Life often revolves around people accepting things as true, genuine, or real. This is why the word "believe" tends to be used quite frequently among speakers of many languages and Spanish is no exception. The verb creer translates as "to believe," "to think," and in somes cases it can also be used to refer to actions such as "to acknowledge" or "to recognize." As seen, it is a very useful verb to include in your vocabulary. The grammar for this one is not complicated, but there are some stem changes to learn.
Present
| Yo | creo | Nosotros | creemos |
| Tú | crees | Vosotros | creéis |
| Él/Ella/Ud. | cree | Ellos/Ellas/Uds. | creen |
Example sentence:
Creo que perdiré pizza. -- I think I will order pizza.
Notice the e-to-eo stem change at the end of the first person conjugation of creer.
Imperfect
| Yo | creía | Nosotros | creíamos |
| Tú | creías | Vosotros | creíais |
| Él/Ella/Ud. | creía | Ellos/Ellas/Uds. | creían |
Example sentence:
Ella creía que iba a ganar el concurso. -- She thought she was going to win the contest.
In the imperfect tense of creer, there is an e-to-ei stem change in all pronoun forms.
Preterite
| Yo | creí | Nosotros | creímos |
| Tú | creiste | Vosotros | creísteis |
| Él/Ella/Ud. | creyó | Ellos/Ellas/Uds. | creyeron |
Example sentence:
¿De verdad piensas que tu hermano te creyó tu historia? -- Do you really think your brother believed your story?
Future
| Yo | creeré | Nosotros | creeremos |
| Tú | creerás | Vosotros | creeréis |
| Él/Ella/Ud. | creerá | Ellos/Ellas/Uds. | creerán |
Example sentence:
Mi mamá nunca me creerá, pero de verdad me gustó la película. -- My mom will never believe me, but I really liked the movie.
Conditional
| Yo | creería | Nosotros | creeríamos |
| Tú | creerías | Vosotros | creeríais |
| Él/Ella/Ud. | creería | Ellos/Ellas/Uds. | creerían |
Example sentence:
No me creerías si te dijera que he visto fantasmas en esta casa. -- You wouldn't believe me if I told you that I have seen ghosts in this house.
Additional Examples with Creer
Sí, es cierto. Mi profesor de filosofía no cree en Dios. -- Yes, that's right. My philosophy teacher doesn't believe in God.
Es bueno saber que alguien cree en ti. -- It's good to know that someones believes in you.
No creo que él tome ese trabajo. -- I don't think he will take that job.
¿Cuántos años cree que tienes? -- How old does she think you are?
Creo que mi primo es profesor de francés. -- I think my cousin is a French teacher.
Nunca creerás lo que acabo de ver. -- You will never believe what I just saw.
Honestamente creo que esa no es una buena idea. -- I honestly believe that's not a good idea.
Idiomatic Expressions with Creer
Spanish is full of colorful idioms that make it a very interesting language to learn and the word creer is used in some of them. Here are some examples:
Ver es creer.-- To see is to believe.
Dime lo que crees ser y te diré lo que no eres. -- Tell me what you think you are, and I will tell you what you are not.
Using the Verb Creer
What kinds of things do you believe in? Well, from on now you will be able to talk about them in Spanish. Make sure you remember the stem changes in this verb, and you are ready to go.
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Creer Verb Conjugation in Spanish. (n.d.). In YourDictionary. Retrieved from https://spanish.yourdictionary.com/spanish-language/spanish-verb-conjugations/creer-verb-conjugation-in-spanish.html
