Verb · stem change, o to ue
volver
to come back, to return
The thing that catches people out
vuelvo, but volvemos. The participle is vuelto, not volvido. volver a plus a verb means to do it again: vuelvo a llamar, I will call again.
Present
What happens, and what is happening now.
| yo | vuelvo | |
| tú | vuelves | |
| él, ella, usted | vuelve | |
| nosotros | volvemos | |
| ellos, ustedes | vuelven | |
| vosotros, Spain only | volvéis |
Preterite, the finished past
Something that happened and is over: yesterday, last year, once.
| yo | volví | |
| tú | volviste | |
| él, ella, usted | volvió | |
| nosotros | volvimos | |
| ellos, ustedes | volvieron | |
| vosotros, Spain only | volvisteis |
Imperfect, the background past
What used to happen, or was going on when something else happened.
| yo | volvía | |
| tú | volvías | |
| él, ella, usted | volvía | |
| nosotros | volvíamos | |
| ellos, ustedes | volvían | |
| vosotros, Spain only | volvíais |
Future
Will do. In conversation, ir a plus the verb is more common: voy a comer.
| yo | volveré | |
| tú | volverás | |
| él, ella, usted | volverá | |
| nosotros | volveremos | |
| ellos, ustedes | volverán | |
| vosotros, Spain only | volveréis |
Present perfect
Have done. Used far more in Spain, where it covers today; most of Latin America uses the preterite there.
| yo | he vuelto | |
| tú | has vuelto | |
| él, ella, usted | ha vuelto | |
| nosotros | hemos vuelto | |
| ellos, ustedes | han vuelto | |
| vosotros, Spain only | habéis vuelto |
Other forms
The -ing form, the form that follows he, has and ha, and how to tell someone to do it.
| -ing form | volviendo | |
| participle | vuelto | |
| command, to tú | vuelve | |
| command, to usted | vuelva |
In a sentence
vuelvo en cinco minutos
I will be back in five minutes
¿cuándo volviste?
when did you get back?