Vender means to sell. It is the natural counterpart of comprar ("to buy"), and learners typically meet the two side by side. What makes vender especially useful as a first irregular-looking but actually regular verb is that it is a textbook clean -er paradigm: stem vend-, endings -o, -es, -e, -emos, -éis, -en, with zero stem changes, zero spelling shifts, and a fully regular past participle (vendido). If you can conjugate vender, you can conjugate every regular -er verb in Spanish.
Non-finite forms
| Form | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Infinitivo | vender | to sell |
| Infinitivo compuesto | haber vendido | to have sold |
| Gerundio | vendiendo | selling |
| Gerundio compuesto | habiendo vendido | having sold |
| Participio | vendido | sold |
The participle vendido is the form you will see on shop windows across Spain marking sold properties or sold-out items: VENDIDO in capital letters slapped on the Se vende sign once the deal closes.
Indicative — simple tenses
Presente
Textbook regular -er: take the stem vend- and add the endings -o, -es, -e, -emos, -éis, -en.
| yo | tú | él/ella/usted | nosotros | vosotros | ellos/ellas/ustedes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| vendo | vendes | vende | vendemos | vendéis | venden |
En esta panadería venden el mejor pan de la zona, sin discusión.
In this bakery they sell the best bread in the area, no argument.
¿Vendéis billetes para el concierto del sábado o ya están agotados?
Are you guys selling tickets for Saturday's concert, or are they sold out already?
Pretérito perfecto simple
Regular -er endings -í, -iste, -ió, -imos, -isteis, -ieron. As with all -er verbs, the nosotros preterite (vendimos) is distinct from the present (vendemos) — a useful disambiguator that -ar verbs lack.
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| vendí | vendiste | vendió | vendimos | vendisteis | vendieron |
Mis abuelos vendieron el piso de la playa en 2018 y todavía se arrepienten.
My grandparents sold their seaside flat in 2018 and they still regret it.
Pretérito imperfecto
Regular -er imperfect endings -ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían — every form carries an accent on the i.
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| vendía | vendías | vendía | vendíamos | vendíais | vendían |
En aquella época vendíamos cualquier cosa con tal de pagar el alquiler.
Back then we'd sell anything just to make rent.
Futuro simple
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| venderé | venderás | venderá | venderemos | venderéis | venderán |
Note that the future stem is the full infinitive vender-, with no contraction. This is the key difference from venir, whose future drops a vowel: vendré (from venir) versus venderé (from vender). Mixing these up is the most common error English speakers make with this pair.
Si el precio sigue bajando, no venderé el piso este año.
If the price keeps falling, I won't sell the flat this year.
Condicional
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| vendería | venderías | vendería | venderíamos | venderíais | venderían |
Yo no vendería el coche por menos de cinco mil euros, ni de broma.
I wouldn't sell the car for less than five thousand euros, no way.
Indicative — compound tenses
Pretérito perfecto compuesto
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| he vendido | has vendido | ha vendido | hemos vendido | habéis vendido | han vendido |
In Spain, the pretérito perfecto compuesto covers anything completed within a still-current time frame — today, this week, this year, in my lifetime. He vendido el coche esta mañana is the natural form in peninsular Spanish; the simple preterite vendí el coche esta mañana sounds more Latin American.
Este año hemos vendido casi el doble que el año pasado.
This year we've sold almost double what we did last year.
Pretérito pluscuamperfecto
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| había vendido | habías vendido | había vendido | habíamos vendido | habíais vendido | habían vendido |
Cuando llegué al concierto, ya habían vendido todas las entradas.
By the time I got to the concert, they'd already sold every ticket.
Futuro compuesto
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| habré vendido | habrás vendido | habrá vendido | habremos vendido | habréis vendido | habrán vendido |
Para fin de mes habremos vendido todo el stock antiguo.
By the end of the month we'll have sold all the old stock.
Condicional compuesto
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| habría vendido | habrías vendido | habría vendido | habríamos vendido | habríais vendido | habrían vendido |
Si me hubieras avisado, habría vendido las acciones antes de la caída.
If you'd told me, I'd have sold the shares before the crash.
Subjunctive — simple tenses
Presente de subjuntivo
Take yo vendo, drop the -o, add subjunctive endings -a, -as, -a, -amos, -áis, -an. The -er class shifts to -a endings in the subjunctive (the "opposite-vowel" rule).
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| venda | vendas | venda | vendamos | vendáis | vendan |
Mis padres quieren que vendamos el piso de la abuela cuanto antes.
My parents want us to sell grandma's flat as soon as possible.
Imperfecto de subjuntivo (-ra / -se)
Built off the 3rd-plural preterite vendieron → drop -ron, add the endings.
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -ra | vendiera | vendieras | vendiera | vendiéramos | vendierais | vendieran |
| -se | vendiese | vendieses | vendiese | vendiésemos | vendieseis | vendiesen |
Both sets are interchangeable; the -ra set dominates everyday speech in Spain. The -se set lingers in formal writing and the legal register.
Le sugerí que vendiera el coche antes de irse a vivir al extranjero.
I suggested that he sell the car before going to live abroad.
Subjunctive — compound tenses
Pretérito perfecto de subjuntivo
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| haya vendido | hayas vendido | haya vendido | hayamos vendido | hayáis vendido | hayan vendido |
Me extraña que hayan vendido la casa tan rápido en este mercado.
