Verb · regular -ir, irregular participle
escribir
to write
The thing that catches people out
Regular apart from the participle: escrito. ¿cómo se escribe? is how to ask someone to spell a word.
Present
What happens, and what is happening now.
| yo | escribo | |
| tú | escribes | |
| él, ella, usted | escribe | |
| nosotros | escribimos | |
| ellos, ustedes | escriben | |
| vosotros, Spain only | escribís |
Preterite, the finished past
Something that happened and is over: yesterday, last year, once.
| yo | escribí | |
| tú | escribiste | |
| él, ella, usted | escribió | |
| nosotros | escribimos | |
| ellos, ustedes | escribieron | |
| vosotros, Spain only | escribisteis |
Imperfect, the background past
What used to happen, or was going on when something else happened.
| yo | escribía | |
| tú | escribías | |
| él, ella, usted | escribía | |
| nosotros | escribíamos | |
| ellos, ustedes | escribían | |
| vosotros, Spain only | escribíais |
Future
Will do. In conversation, ir a plus the verb is more common: voy a comer.
| yo | escribiré | |
| tú | escribirás | |
| él, ella, usted | escribirá | |
| nosotros | escribiremos | |
| ellos, ustedes | escribirán | |
| vosotros, Spain only | escribiréis |
Present perfect
Have done. Used far more in Spain, where it covers today; most of Latin America uses the preterite there.
| yo | he escrito | |
| tú | has escrito | |
| él, ella, usted | ha escrito | |
| nosotros | hemos escrito | |
| ellos, ustedes | han escrito | |
| vosotros, Spain only | habéis escrito |
Other forms
The -ing form, the form that follows he, has and ha, and how to tell someone to do it.
| -ing form | escribiendo | |
| participle | escrito | |
| command, to tú | escribe | |
| command, to usted | escriba |
In a sentence
¿cómo se escribe?
how do you spell it?
te escribo mañana
I will write to you tomorrow