Construir conjugation in Spanish: every tense you need, with examples
Construir means “to build” or “to construct”, and its one irregularity is a spelling rule, not a sound change: whenever the unstressed i of the stem would sit between two vowels, it becomes a y. That’s what turns construir into construyo, construyó and construyendo. The u never changes — only the i does, and only in specific spots. Every tense is below, marked where the y shows up and where it doesn’t. 1on1Spanish teaches this in 25-minute one-on-one lessons with qualified native teachers, online across the United States.
Reviewed by María Jiménez — Licenciada en Filología Hispánica (BA in Hispanic Philology) · Updated Sep 2026
What construir means
Construir is “to build”, for anything physical: construyen una torre nueva en el centro, construimos la cerca el verano pasado. It’s the standard verb for construction work, from a house to a highway.
It also works figuratively, for things you build over time: construir una relación, construir confianza, construir una carrera. This use is just as common as the literal one in adult conversation — relationships, trust, and careers all get “built” in Spanish the same way they do in English.
Grammatically it’s regular in meaning, with a spelling change: the stem’s i becomes y whenever it would otherwise sit unstressed between two vowels. That rule governs most of the present tense, the third person of the preterite, the whole subjunctive, and the gerund. The u of constru- is stable throughout; it never changes or disappears.
Construir conjugation: present tense
The y appears everywhere except nosotros and vosotros, where the ending starts with i instead of another vowel.
| Form | Example | |
|---|---|---|
| yo | construyo | Construyo casas desde hace diez años. (I’ve been building houses for ten years.) |
| tú | construyes | ¿Construyes tú mismo los muebles? (Do you build the furniture yourself?) |
| él / ella / usted | construye | La empresa construye un centro comercial nuevo. (The company is building a new mall.) |
| nosotros | construimos | Construimos la cerca entre los dos. (We built the fence between the two of us.) |
| vosotros | construís | ¿Construís vosotros el garaje o contratáis a alguien? (Are you building the garage yourselves or hiring someone?) |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | construyen | Construyen puentes por toda la región. (They build bridges all over the region.) |
Construir conjugation: preterite
Only the third person takes the y — the first and second person forms keep the i with a written accent instead.
| Form | |
|---|---|
| yo | construí |
| tú | construiste |
| él / ella / usted | construyó |
| nosotros | construimos |
| vosotros | construisteis |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | construyeron |
Construyeron el puente en menos de un año. — They built the bridge in less than a year.
Construir conjugation: imperfect
Fully regular, no spelling change.
| Form | |
|---|---|
| yo | construía |
| tú | construías |
| él / ella / usted | construía |
| nosotros | construíamos |
| vosotros | construíais |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | construían |
De niños, construíamos fuertes con cajas de cartón. — As kids, we used to build forts out of cardboard boxes.
Construir conjugation: future
Regular endings on the infinitive.
| Form | |
|---|---|
| yo | construiré |
| tú | construirás |
| él / ella / usted | construirá |
| nosotros | construiremos |
| vosotros | construiréis |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | construirán |
Construiremos la nueva oficina el próximo año. — We’ll build the new office next year.
Construir conjugation: conditional
| Form | |
|---|---|
| yo | construiría |
| tú | construirías |
| él / ella / usted | construiría |
| nosotros | construiríamos |
| vosotros | construiríais |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | construirían |
Yo construiría el garaje antes que la terraza. — I’d build the garage before the deck.
Construir conjugation: present subjunctive
Built on the construy- stem throughout, including nosotros and vosotros.
| Form | |
|---|---|
| yo | construya |
| tú | construyas |
| él / ella / usted | construya |
| nosotros | construyamos |
| vosotros | construyáis |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | construyan |
Espero que construyan el puente antes del invierno. — I hope they build the bridge before winter.
Construir conjugation: imperfect subjunctive
Built on the preterite stem construyeron-, so the y carries through every form.
| Form (-ra) | Form (-se) | |
|---|---|---|
| yo | construyera | construyese |
| tú | construyeras | construyeses |
| él / ella / usted | construyera | construyese |
| nosotros | construyéramos | construyésemos |
| vosotros | construyerais | construyeseis |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | construyeran | construyesen |
Si construyeran el edificio más rápido, ahorrarían dinero. — If they built the building faster, they’d save money.
Construir commands (imperative)
| Affirmative | Negative | |
|---|---|---|
| tú | construye | no construyas |
| usted | construya | no construya |
| nosotros | construyamos | no construyamos |
| vosotros | construid | no construyáis |
| ustedes | construyan | no construyan |
Construyamos algo juntos este fin de semana. — Let’s build something together this weekend.
Participle, gerund and compound tenses
Participle construido, with a written accent to keep the i and the o in separate syllables — it does not take the y. Gerund construyendo, which does. Compounds take haber:
Han construido tres edificios en esta cuadra este año (present perfect) · Ya había construido la primera fase cuando llegamos (past perfect) · Para 2027 habrán construido todo el complejo (future perfect).
When to use construir
Physical construction
Construyen un puente nuevo sobre el río. The literal, most common use, covering everything from a house to a highway.
Building something over time, figuratively
Construir una relación toma tiempo. Just as natural in Spanish as in English — relationships, trust and careers all “get built”.
Talking about a company’s or a country’s projects
La ciudad construye tres escuelas nuevas este año. Common in the news and in workplace conversation.
Describing your own work or trade
Construyo casas desde hace diez años. A normal way to describe your job if you’re in construction — one of the most useful professional contexts for this verb in the United States.
Common mistakes English speakers make with construir
The yo form needs the y: without it, construo isn’t a real word.
The third-person preterite takes y, not a plain i.
The gerund always carries the y: construyendo, never construindo.
This is the overcorrection version — once learners notice the y in other forms, they add it where it doesn’t belong. Nosotros and vosotros in the present tense stay regular.
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Practice
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Frequently asked questions
Is construir regular or irregular in Spanish?
Regular in meaning, with a spelling change: the unstressed i of the stem becomes y whenever it would otherwise sit between two vowels. That covers most of the present tense (construyo, construyes, construye, construyen), the third-person preterite (construyó, construyeron), the whole subjunctive, and the gerund (construyendo). The u never changes.
Why does construir have a “y” in some forms but not others?
Spanish spelling doesn’t allow an unstressed i to sit alone between two other vowels — it gets written as y instead. That’s why construyo has a y but construimos doesn’t: in construimos, the i is followed by a consonant sound (the stress falls on the ending), so the spelling rule doesn’t apply.
What is the past tense of construir in Spanish?
Two forms. The preterite — construí, construiste, construyó, construimos, construisteis, construyeron — only takes the y in the third person. The imperfect — construía, construías, construía, construíamos, construíais, construían — is completely regular and describes an ongoing or repeated past action: construían casas de adobe en esa zona.
How do you say “build a relationship” in Spanish?
Construir una relación. The figurative use of construir works the same way it does in English — relationships, trust and careers all get “built” over time: construir confianza, construir una carrera. It’s just as common in everyday conversation as the literal, physical meaning.
Do I need the subjunctive of construir in everyday conversation?
Yes, mainly after hopes and doubts. Construya appears after espero que (espero que construyan el puente a tiempo) and after no creo que (no creo que construyan la torre este año). The subjunctive keeps the same y pattern as the rest of the irregular forms.