Spanish Indicative Mood

Quick Answer

The Spanish indicative mood (el indicativo) used to talk about actions, events, or states that are believed to be facts or true.

The indicative is one of three moods in Spanish (the other two are the subjunctive and the imperative). The indicative mood is typically used for making factual statements or describing obvious qualities of a person or situation.

Looking for information on the differences between the indicative and the subjunctive? Check out our article here!

The indicative mood is often used to talk about facts in the present, past, future, or conditional. Check out examples of the indicative used in each of these tenses below.

1. Present

Present tenses used in the indicative mood include the simple present and the present perfect.

examples
María es una mujer muy alta e inteligente. Maria is a very tall and intelligent woman.
Ángela ha estudiado español por cuatro años. Angela has studied Spanish for four years.

2. Past

Past tenses used in the indicative mood include the simple past, the imperfect, and the past perfect.

examples
Luis habló con su madre ayer. Luis spoke with his mother yesterday.
Roberto jugaba con sus amigos cuando se rompió el brazo. Roberto was playing with his friends when he broke his arm.
Joaquín había viajado mucho antes de conocer a su esposa. Joaquin had traveled a lot before he met his wife.

3. Future

Future tenses used in the indicative mood include the informal future, the simple future, and the future perfect.

examples
Anita va a ver una película. Anita is going to watch a movie.
Te llamaré mañana por la tarde. I will call you tomorrow afternoon.
Ya habré cocinado la cena. I will have made dinner already.

4. Conditional

Conditional tenses used in the indicative mood include the simple conditional and the conditional perfect.

examples
Me gustaría un té helado, por favor. I would like an iced tea, please.
Habría estudiado más si tuviera el tiempo. I would have studied more if I had had the time.

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