How to conjugate apretar in Spanish

Apretar  in Spanish means to press, to squeeze, to clench

Apretar is an irregular verb. That means this verb doesn’t follow the traditional conjugation patterns in all verb tenses. It’s important to pay attention to the irregular tenses. 

Let’s learn how to conjugate the verb Apretar so you can use it comfortably in all tenses. 

Apretar in the Present Tense

The present tense is used to talk about actions or events happening now. 

The verb apretar is irregular in the present tense. 

Apretar in the present tense is not only an -ar verb but it is also a stem changing verb. 

Apretar is a Stem changing verb. Stem changers  have a change not only in the ending but also on the stem. In this case apretar is an e → ie stem changing verb. That means that the e in the stem changes to ie in all forms except for nosotros and vosotros. 

To review stem changing verbs e → ie watch my video: https://youtu.be/GDEzvOkyml8

To review stem changing verbs e →i watch my video: https://youtu.be/QJrPv-whYy8

 To review stem changing verbs o → ue watch my video: https://youtu.be/LB3GJOqNAMw

The verb apretar is what we call an -ar verb. -ar verbs are verbs that end in -ar. 

ar verbs are conjugated by following 2 major rules. 

1. Take off the -ar
2. Replace with a new ending depending on who performs the action. 

To review -ar verbs watch my -ar verbs video: 

Just in case you need to review conjugation of -er and -ir verbs, Click for Page: 

Below you will find the conjugations of the verb apretar in the indicative present tense:

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	aprieto	I squeeze /press
Tú	aprietas	you squeeze /press
Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.)	aprieta	he/she squeezes /presses, you (formal) squeeze /press
Nosotros (as)	apretamos	we squeeze /press
Vosotros (as)	apretáis	you (plural) Spain squeeze/press
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.)	aprietan	they squeeze /press, you (plural) squeeze /press

Examples: 

Yo aprieto el botón	I press the button
Nosotros apretamos las cosas en la maleta	We squeeze the things in the suitcase
Ellas aprietan su ropa en el cajón	They squeeze their clothes in the drawer

Apretar in the Preterite Tense

The verb apretar is regular in the preterite tense. 

The preterite is used to talk about actions that have already been completed. These actions have a clear beginning or ending. The preterite tense is often used with phrases that give a specific time frame.  More on the Preterite Tense Here

Things to remember: 

1. The preterite is NOT used to describe actions or events that are repeated or continuous in the past. That means that those actions do not have a clear beginning or end. 
2. The preterite is NOT used to describe people in the past.

Below you will find the conjugations of the verb apretar in the preterite tense:

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	apreté	I squeezed /pressed
Tú	apretaste	you squeezed /pressed
Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.)	apretó	he/she squeezed /pressed, you (formal) squeezed  /pressed
Nosotros (as)	apretamos	we squeezed /pressed
Vosotros (as)	apretasteis	you (plural) Spain squeezed /pressed
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.)	apretaron	they squeezed /pressed , you (plural) squeezed /pressed

Below are some expressions that are often used when using the preterite:

la semana pasada	last week
el mes pasado	last month
el fin de semana pasado	last weekend
el año pasado	last year
ayer	yesterday
anteayer	the day before yesterday
anoche	last night

Examples: 

Ayer apreté la mano de mi hija muy duro	Yesterday I squeezed my daughters hand way too hard
Anoche  nosotros apretamos toda la ropa en el armario	Last night we squeezed all the clothes in the closet
Ellas apretaron mucho el botón de la radio y la dañaron	They pressed the radio button way too hard and they broke it

Apretar in the Imperfect Tense

The imperfect is a form of past tense. It is primarily used to talk about continuous, repeated, usual or habitual actions in the past. It can also be used to talk about what someone or something was like in the past, what someone used to be or used to do. The imperfect is used when actions don’t have a specific beginning or end. 

The verb apretar is regular in the imperfect tense. 

The verb apretar is what we call an -ar verb. -ar verbs are verbs that end in -ar. Regular -ar verbs are conjugated by following 2 major rules. 

