Verb “Volver”
How many times have you heard a sentence with the verb “volver”? And how many times have you tried to use it and you’ve had trouble? Here you are going to learn how to conjugate it and all the uses that this simple verb has. Let’s start from the beginning…
The most common use
The most common meaning of the verb “volver” is “to return” or “to be back”.
For example: “Vuelvo a casa en 20 minutos” (I’ll be back home in 20 minutes).
Let’s see all the conjugations and examples of them!
Indicative mood: Present
| Person | Verb |
|---|---|
| Yo | Vuelvo |
| Tú | Vuelves |
| Él-ella-usted | Vuelve |
| Nosotros | Volvemos |
| Ustedes-Ellos | Vuelven |
Examples:
- Vuelvo a la oficina el lunes. (I return to the office on Monday).
- ¿Vuelves a casa? (Going back home?).
- Ella vuelve en 5 minutos. (She returns in 5 minutes).
- ¡Volvemos al colegio! (We’re going back to school!).
- Ellos vuelven mañana. (They return tomorrow).
Indicative mood: Imperfect past tense
| Person | Verb |
|---|---|
| Yo | Volvia |
| Tú | Volvías |
| Él-ella-usted | Volvía |
| Nosotros | Volviamos |
| Ustedes-Ellos | Volvian |
Indicative mood: Past indefinite
| Person | Verb |
|---|---|
| Yo | Volví |
| Tú | Volviste |
| Él-ella-usted | Volvíó |
| Nosotros | Volvimos |
| Ustedes-Ellos | Volvieron |
Indicative mood: Future
| Person | Verb |
|---|---|
| Yo | Volveré |
| Tú | Volverás |
| Él-ella-usted | Volverá |
| Nosotros | Volveremos |
| Ustedes-Ellos | Volverán |
Subjunctive mood: Present
| Person | Verb |
|---|---|
| Yo | Vuelva |
| Tú | Vuelvas |
| Él-ella-usted | Vuelva |
| Nosotros | Volvamos |
| Ustedes-Ellos | Vuelvan |
Subjunctive mood: Future
| Person | Verb |
|---|---|
| Yo | Volviere |
| Tú | Volvieres |
| Él-ella-usted | Volviere |
| Nosotros | Volviéremos |
| Ustedes-Ellos | Volvieren |
Subjunctive mood: Imperfect past tense
| Person | Verb |
|---|---|
| Yo | Volviera/volviese |
| Tú | Volvieras/volvieses |
| Él-ella-usted | Volviera/volviese |
| Nosotros | Volviéramos/volviésemos |
| Ustedes-Ellos | Volvieran/volviesen |
Conditional mood:
| Person | Verb |
|---|---|
| Tú | Vuelve |
| Usted | Vuelva |
| Nosotros | Volvamos |
| Ustedes | Vuelvan |
Imperative mood: Negative
| Person | Verb |
|---|---|
| Tú | No vuelvas |
| Usted | No vuelva |
| Nosotros | No volvamos |
| Ustedes | No vuelvan |
Which are the other uses of “volver”?
- To do something again, when you use volver + a + infinitive verb, it means that you do something again. Let’s see some examples in indicative mood past indefinite:
- Volví a estudiar arte porque me gusta. (I went back to study art again because I like it).
- ¿Volviste a leer el artículo? (Did you read the article again?).
- Volvió a escribir el mail. (He wrote the article again).
- Volvimos a mirar la película. (We watched the movie again).
- Volvieron a cocinar pasta. (They cooked pasta again).
- To become, you use “volver” to talk about changes. Let’s see some examples in conditional mood:
- -Me volvería buena si te regalo mi torta. (I will become a good person if I give you my cake).
- -Te volverías sabio si estudias. (You will become wise if you study).
- -Se volvería flaco si no come. (He will become a tiny person if he doesn’t eat).
- -Nos volveríamos amigos si hablamos. (We will become friends if we talk).
- -Se volverán enemigos si se pelean. (You will become enemies if you argue).
- To get crazy, it’s an expression composed with the verb volver “volverse loco”. Let’s see some examples in indicative mood future:
- -¿Vas a estudiar para el examen de DELE? ¡Te volverás loco! (Are you going to study for the DELE exam? You will go crazy!).
- -Te volverías sabio si estudias. (You will become wise if you study).
- -Se volverá loca si no duerme. (She will go crazy if she doesn’t sleep).
After learning all these uses and conjugations it’s time to put them into practice!
Quiz
Choose the right answer:
1. Voy a volver tarde hoy. Here “volver” means:
a. Go back
b. Return
c. Become
2. ¡Se volvió loca!. Here volver means:
a. Become
b. Do again
c. Go crazy
3. Volvería a __________ el libro si tuviera tiempo.
a. Leeria
b. Leer
c. Leí
4. ¡No _________ tarde!
a. Volvés
b. Volviste
c. Vuelvas
5. Me _______ una persona amable.
a. Volví
b. Vuelvan
c. Vuelve
6. ¿ __________ a ir a USA?
a. Volverías
b. Volviera
c. No vuelvan
7. Cuando __________ a casa, ya era tarde.
a. Volveras
b. Volvió
c. Vuelva
8. __________ de trabajar todos los días a las 5pm.
a. Volverías
b. Volviere
c. Vuelvo
9. __________ enseguida.
a. Vuelvo
b. Volviera
c. Vuelves
10. _________ a tu casa.
a. Vuelve
b. Volverías
c. Volví
answers
1 – b | 2 – c | 3 – b | 4 – c | 5 – a | 6 – a | 7 – b | 8 – c | 9 – a | 10 – a |
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