Querer is the first A1 irregular verb that does not pretend to have a tidy pattern — it has three irregularities, all in different directions, and you have to learn each one separately. In the present indicative, the stressed e becomes ie (quiero), like cerrar and pensar. In the preterite, the stem collapses to a strong quis- (quise, quisiste, quiso) with no accent on the yo and él forms. In the future and conditional, an entire vowel disappears: querer + é should give quereré, but the e drops and you get querré (with a stress-supporting double r). On top of all that, querer has two contradictory meanings — to want and to love — and a notorious preterite shift: quise means tried, no quise means refused. It is the most rewarding verb to study early, because every irregularity it has reappears in the rest of Spanish.
Non-finite forms
| Form | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Infinitivo | querer | to want / to love |
| Infinitivo compuesto | haber querido | to have wanted / loved |
| Gerundio | queriendo | wanting / loving |
| Gerundio compuesto | habiendo querido | having wanted / loved |
| Participio | querido | wanted / loved / dear |
The participle querido doubles as an adjective meaning dear — un amigo querido (a dear friend), querida Marta (Dear Marta) at the top of a letter. The gerund queriendo is fully regular — none of querer's irregularities show up in the non-finite forms.
Indicative — simple tenses
Presente
The stressed e becomes ie — except in nosotros and vosotros, where the stress lands on the ending and the e stays put.
| yo | tú | él/ella/usted | nosotros | vosotros | ellos/ellas/ustedes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| quiero | quieres | quiere | queremos | queréis | quieren |
Quiero un café con leche y un cruasán, por favor.
I'd like a white coffee and a croissant, please.
¿Queréis venir al cine esta noche o estáis muy cansados?
Do you (all) want to come to the cinema tonight or are you too tired?
Mi hijo no quiere comer verduras, es una pelea diaria.
My son doesn't want to eat vegetables — it's a daily battle.
Pretérito perfecto simple
The preterite drops the e of the stem and uses the strong root quis-. Crucially, the yo and él forms are unstressed on the ending: quise, quiso (not quisé, quisó). This unstressed pattern is the hallmark of strong preterites — the same stress pattern you see in tuve, vine, hice, supe, pude. The third-person plural takes -ieron, normal for a non-j-*stem strong preterite: *quisieron (compare condujeron, which is -eron).
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| quise | quisiste | quiso | quisimos | quisisteis | quisieron |
A semantic detail unique to this verb: in the preterite, querer shifts meaning. Quise hacerlo does not mean I wanted to do it (a state) — it means I tried to do it (an action). And no quise hacerlo means I refused to do it, not I didn't want to do it. The preterite forces the verb to mark a single completed action, and "wanting" is not an action — so it gets reinterpreted as a one-off attempt or a one-off refusal. To say I wanted to in the descriptive sense, you need the imperfect: quería hacerlo.
Quise avisarte, pero no tenía cobertura en la montaña.
I tried to let you know, but I had no signal up the mountain.
No quiso firmar el contrato y se marchó dando un portazo.
He refused to sign the contract and walked out slamming the door.
Pretérito imperfecto
Perfectly regular for an -er verb. This is the tense you use for I wanted (was wanting) in description or background:
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| quería | querías | quería | queríamos | queríais | querían |
De pequeña quería ser veterinaria, ahora soy contable.
As a little girl I wanted to be a vet — now I'm an accountant.
Quería pedirte un favor, si tienes un momento.
I wanted to ask you a favour, if you have a moment.
That last example shows a polite-request use of the imperfect — softer than the present quiero and less formal than the conditional querría.
Futuro simple
Here the second irregularity kicks in: an internal e drops, leaving the strong root querr- with the regular future endings. The same dropped-e pattern shows up in poder > podré, saber > sabré, haber > habré, caber > cabré. The double r is what remains after the e falls out; both r's are pronounced (the first as a flap, the second as a trill — or as a single trill in fast speech).
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| querré | querrás | querrá | querremos | querréis | querrán |
Cuando lo veas, querrás abrazarle, está hecho un hombretón.
When you see him, you'll want to give him a hug — he's grown into a big lad.
Condicional
The conditional uses the same dropped-e root querr-. The form querría (I'd want, I'd like) is the higher-register polite version of quisiera (the imperfect-subjunctive polite request, see below).
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| querría | querrías | querría | querríamos | querríais | querrían |
Querría hacerle una consulta, ¿tiene un momento?
I'd like to ask you a question — do you have a moment?
Indicative — compound tenses
All compound tenses pair haber with the regular participle querido.