1. Take off the -ar
2. Replace with a new ending depending on who performs the action. 

To review how to conjugate -ar verbs in the imperfect watch my video: Click for Video 

To review how to conjugate -er and -ir verbs in the imperfect watch my video: Click for Video 

Below you will find the conjugations of the verb apretar in the imperfect tense:

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	apretaba	I used to squeeze  /press
Tú	apretabas	you used to squeeze /press
Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.)	apretaba	he/she used to squeeze  /press, you (formal) used to squeeze /press
Nosotros (as)	apretábamos	we used to squeeze /press
Vosotros (as)	apretabais	you (plural) Spain used to squeeze  /press
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.)	apretaban	they used to squeeze  /press, you (plural) used to squeeze  /press

Below are some expressions that are often used when using the Imperfect:

a menudo	often
usualmente	usually
todos los días	every day
todos los meses	every month
todos los años	every year
casi siempre	almost always
a veces	sometimes
de niño/niña	as a child …
siempre	always
normalmente	normally

Examples: 

Yo apretaba la mano de mi mamá al cruzar la calle	I used to squeeze my moms hand before crossing the street
A menudo apretábamos a los niños en la cama para que duerman juntos	Often we used squeeze the kids in the bed so they can sleep together
Ellas apretaban su ropa para que entre en la maleta	They used to squeeze their clothes so it will fit the suitcase

Apretar  in the Future Tense

The future is used to talk about an action or event that will happen in the future. 

The verb apretar is regular in the future tense. 

To form the future tense of regular -ar, -er and -ir verbs add the following endings to the verb in the infinitive (verbs that have not been conjugated and end in -ar, -er, -ir). The verb apretar is in its purest form (it has not been conjugated) it’s in the infinitive.  

The verb apretar is what we call an -ar verb. -ar verbs are verbs that end in -ar. To conjugate apretar in the future, follow these two rules: 

1. Find the infinitive of the verb (verbs that have not been conjugated and end in -ar, -er, -ir). In this case apretar.
2. Then attach the ending to the end of the infinitive. The ending depends on who is performing the action. 

Yo	é
Tú	ás
Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.)	á
Nosotros (as)	emos
Vosotros (as)	éis
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.)	án

Below you will find the conjugations of the verb apretar using the future tense:

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	apretaré	I will squeeze /press
Tú	apretarás	you will squeeze /press
Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.)	apretará	he/she will squeeze /press, you (formal) will squeeze /press
Nosotros (as)	apretaremos	we will squeeze /press
Vosotros (as)	apretaréis	you (plural) Spain will squeeze /press
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.)	apretarán	they will squeeze /press, you (plural) will squeeze /press

Examples: 

Yo apretaré el botón para abrir el garage	I will press the button to open the garage
Nosotros apretaremos las maletas en el baúl para que podamos llevar todo al paseo	We will squeeze the suitcases in the trunk so we can take everything to the trip
Ellas apretarán sus cosas en el cuarto para darte un espacio	They will squeeze their stuff in the room to give you some space

Apretar in the Informal Future Tense

The informal future is used to talk about an action or event that is going to take place in the near future. To form the informal future, you must use the correct form of the verb ir (to go) + a + the verb in the infinitive. 

The verb apretar is regular in the informal future tense. 

Follow this rule:

1. Ir (conjugated) + a + infinitive (verb that ends in -ar, -er, -ir and has not been conjugated).  Example : Yo voy a apretar 

The conjugation of the verb ir (to go) in the present tense are:

Yo	voy
Tú	vas
Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.)	va
Nosotros (as)	vamos
Vosotros (as)	vais
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.)	van

To review how to conjugate the informal future watch my video: Click for Video 

Below you will find the conjugations of the verb apretar using the informal future:

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	voy a apretar	I will squeeze /press
Tú	vas a apretar	you will squeeze /press
Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.)	va a apretar	he/she will squeeze /press, you (formal) will squeeze /press
Nosotros (as)	vamos a apretar	we will squeeze /press
Vosotros (as)	vais a apretar	you (plural) Spain will squeeze /press
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.)	van a apretar	they will squeeze /press, you (plural) will squeeze /press

Examples: 

Yo voy a apretar el control de la televisión para prenderla	I will press the control remote of the tv to turn it on
Nosotros vamos a apretar las chaquetas de invierno en el closet	We will squeeze our winter  jackets in the closet
Ellas van a apretar el botón para empezar el juego	They will press the start button of the game

Apretar in the Present Progressive Tense.

The present progressive is used to talk about actions or events happening now. In other words, we use the present progressive to talk about actions that are in the process of happening at the current moment. 

