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Equivaler is a Spanish verb which translates into English as “to be equivalent to”.
Below are all of the conjugations for equivaler in Spanish, in all three moods (indicative/indicativo, subjunctive/subjunctivo and imperative/imperativo) and all of the tenses, for each pronoun.
The vosotros pronoun is mainly used in mainland Spain, and is the informal second-person plural – it could be considered the Spanish version of “y’all”. It is rarely found in Latin America, where ustedes is used instead.
The vos form is used instead of tú in some Spanish speaking countries of South America, especially the Southern Cone (e.g. Argentina and Uruguay) and has a different conjugation.
| English Infinitive | to be equivalent to |
|---|---|
| Spanish Infinitive | equivaler |
The gerund (gerundio) is used with the continuous tenses, e.g. present continuous (está equivaliendo) and past continuous (estaba equivaliendo). The easiest way to think of it is the equivalent of english’s -ing form (e.g. being equivalent to).
The past participle (participio) is used with perfect tense ‘haber’ verbs, e.g. he equivalido and hubiera equivalido. These are the equivalent of English’s ‘have’ (e.g. have been equivalent to).
| Gerundio / Gerund | equivaliendo |
|---|---|
| Participio / Past Participle | equivalido |
The basic form of speech, el indicativo is used for making statements, talking about facts, events and things that are certain and objective.
The present tense is as it sounds – it’s for talking about things that are currently going on, which are habitual, or which generally exist. In English, this would be “I be equivalent to” or “they be equivalent to”.
| Pronoun | Spanish |
|---|---|
| Yo | equivalgo |
| Tú | equivales |
| Él / Ella / Usted | equivale |
| Nosotros / as | equivalemos |
| Vosotros / as | equivaléis |
| Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes | equivalen |
| Vos | equivalés |
Your simple past tense, e.g. “I was equivalent to” or “she was equivalent to” in English.
In Spanish, there are two past tenses where just one is used in English; the pretérite infefinido is typically used to refer to a concrete, specific moment in time.
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | equivalí | I was equivalent to |
| Tú | equivaliste | You was equivalent to |
| Él / Ella / Usted | equivaló | He / she / you was equivalent to |
| Nosotros / as | equivalimos | We was equivalent to |
| Vosotros / as | equivalisteis | You was equivalent to |
| Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes | equivalieron | They / you was equivalent to |
| Vos | equivaliste | You was equivalent to |
The pretérito imperfecto roughly translates as “I was being equivalent to” or “she was being equivalent to” in English, and is typically used to describe things and set a scene, talk about events without a specific timeframe, or talk about habitual events or states in the past.
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | equivalía | I was being equivalent to |
| Tú | equivalías | You were being equivalent to |
| Él / Ella / Usted | equivalía | He was / she was / you were being equivalent to |
| Nosotros / as | equivalíamos | We were being equivalent to |
| Vosotros / as | equivalíais | You were being equivalent to |
| Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes | equivalían | They / you were being equivalent to |
| Vos | equivalías | You were being equivalent to |
The perfect tense is for talking about things which happened in the past but are still related to the present or continue into the present.
In English, these use the auxiliary verbs ‘have’ and ‘has’ – i.e. “I have been equivalent to” and “she has been equivalent to”.
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | he equivalido | I have been equivalent to |
| Tú | has equivalido | You have been equivalent to |
| Él / Ella / Usted | ha equivalido | He has / she has / you have been equivalent to |
| Nosotros / as | hemos equivalido | We have been equivalent to |
| Vosotros / as | habéis equivalido | You have been equivalent to |
| Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes | han equivalido | They / you have been equivalent to |
| Vos | has equivalido | You have been equivalent to |
The conditional is used in place of the English modal verb “would”, i.e. “I would be equivalent to” or “she would be equivalent to”. It can be used to talk about hypothetical situations.
| Pronoun | Spanish | Englush |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | equivaldría | I would be equivalent to |
| Tú | equivaldrías | You would be equivalent to |
| Él / Ella / Usted | equivaldría | He / she / you would be equivalent to |
| Nosotros / as | equivaldríamos | We would be equivalent to |
| Vosotros / as | equivaldríais | You would be equivalent to |
| Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes | equivaldrían | They / you would be equivalent to |
| Vos | equivaldrías | You would be equivalent to |
The future tense, simply put, replaces the English modal verb “will” – i.e. “I will be equivalent to” or “they will be equivalent to”.
It is more commonly used for making a hypothesis about the present. To talk about the future, Spanish speakers frequently use “ir + a + infinivo”, e.g. “van a equivaler” means “They are going to be equivalent to”.
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | equivaldré | I will be equivalent to |
| Tú | equivaldrás | You will be equivalent to |
| Él / Ella / Usted | equivaldrá | He / she / you will be equivalent to |
| Nosotros / as | equivaldremos | We will be equivalent to |
| Vosotros / as | equivaldréis | You will be equivalent to |
| Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes | equivaldrán | They / you will be equivalent to |
| Vos | equivaldrás | You will be equivalent to |
| Pronoun | Spanish |
|---|---|
| Yo | equivalga |
| Tú | equivalgas |
| Él / Ella / Usted | equivalga |
| Nosotros / as | equivalgamos |
| Vosotros / as | equivalgáis |
| Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes | equivalgan |
| Vos | equivalgas |
There are two ways to form the imperfect subjunctive.
