Perder — "to lose, to miss" — is the textbook -er example of the e>ie stem-changing pattern. The unstressed e of the infinitive (per-der) becomes a diphthong ie the moment stress falls on the root: pierdo, pierdes, pierde, pierden. Stress shifts onto the ending in nosotros and vosotros (perdemos, perdéis), and the e stays put. This is the same stress-driven logic you already know from cerrar, empezar, entender, querer — but perder matters disproportionately in everyday Spain because it covers a startling range of meanings: losing objects, losing games, missing trains, missing the bus, missing out on opportunities, wasting time, and even bleeding (perder sangre).
Non-finite forms
| Form | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Infinitivo | perder | to lose, to miss |
| Infinitivo compuesto | haber perdido | to have lost / missed |
| Gerundio | perdiendo | losing, missing |
| Gerundio compuesto | habiendo perdido | having lost / missed |
| Participio | perdido (regular) | lost |
Notice the gerundio: perdiendo, not pierdiendo. The diphthong only appears under stress, and the stressed vowel of perdiendo is the e of the ending -iendo, not the e of the root. The participle perdido doubles as an adjective (estoy perdido — I'm lost; un caso perdido — a lost cause). For loser in games or competitions, Spanish uses the agent noun perdedor, not perdido.
Indicative — simple tenses
Presente — the boot
| yo | tú | él/ella/usted | nosotros | vosotros | ellos/ellas/ustedes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| pierdo | pierdes | pierde | perdemos | perdéis | pierden |
The classic "1-2-3-6" or boot pattern: four diphthongised forms (yo, tú, él, ellos) wrapped around two unchanged ones (nosotros, vosotros). The shape on the page literally looks like a boot, with the nosotros / vosotros slot as the boot's missing notch.
Siempre pierdo las llaves cuando tengo más prisa.
I always lose my keys when I'm in a rush.
Si perdéis el último metro, os toca volver andando.
If you miss the last metro, you'll have to walk home.
Pretérito perfecto simple — no stem change
The diphthong does not survive into the preterite. -Er and -ar stem-changing verbs leave the e alone in this tense — only -ir stem-changers (like pedir/pidió, dormir/durmió) carry a different change into the third-person preterite.
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| perdí | perdiste | perdió | perdimos | perdisteis | perdieron |
Ayer perdimos el vuelo por una hora de atasco en la M-30.
Yesterday we missed our flight because of an hour-long jam on the M-30.
El Madrid perdió tres a cero, fue un escándalo.
Madrid lost three to nil, it was a scandal.
Pretérito imperfecto
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| perdía | perdías | perdía | perdíamos | perdíais | perdían |
The imperfect is fully regular for -er verbs. No diphthong — stress lands on the í of the ending throughout, so the root e never gets accented.
De pequeño siempre perdía el bocadillo en el patio del recreo.
As a little kid I'd always lose my sandwich in the playground.
Futuro simple
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| perderé | perderás | perderá | perderemos | perderéis | perderán |
Built on the full infinitive perder- plus the standard future endings. No surprises.
Como sigas dando vueltas, perderás el turno en la consulta.
If you keep walking around, you'll lose your turn at the doctor's.
Condicional
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| perdería | perderías | perdería | perderíamos | perderíais | perderían |
Yo no perdería el tiempo discutiendo con él, no merece la pena.
I wouldn't waste my time arguing with him, it's not worth it.
Indicative — compound tenses
All compound tenses pair haber with the regular participle perdido.
Pretérito perfecto compuesto
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| he perdido | has perdido | ha perdido | hemos perdido | habéis perdido | han perdido |
In peninsular Spanish this is the natural tense for things lost or missed earlier today, this week, this month — anything still within the speaker's current frame. Hoy he perdido el móvil sounds normal in Madrid; hoy perdí el móvil sounds Mexican.
Esta mañana he perdido una hora buscando el coche en el parking.
This morning I spent an hour looking for the car in the car park.
Pretérito pluscuamperfecto
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| había perdido | habías perdido | había perdido | habíamos perdido | habíais perdido | habían perdido |
Cuando llegué al aeropuerto, ya había perdido la maleta dos veces.