The verb apretar is regular in the present progressive tense. 

The present progressive is formed by using the correct form of the verb estar (to be) plus the present participle (-ing form of a verb). 

To form the present participle of a verb:

1. Find the verb in the infinitive (verb that ends in -ar, -er, -ir)
2. Remove the ending (-ar, -er, -ir).
3. Add -ando for -ar verbs
4. Add -iendo for -er and –ir verbs

Let’s apply it to apretar:

1. Find the verb in the infinitive (verb that ends in -ar, -er, -ir)  = (apretar)
2. Remove the ending (-ar, -er, -ir) = (apret)
3. Add -ando for -ar verbs  = (apretando)

The present participle of apretar is apretando. 

The conjugations of the verb estar in the present tense are:

Yo	estoy
Tú	estás
Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.)	está
Nosotros (as)	estamos
Vosotros (as)	estáis
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.)	están

The present participle of the verb apretar is: apretando

To review the present progressive and present participles in Spanish, watch my Present Progressive Video:Click for Video 

Just in case you need to review the verb estar, watch my Estar video: Click for Video 

Below you will find the conjugations of the verb apretar using the present progressive:

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	estoy apretando	I am squeezing /pressing
Tú	estás apretando	you are squeezing /pressing
Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.)	está apretando	he/she is squeezing /pressing, you (formal) are squeezing /pressing
Nosotros (as)	estamos apretando	we are squeezing /pressing
Vosotros (as)	estáis apretando	you (plural) Spain are squeezing /pressing
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.)	están apretando	they are squeezing /pressing, you (plural) are squeezing /pressing

Examples:

Yo estoy apretando la mano de mi mamá porque tengo miedo	I am squeezing my moms hand because I am scared
Estamos apretando nuestra ropa en el nuevo closet	We are squeezing our clothes in the new closet
¿Están apretando fuerte?	Are you pressing hard?

Apretar in the Conditional Tense

The conditional tense is used to talk about actions or events that may happen in the future. Think of it as a possibility, a hypothesis, a probability. 

The verb apretar is regular in the conditional tense. 

The verb apretar is what we call an -ar verb. -ar verbs are verbs that end in -ar. To conjugate apretar in the conditional tense follow these two rules: 

1. Find the infinitive of the verb (verbs that have not been conjugated and end in -ar, -er, -ir). In this case apretar.
2. Then attach the ending to the end of the infinitive. The ending depends on who is performing the action. 

To form the conditional of a verb add the following endings to the infinitive of the verb: 

Yo	ía
Tú	ías
Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.)	ía
Nosotros (as)	íamos
Vosotros (as)	íais
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.)	ían

The infinitive of the verb apretar is apretar. 

Below you will find the conjugations of the verb apretar using the conditional tense:

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	apretaría	I would squeeze /press
Tú	apretarías	you would squeeze /press
Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.)	apretaría	he/she would squeeze /press, you (formal) would squeeze /press
Nosotros (as)	apretaríamos	we would squeeze /press
Vosotros (as)	apretaríais	you (plural) Spain would squeeze /press
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.)	apretarían	they would squeeze /press, you (plural)  would squeeze /press

Examples: 

Yo apretaría  el control remoto pero no lo tengo	I would press the remote control but I don’t have it
Nosotros apretaríamos los libros en la caja pero son demasiados	We would squeeze the books in the box but there are too many
Ellas apretarían sus cosas para darte espacio pero no quieren	They would squeeze their things to give you space but they don’t want to

Apretar in the Present Perfect Tense

The present perfect is used to talk about actions or events that have started recently (in the past) and are still happening. It can also be used to talk about things that have been done recently or to describe experiences a person has had in their lives. 

The verb apretar is regular in the Present Perfect tense. 

To form the present perfect, you must use the helping verb “haber” in the present tense. This will let us know who has performed the action. Then, we add the past participle of the verb. 

The conjugations of haber in the present tense are:

Yo	he
Tú	has
Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.)	ha
Nosotros (as)	hemos
Vosotros (as)	habéis
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.)	han

To form the past participle of a verb:

1. Find the verb in the infinitive (verb that ends in -ar, -er, -ir)
2. Remove the ending (-ar, -er, -ir).
3. Add -ado for -ar verbs
4. Add -ido for -er and –ir verbs

Let’s apply it to apretar:

1. Find the verb in the infinitive (verb that ends in -ar, -er, -ir)  = (apretar)
2. Remove the ending (-ar, -er, -ir) = (apret)
3. Add -ado for -ar verbs  = (apretado)

The past participle of the verb apretar is apretado.

