Vivir (to live) · All tenses

-er and -ir verbs are nearly identical in the present, but differ in the nosotros and vosotros forms: comer → comemos/coméis vs vivir → vivimos/vivís. The 'e' of -er becomes 'i' for -ir in those two persons only. Every other present-tense form is structurally identical. In the preterite, imperfect, and subjunctive, -er and -ir verbs are completely identical — you can treat them as a single class for most purposes after the present tense.

Beyond literal living, Spanish uses vivir for experiencing or going through something: 'vivir una experiencia' (to live an experience), 'vivir un sueño' (to live a dream), 'vivir momentos difíciles' (to go through hard times). 'Vivir para contarlo' = to live to tell about it. These metaphorical uses are very common in spoken Spanish and stretch 'vivir' beyond its English equivalent 'to live'.

The preterite of vivir is: yo viví, tú viviste, él/ella/usted vivió, nosotros/as vivimos, vosotros/as vivisteis, ellos/ellas/ustedes vivieron. The accents on 'viví' and 'vivió' are required. Every regular -er and -ir verb shares these endings (comer → comí, comió; aprender → aprendí, aprendió).

For -ir verbs, the nosotros form is identical in the present indicative and the preterite ('vivimos' means both 'we live' and 'we lived'). Context disambiguates: 'siempre vivimos juntos' = we always live together (present); 'el año pasado vivimos juntos' = last year we lived together (preterite). The same ambiguity affects every regular -ir verb (escribimos, abrimos) and every regular -ar verb (hablamos), but -er verbs distinguish present 'comemos' from preterite 'comimos'.

Use 'viví' for a completed past stretch of living, especially with a duration phrase: 'Viví en México cinco años' (I lived in Mexico for five years — and that period is over). Use 'vivía' for ongoing past living without a defined endpoint: 'Cuando vivía en México, hablaba español todos los días' (When I lived in Mexico, I spoke Spanish every day — background state). 'Viví' frames the experience as completed; 'vivía' frames it as the backdrop.

Vivir follows the regular -ir imperfect pattern: yo vivía, tú vivías, él/ella/usted vivía, nosotros/as vivíamos, vosotros/as vivíais, ellos/ellas/ustedes vivían. The accent on 'í' is required in every form. -er and -ir verbs share identical imperfect endings.

Use 'vivía' for the past state of living somewhere as background: 'Cuando vivía en Madrid, trabajaba en un café' (When I lived in Madrid, I worked in a café — background to other actions). Use 'viví' for a completed period with a clear duration: 'Viví en Madrid cinco años' (I lived in Madrid for five years — the period is over). The contrast is background (imperfect) vs framed completed experience (preterite).

No — vivir is fully regular in the imperfect, like every Spanish verb except ser (era), ir (iba), and ver (veía). The imperfect endings (-aba for -ar, -ía for -er/-ir) are the most stable verb endings in Spanish.

The present subjunctive of vivir is: yo viva, tú vivas, él/ella/usted viva, nosotros/as vivamos, vosotros/as viváis, ellos/ellas/ustedes vivan. -ir verbs swap their indicative 'e/i' endings for 'a' endings — identical in shape to the -er subjunctive (compare comer → coma, comas, coma).

Use it after triggers of doubt, emotion, will, or impersonal expressions: 'Quiero que vivas tu sueño' (I want you to live your dream), 'Espero que vivan felices' (I hope they live happily), 'Es necesario que vivamos en paz' (It's necessary we live in peace). The wish '¡Que vivas mil años!' (May you live a thousand years!) and '¡Viva España!' (Long live Spain!) are subjunctive forms used as exclamations.

'¡Viva España!' is the present subjunctive él/ella/usted form of vivir, used as a wish or exclamation: 'May Spain live (forever)!' or 'Long live Spain!' The structure is one of Spanish's most common subjunctive-as-exclamation patterns: '¡Viva el rey!' (Long live the king!), '¡Vivan los novios!' (Long live the newlyweds!). It mirrors English 'long live X!' but is grammatically a subjunctive wish, not a command.

The future of vivir is: yo viviré, tú vivirás, él/ella/usted vivirá, nosotros/as viviremos, vosotros/as viviréis, ellos/ellas/ustedes vivirán. The full infinitive 'vivir' serves as the future stem — same predictable pattern as every regular Spanish verb.

Yes — the future endings (-é, -ás, -á, -emos, -éis, -án) are identical across -ar, -er, and -ir verbs. Compare hablaré, comeré, viviré. Only the stem changes: regular verbs use the full infinitive, while about 12 irregular verbs use contracted stems (haré, diré, tendré, podré, etc.). Once you know the future endings, you can conjugate any Spanish verb's future as long as you know the stem.

Both express future living. 'Viviré' (simple future) feels slightly more formal, more committed, or further in time. 'Voy a vivir' (going-to future) is more conversational for near-term plans: 'El año que viene voy a vivir en Madrid' (Next year I'm going to live in Madrid). The simple future also expresses conjecture: '¿Dónde vivirá Juan?' = 'Where could Juan be living? / I wonder where he lives.'