Spanish grammar · Beginner
Vivir Conjugation: Every Tense with Examples
Vivir means to live in Spanish, the textbook model for regular -ir verbs. Fully regular across present (vivo, vives, vive), preterite, and future. Used for residence, lifestyle, and life experiences.
Vivo en Barcelona.
I live in Barcelona.
What it is
Vivir means to live. It's the textbook model for regular -ir verbs, fully regular across every tense. Learn vivir's endings and you've effectively learned escribir (with one irregular past participle), abrir, recibir, partir, and most other -ir verbs.
In Vivo en Barcelona (I live in Barcelona), vivo is the regular yo form. Vivir handles residence (vivir en + place), lifestyle (vivir bien), and life events (vivir experiencias).
How to spot it
All forms keep the viv- stem. Present endings: -o, -es, -e, -imos, -ís, -en (note -imos and -ís, not -emos and -éis like -er verbs).
- Vivimos cerca del parque. — We live near the park.
- Vivieron en México por años. — They lived in Mexico for years.
- Voy a vivir en otro país. — I'm going to live in another country.
Vivir is the safest -ir model. Note that its nosotros (vivimos) and vosotros (vivís) forms differ from -er verbs (comemos / coméis).
Vivir Conjugation Quick Reference
Vivir at a glance, the regular -ir verb model
| Person | Present | Preterite | Imperfect | Future | Subjunctive |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| yo | vivo | viví | vivía | viviré | viva |
| tú | vives | viviste | vivías | vivirás | vivas |
| él/ella/Ud. | vive | vivió | vivía | vivirá | viva |
| nosotros | vivimos | vivimos | vivíamos | viviremos | vivamos |
| vosotros | vivís | vivisteis | vivíais | viviréis | viváis |
| ellos/Uds. | viven | vivieron | vivían | vivirán | vivan |
Common Vivir Conjugation Examples in Spanish
Vivir covers residence, lifestyle, and meaningful experiences. Four key contexts:
Where You Live
- Vivo en Madrid.
- I live in Madrid.
- Vivimos en una casa pequeña.
- We live in a small house.
- Vive con sus padres.
- He lives with his parents.
- ¿Dónde vives?
- Where do you live?
Vivir + en + place is the standard structure. Vivir con + person describes who you live with.
Lifestyle
- Vivimos bien.
- We live well.
- Vive para trabajar.
- He lives to work.
- Hay que vivir el momento.
- You have to live in the moment.
Vivir + adverb / vivir para + infinitive describes how you live or what you live for.
Past Life Periods
- Vivieron en Colombia diez años.
- They lived in Colombia for ten years.
- Vivía con mi abuela.
- I used to live with my grandmother.
- Hemos vivido aquí desde 2020.
- We've lived here since 2020.
Preterite (vivieron) for a closed-off past period; imperfect (vivía) for an ongoing past habit.
Experiences (Vivir + Experience)
- Vivimos una experiencia inolvidable.
- We had / lived an unforgettable experience.
- Vivió la guerra.
- He lived through the war.
- Quiero vivir nuevas aventuras.
- I want to live new adventures.
Vivir + noun (experiencia, aventura, momento) describes living through something memorable.
How to Conjugate Vivir Across Tenses
Fully Regular -ir Verb
Vivir follows every regular -ir pattern. Present: -o, -es, -e, -imos, -ís, -en. Preterite: -í, -iste, -ió, -imos, -isteis, -ieron. Imperfect: -ía endings. Future: regular endings on the infinitive stem.
Vivo / viví / vivía / viviré / viva. Same stem, different endings.
I live / I lived / I used to live / I'll live / (that) I live.
Vivir is the -ir model. Watch nosotros (vivimos) and vosotros (vivís), different from -er verbs.
-Ir vs. -Er: Where They Diverge
Present nosotros: -ir verbs use -imos (vivimos), -er verbs use -emos (comemos). Present vosotros: -ir uses -ís (vivís), -er uses -éis (coméis). All other forms are identical between -er and -ir.
vivimos vs. comemos. vivís vs. coméis.
Two-form difference in the entire present-tense paradigm.
