Spanish grammar · Beginner
Escribir Conjugation: Every Tense with Examples
Escribir means to write. Fully regular -ir verb across present (escribo, escribes), preterite (escribí), and future (escribiré). Only irregularity is the past participle escrito (not escribido).
Escribo un libro.
I'm writing a book.
What it is
Escribir means to write. Fully regular -ir verb in present (escribo, escribes, escribe, escribimos, escribís, escriben), preterite (escribí, escribiste, escribió), and future (escribiré). The only irregularity is the past participle: escrito (not escribido).
In Escribo un libro (I'm writing a book), escribo is the regular yo present. He escrito tres novelas (I've written three novels) uses the irregular past participle escrito.
How to spot it
All simple tenses follow the regular -ir pattern. Past participle is the irregular escrito (used in he escrito, había escrito).
- Te escribo un email. — I'm writing you an email.
- Escribí una carta. — I wrote a letter.
- He escrito un poema. — I've written a poem.
Same irregular past participle family as describir → descrito, inscribir → inscrito, suscribir → suscrito.
Escribir Conjugation Quick Reference
Escribir at a glance, the most-used forms across tenses
| Person | Present | Preterite | Imperfect | Future | Subjunctive |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| yo | escribo | escribí | escribía | escribiré | escriba |
| tú | escribes | escribiste | escribías | escribirás | escribas |
| él/ella/Ud. | escribe | escribió | escribía | escribirá | escriba |
| nosotros | escribimos | escribimos | escribíamos | escribiremos | escribamos |
| vosotros | escribís | escribisteis | escribíais | escribiréis | escribáis |
| ellos/Uds. | escriben | escribieron | escribían | escribirán | escriban |
Common Escribir Conjugation Examples in Spanish
Escribir covers writing letters, emails, books, lists, and stories:
Writing Messages
- Te escribo mañana.
- I'll write to you tomorrow.
- Le escribió un email.
- She wrote him an email.
- Escríbeme cuando puedas.
- Write to me when you can.
Indirect object (te, le) marks who you're writing to.
Writing Documents
- Estoy escribiendo un libro.
- I'm writing a book.
- Escribió una novela en un año.
- He wrote a novel in a year.
- Escribimos un informe.
- We wrote a report.
Books, articles, reports, lists, escribir covers all written documents.
Past Participle (Escrito)
- He escrito tres libros.
- I've written three books.
- ¿Has escrito el email?
- Have you written the email?
- Habían escrito mucho.
- They had written a lot.
Past participle is the irregular escrito. Used in he escrito, había escrito, haya escrito.
Idiomatic Uses
- ¿Cómo se escribe?
- How is it spelled?
- Escribir a máquina.
- Type / write by typewriter.
- Escribir a mano.
- Write by hand.
¿Cómo se escribe? is the standard way to ask how something is spelled.
How to Conjugate Escribir Across Tenses
Present, Fully Regular -ir
All forms regular: escribo, escribes, escribe, escribimos, escribís, escriben.
Yo escribo, tú escribes, él escribe, nosotros escribimos, vosotros escribís, ellos escriben.
I write, you write, he writes, we write, you all write, they write.
Same regular -ir pattern as vivo, recibo, abro, decido.
Preterite / Imperfect / Future, Regular
All three tenses fully regular. Preterite: escribí, escribiste, escribió. Imperfect: escribía. Future: escribiré.
Escribí una carta. Antes escribía cartas. Escribiré pronto.
I wrote a letter. I used to write letters. I'll write soon.
No stem changes, no spelling shifts, escribir is the textbook regular -ir verb.
Past Participle, Irregular Escrito
Past participle is escrito (not escribido). Used in compound tenses: he escrito, había escrito, habría escrito, haya escrito.
He escrito tres libros. Habían escrito muchas cartas.
I've written three books. They had written many letters.
Same irregular pattern as describir → descrito, inscribir → inscrito, suscribir → suscrito.
Subjunctive, Regular
Present subjunctive: escriba, escribas, escriba, escribamos, escribáis, escriban. Built from yo present (escribo → escrib-).
Quiero que escribas el informe.
I want you to write the report.
All subjunctive forms regular, escrib- stem throughout.
Common Mistakes with Escribir Conjugation
Incorrect: He escribido un libro. — I've written a book. (wrong, past participle is escrito)
Correct: He escrito un libro. — I've written a book.
Escribir's past participle is the irregular escrito (not escribido). The whole describir family does this.
Incorrect: Escribo a Juan una carta. — I'm writing Juan a letter. (need indirect object pronoun le)
Correct: Le escribo una carta a Juan. — I'm writing Juan a letter.
When the recipient is mentioned (a Juan), Spanish typically also uses the redundant indirect object pronoun (le). Le escribo una carta a Juan is more natural than Escribo a Juan una carta.
Incorrect: Como se escribe tu nombre. — How is your name spelled? (missing punctuation and accent)
Correct: ¿Cómo se escribe tu nombre? — How is your name spelled?
Spanish requires opening ¿ for questions, and cómo (interrogative) needs an accent.
Escribir Across Every Tense
Regular -ir verb in all simple tenses. Only irregularity: past participle escrito.
Present (Regular)
Fully regular -ir.
| yo |
| tú |
| él/ella/usted |
| nosotros |
| vosotros |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes |
Same pattern as vivo, recibo, abro.
Preterite (Regular)
Fully regular -ir preterite.
| yo |
| tú |
| él/ella/usted |
| nosotros |
| vosotros |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes |
Escribí una novela en un año = I wrote a novel in a year.
Imperfect (Regular)
Regular -ir imperfect.
| yo |
| tú |
| él/ella/usted |
| nosotros |
| vosotros |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes |
Antes escribía cartas a mano = I used to write letters by hand.
Future, Conditional, Compound (Escrito)
Future / conditional regular. Past participle escrito drives all compound tenses.
| yo (future) |
| yo (conditional) |
| yo (present subjunctive) |
| yo (present perfect) |
Past participle escrito → he escrito, había escrito, habré escrito, haya escrito.
Escribir Conjugation FAQs
- What does escribir mean and when do you use it in Spanish?
- Escribir means to write, letters, emails, books, lists, articles, reports. Also used for spelling (¿Cómo se escribe? = How is it spelled?). Indirect object marks who you're writing to: Te escribo = I'm writing to you.
- How does escribir conjugate in the present tense?
- Escribo, escribes, escribe, escribimos, escribís, escriben. Fully regular -ir, no stem changes or irregularities in the present.
- What's the past participle of escribir?
- Escrito (irregular). Used in compound tenses: he escrito (I've written), había escrito (I had written), haya escrito (subjunctive perfect). Same irregular family as descrito, inscrito, suscrito.
- Is escribir a regular or irregular verb?
- Mostly regular. All simple tenses (present, preterite, imperfect, future, subjunctive) follow regular -ir patterns. The only irregularity is the past participle escrito.
- How can I get better at conjugating escribir?
- Escribir is everyday vocabulary, writing emails, messages, lists. Exposure to escribo / escribí / he escrito in real contexts is the fastest path. Parrot's daily videos feature escribir naturally.