By the time I got to the airport, I'd already lost my suitcase twice.
Futuro compuesto
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| habré perdido | habrás perdido | habrá perdido | habremos perdido | habréis perdido | habrán perdido |
Para cuando llegues, ya habremos perdido el partido seguro.
By the time you get here, we'll have lost the match for sure.
Condicional compuesto
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| habría perdido | habrías perdido | habría perdido | habríamos perdido | habríais perdido | habrían perdido |
Si no me hubieras llamado, habría perdido la oportunidad de mi vida.
If you hadn't called me, I'd have missed the opportunity of a lifetime.
Subjunctive — simple tenses
Presente de subjuntivo
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| pierda | pierdas | pierda | perdamos | perdáis | pierdan |
The boot pattern reappears: ie in the four stressed-stem forms, e in nosotros / perdamos and vosotros / perdáis because the stress rolls onto the ending. The same boot logic that governs the present indicative governs the present subjunctive — which is why mastering one essentially gives you the other.
No corras tanto, que vas a perder la cartera. — Tranquilo, no quiero que la pierda.
Don't run so much, you're going to lose your wallet. — Don't worry, I don't want to lose it.
Daos prisa, no quiero que perdáis el último tren de la noche.
Hurry up, I don't want you to miss the last train of the night.
Imperfecto de subjuntivo (-ra / -se)
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -ra | perdiera | perdieras | perdiera | perdiéramos | perdierais | perdieran |
| -se | perdiese | perdieses | perdiese | perdiésemos | perdieseis | perdiesen |
Built from the third-person plural preterite (perdieron), so no diphthong appears here. Both endings are interchangeable; -ra dominates in spoken Spain.
Si perdiera el trabajo ahora, no sé qué haría con la hipoteca.
If I lost my job now, I don't know what I'd do about the mortgage.
Subjunctive — compound tenses
Pretérito perfecto de subjuntivo
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| haya perdido | hayas perdido | haya perdido | hayamos perdido | hayáis perdido | hayan perdido |
Es una pena que hayáis perdido el concierto, estuvo espectacular.
It's a shame you missed the concert, it was spectacular.
Pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -ra | hubiera perdido | hubieras perdido | hubiera perdido | hubiéramos perdido | hubierais perdido | hubieran perdido |
| -se | hubiese perdido | hubieses perdido | hubiese perdido | hubiésemos perdido | hubieseis perdido | hubiesen perdido |
Si hubiéramos perdido aquel partido, no estaríamos en la final hoy.
If we'd lost that match, we wouldn't be in the final today.
Imperative
| Form | Affirmative | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| tú | pierde | no pierdas |
| usted | pierda | no pierda |
| nosotros | perdamos | no perdamos |
| vosotros | perded | no perdáis |
| ustedes | pierdan | no pierdan |
The peninsular affirmative vosotros form perded is mandatory in Spain — the -d ending (built on the infinitive) is the only person of the imperative where the diphthong does not appear. The negative imperative borrows from the present subjunctive, so the boot pattern returns: no pierdas, no pierda, no pierdan.
Pierde de vista a ese tipo, no me gusta nada.
Lose sight of that guy, I don't like him at all.
No perdáis la calma, esto se arregla en cinco minutos.
Don't lose your cool, this can be sorted in five minutes.
Perder vs echar de menos: the "miss" trap
English to miss maps onto two completely different Spanish verbs depending on what you mean:
| English | Spanish | Example |
|---|---|---|
| To miss a bus, a flight, a chance | perder | Perdí el avión. |
| To miss a person (emotionally) | echar de menos | Echo de menos a mi madre. |
| To miss a target, a shot | fallar | Falló el penalti. |
| To miss something (notice its absence) | echar en falta / notar la falta | Echo en falta mi paraguas. |
A learner who says te pierdo to mean I miss you is communicating something close to I'm losing you, which sounds like the start of a breakup. The correct I miss you in peninsular Spanish is te echo de menos.
Perdí el bus de las ocho y echo de menos mi cama.
I missed the eight o'clock bus and I miss my bed.