To summarize. Correct form of haber in the present + past participle = present perfect. 

Below you will find the conjugations of the verb apretar in the present perfect:

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	he apretado	I have squeeze /press
Tú	has apretado	you have squeeze /press
Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.)	ha apretado	he/she have squeeze /press, you (formal) have squeeze /press
Nosotros (as)	hemos apretado	we have squeeze /press
Vosotros (as)	habéis apretado	you (plural) Spain have squeeze /press
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.)	han apretado	they have squeeze /press, you (plural) have squeeze /press

Examples: 

Yo he apretado el botón de apagar la televisión	I have press the button to turn of the tv
Nosotros hemos apretado las cosas en el baúl	We have squeeze the things in the trunk

Apretar in the Past Perfect Tense (Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto) 

The past perfect is used to talk about actions or events that happened before. It is widely used to describe a series of events and it comes in handy to tell stories. 

The verb apretar is regular in the past perfect tense. 

To form the past perfect you must use the verb haber in the imperfect. This will let us know who has performed the action. 

The conjugations of haber in the imperfect tense are:

Yo	había
Tú	habías
Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.)	había
Nosotros (as)	habíamos
Vosotros (as)	habíais
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.)	habían

Then, we add the past participle of the verb. In this case apretar. 

To form the past participle of a verb:

1. Find the verb in the infinitive (verb that ends in -ar, -er, -ir)
2. Remove the ending (-ar, -er, -ir).
3. Add -ado for -ar verbs
4. Add -ido for -er and –ir verbs

Let’s apply it to apretar:

1. Find the verb in the infinitive (verb that ends in -ar, -er, -ir)  = (apretar)
2.  Remove the ending (-ar, -er, -ir) = (apret)
3. Add -ado for -ar verbs  = (apretado)

The past participle of apretar is apretado. 

To summarize. Use the correct form of haber in the imperfect + past participle = past perfect. 

Below you will find the conjugations of the verb apretar in the past perfect:

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	había apretado	I had squeezed /pressed
Tú	habías apretado	you had squeezed /pressed
Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.)	había apretado	he/she had squeezed /pressed, you (formal) had squeezed /pressed
Nosotros (as)	habíamos apretado	we had squeezed /pressed
Vosotros (as)	habíais apretado	you (plural) Spain had squeezed /pressed
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.)	habían apretado	they had squeezed /pressed, you (plural) had squeezed /pressed

Examples: 

Yo había apretado todas mis cosas en mi cartera	I had squeezed all my stuff in my purse
Tú habías apretado a los niños en la cama para que no les de frio	You had squeezed the kids in bed so they won’t get cold
Él había apretado el botón para comenzar el juego	He had pressed the button to start the game

Apretar in the Future Perfect Tense

The future perfect is used to talk about something that hasn’t happened yet but is predicted to take place. It is used to describe what will have happened in the future.

The verb apretar is regular in the future perfect tense. 

To form the future perfect you must use the verb haber in the simple future tense. This will let us know who has performed the action. 

The conjugations of haber in the future tense are:

Yo	habré
Tú	habrás
Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.)	habrá
Nosotros (as)	habremos
Vosotros (as)	habréis
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.)	habrán

Then, we add the past participle of the verb. In this case apretar. To form the past participle, you simply add the appropriate ending to the stem of the verb. 

To form the past participle of a verb:

1. Find the verb in the infinitive (verb that ends in -ar, -er, -ir)
2. Remove the ending (-ar, -er, -ir).
3. Add -ado for -ar verbs
4. Add -ido for -er and –ir verbs

Let’s apply it to apretar:

1. Find the verb in the infinitive (verb that ends in -ar, -er, -ir)  = (apretar)
2. Remove the ending (-ar, -er, -ir) = (apret)
3. Add -ado for -ar verbs  = (apretado)

The past participle of apretar is apretado. 

To summarize. Correct form of haber in the simple future tense + past participle = future perfect. 

