Volver Conjugation: How To Conjugate “To Return” In Spanish

The Spanish verb volver means to return, come back and do again. The conjugation of volver in the present tense is: Yo vuelvo (I return), tú vuelves (you return), él/ella/usted vuelve (he/she returns, you return) nosotros volvemos (we return), vosotros volvéis (you return) and ellos/ellas/ustedes vuelven (they/you return).

Volver is an irregular ER verb. This is because while its endings are the same as all other regular ER verbs in when conjugated in the present tense, its stem changes.

This page on our site covers regular and irregular Spanish ER verbs in detail. This page covers conjugations for comer (to eat), an example of a regular ER verb.

The verb devolver means return or give back an item or object and follows the same conjugation patterns as volver.

Volver conjugated in the present tense

Further down the page you’ll find complete conjugation charts for volver with example sentences for the following commonly used Spanish verb tenses:

• Present tense (presente de indicativo)
• Progressive present (presente progresivo)
• Near future (futuro inmediato)
• Future tense (futuro)
• Preterite (pretérito)
• Present perfect indicative (perfecto de indicativo)
• Imperfect (imperfecto de indicativo)
• Conditional (potential simple)
• Present subjunctive (presente de subjuntivo)
• Imperative (imperativo)

Volver conjugation table

The following graphic shows conjugations for volver for the first-person singular (yo) in twelve verb tenses.

Volver uses

The verb volver is very versatile and has many uses. Understanding the various uses of volover will come in handy when reading through the example sentences in the the conjugation charts below.

To come back, to return

A common use of volver is to mean to come back and to return. When specifying a place, the prepositon de (from) follow the conjugated form of volver.For example:

• Vuelvo a casa a las seis de la tarde. I come home at 6pm.
• Cuándo vuelves de Colombia? When are you coming back from (or returning from) Colombia?

To do something again, to start over

The construction volver + preposition a + infinitive means to do something again or to start again. For example:

• Vuelvo a tocar la guitara. I start playing the guitar again.
• Vuelves a estudiar los verbos. You start studying the verbs again.

To get back to

The construction volver + noun means “to get back to”. For example:

• Tras una semana, vuelvo a mis ejercicios. After a week, I get back to my exercises.
• Volvamos al tema. Let’s get back on topic.

To drive, to make

Volver can also be used to mean “to drive” or “to make”.

• ¡Me vuelves loco! You drive me crazy!

Volver conjugation charts

Present tense (presente de indicativo)

In the present tense, yo vuelvo transaltes to “I return” and “I am returning”.

yo vuelvo	I return (or come back, do again)	Vuelvo a casa muy tarde.	I come home very late.
tú vuelves	you return	¿Cuándo vuelves de Londres?	When are you coming back from London.
él/ella, usted vuelve	he/she returns, you return	Vuelve a estudiar español.	He starts studying Spanish again.
nosotros volvemos	we return	Volvemos de la tienda con ropa nueva.	We come back from the store with new clothes.
vosotros volvéis	you return	Volvéis de la playa con vuestros amigos.	You come back from the beach with your friends.
ellos/ellas, ustedes vuelven	they/you return	Esta noche no vuelven a casa.	They're not coming home tonight.

Progressive present (presente progresivo)

The progressive present combines the present tense of estar (to be) with the present participle. Yo estoy volviendo translates to “I am returning”.

yo estoy volviendo	I am returning (or doing again)	Estoy volviendo de la oficina.	I'm coming back from the office.
tú estás volviendo	you are returning	Estás volviendo de España.	You're coming back from Spain.
él/ella, usted está volviendo	he/she/you is (are) returning	Ella está volviendo de la casa de su novio.	She's coming back from her boyfriend's house.
nosotros estamos volviendo	we are returning	Estamos volviendo del entro de esquí.	We're coming back from the ski resort.
vosotros estáis volviendo	you are returning	Estáis volviendo de Mallorca.	You're coming back from Mallorca.
ellos/ellas, ustedes están volviendo	they/you are returning	Están volviendo de la peninsula de Yucatán	They're coming back form the Yucatan peninsula.

Near future (futuro inmediato)

The near future tense is formed by combining the present tenser of ir (to go) with the preposition a and an infinitive. Yo voy a volver translates to “I am going to return” or “I am going to start again”.

yo voy a volver	I'm going to return (or start again)	Voy a volver a casa en una hora.	I'm going to come home in one hour.
tú vas a volver	you're going to return	¿Vas a volver a casa esta noche?	Are you coming home tonight?
él/ella, usted va a volver	he/she is (you are) going to return	Va a volver a Mexico en noviembre.	He's going to return to Mexico in November.
nosotros vamos a volver	we are going to return	Vamos a volver con su regalo.	We're going to return with your gift.
vosotros vais a volver	you are going to return	¿Cuándo vais a volver a verme?	When are you going to come back to see me?
ellos/ellos, ustedes van a volver	they/you are going to return	Nunca van a volver a ese restaurante.	They'll never go back to that restaurant.

Future tense (futuro)

In the future tense, yo volveré translates to “I will return” or “I will start again”.

yo volveré	I will return (or start again)	Volveré a estudiar los verbos mañana.	I'll start learning the verbs again tomorrow.
tú volverás	you will return	Volverás con tus amigos?	Will you come back with your friends?
él/ella, usted volverá	he/she/you will return	Volverá a hacer los ejercicios en el verano.	He'll start doing exercises again in the summer.
nosotros volveremos	we will return	Volveremos de Paris en una semana.	We'll come back from Paris in one week.
vosotros volveréis	you will return	¿Cuándo volveréis de Mardrid?	When will you come back from Madrid?
ellos/ellas, ustedes volverían	they/you will return	Volverían a casa muy tarde.	They'll get home very late.