If the verb is -ir, expect -imos / -ís. If it's -er, expect -emos / -éis.
Preterite Looks Like Present (Nosotros)
The nosotros form is identical in present and preterite for both -er and -ir verbs: vivimos can mean we live or we lived depending on context.
Vivimos aquí ahora. ≠ Vivimos en Madrid el año pasado.
We live here now. ≠ We lived in Madrid last year.
Context (now vs. el año pasado) decides which tense.
Commands and Subjunctive
Affirmative tú command: vive. Negative tú command: no vivas. Formal usted command: viva. Subjunctive: viva, vivas, viva, vivamos, viváis, vivan.
¡Vive cada día! Espero que vivas muchos años.
Live every day! I hope you live many years.
Viva is also the Spanish cheer for long live X (¡Viva España!).
Common Mistakes with Vivir Conjugation
Incorrect: Nosotros vivemos en España. — We live in Spain. (wrong, -ir verbs use -imos, not -emos)
Correct: Nosotros vivimos en España. — We live in Spain.
The nosotros form for -ir verbs ends in -imos (vivimos), not -emos. -er verbs use -emos (comemos). The single-letter swap trips up learners constantly.
Incorrect: Vivo a Madrid. — I live in Madrid. (wrong preposition, vivir takes en, not a)
Correct: Vivo en Madrid. — I live in Madrid.
Vivir uses en for location (Vivo en Madrid). The preposition a marks destination (Voy a Madrid = I'm going to Madrid).
Incorrect: Vivía en México el año pasado. — I lived in Mexico last year. (wrong, imperfect for a specific past period)
Correct: Viví en México el año pasado. — I lived in Mexico last year.
A bounded past period (el año pasado) with a clear endpoint takes preterite (viví). Imperfect (vivía) would describe ongoing past time without specifying when it ended.
Vivir Across Every Tense
Vivir is the regular -ir model. Predictable endings, with -imos / -ís nosotros and vosotros.
Present
Regular -ir present: -o, -es, -e, -imos, -ís, -en.
| yo |
| tú |
| él/ella/usted |
| nosotros |
| vosotros |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes |
Vivimos and vivís are the -ir-specific forms (different from -er verbs).
Preterite
Regular -ir preterite. Accents on yo (-í) and él/ella (-ió).
| yo |
| tú |
| él/ella/usted |
| nosotros |
| vosotros |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes |
Vivimos is the same in present and preterite, context decides which.
Imperfect
Regular -ir imperfect (-ía endings).
| yo |
| tú |
| él/ella/usted |
| nosotros |
| vosotros |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes |
Vivía describes ongoing past residence or lifestyle; viví marks a specific past period.
Future, Conditional, Subjunctive
Future / conditional attach standard endings to the infinitive. Subjunctive uses -a endings.
| yo (future) |
| yo (conditional) |
| yo (present subjunctive) |
| yo (present perfect) |
Viva also doubles as the Spanish cheer (¡Viva España!) and the formal usted command.
Vivir Conjugation FAQs
- What does vivir mean and when do you use it in Spanish?
- Vivir means to live. Used for residence (Vivo en Madrid), lifestyle (Vivimos bien), past life periods (Vivieron en México), and experiences (Vivimos una aventura).
- How does vivir conjugate in the present tense?
- Vivo, vives, vive, vivimos, vivís, viven. Vivir is fully regular, the textbook -ir verb. Note vivimos and vivís differ from -er verbs (comemos, coméis).
- What's the preterite of vivir?
- Viví, viviste, vivió, vivimos, vivisteis, vivieron. Regular -ir preterite. Accents on yo (viví) and él/ella (vivió).
- What's the difference between vivir and -er verbs like comer?
- Most forms are identical, but -ir verbs use -imos / -ís in present nosotros / vosotros (vivimos, vivís), while -er verbs use -emos / -éis (comemos, coméis). All past and future endings match between -er and -ir.
- How can I get better at conjugating vivir?
- Vivir is fully regular, once you know its endings, you know every regular -ir verb. Parrot's daily videos feature vivir in real residence and lifestyle contexts across all tenses, so the patterns become automatic.