Pretérito perfecto compuesto
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| he querido | has querido | ha querido | hemos querido | habéis querido | han querido |
Siempre he querido visitar Japón, este año por fin lo hacemos.
I've always wanted to visit Japan — this year we're finally doing it.
Pretérito pluscuamperfecto
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| había querido | habías querido | había querido | habíamos querido | habíais querido | habían querido |
Nunca había querido a nadie como te he querido a ti.
I'd never loved anyone the way I've loved you.
Futuro compuesto
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| habré querido | habrás querido | habrá querido | habremos querido | habréis querido | habrán querido |
Si no contesta es porque no habrá querido oír malas noticias.
If she's not answering it'll be because she hasn't wanted to hear bad news.
Condicional compuesto
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| habría querido | habrías querido | habría querido | habríamos querido | habríais querido | habrían querido |
Habría querido despedirme de la abuela, pero no me dio tiempo.
I'd have wanted to say goodbye to grandma, but I didn't have time.
Subjunctive — simple tenses
Presente de subjuntivo
The e > ie shift returns — same four persons as in the present indicative. Nosotros and vosotros keep the e.
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| quiera | quieras | quiera | queramos | queráis | quieran |
The fixed expression como quieras (as you like) is one of the highest-frequency present-subjunctive forms in everyday Spanish.
Haz lo que quieras, ya estoy cansada de discutir.
Do whatever you want — I'm tired of arguing.
No hay nadie que te quiera más que yo.
There's no one who loves you more than I do.
Imperfecto de subjuntivo (-ra / -se)
Built from the third-person plural of the preterite (quisieron) minus -ron, so the u-*stem reappears here too. The form *quisiera doubles as a polite request — see below.
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -ra | quisiera | quisieras | quisiera | quisiéramos | quisierais | quisieran |
| -se | quisiese | quisieses | quisiese | quisiésemos | quisieseis | quisiesen |
Si quisieras venir, tendrías que avisar con tiempo.
If you wanted to come, you'd have to give us notice.
Quisiera un billete de ida y vuelta a Sevilla, por favor.
I'd like a return ticket to Seville, please.
Subjunctive — compound tenses
Pretérito perfecto de subjuntivo
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| haya querido | hayas querido | haya querido | hayamos querido | hayáis querido | hayan querido |
Me extraña que no haya querido quedarse a cenar.
It's strange that she hasn't wanted to stay for dinner.
Pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -ra | hubiera querido | hubieras querido | hubiera querido | hubiéramos querido | hubierais querido | hubieran querido |
| -se | hubiese querido | hubieses querido | hubiese querido | hubiésemos querido | hubieseis querido | hubiesen querido |
Si lo hubiera sabido antes, no habría querido aceptar el puesto.
If I'd known earlier, I wouldn't have wanted to accept the job.
Imperative
The peninsular affirmative vosotros form quered is technically possible but vanishingly rare in actual use — you do not normally order someone to want. The negative forms turn up more, especially in idiomatic contexts (no quieras saberlo, no queráis demasiado).
| Form | Affirmative | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| tú | quiere (rare) | no quieras |
| usted | quiera (rare) | no quiera |
| nosotros | queramos (rare) | no queramos |
| vosotros | quered (rare) | no queráis |
| ustedes | quieran (rare) | no quieran |
No quieras saberlo, créeme.
You don't want to know, trust me.
Querer: to want or to love
A single verb covers both meanings, and Spanish speakers navigate the ambiguity by reading the object:
| Object type | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Thing / abstract noun | to want | Quiero un café. |
| Infinitive | to want to | Quiero salir esta noche. |
que
| to want (someone else to) | Quiero que vengas. |
| Specific person (with personal a) | to love | Te quiero. / Quiero a mi familia. |
| Pet / abstract entity (with a) | to love | Quiero mucho a mi perro. |
In Spain, te quiero is the everyday "I love you" — used between partners, parents and children, close friends. Te amo exists but is reserved for romantic poetry, formal declarations, or the very heightened moment — saying te amo casually sounds slightly theatrical. The default is te quiero.
Te quiero, mamá. Llámame cuando llegues.
Love you, Mum. Call me when you get in.
Quiero mucho a mi perro, es uno más de la familia.
I love my dog very much — he's one of the family.