The first option sees verbs ending in -era (for -er and -ir verbs) and -ara (for -ar verbs), while the second sees verbs ending in -ese (for -er and -ir verbs) and -ase (for -ar verbs).
There is no difference between these two forms, and Spanish speakers use them interchangeably.
| Pronoun | Spanish era/ara | Spanish ese/ase |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | equivaliera | equivaliese |
| Tú | equivalieras | equivaliese |
| Él / Ella / Usted | equivaliera | equivaliese |
| Nosotros / as | equivaliéramos | equivaliésemos |
| Vosotros / as | equivalierais | equivalieseis |
| Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes | equivalieran | equivaliesen |
| Vos | equivalieras | equivaliese |
The future subjunctive is no longer used in modern-day Spanish, apart from in literary and legal contexts, and there is no need to learn it.
It is formed the same as the past/imperfect subjunctive, but with -e endings instead of -a endings.
| Pronoun | Spanish |
|---|---|
| Yo | equivaliere |
| Tú | equivalieres |
| Él / Ella / Usted | equivaliere |
| Nosotros / as | equivaliéremos |
| Vosotros / as | equivaliereis |
| Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes | equivalieren |
| Vos | equivalieres |
Used for forming positive and negative commands, e.g. “be equivalent to!” and “don’t be equivalent to!”.
| Pronoun | Spanish Affirmative | Spanish Negative |
|---|---|---|
| Tú | equivale | no equivalgas |
| Él / Ella / Usted | equivalga | no equivalga |
| Nosotros / as | equivalgamos | no equivalgamos |
| Vosotros / as | equivaled | no equivalgáis |
| Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes | equivalgan | no equivalgan |
| Vos | equivalé | no equivalgas |
| Pronoun | Spanish |
|---|---|
| Yo | haya equivalido |
| Tú | hayas equivalido |
| Él / Ella / Usted | haya equivalido |
| Nosotros / as | hayamos equivalido |
| Vosotros / as | hayáis equivalido |
| Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes | hayan equivalido |
| Vos | hayas equivalido |
| Pronoun | Spanish |
|---|---|
| Yo | hubiera equivalido / hubiese equivalido |
| Tú | hubieras equivalido / hubieses equivalido |
| Él / Ella / Usted | hubiera equivalido / hubiese equivalido |
| Nosotros / as | hubiéramos equivalido / hubiésemos equivalido |
| Vosotros / as | hubierais equivalido / hubieseis equivalido |
| Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes | hubieran equivalido / hubiesen equivalido |
| Vos | hubieras equivalido / hubieses equivalido |
| Pronoun | Spanish |
|---|---|
| Yo | hubiere equivalido |
| Tú | hubieres equivalido |
| Él / Ella / Usted | hubiere equivalido |
| Nosotros / as | hubiéremos equivalido |
| Vosotros / as | hubiereis equivalido |
| Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes | hubieren equivalido |
| Vos | hubieres equivalido |
| Pronoun | Spanish |
|---|---|
| Yo | esté equivaliendo |
| Tú | estés equivaliendo |
| Él / Ella / Usted | esté equivaliendo |
| Nosotros / as | estemos equivaliendo |
| Vosotros / as | estéis equivaliendo |
| Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes | estén equivaliendo |
| Vos | estés equivaliendo |
| Pronoun | Spanish |
|---|---|
| Yo | estuviera equivaliendo / estuviese equivaliendo |
| Tú | estuvieras equivaliendo / estuvieses equivaliendo |
| Él / Ella / Usted | estuviera equivaliendo / estuviese equivaliendo |
| Nosotros / as | estuviéramos equivaliendo / estuviésamos equivaliendo |
| Vosotros / as | estuvierais equivaliendo / estuvieseis equivaliendo |
| Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes | estuviera equivaliendo / estuviese equivaliendo |
| Vos | estuvieras equivaliendo / estuvieses equivaliendo |
| Pronoun | Spanish |
|---|---|
| Yo | estuviere equivaliendo |
| Tú | estuvieres equivaliendo |
| Él / Ella / Usted | estuviere equivaliendo |
| Nosotros / as | estuviéremos equivaliendo |
| Vosotros / as | estuviereis equivaliendo |
| Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes | estuviere equivaliendo |
| Vos | estuvieres equivaliendo |
Voseo is the practice of using ‘vos’ instead of ‘tú’ as the second-person singular pronoun, and is common throughout much of South America.
There are various versions of ‘voseo’ used throughout the Spanish-speaking world. The conjugations for the most common type – used throughout Argentina, parts of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguya and Uruguay are below.
The present indicative (presente de indicativo) and affirmative imperative (imperativo) have different conjugations from the tú form, while all other tenses generally use the tú form.
| Tense | Vos Conjugation |
|---|---|
| Present Indicative Presente de Indicativo | Vos equivalés |
| Simle Past / Preterite Preterite de Indicativo | Vos equivaliste |
| Imperfect Past Preterite Imperfecto de Indicativo | Vos equivalías |
| Conditional Condicional | Vos equivaldrías |
| Future Futuro de Indicativo | Vos equivaldrás |
| Present Subjunctive Presente de Subjunctivo | Vos equivalgas |
| Imperfect Subjunctive Imperfecto de Subjunctivo | Vos equivalieras / Vos equivaliese |
| Affirmative Imperative Imperativo | Vos equivalé |
| Negative Imperative Imperativo Negativo | Vos no equivalgas |