espiar Present Conjugation
espiar — to spy
Espiar is mostly regular but adds an accent on the 'i' in all forms except nosotros and vosotros.
espiar Present Forms
When to Use the Present
Use the present tense to talk about current habits, like someone who constantly watches their neighbors, or general facts about surveillance.
Notes on espiar in the Present
This is a 'weak i' verb. The 'i' in the stem takes an accent (espío, espías, espía, espían) to break the diphthong and keep the stress on the 'i'.
Example Sentences
Yo espío a mi gato para ver qué hace cuando no estoy.
I spy on my cat to see what he does when I'm not around.
yo
Tú siempre espías las conversaciones de los demás.
You always eavesdrop on other people's conversations.
tú
Nosotros no espiamos a nadie, somos discretos.
We don't spy on anyone; we are discreet.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Writing 'espio' without the accent.
Correct: espío
Why: Without the accent, the stress would incorrectly fall on the 'e'. The accent ensures you pronounce the 'i' clearly.
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Related Tenses
Preterite
yo: espié
The preterite of espiar is fully regular: espié, espiaste, espió, espiamos, espiasteis, espiaron.
Imperfect
yo: espiaba
The imperfect of espiar is regular: espiaba, espiabas, espiaba, espiábamos, espiabais, espiaban.
Future
yo: espiaré
The future of espiar is regular: espiaré, espiarás, espiará, espiaremos, espiaréis, espiarán.
Conditional
yo: espiaría
The conditional of espiar is regular: espiaría, espiarías, espiaría, espiaríamos, espiaríais, espiarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: espíe
The present subjunctive follows the accent shift of the present indicative: espíe, espíes, espíe, espiemos, espiéis, espíen.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: espiara
The imperfect subjunctive of espiar is regular: espiara, espiaras, espiara, espiáramos, espiarais, espiaran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: espía
The imperative uses the accent-shifted forms: espía (tú), espíe (usted), espiemos (nosotros), espiad (vosotros), espíen (ustedes).
Negative Imperative
yo: no espíes
The negative imperative matches the present subjunctive: no espíes, no espíe, no espiemos, no espiéis, no espíen.