Below you will find the conjugations of the verb apretar in the future perfect:

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	habré apretado	I will have squeezed /pressed
Tú	habrás apretado	you will have squeezed /pressed
Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.)	habrá apretado	he/she will have squeezed /pressed, you (formal) will have squeezed /pressed
Nosotros (as)	habremos apretado	we will have squeezed /pressed
Vosotros (as)	habréis apretado	you (plural) Spain will have squeezed /pressed
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.)	habrán apretado	they will have squeezed /pressed, you (plural) will have squeezed /pressed

Examples: 

¿Crees que ellos habrán apretado sus cosas en el garage?	Do you think they have squeezed their stuff in the garage?
Pedro habrá apretado el botón para abrir el garage	Pedro will have pressed the button to open the garage

Apretar in the Conditional Perfect Tense

The conditional perfect is used to talk about an action or event that would have happened in the past but didn’t take place due to another action happening. It is used to express possibility in the past. Basically think of it as actions that could or would have taken place if … 

The verb apretar is regular in the conditional perfect tense. 

To form the conditional perfect you must use the verb haber in the conditional. This will let us know who has performed the action.

The conjugations of haber in the conditional tense are:

Yo	habría
Tú	habrías
Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.)	habría
Nosotros (as)	habríamos
Vosotros (as)	habríais
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.)	habrían

 Then, we add the past participle of the verb. In this case apretar. To form the past participle, you simply add the appropriate ending to the stem of the verb. 

To form the past participle of a verb:

1. Find the verb in the infinitive (verb that ends in -ar, -er, -ir)
2. Remove the ending (-ar, -er, -ir).
3. Add -ado for -ar verbs
4. Add -ido for -er and –ir verbs

Let’s apply it to apretar:

1. Find the verb in the infinitive (verb that ends in -ar, -er, -ir)  = (apretar)
2. Remove the ending (-ar, -er, -ir) = (apret)
3. Add -ado for -ar verbs  = (apretado)

The past participle of apretar is apretado. 

Below you will find the conjugations of the verb apretar in the future perfect:

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	habría apretado	I would have squeezed /pressed
Tú	habrías apretado	you would have squeezed  /pressed
Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.)	habría apretado	he/she would have squeezed /pressed, you (formal) would have squeezed /pressed
Nosotros (as)	habríamos apretado	we would have squeezed /pressed
Vosotros (as)	habríais apretado	you (plural) Spain will would squeezed /pressed
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.)	habrían apretado	they would have squeezed /pressed, you (plural) would have squeezed /pressed

Examples: 

Yo  habría apretado tu mano si hubiera estado ahí	I would have squeeze your hand if I had been there
Ellos habrían apretado sus manos si les hubieran avisado que tenían que hacerlo	They would have squeezed their hands if they had been told they had to do so

Apretar in the Subjunctive Present Tense

The Subjunctive present is used to talk about situations of uncertainty. For example emotions such as wishes, desires and hopes. The main difference between the subjunctive and the indicative mode is that the subjunctive is uncertain, hypothetical or not real. 

The verb apretar is irregular in the subjunctive present form. 

Apretar is a Stem changing verb. Stem changers have a change not only in the ending but also on the stem. In this case apretar is an e → ie stem changing verb. That means that the e in the stem changes to ie in all forms except for nosotros and vosotros. 

To review stem changing verbs o → ue watch my video: https://youtu.be/LB3GJOqNAMw

To review stem changing verbs e → ie watch my video: https://youtu.be/GDEzvOkyml8 

To review stem changing verbs e →i watch my video: https://youtu.be/QJrPv-whYy8 

To form the subjunctive present of most verbs, you must take off the -o endings of the yo form of the present simple and then add a new ending based on who is performing the action.

Subjunctive present endings for -ar:

Yo	e
Tú	es
Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.)	e
Nosotros (as)	emos
Vosotros (as)	éis
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.)	en

Subjunctive present endings for -er and -ir verbs: 

Yo	a
Tú	as
Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.)	as
Nosotros (as)	amos
Vosotros (as)	áis
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.)	an

Keep in mind that the verb apretar is irregular in the subjunctive present and it is  a stem changing verb. The e in the stem changes to ie in all forms except for nosotros and vosotros 

Below you will find the conjugations of the verb apretar in the subjunctive present:

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	apriete	I may squeeze /press
Tú	aprietes	you may squeeze /press
Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.)	apriete	he/she may squeeze /press, you (formal) may squeeze /press
Nosotros (as)	apretemos	we may squeeze /press
Vosotros (as)	apretéis	you (plural) Spain may squeeze /press
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.)	aprieten	they may squeeze /press, you (plural) may squeeze /press