Reflexive perderse: to get lost / to miss out on
Perderse is the reflexive form and carries two distinct meanings: physically getting lost (in a city, in a forest, in a conversation) and missing out on something you would have enjoyed (a film, a concert, an experience).
Nos perdimos por el casco viejo y al final fue lo mejor del viaje.
We got lost in the old town and in the end it was the best part of the trip.
No te pierdas la nueva serie de Movistar, es brutal.
Don't miss the new Movistar series, it's brilliant.
The "miss out on" sense of perderse is closer to English to miss out on than to plain to miss — the speaker is recommending you do not miss out, often with a value judgement attached.
High-frequency collocations from peninsular Spain
| Phrase | Translation |
|---|---|
| perder el tiempo | to waste time |
| perder el tren / el autobús / el avión | to miss the train / bus / plane |
| perder de vista | to lose sight of |
| perder los nervios / los papeles | to lose one's cool / one's composure |
| perder peso / kilos | to lose weight |
| perder la cabeza (por alguien) | to lose one's head (over someone) |
| echar a perder | to spoil, to ruin |
| salir perdiendo | to come off worse, to lose out |
| no tener nada que perder | to have nothing to lose |
| tener mucho que perder | to have a lot to lose |
Si sigues con esa actitud, vas a echar a perder la relación.
If you keep up that attitude, you're going to ruin the relationship.
No tengo nada que perder, así que voy a presentarme al examen.
I've got nothing to lose, so I'm going to take the exam.
Common Mistakes
❌ Yo perdo las llaves cada día.
The yo form takes the diphthong: pierdo, not perdo.
✅ Yo pierdo las llaves cada día.
I lose my keys every day.
❌ Nosotros pierdemos mucho tiempo en redes sociales.
No diphthong in nosotros — stress is on the ending: perdemos.
✅ Nosotros perdemos mucho tiempo en redes sociales.
We waste a lot of time on social media.
❌ Te pierdo, ¿cuándo vienes a verme?
Te pierdo means 'I'm losing you' — not 'I miss you'. Use te echo de menos.
✅ Te echo de menos, ¿cuándo vienes a verme?
I miss you, when are you coming to see me?
❌ Ayer pierdo el tren a Toledo.
The preterite has no diphthong: perdí.
✅ Ayer perdí el tren a Toledo.
Yesterday I missed the train to Toledo.
❌ No quiero que pierdes el concierto.
Querer que triggers the subjunctive: pierdas, not pierdes.
✅ No quiero que pierdas el concierto.
I don't want you to miss the concert.
Key Takeaways
- Perder shows the standard e>ie boot pattern in the present indicative, present subjunctive, and most of the imperative: pierdo, pierdes, pierde, pierden — but perdemos, perdéis.
- The diphthong vanishes in every tense where stress falls on the ending: preterite, imperfect, future, conditional, gerundio, participle.
- Perder covers both English lose and English miss (in the sense of miss a bus, miss an opportunity) — but not miss a person, which is echar de menos.
- The reflexive perderse means to get lost (physical) or to miss out on (an experience).
- The peninsular vosotros affirmative imperative is perded; the negative is no perdáis.
Now practice Spanish
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Spanish→Related Topics
- Presente de indicativo: verbos regulares en -erA1 — The six present-indicative endings for regular -er verbs in peninsular Spanish, with the vosotros form -éis front and centre.
- Cambio vocálico: e>ie (pensar, querer, preferir)A2 — The most common stem-change pattern in Spanish: stressed e becomes ie in the 'boot' forms — yo, tú, él, ellos — while nosotros and vosotros keep the simple e.
- Cambios vocálicos en la raízA2 — The four stem-change patterns in Spanish verbs — e→ie, o→ue, e→i, u→ue — the 'boot' shape they make, and why vosotros sits outside the boot.
- cerrarA1 — Full conjugation reference for cerrar (to close) — an e>ie stem-changing -ar verb. Includes all simple and compound tenses, every imperative form, and the stress-driven logic that explains why nosotros and vosotros keep the unstressed e.
- entenderA1 — Full conjugation reference for entender (to understand) — an e>ie stem-changing -er verb. The everyday peninsular word for 'get' or 'understand', more colloquial than comprender.