Conjugation of Verb Elegir in Spanish – Meaning and Examples

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Julio Cesar Martinez – Spanish Tutor. “Conjugation of Verb Elegir in Spanish – Meaning and Examples.” Lingua Linkup, 22 Dec. 2022, lingualinkup.com/elegir-conjugation.

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Julio Cesar Martinez – Spanish Tutor. (2022, December 22). Conjugation of Verb Elegir in Spanish – Meaning and Examples. Lingua Linkup. https://lingualinkup.com/elegir-conjugation/

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Julio Cesar Martinez – Spanish Tutor. “Conjugation of Verb Elegir in Spanish – Meaning and Examples.” Lingua Linkup, December 22, 2022. https://lingualinkup.com/elegir-conjugation/.

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This verb is used when we take one option from several others. In English, this could be the same as to choose. We use it when we are deciding between two or more options. For example: Los colombianos eligieron presidente en las últimas elecciones (Colombian people chose/elected president in last elections) as we can see in this example, Colombian people decided to take one option among those they had, that is what we call ‘’elegir’’.

However, the verb ‘’seleccionar’’ has a similar meaning as elegir but this is more related to the action of classifying. For example: seleccionaron a los más preparados (they selected those who were more prepared).

Learning Tips!

Before you continue reading, don’t forget the following statements.

• ‘’You’’ is a pronoun which has different meanings. However, in Spanish we have 3 important pronouns: tú, usted, ustedes. ‘’Tú’’ is used when you have confidence with the person you are talking to, ‘’usted’’ is more formal and ‘’ustedes’’ is used to talk about more than one person we are directing to.

• In Spanish, we have unspoken subjects, so it is not needed to use a pronoun every time as we do in English.

• We use written accents in Spanish, be careful; otherwise, you will have miscommunication problems in your writing.

Indicative Mood

In the indicative mood, the facts in the action of which the verb speaks are real and are given by certain events that have occurred, are developing or are about to occur. Read the following examples:

• Yo elijo el libro.
• Tú elegiste la comida.
• Él elegía el postre.
• Nosotros/ nosotros elegiremos al presidente.
• Ellos elegirían el color.

These are some examples of phrases in the indicative mode of this important verb. Do you recognize these tenses?

Analyze the previous chart and let’s review some examples.

• We use present tense when we are currently taking a decision. For example: ‘’yo elijo el verde’’ (I choose green).

• We use perfect preterit to talk mainly about decisions we took in a precise time in the past. For example: elegiste la camisa pequeña (you chose the small shirt).

• We use imperfect preterit to talk about decisions we were talking about, but we don’t know certainly what the final decision was. For example; elegíamos entre Kate and Jack (we chose between Kate and Jake).

• We use the future simple to communicate that we will make a decision in a future time: ellas elegirán al nuevo director (they will choose the new director)

• We use the simple conditional tense to express that we would probably take a decision: Tú elgirías entre tu madre y tu esposa (you would choose between your mom and your wife).

Let’s see some of the most used perfect tenses of the Indicative Mood

We build compounded tenses using the verb ‘’HABER’’ (HAVE) and the past participle of the main verb, in this case elegir -> elegido.

We use the compounded perfect preterit to express that we have taken a decision since a determinate time. For example: ella ha elegido el postre desde 2019 (she has chosen the desert since 2019).

We use the pluperfect to express that we took a decision before an action developed in the past: Antes de encontrarnos, ya habíamos elegido este lugar (before we met, we had already chosen this place).

We use the perfect future to express that we will have probably decided after a certain time. For example; habremos elegido varios colores en unos minutos (we will have chosen several colors in a few minutes). However, this tense is more commonly used to talk about situations that most likely could have happened or to make suppositions. For example: supongo que habrán elegido mi propuesta (I guess you will have chosen my proposal).

We use perfect conditional to talk about the consequence of an action that could have happened: Si hubiéramos sabido, habríamos elegido la segunda opción (if we had known, we would have chosen the second option).

As you already know, in Spanish we also have two other verbal modes: the Subjunctive and the Imperative Mood

Let’s see the common forms of the Subjunctive Mood:

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Subjunctive is usually used to express wishes, wants and hopes. And it is usually introduced by the words: que, ojalá, espero (que), si, cuando.

The present form is used to express we hope to decide or someone to take a certain decision in the present time or near future: Espero que me elijas (I hope you choose me).

The imperfect preterit form is used to mention that someone could probably take a decision: Ojalá nos eligieran (if only they chose us)

The pluperfect is used to talk about a decision we could probably have taken if a certain situation had happened: si me hubieras elegido, hubieras contado conmigo (if you had chosen me, you had counted on me).

The perfect preterit form is used to introduce the consequence when someone has taken a decision: Una vez ustedes hayan elgido, no podrán cambiar de opinión (once you have chosen, you won’t be able to change your opinion).

Let’s review a bit the Imperative Mood:

We usually use the imperative mood to give some pieces of advice or, mainly, to give orders. Don’t forget, this mode does not have tenses

Let’s view some examples:

• Elije, o es él o soy yo (Choose, it’s either him or me)

• Elija uno solo (choose just one)

• Elijamos este color (let’s choose this color)

• Elijan rápido, por favor. (Please, choose quickly)

Quiz/Worksheet for Spanish Verb Elegir

1. Yo _____ la que yo quiera (indicative mode: present)

2. Tú______ la semana pasada (indicative mode: perfect preterit)

3. Ellas _____ ______ el color varias veces (indicative: compound perfect preterit)

4. Espero que tú _______ a tu hermana (subjuntive mode: present)

5. Mañana ustedes ________ el pastel (indicative mode: future simple)

6. Si supieras la verdad, me _____ _______ (indicative mode: perfect conditional)

7. Ojalá ella ______ la mejor opción (subjuntive mode: imperfect preterite)

8. Una vez ____ _____ el tema, no podrán cambiarlo (subjuntive mode: perfect preterit)

9. (tú) _______ de una vez por todas (imperative mode)

10. (nosotros) ______ la chaqueta verde (imperative mode)

Answers:

1. Elijo

2. Elegiste

3. Han elegido

4. Elijas

5. Elegirán

6. Habrías elegido

7. Eligiera

8. Hayan elegido

9. Elije

10. Elijamos

Note: on today’s title we have an expression used among Spanish native speakers when we want to tell someone that they have to choose an option, not both of them.

About the Author:

Specializations: Spanish Tutors on Skype

Bio: I am Julio Martinez, I have studied a bachelor’s degree in language teaching since 2019, and I am close to get graduated.  I have work as English teacher in some institutions in Colombia, I have also worked as tutor supporting some students to improve their Spanish levels and as tutor for personalized French classes. By the same way, I speak not only Spanish and English but also French and Portuguese, I have been participating in a research group of language teaching for people with difficulties. As well as, I have participated in different seminars of different institutions and Universities in the field of languages teaching.

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