Examples: 

Quizás apriete la mano de mi papá en la iglesia	Perhaps, I may squeeze my dad hand at the church
Es posible que ellos aprieten los botones de la máquina de dulces	It’s possible they may press the buttons of the vending machine

Apretar in the Subjunctive Imperfect Tense

The subjunctive imperfect is used to talk about situations of uncertainty in the past. For example emotions such as wishes, desires and hopes in the past. It is also used to express politeness or deference, primarily when making a request. 

The verb apretar is regular in the subjunctive imperfect tense. 

To form the subjunctive imperfect find the ellos/ellas form of the verb in the preterite, take off -aron or -ieron and add a new ending. 

Subjunctive Imperfect endings for -ar verbs like apretar the endings are:

Yo	ara
Tú	aras
Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.)	ara
Nosotros (as)	áramos
Vosotros (as)	arais
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.)	aran

You can also use the endings below as alternative endings and the meaning doesn’t change. Keep in mind the ones above are more common

Yo	ase
Tú	ases
Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.)	ase
Nosotros (as)	ásemos
Vosotros (as)	aseis
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.)	asen

Subjunctive Imperfect endings for -er & -ir verbs like he endings are:

Yo	iera
Tú	ieras
Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.)	iera
Nosotros (as)	iéramos
Vosotros (as)	ierais
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.)	ieran

You can also use the endings below as alternative endings and the meaning doesn’t change. Keep in mind the ones above are more common:

Yo	iese
Tú	ieses
Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.)	iese
Nosotros (as)	iésemos
Vosotros (as)	ieseis
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.)	iesen

Here are the steps in action:

1. Apretar

a

2. The third person of the preterite (ellos/ellas) would be: apretar – apretaron

3. Now remove -aron and you are left with apret

4. Then, add a new ending.

Below you will find the conjugations of the verb apretar in the subjunctive imperfect:

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	apretara	I might squeeze /press
Tú	apretaras	you might squeeze /press
Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.)	apretara	he/she might squeeze /press, you (formal) might squeeze /press
Nosotros (as)	apretáramos	we might squeeze /press
Vosotros (as)	apretarais	you (plural) Spain might squeeze /press
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.)	apretaran	they might squeeze /press, you (plural) might squeeze /press

OR

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	apretase	I might squeeze /press
Tú	apretases	you might squeeze /press
Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.)	apretase	he/she might squeeze /press, you (formal) might squeeze /press
Nosotros (as)	apretásemos	we might squeeze /press
Vosotros (as)	apretaseis	you (plural) Spain might squeeze /press
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.)	apretasen	they might squeeze /press, you (plural) might squeeze /press

Examples: 

Te dije que  apretases todo en el baúl	I told you to squeeze everything in the trunk
Sería bueno si apretásemos a los niños en la cama para que duerman juntos mientras pasa el tornado	It would be nice if we squeeze the kids in bed so they sleep together while the tornado passes

Apretar in the Subjunctive Future Tense

The subjunctive future is used to describe an event or action or a possible or hypothetical situation. It can also be used to describe something you wished or hoped would happen in the future. This tense is rarely used in Spanish but it doesn’t hurt to learn it.

The verb apretar is regular in the subjunctive future tense. 

To form the future subjunctive simply add the following endings to the verb in the infinitive (the most pure form of the verb. Verbs in the infinitive have not been conjugated (they end in -ar, -er & -ir)).

Subjunctive Future endings for -ar verbs like apretar  the endings are:

Yo	e
Tú	es
Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.)	e
Nosotros (as)	emos (accent on á of the stem)
Vosotros (as)	eis
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.)	en

Subjunctive Future endings for -er verbs the endings are:

Yo	iere
Tú	ieres
Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.)	iere
Nosotros (as)	iéremos
Vosotros (as)	iereis
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.)	ieran

Subjunctive Future endings for -ir verbs the endings are:

Yo	iere
Tú	ieres
Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.)	iere
Nosotros (as)	iéremos
Vosotros (as)	iereis
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.)	ieren

Below you will find the conjugations of the verb apretar in the subjunctive future:

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	apretare	I will squeeze /press
Tú	apretares	you will squeeze /press
Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.)	apretare	he/she will squeeze /press, you (formal) will squeeze /press
Nosotros (as)	apretáremos	we will squeeze /press
Vosotros (as)	apretareis	you (plural) Spain will squeeze /press
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.)	apretaren	they will squeeze /press, you (plural) will squeeze /press

Example:

El día que yo apretare la mano de mi mamá antes de mi graduación me sentiré afortunada

The day I will squeeze my moms hand the day of my graduation I will feel very lucky

Apretar in the Subjunctive Present Perfect Tense

The subjunctive present perfect is used to describe actions that are connected to the present. It is also used to talk about actions that will have happened by a certain time in the future. 

The verb apretar is regular in the subjunctive present perfect tense. 

To form the subjunctive present perfect you must use the present subjunctive of the verb haber  + the past participle of the verb. 

Here are the conjugations of the verb haber in the present subjunctive:

Yo	haya
Tú	hayas
Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.)	haya
Nosotros (as)	hayamos
Vosotros (as)	hayáis
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.)	hayan

The past participle of the verb apretar is: apretado

Now, let’s put it together . Here are the conjugations of the verb apretar in the subjunctive present perfect. 

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	haya apretado	I may have squeezed /pressed
Tú	hayas apretado	you may have squeezed /pressed
Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.)	haya apretado	he/she may have squeezed /pressed, you (formal) may have squeezed /pressed
Nosotros (as)	hayamos apretado	we may have squeezed /pressed
Vosotros (as)	hayáis apretado	you (plural) Spain may have squeezed /pressed
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.)	hayan apretado	they may have squeezed /pressed, you (plural) may have squeezed /pressed

Example:

¿Tú crees que ellos hayan apretado el control del garage?	Do you think they may have pressed the control remote of the garage?
Es posible que hayan apretado las decoraciones de navidad en la bodega	It’s possible they may have squeeze the christmas decorations in the cellar

Apretar in the Subjunctive Past Perfect Tense (Pluscuamperfecto del Subjuntivo)

The verb apretar is regular in the subjunctive past perfect tense. 

The subjunctive past perfect is used to talk about hypothetical situations or actions in the past. It can also be used to talk about past actions that preceded other past actions. 

To form the subjunctive past perfect you must use the imperfect subjunctive of the verb haber  + the past participle of the verb. 

The imperfect subjunctive of haber can be conjugated in two different ways. Having said that, the first conjugations are more commonly used. 

Here are the conjugations of the verb haber in the imperfect subjunctive of the verb haber:

Yo	hubiera
Tú	hubieras
Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.)	hubiera
Nosotros (as)	hubiéramos
Vosotros (as)	hubierais
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.)	hubieran

The other conjugations of haber in the imperfect subjunctive are:

Yo	hubiese
Tú	hubieses
Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.)	hubiese
Nosotros (as)	hubiésemos
Vosotros (as)	hubieseis
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.)	hubiesen

To form the past participle of a verb:

5. Find the verb in the infinitive (verb that ends in -ar, -er, -ir)
6. Remove the ending (-ar, -er, -ir).
7. Add -ado for -ar verbs
8. Add -ido for -er and –ir verbs

Let’s apply it to apretar:

4. Find the verb in the infinitive (verb that ends in -ar, -er, -ir)  = (apretar)
5. Remove the ending (-ar, -er, -ir) = (apret)
6. Add -ado for -ar verbs  = (apretado)

The past participle of the verb apretar is apretado.

Now, let’s put it together . Here are the conjugations of the verb apretar in the subjunctive past perfect. 

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	hubiese apretado	I might have squeezed /pressed
Tú	hubieses apretado	you might have squeezed /pressed
Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.)	hubiese apretado	he/she might have squeezed /pressed, you (formal) might have squeezed /pressed
Nosotros (as)	hubiésemos apretado	we might have squeezed /pressed
Vosotros (as)	hubieseis apretado	you (plural) Spain might have squeezed /pressed
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.)	hubiesen apretado	they might have squeezed, you (plural) might have squeezed /pressed

OR

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	hubiera apretado	I might have squeezed /pressed
Tú	hubieras apretado	you might have squeezed /pressed
Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.)	hubiera apretado	he/she might have squeezed /pressed, you (formal) might have squeezed /pressed
Nosotros (as)	hubiéramos apretado	we might have squeezed /pressed
Vosotros (as)	hubierais apretado	you (plural) Spain might have squeezed /pressed
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.)	hubieran apretado	they might have squeezed /pressed, you (plural) might have squeezed /pressed

