.

yo voy a querer	I am going to want	Voy a querer quedarme aquí.	I'm going to want to stay here.
tú vas a querer	you are going to want	Vas a querer comprar un celular nuevo.	You're going to want to buy new cell phone.
él/ella, usted va a querer	he/she is going to want; you are going to want	No va a querer el queso.	He's not going to want the cheese.
nosotros vamos a querer	we are going to want	Vamos a querer salir con nuestros amigos.	We're going to want to go out with our friends.
vosotros vais a querer	you are going to want	Vais a querer visitar Sevilla.	You're going to want to visit Sevilla.
ellos/ellas, ustedes van a querer	they/you are going to want	No van a querer comer en este restaurante.	They're not going to want to eat in this restaurant.

Future tense (futuro)

In the future tense, yo querré translates to “I will want”.

yo querré	I will want	Yo querré mudarme en un año.	I'll want to move in one year.
tú querrás	you will want	Tú querrás viajar el año que viene.	You'll want to travel next year.
él/ella, usted querrá	he/she/you will want	Él no querrá hacer el mismo trabajo para siempre.	He will not want to do the same work forever.
nosotros querremos	we will want	Querremos finir el proyecto cuanto antes.	We'll want to finish the project as soon as possible.
vosotros querréis	you will want	Querréis aprender los verbos antes de viajar a España.	You'll want to learn the verbs before traveling to Spain.
ellos/ellas, ustedes querrán	they/you will want	Estoy seguro que ellos no querrán esta casa.	I'm sure they won't want this house.

Preterite (pretérito)

The preterite is a commonly used Spanish past tense used to express actions which occurred at specific times. Yo quise translates to “I wanted to”.

yo quise	I wanted	Quise hablar contigo.	I wanted to speak with you.
tú quisiste	you wanted	¿Por qué no quisiste comprar la casa?	Why didn't you want to buy the house?
él/ella, usted quiso	he/she/you wanted	No quiso salir con sus amigos.	He didn't want to go out with his friends.
nosotros quisimos	we wanted	Quisimos vender el coche.	We wanted to sell the car.
vosotros quisisteis	you wanted	Quisisteis vaijar a Roma.	They want to travel to Rome.
ellos/ellas, usted quisieron	they/you wanted	Quisieron quedarse a Londres.	They wanted to say in London.

Present perfect indicative (perfecto de indicativo)

The present perfect is used to describe past actions which have a bearing on the present. Yo he querido translates to “I had wanted”.

yo he querido	I have wanted	He querido aprender español desde hace mucho tiempo.	I've wanted to learn Spanish for a long time.
tú has querido	you have wanted	¿Por qué has querido vivir a México?	Why have you wanted to live in Mexico?
él/ella, usted ha querido	he/she/you has (have) wanted	No ha querido cambiar de trabajo.	He hasn't wanted to change jobs.
nosotros hemos querido	we have wanted	Hemos querido viajar desde hace mucho tiempo.	We've wanted to travel for a long time.
vosotros habéis querido	you have wanted	Habéis querido comprar una casa a Barcelona.	You've wanted to buy a house in Barcelona.
ellos/ellas, ustedes han querido	you/they have wanted	No han querido ayudarnos.	They haven't wanted to help us.

Imperfect (imperfecto de indicativo)

The imperfect tense is used to describe actions which used to occur at undefined points in time. Yo quería translates to “I was wanting”, “I used to want” and “I wanted”.

yo quería	I wanted (or used to want, was wanting)	No quería tomar una decisión.	I didn't want to make a decision.
tú querías	you wanted	¿Por qué no querías estudiar francés?	Why didn't you want to study French?
él/ella, usted quería	he/she/you wanted	Él quería pasar más tiempo a Buenos Aries.	He wanted to spend more time in Buenos Aires.
nosotros queríamos	we wanted	Queríamos irnos de vacaciones a Puerto Rico.	We wanted to go on vacation in Puerto Rico.
vosotros queríais	you wanted	Queríais buscar empleo a Mar de Plata.	You wanted to find employment in Mar de Plata.
ellos/ellas, ustedes querían	they/you wanted	No querían jugar con los adultos.	They didn't want to play with the adults.

Discover more:

• Ser Conjugation: How to Conjugate “To Be” in Spanish
• Estar Conjugation in Spanish
• Hacer Conjugation: How to Conjugate “To Make, To Do” in Spanish