faltar Present Conjugation
faltar — to be missing
Faltar is regular in the present tense: falto, faltas, falta, faltamos, faltáis, faltan.
faltar Present Forms
When to Use the Present
Use the present tense to describe what is currently missing or to talk about absences. It is frequently used like 'gustar' to say something is lacking or needed by someone.
Notes on faltar in the Present
Faltar is a completely regular -ar verb in the present tense. There are no stem changes or spelling shifts to worry about.
Example Sentences
Me falta un zapato.
I am missing a shoe.
él/ella/usted
Tú nunca faltas a clase.
You never miss class.
tú
Nosotros faltamos al trabajo hoy.
We are absent from work today.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using 'falto' to mean 'I am missing' (e.g., 'Falto un libro').
Correct: Me falta un libro.
Why: Faltar often works like 'gustar'; the item missing is the subject, so you usually use the 3rd person form.
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Related Tenses
Preterite
yo: falté
The preterite of faltar is regular: falté, faltaste, faltó, faltamos, faltasteis, faltaron.
Imperfect
yo: faltaba
Faltar follows the standard -aba pattern for the imperfect: faltaba, faltabas, faltaba, faltábamos, faltabais, faltaban.
Future
yo: faltaré
To form the future of faltar, add endings to the infinitive: faltaré, faltarás, faltará, faltaremos, faltaréis, faltarán.
Conditional
yo: faltaría
The conditional of faltar uses the infinitive plus -ía endings: faltaría, faltarías, faltaría, faltaríamos, faltaríais, faltarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: falte
The present subjunctive of faltar uses -e endings: falte, faltes, falte, faltemos, faltéis, falten.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: faltara
The imperfect subjunctive of faltar is formed from the 'ellos' preterite: faltara, faltaras, faltara, faltáramos, faltarais, faltaran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: falta
The imperative of faltar uses standard -ar commands: falta (tú), faltad (vosotros), falte (usted).
Negative Imperative
yo: no faltes
The negative imperative of faltar uses 'no' plus the present subjunctive: no faltes, no falte, no faltemos, no faltéis, no falten.