Preterite (pretérito)

The preterite tense is used to express past actions which occurred at specific times. Yo volví translates to “I returned” or “I started again”.

yo volví	I returned (or started again)	Volví a cantar las canciones rancheras.	I started singing ranchero songs again.
tú volviste	you returned	¿Cuándo volviste a casa?	When did you get home?
él/ella, usted volvió	he/she/you returned	¿Por qué no volvió?	Why didn't he return?
nosotros volvimos	we returned	¡Volvimos con un cachorro!	We came back with a puppy.
vosotros volvisteis	you returned	¿Cuándo volviste de España?	When did you come back from Spain?
ellos/ellas, ustedes volvieron	they/you returned	Volvieron de los Estados Unidos anoche.	They came back from the United States yesterday night.

Present perfect indicative (perfecto de indicativo)

The present perfect is used to express past actions which have a bearing on the present. Yo he vuelto translates to “I have returned” or “I have started again”.

yo he vuelto	I have returned (or started again)	Todavía no he vuelto.	I still haven't returned?
tú has vuelto	you have returned	¿Has vuelto en tu país?	Have you returned to your country?
él/ella, usted ha vuelto	he/she/you has (have) returned	Ha vuelto a tocar la guitara de nuevo.	He has started playing the guitar again.
nosotros hemos vuelto	we have returned	Hemos vuelto de la estación de tren.	We've returned from the train station.
vosotros habéis vuelto	you have returned	Habéis vuelto de la boda de vuestro hermano.	You've returned from your brother's wedding.
ellos/ellas, ustedes han vuelto	they/you have returened	Han vuelto del aeropuerto.	They have returned from the airport.

Imperfect (imperfecto de indicativo)

The imperfect tense is used to express past actions which occurred at unspecified times. Yo volvía translates to “I was returning” and “I used to return”.

yo volvía	I was coming back (or used to come back, start again)	Cuando era joven, volvía a casa muy tarde.	When I was young I used to come home very late.
tú volvías	you were coming back	Volvías a casa cuando Pedro llamó.	You were returning home when Pedro called.
él/ella, usted volvía	he/she/you was (were) coming back	Volvía del aeropuerto cuando me llamaste.	You were coming back from the airport when you called me.
nosotros volvíamos	we were coming back	Volvíamos de la fiesta cuando nos encontramos María.	We were coming back from the party when we bumped into Maria.
vosotros volvíais	you were coming back	¿Por qué volvíais a casa tan tarde?	Why did you used to come home so late?
ellos/ellas, ustedes volvían	they/you were coming back	Nunca volvían antes los niños.	They used to never come back before the kids.

Conditional (potential simple)

The conditional tense is used to describe hypothetical actions. Yo volvería translates to “I would return” or “I would do again”.

yo volvería	I would return (or do again)	Volvería en México si fuera posible.	I'd return to Mexico if it were possible.
tú volverías	you would return	¿Volverías en tu país si tuvieras más dinero?	Would you return to your county if you had more money?
él/ella, usted volvería	he/she/you would return	Volvería su ex si fuera posible.	He'd get back together with his ex if it were possible.
nosotros volveríamos	we would return	Volveríamos a estudiar los verbos si tuviéramos más tiempo.	We'd start studying verbs again if we had more time.
vosotros volveríais	you would return	¿Volveríais en vuestra zona si fuera más segura?	Would you return to your region if it were safer?
ellos/ellas, ustedes volverían	they/you would do again	Volverían a vaijar si tuvieran más tiempo libro.	They'd start traveling again if they had more free time.

Present subjunctive (presente de subjuntivo)

The subjunctive mood is used to express wishes, emotions and doubts. Yo vuelva translates to “I return” or “I start again”.

yo vuelva	I return (or start again)	Quiere que vuelva a estudiar los verbos.	He wants me to start learning the verbs again.
tú vuelvas	you return	¿Es verdad que vuelvas en España?	Is it true that you're going back to Spain?
él/ella, usted vuelva	he/she returns, you return	Es dudoso que vuelva a vernos.	It's doubtful he'll see us again.
nosotros volvamos	we return	Es importante que volvamos en México.	It's important that we go back to Mexico.
vosotros volváis	you return	No peinso que volváis a casa.	I don' think you're coming home.
ellos/ellas, ustedes vuelvan	you/they return	Quiero que vuelvan a tocar la música.	I want you to start playing music again.

Imperative (imperativo)

The imperative mood is used to express commands and suggestions. Example sentences are under the chart.

(tú) ¡vuelve!	Come back! (or return, start again!)	¡no vuelvas!	Don't come back!
(usted) ¡vuelva!	Come back!	¡no vuelva!	Don't come back!
(nosotros) ¡volvamos!	Let's come back!	¡no volvamos!	Let's not come back!
(vosotros) ¡volved!	Come back!	¡no volváis!	Don't come back!
(ustedes) ¡vuelvan!	Come back!	¡no vuelvan!	Don't come back!

• ¡Vuelvan mañana! Come back tomorrow!
• ¡No vuelve a hacerlo! Don’t do it again!
• ¡Volvamos en Europa! Let’s go back to Europe!
• ¡No vuelvas a mi casa! Don’t come back to my house!

Discover more:

• Conocer (to know a person or place) conjugation charts
• Saber (to now something factual) conjugation charts
• Comer (to eat) conjugation charts
• Decir (to say, to tell) conjugation charts