Correr — "to run" — is the cleanest possible example of a regular -er verb. There are no stem changes, no spelling shifts, no irregular yo form, no irregular preterite. Every single ending is the textbook one, and every form falls predictably out of the -er paradigm. Once you can conjugate correr without thinking, you have aprender, beber, comer, comprender, leer (almost), responder, vender, prometer, deber and dozens more in your hands. The trade-off is that correr has a surprisingly rich set of figurative meanings in Spanish — to flow, to spread, to slide, to go fast — and these idiomatic uses are where everyday Spain leaves a literal English translation behind.
Non-finite forms
| Form | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Infinitivo | correr | to run |
| Infinitivo compuesto | haber corrido | to have run |
| Gerundio | corriendo | running |
| Gerundio compuesto | habiendo corrido | having run |
| Participio | corrido (regular) | run |
The gerundio corriendo uses the regular -er / -ir gerund ending -iendo. The participle is corrido — also fully regular, formed by replacing -er with -ido. Don't confuse the past participle with the noun un corrido (a Mexican song genre, irrelevant in peninsular Spanish).
Indicative — simple tenses
Presente — pure regularity
| yo | tú | él/ella/usted | nosotros | vosotros | ellos/ellas/ustedes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| corro | corres | corre | corremos | corréis | corren |
Notice the written accent on corréis — without it, the diphthong éi would split into two syllables. This is the standard -er vosotros ending and the only diacritic in the whole indicative present.
Corro todas las mañanas por el parque del Retiro antes de ir al trabajo.
I run every morning through Retiro Park before going to work.
Mi hermano corre maratones desde los veinte años.
My brother has been running marathons since he was twenty.
¡Cómo corre el tiempo! Parece que fue ayer cuando empezasteis a salir.
How time flies! It feels like yesterday you started going out.
Pretérito perfecto simple — fully regular
The preterite of regular -er verbs uses the endings -í, -iste, -ió, -imos, -isteis, -ieron. Stress is on the ending in every form, so the accent marks fall on the yo and él/ella forms.
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| corrí | corriste | corrió | corrimos | corristeis | corrieron |
Corrí los diez kilómetros en menos de una hora — todo un récord para mí.
I ran the ten kilometres in under an hour — a real record for me.
Cuando vieron a la policía, corrieron como alma que lleva el diablo.
When they saw the police, they ran like the devil himself was after them.
Pretérito imperfecto — fully regular
Endings: -ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían. The stressed í takes a written accent in every form.
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| corría | corrías | corría | corríamos | corríais | corrían |
The imperfect is the workhorse for "used to run, was running" — habitual or ongoing actions in the past.
De pequeños, corríamos por el patio del colegio hasta caer rendidos.
When we were little, we used to run around the school playground until we dropped.
Futuro simple — fully regular
The future of -er verbs is built on the infinitive correr- plus -é, -ás, -á, -emos, -éis, -án.
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| correré | correrás | correrá | correremos | correréis | correrán |
Correré la San Silvestre si me recupero a tiempo de la lesión.
I'll run the San Silvestre if I recover from the injury in time.
Condicional — fully regular
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| correría | correrías | correría | correríamos | correríais | correrían |
Yo no correría con este calor — espera a que se ponga el sol.
I wouldn't go for a run in this heat — wait until the sun sets.
Indicative — compound tenses
All compound tenses pair haber with the regular participle corrido.
Pretérito perfecto compuesto
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| he corrido | has corrido | ha corrido | hemos corrido | habéis corrido | han corrido |
Esta mañana he corrido cinco kilómetros antes de desayunar.
This morning I ran five kilometres before breakfast.
Pretérito pluscuamperfecto
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| había corrido | habías corrido | había corrido | habíamos corrido | habíais corrido | habían corrido |
Hasta los cuarenta años nunca había corrido más de un kilómetro seguido.
Until I was forty I had never run more than one kilometre at a stretch.
Futuro compuesto
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| habré corrido | habrás corrido | habrá corrido | habremos corrido | habréis corrido | habrán corrido |
Para final de año habremos corrido tres medias maratones.
By the end of the year we'll have run three half-marathons.
Condicional compuesto
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| habría corrido | habrías corrido | habría corrido | habríamos corrido | habríais corrido | habrían corrido |
Habríamos corrido más rápido, pero el camino estaba lleno de barro.
We would have run faster, but the path was full of mud.
Subjunctive — simple tenses
Presente de subjuntivo — fully regular
For -er / -ir verbs, the present subjunctive endings are -a, -as, -a, -amos, -áis, -an. The mnemonic is "the opposite vowel" — -er verbs use -a endings in the subjunctive, just as -ar verbs use -e endings.
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| corra | corras | corra | corramos | corráis | corran |
Mi entrenador quiere que corra más despacio al principio para no quemarme.
My coach wants me to run slower at the start so I don't burn out.
No corras tanto, que aún queda mucho camino.
Don't run so fast — there's still a long way to go.
Imperfecto de subjuntivo (-ra / -se) — fully regular
Built from the 3rd-plural preterite stem (corrieron → corrie-).
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -ra | corriera | corrieras | corriera | corriéramos | corrierais | corrieran |
| -se | corriese | corrieses | corriese | corriésemos | corrieseis | corriesen |
The -ra set is the everyday default in Spain; -se survives in formal writing and literature. (literary register for -se.)
Si corriera todos los días, estaría en mejor forma.
If I ran every day, I'd be in better shape.