It surprises me that they've sold the house so quickly in this market.
Pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -ra | hubiera vendido | hubieras vendido | hubiera vendido | hubiéramos vendido | hubierais vendido | hubieran vendido |
| -se | hubiese vendido | hubieses vendido | hubiese vendido | hubiésemos vendido | hubieseis vendido | hubiesen vendido |
Si hubiéramos vendido las acciones en marzo, ahora seríamos ricos.
If we'd sold the shares in March, we'd be rich now.
Imperative
Fully regular -er. The peninsular vosotros affirmative is vended.
| Form | Affirmative | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| tú | vende | no vendas |
| usted | venda | no venda |
| nosotros | vendamos | no vendamos |
| vosotros | vended | no vendáis |
| ustedes | vendan | no vendan |
Vended lo que no uséis y haced sitio en el armario.
(to the kids) Sell what you don't use and make room in the wardrobe.
When pronouns attach to the affirmative imperative, the verb gets one written word and an accent where needed: véndelo (sell it), véndemelo (sell it to me), vendédmelo (sell it to me — addressed to several people, with the -d of vended preserved). The negative imperative places pronouns before the verb: no me lo vendas.
Vender + prepositions
The verb's prepositional frame is consistent and worth memorizing as a unit.
vender algo a alguien — to sell something to someone. The recipient is an indirect object.
Le he vendido la bici a mi sobrino por cincuenta euros.
I've sold the bike to my nephew for fifty euros.
vender algo por + cantidad — to sell something for an amount. The price uses por, not a.
Vendieron el piso por una miseria y se arrepintieron toda la vida.
They sold the flat for peanuts and regretted it their whole lives.
vender en / a + precio unitario — to sell at a unit price. A is used with rates: a tres euros el kilo (at three euros a kilo).
Aquí las naranjas las venden a dos euros el kilo.
Here they sell the oranges at two euros a kilo.
Vender vs venderse: the impersonal sign
The most visible use of vender in Spain is the impersonal se vende construction on for-sale signs: SE VENDE PISO, SE VENDEN CACHORROS. This is the so-called pasiva refleja — a passive built with se — and it agrees with the thing being sold: singular for piso, plural for cachorros. English uses a flat "For Sale" sticker; Spanish marks number on the verb.
Se vende piso de tres habitaciones en el centro, llamar al 600...
Three-bedroom flat for sale in the centre, call 600...
Se venden entradas para el partido en la taquilla.
Tickets for the match are sold at the box office.
The truly reflexive venderse ("to sell oneself out") is figurative and pejorative, meaning to compromise one's principles for money or favors:
Ese político se ha vendido a las grandes empresas.
That politician has sold himself out to the big corporations.
High-frequency expressions
| Phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| vender la moto | to sell someone a story / a load of nonsense (informal) |
| vender humo | to peddle hot air / empty promises |
| estar en venta | to be for sale |
| se vende como rosquillas | it's selling like hot cakes |
| vender al por mayor / al por menor | to sell wholesale / retail |
| vender a precio de saldo | to sell at a knock-down price |
| vender la piel del oso antes de cazarlo | to count one's chickens before they hatch (lit. sell the bear's skin before catching it) |
No me vendas la moto, que ya nos conocemos.
Don't try to sell me a story — I know you too well.
Este libro se ha vendido como rosquillas estas Navidades.
This book has sold like hot cakes this Christmas.
The classic English-speaker error
The biggest pitfall is the future tense. English speakers learning Spanish often confuse vender with venir because they look similar in the infinitive — but their futures and conditionals diverge sharply. Vender keeps the full infinitive as the future stem (venderé, venderás, venderá...), while venir drops the i and adds d: vendré, vendrás, vendrá. Venderé = "I will sell"; vendré = "I will come". One letter, two completely different verbs.
A second trap is the preposition pattern. English says "sell to someone for X euros" — but English to maps to Spanish a (the recipient) while English for maps to Spanish por (the price). Beginners sometimes use a for both or para for the price; both are wrong.
Common Mistakes
❌ Mañana vendré el coche.
Vendré is the future of venir (to come). For sell, use venderé.
✅ Mañana venderé el coche.
Tomorrow I'll sell the car.
❌ Le vendí el coche por mi vecino.
The recipient takes a, not por. Por is for the price.
✅ Le vendí el coche a mi vecino por tres mil euros.
I sold the car to my neighbour for three thousand euros.
❌ Se vende manzanas a dos euros el kilo.
The pasiva refleja agrees with the noun: manzanas is plural, so the verb is plural too.
✅ Se venden manzanas a dos euros el kilo.
Apples are sold at two euros a kilo.
❌ Quiero que vendes el coche pronto.
Querer que triggers the subjunctive: vendas, not vendes.
✅ Quiero que vendas el coche pronto.
I want you to sell the car soon.
Key Takeaways
- Vender is a textbook regular -er verb in every form. No stem changes, no spelling shifts, no irregular participle.
- The future stem is the full infinitive vender- (venderé). Do not confuse with vendré from venir (to come).
- The prepositional frame is vender algo a alguien por una cantidad — a for the buyer, por for the price.
- The se vende / se venden sign is a pasiva refleja and agrees in number with the thing being sold.
- High-frequency idioms in Spain: vender la moto (sell a tall tale), vender humo (peddle empty promises), venderse como rosquillas (sell like hot cakes).
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