Ver: Top 10 Conjugations

By the end of the video, you’ll know Ver’s many variations and idiomatic expressions! Enjoy this free step-by-step video guide.

Ver: Top 10 Most-Used Conjugations

Let’s start with a list of the top 10 forms of Ver.

We chose these words based on a frequency analysis of Spanish spoken by native Spanish speakers. According to this analysis, there are about 700 words that make up 70% of all words spoken in Spanish. And that list of 700 words includes only 10 forms of Ver. Those forms include 5 present-tense forms, 2 past-tense forms, the infinitive, an infinitive variation, and the participle.

1. ver
2. ven
3. visto
4. ve
5. veo
6. ves
7. vi
8. verte
9. vemos
10. viste

To practice all of these in depth, check out our free course, which includes thousands of flashcards and other practice materials with all the most essential Spanish verbs.

For now, let’s get an intro to the top 10 forms of Ver.

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Ver Present Tense Conjugations

Let’s start with some present-tense forms. You might already know these, but let’s review them quickly.

• “I see” is veo 
• “you see” is ves 
• “he sees” is ve
• “they see” is ven
• “we see” is vemos

Let’s look at some quick examples:

• I see the house. → Yo veo la casa. 
• You see the restaurant. → Tú ves el restaurante. 
• He sees everything. →  Él ve todo. 
• They see the house. → Ellos ven la casa. 
• We see those things. → Nosotros vemos esas cosas.

Before we move on, there are some interesting things to keep in mind about the words ven and vemos.

Let’s start with ven. Even though ven means “they see,” this word also happens to be the imperative form of a different verb — Venir, which means “to come.”

If you’ve ever heard someone say: ¡Ven aquí!, they’re not saying “they see here” — they’re saying “come here.”

Just be aware of that — you’ll see the same word, ven, being used in different ways depending on the context.

Now, on to vemos. I mentioned earlier that Ver is used in a lot of idiomatic expressions. The word vemos is used in one of the most common expressions in Spanish. Whenever a Spanish speaker wants to say “see you soon” or “see you later,” they say:

• ¡Nos vemos!

This literally means “we see each other.” But it’s one of the most natural, everyday ways to say goodbye, instead of just saying adiós.

Before we move on to some other forms of Ver, let’s get some practice with the present tense. I’m going to give you a few English sentences, and you should try to predict which form of Ver to use.

1. He sees the restaurant. → Él ____ el restaurante.
2. We see that car every day.→ Nosotros _____ ese carro todos los días.
3. You see the girl.→ Tú _______ a la chica.
4. I see the car. → Yo ______ el carro.
5. See you later! → ¡________!
6. They see the house.→ Ellos _______ la casa.

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ANSWERS:

1. ve
2. vemos
3. ves
4. veo
5. Nos vemos
6. ven

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The Infinitive, “Ver”

Next, let’s move on to the infinitive, which is simply the word ver. This word is actually used in another very common expression.

Normally, you use Ver like any other infinitive. For example:

• Quiero ver means “I want to see.”
• Voy a ver means “I’m going to see.”

However, you’ll also hear Ver used a lot of the time in an unusual way. Very often, Spanish speakers pause and say a ver… Typically, you might say this if you’re stopping to think for a second.

What’s going on here? Well, a ver literally means something like “to see.” But it’s used to mean “Let’s see.” Just like in English, we often use it to buy us some time while we think of what to say. If you ever want to say, “hmm… let’s see”...  in Spanish, all you need to say is hmm… a ver.

As an interesting note, a ver is actually short for vamos a ver, which literally means “we’re going to see”. Actually, you can also use vamos a ver to say “let’s see” – but in general, native speakers drop the vamos, and simply say a ver.

Let’s look at a few examples.

• Let’s see… hmm… I’m not sure. →  A ver… hmm… no estoy seguro.
• Let’s see what she says. → A ver que dice.
• Hmm… let’s see. I want this one! → Hmm… a ver. ¡Quiero este! 
• Let’s see if it’s here. → A ver si está aquí. 

Now, let’s look at another way the infinitive is used: in the word verte. So, what is this word?

‍Verte is what we call a contraction. It’s just ver with te attached to the end — and it simply means “to see you.” Let’s say you see an old friend from Mexico who you haven’t seen in a very long time. You might tell them:

• How nice to see you! → ¡Qué bueno verte!

Here’s another way you might use this. Imagine you tell this friend that you want them to come over for dinner tonight. You might want to say:

• I hope to see you there! → ¡Espero verte allí!

In Spanish conversations, you’re going to hear the word verte used like this all the time — it’s one of those little words that makes your Spanish feel warm and natural.

Let’s get some practice with this. I’m going to give you a few English sentences, and you should try to predict whether to use a ver or verte.

• I want to see you. → Quiero ______. 
• Let’s see what happens. →_______ que pasa. 
• Hmm… let’s see. I want this one! → Hmm.. _____. ¡Quiero este! 
• How nice to see you! → ¡Qué bueno ______!
• Let’s see what she says. → _____ que ella dice.

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ANSWERS:

1. verte
2. A ver
3. a ver
4. verte
5. A ver

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Ver: The Past Tense 

Let’s move on to the past tense. There are only two past-tense forms of Ver that make it into our top 10 list — but they’re both super useful.

• “I saw” is vi
• ”you saw” is viste

Here are a couple of quick examples:

• I saw your brother yesterday. → Vi a tu hermano ayer. 
• You saw that. → Viste eso.

Now here’s a fun fact: In real conversations, the word viste is most often used in questions. So, if you want to ask someone, “Did you see that?” — just say: ¿Viste eso? (Literally, “you saw that?”)

Here’s another one:

• Did you see the movie? → ¿Viste la película?

Let’s do a quick quiz to practice choosing between vi and viste. Try to predict the Spanish.

1. I saw that. → ____ eso.
2. Did you see that? → ¿____ eso?
3. I saw your sister yesterday. → ____ a tu hermana ayer.
4. Did you see the big house? → ¿____ la casa grande?

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ANSWERS: 

1. Vi 
2. Viste
3. Vi
4. Viste

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The Participle of Ver: Visto

To wrap up, let’s look at one more super important form of Ver, and that’s the participle: visto. This word literally means “seen”, and you’ll use it in sentences like this:

• I’ve seen your house. → He visto tu casa.
• She has seen your car. → Ha visto tu carro. 
• We have seen the movie. → Hemos visto la película.

Notice that the word visto doesn’t change based on who has seen something. Instead, we’re using visto along with the helping verb Haber. To learn more about how to use Haber along with participles like visto to put things in the past, check out this other guide: The Top 10 Forms of Haber.

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