Subjunctive — compound tenses
Pretérito perfecto de subjuntivo
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| haya corrido | hayas corrido | haya corrido | hayamos corrido | hayáis corrido | hayan corrido |
No creo que haya corrido nunca tan rápido como hoy.
I don't think he's ever run as fast as he did today.
Pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -ra | hubiera corrido | hubieras corrido | hubiera corrido | hubiéramos corrido | hubierais corrido | hubieran corrido |
| -se | hubiese corrido | hubieses corrido | hubiese corrido | hubiésemos corrido | hubieseis corrido | hubiesen corrido |
Si hubiéramos corrido un poco más, habríamos cogido el tren.
If we'd run a bit more, we would have caught the train.
Imperative
The imperative is completely regular. Tú affirmative is the third-person singular indicative (corre); everything else borrows from the present subjunctive — except the vosotros affirmative, which is the infinitive with -r replaced by -d: corred.
| Form | Affirmative | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| tú | corre | no corras |
| usted | corra | no corra |
| nosotros | corramos | no corramos |
| vosotros | corred | no corráis |
| ustedes | corran | no corran |
¡Corre, que se va el autobús!
Run — the bus is leaving!
Corred un poco más, que ya casi llegamos.
(You all) run a bit more — we're almost there.
No corras por las escaleras, te vas a caer.
Don't run on the stairs, you'll fall.
When pronouns attach to the affirmative imperative, write them as one word: córrete ("move over"), correos ("move over, you all" — the final -d of corred drops before the reflexive -os, giving correos).
The two pronominal uses: correrse and correr with se
Correrse is heavily used in Spain, but it carries two very different meanings learners should know about and use carefully:
- Move over, shift sideways — completely neutral and ubiquitous: córrete un poco, "scoot over a bit." This is how you'll hear it daily on benches, sofas, and in queues.
- (vulgar) To climax sexually — also extremely common. Avoid the reflexive correrse when you simply mean "run" — it does not mean "to run" in any register.
Córrete un poquito, que no quepo.
Scoot over a tiny bit, I don't fit. (everyday, neutral)
For "go for a run," Spain says salir a correr — never correrse.
Salgo a correr los martes y los jueves después del trabajo.
I go running on Tuesdays and Thursdays after work.
Figurative meanings worth knowing
Spanish correr covers a lot of ground beyond the literal "run."
| Phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| correr (un líquido) | to flow (water, blood, wine) |
| correr (un rumor) | to spread, circulate (gossip, news) |
| correr la voz | to spread the word |
| correr el riesgo de | to run the risk of |
| correr con los gastos | to cover the expenses |
| a todo correr | at full speed, flat out |
| correr la cortina | to draw the curtain |
| como alma que lleva el diablo | like a bat out of hell (with correr) |
Por aquí corre un río pequeño que se seca en verano.
A small river flows through here that dries up in summer.
Corre el rumor de que van a despedir al director.
There's a rumour going around that they're going to fire the director.
Yo corro con los gastos de la cena — invito yo.
I'll cover the dinner expenses — it's on me.
The classic English-speaker error
English to run has an enormous semantic range that Spanish correr does not cover. Some of the most common English meanings of run take entirely different verbs in Spanish:
- to run a business → dirigir una empresa, llevar un negocio
- to run a programme (on a computer) → ejecutar un programa
- to run a bath → llenar la bañera, abrir el grifo
- to run late → ir con retraso, llegar tarde
- to run out (of) → quedarse sin, acabarse
- to run errands → hacer recados
Using correr for any of these will be understood as a literal "to physically run" and will sound wrong — sometimes even comical.
✅ Mi padre dirige un restaurante en el centro.
My father runs a restaurant in the centre. (use dirigir / llevar, not correr)
❌ Mi padre corre un restaurante en el centro.
Sounds like he is literally running around inside a restaurant.
✅ Se nos ha acabado el café.
We've run out of coffee. (use acabarse / quedarse sin, not correr)
Common Mistakes
❌ Voy a correr esta tarde por el parque.
Grammatical, but for ‘going for a run' as an activity, Spain says *salir a correr* — not just *correr* with a movement verb.
✅ Voy a salir a correr esta tarde por el parque.
I'm going for a run this afternoon in the park.
❌ Vosotros correís todos los días.
The *vosotros* form needs a written accent on the *é* — *corréis*, not *correís*.
✅ Vosotros corréis todos los días.
You (all) run every day.
❌ Mi madre corre un negocio pequeño.
*Correr* doesn't mean ‘to manage / operate a business' — use *llevar* or *dirigir*.
✅ Mi madre lleva un negocio pequeño.
My mother runs a small business.
❌ Estamos correndo.
The gerundio is *corriendo*, not *correndo*. Regular *-er* gerundio is *-iendo*.
✅ Estamos corriendo.
We're running.
Key Takeaways
- Correr is the textbook regular -er verb: no stem changes, no spelling shifts, no irregular yo form.
- Every tense follows the standard -er pattern. If you know one regular -er verb thoroughly, you know them all.
- The vosotros forms use the regular -er endings: corréis (present), corristeis (preterite), corríais (imperfect), correréis (future), corred (imperative), corráis (subjunctive).
- The gerundio is corriendo; the participle is corrido.
- For "go for a run" as an activity, Spain says salir a correr, not just correr.
- Spanish correr doesn't cover most figurative English uses of run — for business, programmes, errands, baths, deadlines, reach for dirigir, ejecutar, hacer, llenar, llegar tarde instead.
- Be careful with the reflexive correrse — it can be neutral ("scoot over") or vulgar ("climax") depending on context.
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