Polite requests: quiero, querría, quisiera
Three forms, three registers, same verb. The choice is one of the most useful style decisions you can make in spoken Spanish.
| Form | Register | Example |
|---|---|---|
| quiero | direct, neutral | Quiero un café con leche. |
| quería | (informal) softened | Quería un café con leche, por favor. |
| querría | (formal) polite, conditional | Querría hacerle una consulta. |
| quisiera | (formal) very polite, slightly elevated | Quisiera reservar una mesa para dos. |
In a Madrid café, quiero un café is perfectly normal — Spanish does not require the elaborate softening English uses (Could I have…?). But adding por favor or shifting to quería / me pones (hit me with) is the natural rhythm of café Spanish. Querría and quisiera are reserved for shops, formal phone calls, restaurants, and any context where you want to sound noticeably polite.
Me pones un café con leche y una tostada, por favor.
I'll have a white coffee and a piece of toast, please. (informal, café Spanish)
Quisiera reservar una mesa para dos a las nueve.
I'd like to reserve a table for two at nine. (formal)
High-frequency collocations from peninsular Spain
| Phrase | Translation |
|---|---|
| querer decir | to mean (lit. "to want to say") |
| sin querer | by accident / unintentionally |
| como quieras / como quieran | as you like / suit yourself |
| donde quieras | wherever you like |
| cuando quieras | whenever you want / any time |
| querer es poder | (set phrase) where there's a will, there's a way |
| te quiero un montón / muchísimo | I love you loads |
| no quiero ni pensarlo | I don't even want to think about it |
Lo siento, te he pisado sin querer.
Sorry, I stepped on your foot by accident.
¿Qué quieres decir con eso? No te entiendo.
What do you mean by that? I don't get you.
Cuando quieras quedamos para tomar algo.
Any time you fancy, let's meet for a drink.
The classic English-speaker error
The biggest pitfall is misreading the preterite. English speakers translate quise as I wanted and no quise as I didn't want, by default. Both are wrong. Quise in the preterite means I tried (a one-off attempt), and no quise means I refused (an active rejection, not a passive absence of desire). To say I wanted descriptively, use the imperfect: quería.
A second common error: using the indicative after querer que. Quiero que vienes a mi casa feels right by analogy with English I want that you come, which doesn't even work in English — but the structure leaks anyway. Querer que always triggers the subjunctive in Spanish: Quiero que vengas.
A third error is choosing amar over querer for everyday "I love you." Latin-American materials sometimes drill te amo as the default, but in Spain te amo sounds either heightened or quaint. For a partner, a parent, a child, a close friend, the natural form is te quiero. Save te amo for the high moment.
A fourth, mechanical error: writing quereré in the future. The future of querer drops the e of the stem — it is querré, not quereré. Same for the conditional querría (not quereria).
Common Mistakes
❌ Ayer quise ir al cine pero al final me quedé en casa.
In the preterite, quise means tried — this sentence accidentally says I tried to go and didn't. For I wanted to go (description), use the imperfect: quería ir.
✅ Ayer quería ir al cine pero al final me quedé en casa.
Yesterday I wanted to go to the cinema but in the end I stayed home.
❌ Quiero que vienes conmigo este finde.
Querer que triggers the subjunctive: vengas, not vienes.
✅ Quiero que vengas conmigo este finde.
I want you to come with me this weekend.
❌ El año que viene quereré viajar a Japón.
The future of querer drops the e: querré, not quereré.
✅ El año que viene querré viajar a Japón.
Next year I'll want to travel to Japan.
❌ Mamá, te amo, llámame cuando llegues.
Grammatical but stilted in Spain — for everyday I love you to family, te quiero is the natural choice.
✅ Mamá, te quiero, llámame cuando llegues.
Mum, love you — call me when you get in.
❌ Quiero mi madre mucho.
With a specific human direct object, Spanish requires the personal a: quiero a mi madre.
✅ Quiero mucho a mi madre.
I love my mum very much.
Key Takeaways
- Querer has three independent irregularities: e > ie in the stressed present (quiero); strong u-*stem preterite with unstressed *yo and él (quise, quiso); dropped-e future and conditional with double r (querré, querría).
- In the preterite, the meaning shifts. Quise hacerlo = I tried to do it; no quise hacerlo = I refused. For I wanted in the descriptive sense, use the imperfect quería.
- Querer + que always triggers the subjunctive: Quiero que vengas. Same-subject infinitive: Quiero venir.
- With things or infinitives, querer means to want; with specific people (and the personal a), it means to love. Te quiero is the standard "I love you" in Spain.
- Polite registers: quería / querría / quisiera. The last two are reserved for formal contexts; quería is the everyday softener.
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