Are you looking for something? If so, you might be looking for the verb encontrar, which translates as “to find” in English. It is one of those simple, yet useful verbs you will want to master when learning Spanish. It can also be used to refer to actions such as “to meet” and “to bump into someone.” However, in conversational Spanish encontrar can also be used to talk about judgment or assessment of a particular situation.
In terms of its conjugation, this word is a stem-changing verb, which accounts for the vowel changes in the present conjugation as you will see.
Present
|
Yo |
encuentro |
Nosotros |
encontramos |
|
Tú |
encuentras |
Vosotros |
encontráis |
|
Él/Ella/Ud. |
encuentra |
Ellos/Ellas/Uds. |
encuentran |
Example sentence:
¿Dónde encuentro la estación de servicio más cercana? -- Where do I find the closest gas station?
Notice the o-to-ue stem change in all forms except for nosotros and vosotros.
Imperfect
|
Yo |
encontraba |
Nosotros |
encontrábamos |
|
Tú |
encontrabas |
Vosotros |
encontrabais |
|
Él/Ella/Ud. |
encontraba |
Ellos/Ellas/Uds. |
encontraban |
Example sentence:
Encontraba este libro más interesante antes de comprarlo. -- I found this book more interesting before I bought it.
Preterite
|
Yo |
encontré |
Nosotros |
encontramos |
|
Tú |
encontraste |
Vosotros |
encontrasteis |
|
Él/Ella/Ud. |
encontró |
Ellos/Ellas/Uds. |
encontraron |
Example sentence:
¿Tu hermana encontró mis llaves? -- Did your sister find my keys?
Future
|
Yo |
encontraré |
Nosotros |
encontraremos |
|
Tú |
encontrarás |
Vosotros |
encontraréis |
|
Él/Ella/Ud. |
encontrará |
Ellos/Ellas/Uds. |
encontrarán |
Example sentence:
¿Por qué no le dices a tu hermano lo que hiciste con su teléfono? Estoy seguro de que lo encontrará muy divertido. -- Why don’t you tell your brother what you did with his phone? I am sure he’ll find it very funny.
Conditional
|
Yo |
encontraría |
Nosotros |
encontraríamos |
|
Tú |
encontrarías |
Vosotros |
encontraríais |
|
Él/Ella/Ud. |
encontraría |
Ellos/Ellas/Uds. |
encontrarían |
Example sentence:
Nunca pensé que te encontraría aquí. -- I never thought I would find you here.
Additional Sentences Using Encontrar
Aquí es donde encontrarás todos los apartamentos. -- Here is where you will find all the apartments.
Encuentro tu opinión bastante ofensiva. -- I find your opinion very offensive.
Ellos encontraron un buen hotel en el centro de la ciudad de Nueva York. -- They found a nice hotel in downtown New York.
Encontrar un buen socio es una tarea difícil. -- Finding a good business partner is a difficult task.
Me encontré a Carlos cuando venía al trabajo. -- I bumped into Carlos on my way to work.
Tu hermana encontró un nuevo apartamento. -- Your sister found a new apartment.
Estoy seguro de que encontrarás una solución a tus problemas. -- I am sure you will find a solution to your problems.
Encontrar Used in Idioms
As many other Spanish verbs, encontrar is often found in idiomatic expressions. Here are some examples:
El que busca, encuentra. -- Seek and you will find.
Arrieros somos, y en el camino nos encontraremos. -- This one can be translated as ‘‘be nice to the people you find on the way up, for they are the same people you meet in the way down’’.
Encontrar in Everyday Conversation
Did you find what you were looking for? As you can see, encontrar can be used in several contexts, and will probably help you strike up your next conversation in Spanish.