Spanish verbs fall into different groups, and each group is conjugated a little differently. If you’re going to master Spanish verbs like bailar, you need to be able to identify which group a verb belongs to: regular (follows regular conjugation rules for -ar, -er, and -ir verbs), stem-changing (morphs depending on how you use it in a sentence), spelling-changing (has consonant-spelling changes in some forms to follow pronunciation rules), or reflexive (reflects the action back on the subject of the sentence).
Bailar (bvahee-lahr) (to dance) is a regular -ar verb, so it’s pretty easy to conjugate. Here it is in the present tense:
Conjugation | Translation |
---|---|
yo bailo | I dance |
tú bailas | You (informal) dance |
él/ella/ello/uno baila | He/she/one dances |
usted baila | You (formal) dance |
nosotros bailamos | We dance |
vosotros bailáis | You all (informal) dance |
ellos/ellas bailan | They dance |
ustedes bailan | You all (formal) dance |
The following examples show you bailar in action:
Ellos bailan en la fiesta. (They are dancing at the party.)
Yo bailo todos los días. (I dance every day.)
Need to know how to conjugate bailar in another tense? The following tables show you the preterit, imperfect, and future forms.
Conjugation | Translation |
---|---|
yo bailé | I danced |
tú bailaste | You (informal) danced |
él/ella/ello/uno bailó | He/she/one danced |
usted bailó | You (formal) danced |
nosotros bailamos | We danced |
vosotros bailasteis | You all (informal) danced |
ellos/ellas bailaron | They danced |
ustedes bailaron | You all (formal) danced |
Here are some examples of the preterit tense:
Bailé un tanto con mi hermana. (I danced a little with my sister.)
Bailaron durante toda la noche. (They dance during the entire night.)
Conjugation | Translation |
---|---|
yo bailaba | I used to dance |
tú bailabas | You (informal) used to dance |
él/ella/ello/uno bailaba | He/she/one used to dance |
usted bailaba | You (formal) used to dance |
nosotros bailábamos | We used to dance |
vosotros bailabais | You all (informal) used to dance |
ellos/ellas bailaban | They used to dance |
ustedes bailaban | You all (formal) used to dance |
You use the imperfect tense like this:
¿Bailabas mucho? (Did you used to dance a lot?)
Ellos siempre bailaban los viernes por la noche. (They always danced on Friday evening.)
Conjugation | Translation |
---|---|
yo bailaré | I will dance |
tú bailarás | You (informal) will dance |
él/ella/ello/uno bailará | He/she/one will dance |
usted bailará | You (formal) will dance |
nosotros bailaremos | We will dance |
vosotros bailaréis | You all (informal) will dance |
ellos/ellas bailarán | They will dance |
ustedes bailarán | You all (formal) will dance |
The following samples put the future tense to work:
Raúl y Susana bailarán. (Raúl and Susana will dance.)
Rafael bailará en la boda este verano. (Rafael will dance at the wedding this summer.)