esperar

esperar(

ehs

peh

rahr

)

A transitive verb is a verb that requires a direct object (e.g., I bought a book.).

transitive verb

1. (to await)

a. to wait for

Espérame que yo también voy.Wait for me, I'm coming too.

2. (to wish)

a. to hope

Espero saber de ti pronto.I hope to hear from you soon.

3. (to count on)

a. to expect

No espero compasión si me capturan.I don't expect any mercy if captured.

An intransitive verb is one that does not require a direct object (e.g., The man sneezed.).

intransitive verb

4. (to stay)

a. to wait

Espera que ya vengo.Wait, I'm coming.

This refers to an idiomatic word or phrase for which there is no word-for-word translation.

no direct translation

A ver, espera. No hace falta ser tan severo con ellos.Hold on a minute. There's no need to be so harsh with them.

Esperen un momento. Llamo a alguien que los atienda.Wait a moment. I'll get someone to come and help you.

5. (to not start)

This refers to an idiomatic word or phrase for which there is no word-for-word translation.

no direct translation

Esperemos a leer el informe antes de decidir qué hacer.Let's wait until we read the report before deciding what to do.

Espera a que nos llamen.Wait for them to call us.

esperarse

A pronominal verb always uses a reflexive pronoun. (e.g., Te ves cansado.).

pronominal verb

6. (to wait momentarily)

a. to hold on (emphatic)

Espérate, ¿no se suponía que ibas a estar fuera un par de semanas?Hold on, weren't you supposed to be gone for a couple of weeks?

7. (to anticipate; impersonal use)

a. to expect

Se esperan cortes en el suministro de agua esta noche.Disruptions to the water supply are expected tonight.

Vocabulary Lists

Examples

Phrases

esperar que	to hope to expect
no puedo esperar	I can't wait
esperar el tono	to wait for the dial tone
tuvimos que esperar cinco minutos	we had to wait five minutes
una persona que no sabe esperar	somebody who's impatient
no esperar nada a cambio	to not expect anything in return
voy a esperar	I'm going to wait
esperar un momento	to wait a moment
esperar un minuto	to wait a minute
esperar tener noticias tuyas pronto	to hope to hear from you soon
no puedo esperar a verlos	I can't wait to see them
no puedo esperar para verlos	I can't wait to see them
es de esperar	it's to be expected
no puedo esperar para estar contigo	I can't wait to be with you
esperar en la sala de espera	to wait in the waiting room
te voy a esperar	I'm going to wait for you
tengo que esperar el autobús	I have to wait for the bus
me van a esperar cerca de la fuente en la plaza	they're going to wait for me on the square near the fountain
es necesario esperar mucho para conseguir una mesa	you have to wait a long time to get a table
apenas tuvimos que esperar cinco minutos	we only had to wait for five minutes

Machine Translators

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Conjugations

Practice conjugating esperar

Participles

Present:	esperando
Past:	esperado

Indicative of "esperar"

	Present	Preterite	Imperfect	Conditional	Future
yo	espero	esperé	esperaba	esperaría	esperaré
tú	esperas	esperaste	esperabas	esperarías	esperarás
él/ella/Ud.	espera	esperó	esperaba	esperaría	esperará
nosotros	esperamos	esperamos	esperábamos	esperaríamos	esperaremos
vosotros	esperáis	esperasteis	esperabais	esperaríais	esperaréis
ellos/ellas/Uds.	esperan	esperaron	esperaban	esperarían	esperarán