Spanish grammar · Intermediate
Querer Conjugation: Every Tense with Examples
Querer means to want or to love in Spanish. Present takes e→ie stem change (quiero, quieres, quiere). Preterite is the irregular quise. Polite condicional quisiera replaces quiero in formal requests.
Quiero un café.
I want a coffee.
What it is
Querer means to want or to love. Present takes the e→ie stem change (quiero, quieres, quiere, queremos, queréis, quieren). Preterite uses the irregular quis- stem (quise, quisiste, quiso) with a meaning shift to tried to (or refused to in negative).
In Quiero un café (I want a coffee), quiero is the yo form. Querer covers both wanting (Quiero salir) and loving people (Te quiero = I love you).
How to spot it
Look for quier- (singular subjects and ellos in the present) or quis- (preterite). Future is querr- with a double r (querré).
- ¿Quieres ir al cine? — Do you want to go to the movies?
- Quisiera una mesa, por favor. — I'd like a table, please.
- Te quiero mucho. — I love you a lot.
Querer covers I love you (Te quiero) for friends, family, and romantic partners. Te amo is more intense, for deep romantic love.
Querer Conjugation Quick Reference
Querer at a glance, the most-used forms across tenses
| Person | Present | Preterite | Imperfect | Future | Subjunctive |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| yo | quiero | quise | quería | querré | quiera |
| tú | quieres | quisiste | querías | querrás | quieras |
| él/ella/Ud. | quiere | quiso | quería | querrá | quiera |
| nosotros | queremos | quisimos | queríamos | querremos | queramos |
| vosotros | queréis | quisisteis | queríais | querréis | queráis |
| ellos/Uds. | quieren | quisieron | querían | querrán | quieran |
Common Querer Conjugation Examples in Spanish
Querer covers wanting things, wanting to do things, and loving people. Four contexts:
Wanting Things
- Quiero un pastel.
- I want a cake.
- Quieren agua.
- They want water.
- ¿Qué quieres?
- What do you want?
- No quiero nada.
- I don't want anything.
Querer + noun is the standard way to request items. Use quisiera (conditional) for politeness.
Wanting to Do (Querer + Infinitive)
- Quiero salir.
- I want to go out.
- Queremos viajar a Europa.
- We want to travel to Europe.
- Quieren aprender español.
- They want to learn Spanish.
Like English want to + verb. Spanish keeps the second verb as an infinitive.
Loving People
- Te quiero.
- I love you.
- Quiero mucho a mi familia.
- I love my family a lot.
- Nos queremos.
- We love each other.
Te quiero works for friends, family, romantic partners. Te amo is more intense and romantic.
Polite Requests (Quisiera)
- Quisiera una mesa para dos.
- I'd like a table for two.
- Quisiera reservar un vuelo.
- I'd like to book a flight.
- Quisiéramos pagar.
- We'd like to pay.
Quisiera (imperfect subjunctive used as polite conditional) replaces quiero in restaurants, hotels, and formal contexts.
How to Conjugate Querer Across Tenses
Present, E→Ie Stem Change
Singular subjects and ellos take e→ie: quiero, quieres, quiere, quieren. Nosotros and vosotros keep the e (queremos, queréis).
Yo quiero, tú quieres, ella quiere, nosotros queremos, vosotros queréis, ellos quieren.
I want, you want, she wants, we want, you all want, they want.
Same pattern as pensar, cerrar, empezar, all e→ie stem-changers.
Preterite, Quis- with Meaning Shift
Preterite uses the irregular quis-: quise, quisiste, quiso, quisimos, quisisteis, quisieron. No accents. The meaning shifts to tried to (positive) or refused to (negative).
Quise llamarte pero no contestaste. No quise ir.
I tried to call you but you didn't answer. I refused to go.
Negative no quise = I refused, not I didn't want. Striking semantic shift unique to the preterite.
Future / Conditional, Stem Querr- (Double R)
Future and conditional use querr- with a double r: querré, querrás, querrá; querría, querrías, querría. The double r preserves the rolling r sound.
