Verbs + En + Infinitive

A smaller but important group of Spanish verbs links to an infinitive with the preposition en. These verbs tend to involve mental focus, persistence, agreement, or timing. Once you know the list, they're easy to use, but they're often missed by learners because en doesn't map neatly to any single English preposition.

The basic pattern

The structure is always conjugated verb + en + infinitive:

Pienso en mudarme a otra ciudad.

I'm thinking about moving to another city.

Insiste en venir conmigo.

He insists on coming with me.

Common verbs that take en

VerbMeaningExample
pensar ento think about (doing)Pienso en viajar.
insistir ento insist onInsisto en pagar.
consistir ento consist ofEl juego consiste en adivinar la palabra.
tardar ento take (time) toTardé en entenderlo.
quedar ento agree toQuedamos en vernos a las ocho.
dudar ento hesitate toNo dudes en preguntar.
esforzarse ento make an effort toSe esfuerza en mejorar.
empeñarse ento be determined toSe empeña en ganar.

Pensar en vs. pensar alone

This is the distinction that trips up most learners. Pensar has two very different patterns with an infinitive:

  • Pensar
    • infinitive
     (no preposition) = to plan or intend to.
  • Pensar en
    • infinitive
     = to think about doing something — to mull it over.

Pienso mudarme en junio.

I plan to move in June.

Pienso en mudarme, pero todavía no he decidido.

I'm thinking about moving, but I haven't decided yet.

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If you've already made up your mind, use pensar directly. If you're still weighing the idea, use pensar en. The same distinction works with a gerund in English: "I plan to move" vs. "I'm thinking about moving."

Tardar en: "to take (time) to"

Tardar en + infinitive is a very useful idiom for talking about how long something takes. It often translates as "to take (time) to," "to be slow to," or "to be a while doing."

Tardé dos horas en terminar la tarea.

It took me two hours to finish the homework.

No tardes en llegar.

Don't take long getting here.

Quedar en: agreements and plans

Quedar en + infinitive means "to agree to (do something)." It's the normal way to wrap up plans in casual Latin American Spanish: Quedamos en vernos mañana — "We agreed to meet tomorrow."

Quedamos en llamarnos más tarde.

We agreed to call each other later.

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Don't confuse quedar en ("to agree to") with quedar ("to remain / to be left") or quedarse ("to stay"). Context usually makes the meaning obvious, but the presence of en plus an infinitive is your clue that it's the "agree" meaning.

No dudes en…: a helpful set phrase

No dudes en + infinitive is a friendly way of saying "don't hesitate to" — a polite invitation to ask or contact someone.

No dudes en escribirme si tienes preguntas.

Don't hesitate to write me if you have questions.

Consistir en: definitions

Consistir en is the verb you use to say what something consists of or what it involves. When followed by an infinitive, it describes an action that makes up the activity.

Mi trabajo consiste en enseñar español.

My job consists of teaching Spanish.

Other prepositional groups to explore: verbs + a, verbs + de, and verbs + con / por.

Related Topics

  • The Infinitive: OverviewA1 — The infinitive is the base, uninflected form of a Spanish verb, ending in -ar, -er, or -ir.
  • Verbs + A + InfinitiveB1 — A key group of Spanish verbs requires the preposition a before the following infinitive.
  • Verbs + De + InfinitiveB1 — Another set of verbs takes the preposition de before a following infinitive.
  • Verbs + Con/Por + InfinitiveB1 — Some Spanish verbs require con or por before an infinitive, often expressing relying, dreaming, threatening, or starting/ending with an action.