The verb ‘crecer’ – which means ‘to grow’ – is an essential term in the Spanish language. As an ‘-er’ verb, it follows many of the regular conjugation rules. However, ‘crecer’ is a stem-changing verb, and it undergoes slight modifications in some of its forms. This comprehensive guide is intended to help you navigate the ‘crecer’ conjugation chart, explaining its different tenses and their conjugations.
In the present tense, ‘crecer’ is a stem-changing verb where the ‘e’ in the stem ‘crec-‘ changes to ‘zc’ for the first person singular (yo), but remains ‘e’ for the rest. Here is the chart:
| Person | Spanish |
|---|---|
| I grow | Yo crezco |
| You (informal) grow | Tú creces |
| He/She/It grows/You (formal) grow | Él/Ella/Usted crece |
| We grow | Nosotros/Nosotras crecemos |
| You (plural, informal) grow | Vosotros/Vosotras crecéis |
| They grow/You (plural, formal) grow | Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes crecen |
The preterite tense is used to describe completed actions in the past. The conjugation for ‘crecer’ in the preterite tense is:
| Person | Spanish |
|---|---|
| I grew | Yo crecí |
| You (informal) grew | Tú creciste |
| He/She/It grew/You (formal) grew | Él/Ella/Usted creció |
| We grew | Nosotros/Nosotras crecimos |
| You (plural, informal) grew | Vosotros/Vosotras crecisteis |
| They grew/You (plural, formal) grew | Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes crecieron |
Notice that ‘crecer’ is regular in the preterite tense, following the typical endings for ‘-er’ verbs: -í, -iste, -ió, -imos, -isteis, -ieron.
The imperfect tense in Spanish is used to describe ongoing or habitual actions in the past. The conjugation for ‘crecer’ in the imperfect tense is:
| Person | Spanish |
|---|---|
| I was growing | Yo crecía |
| You (informal) were growing | Tú crecías |
| He/She/It was growing/You (formal) were growing | Él/Ella/Usted crecía |
| We were growing | Nosotros/Nosotras crecíamos |
| You (plural, informal) were growing | Vosotros/Vosotras crecíais |
| They were growing/You (plural, formal) were growing | Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes crecían |
‘Crecer’ is regular in the imperfect tense, following the standard endings for ‘-er’ verbs: -ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían.
The future tense conjugation of ‘crecer’ is as follows:
| Person | Spanish |
|---|---|
| I will grow | Yo creceré |
| You (informal) will grow | Tú crecerás |
| He/She/It will |
| grow/You (formal) will grow | Él/Ella/Usted crecerá | |
| We will grow | Nosotros/Nosotras creceremos | |
| You (plural, informal) will grow | Vosotros/Vosotras creceréis | |
| They will grow/You (plural, formal) will grow | Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes crecerán |
In the future tense, Spanish verbs are conjugated by adding the endings -é, -ás, -á, -emos, -éis, -án directly to the infinitive form of the verb.
The conditional tense is used to express something that would happen under certain conditions. The conjugation for ‘crecer’ in this tense is:
| Person | Spanish |
|---|---|
| I would grow | Yo crecería |
| You (informal) would grow | Tú crecerías |
| He/She/It would grow/You (formal) would grow | Él/Ella/Usted crecería |
| We would grow | Nosotros/Nosotras creceríamos |
| You (plural, informal) would grow | Vosotros/Vosotras creceríais |
| They would grow/You (plural, formal) would grow | Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes crecerían |
For the conditional tense, you simply add the endings -ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían to the infinitive form of the verb.
The subjunctive mood is used to talk about desires, doubts, wishes, conjectures, and possibilities. The present subjunctive conjugation of ‘crecer’ is:
| Person | Spanish |
|---|---|
| I grow | Yo crezca |
| You (informal) grow | Tú crezcas |
| He/She/It grows/You (formal) grow | Él/Ella/Usted crezca |
| We grow | Nosotros/Nosotras crezcamos |
| You (plural, informal) grow | Vosotros/Vosotras crezcáis |
| They grow/You (plural, formal) grow | Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes crezcan |
As with the present indicative, ‘crecer’ undergoes a stem change in the subjunctive, with the ‘e’ in the stem changing to ‘zc’ for all forms except for the nosotros and vosotros forms.
In conclusion, the verb ‘crecer’ is a regular verb with some stem-changing properties. Regular practice will aid in understanding its conjugation and its application in real-life conversations. Happy learning!
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