Querré saber tu opinión.
I'll want to know your opinion.
Querría is the standard would want, though Spanish prefers quisiera for polite would like.
Polite Quisiera vs. Quiero
Quiero is direct (I want). Quisiera (imperfect subjunctive form used as conditional) is polite (I would like). In service contexts, native speakers default to quisiera.
Quiero un café. (casual) vs. Quisiera un café. (polite)
I want a coffee. vs. I'd like a coffee.
If you're in a restaurant, hotel, or any service context, default to quisiera.
Common Mistakes with Querer Conjugation
Incorrect: Yo quero salir. — I want to go out. (wrong, yo takes e→ie stem change)
Correct: Yo quiero salir. — I want to go out.
Yo and other singular subjects of querer take the e→ie stem change. Quero isn't a form in standard Spanish.
Incorrect: Querí ayudarte. — I tried to help you. (wrong, preterite uses quis-)
Correct: Quise ayudarte. — I tried to help you.
The preterite of querer is the irregular quise. Querí isn't a form. Note the meaning shift: preterite quise often means tried to, not simply wanted.
Incorrect: Yo querría una mesa, por favor. — I'd like a table, please. (Querría is correct but quisiera is preferred for polite requests)
Correct: Yo quisiera una mesa, por favor. — I'd like a table, please.
Querría works but native speakers strongly prefer quisiera in service contexts. The imperfect subjunctive form sounds more polished.
Querer Across Every Tense
Two stem changes to know: e→ie (present, subjunctive) and quis- (preterite). Plus the double-r future.
Present (E→Ie)
Quiero, quieres, quiere, queremos, queréis, quieren. Singular and ellos take e→ie.
| yo |
| tú |
| él/ella/usted |
| nosotros |
| vosotros |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes |
Quiero, te quiero, quiero salir, the three most-used yo-form expressions with querer.
Preterite (Quis-)
Irregular quis-stem. No accents. Meaning shifts to tried to / refused to.
| yo |
| tú |
| él/ella/usted |
| nosotros |
| vosotros |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes |
Same family as poder (pude) and venir (vine). All swap a vowel and lose accents.
Imperfect (Regular)
Regular -er imperfect: quería, querías, quería, queríamos, queríais, querían.
| yo |
| tú |
| él/ella/usted |
| nosotros |
| vosotros |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes |
Quería is the polite I wanted to ask... Spanish speakers reach for it constantly when softening a request.
Future, Conditional, Subjunctive
Future / conditional with double r (querr-). Subjunctive keeps the e→ie change.
| yo (future) |
| yo (conditional) |
| yo (imperfect subjunctive) |
| yo (present subjunctive) |
Quisiera doubles as the go-to polite would like, preferred over querría in restaurants, hotels, and service interactions.
Querer Conjugation FAQs
- What does querer mean and when do you use it in Spanish?
- Querer means to want or to love. Used for wanting things (Quiero un café), wanting to do things (Quiero salir), and loving people (Te quiero). In polite contexts, replace quiero with quisiera (I'd like).
- How does querer conjugate in the present tense?
- Quiero, quieres, quiere, queremos, queréis, quieren. Singular subjects and ellos take the e→ie stem change. Nosotros and vosotros keep the original e.
- What's the preterite of querer?
- Quise, quisiste, quiso, quisimos, quisisteis, quisieron. Uses the irregular quis- stem with no accents. Often shifts meaning to tried to (positive) or refused to (negative): No quise ir = I refused to go.
- What's the difference between quiero and quisiera?
- Quiero = I want (direct, casual). Quisiera = I'd like (polite, formal). In restaurants, hotels, and service contexts, native speakers default to quisiera. Quiero is fine for casual conversation among friends.
- How can I get better at conjugating querer?
- Exposure to native speakers using querer for wants, polite requests, and love expressions is the fastest path. Parrot's daily videos feature quiero, quise, quisiera, quiera in real conversations, so the irregular forms become automatic.