Example:

Yo  hubiese apretado mi ropa en el closet pero decidí ponerla en el cajón	I might have squeezed my clothes in the closet but I decided to put it in the drawer
Desearía que hubiéramos apretado el botón correcto y así hubiéramos ganado el concurso	I wish we might have pressed the right button so we had won the contest

Apretar as an Imperative Affirmative Command

The imperative Affirmative commands are used to tell someone or a group of people what to do. We do not give commands in the 1st or 3rd person which is why yo, él, ella, ellos, and ellas have been removed for this tense.

Apretar is irregular when forming Imperative Affirmative Commands. 

Mostly we will give commands or tell someone we treat as (tú) what to do. Let’s learn how to conjugate that part first. 

To find the Affirmative Informal tú command of a verb follow these steps:

1. Find the tú form of the verb in the present tense. 
2. Take off the “s”
3. That will give you the affirmative informal command of a verb in the tú form. 

Reminders: Stem changing verbs should continue to have the change in the stem.

For example, The affirmative informal tú command of the verb apretar  would be aprieta. 

Let’s see the process:

1. Find the tú form of the verb in the present tense.  (apretar)
2. Take off the “s”.  (aprieta)
3. That will give you the affirmative informal command of a verb in the tú form.  (aprieta)

To review how to use Affirmative informal (tú) commands watch my video: Click for Video 

Keep in mind that  apretar is a Stem changing verb. Stem changers have a change not only in the ending but also on the stem. In this case apretar is an e → ie stem changing verb. That means that the e in the stem changes to ie in all forms except for nosotros and vosotros. 

To review stem changing verbs o → ue watch my video: https://youtu.be/LB3GJOqNAMw

To review stem changing verbs e → ie watch my video: https://youtu.be/GDEzvOkyml8 

To review stem changing verbs e →i watch my video: https://youtu.be/QJrPv-whYy8 

The rest of the conjugations in the Affirmative Commands for the verb apretar are the following:

Pronoun	Spanish	English
N/A	N/A	N/A
Tú	¡aprieta!	squeeze/ press!
Usted (Ud.)	¡apriete!	squeeze/ press!
Nosotros (as)	¡apretemos!	squeeze/ press!
Vosotros (as)	¡apretad!	squeeze/ press!
Ustedes (Uds.)	¡aprieten!	squeeze/ press!

Examples:

¡Aprieta mi mano!	Squeeze my hand!
¡Aprieten el botón!	Press the button!

Apretar as an Imperative Negative Command

The imperative Negative commands are used to tell someone or a group of people what NOT to do. We do not give commands in the 1st or 3rd person which is why yo, él, ella, ellos, and ellas have been removed for this tense.

Apretar  is irregular when forming Imperative Negative Commands. 

Mostly we will give commands or tell someone we treat as (tú) what to do. Let’s learn how to conjugate that part first. 

To find the Negative Informal tú command of a regular verb follow these steps:

1. Start with No
2. Find the yo form of the verb in the present tense. 
3. Take off the “o”
4. Add -es if it’s an -ar verb or -as if it’s and -er or -ir verb.

To review how to use Negative informal (tú) commands watch my video: Click for Video 

The rest of the conjugations in the Negative Commands for the verb apretar are the following but please keep in mind that  apretar is a Stem changing verb. Stem changers have a change not only in the ending but also on the stem. In this case apretar is an e → ie stem changing verb. That means that the e in the stem changes to ie in all forms except for nosotros and vosotros. 

To review stem changing verbs o → ue watch my video: https://youtu.be/LB3GJOqNAMw

To review stem changing verbs e → ie watch my video: https://youtu.be/GDEzvOkyml8 

To review stem changing verbs e →i watch my video: https://youtu.be/QJrPv-whYy8 

Pronoun	Spanish	English
N/A	N/A	N/A
Tú	¡No apriete!	Don’t squeeze /press!
Usted (Ud.)	¡No apriete!	Don’t squeeze /press!
Nosotros (as)	¡No apretemos!	Don’t squeeze /press!
Vosotros (as)	¡No apretéis!	Don’t squeeze /press!
Ustedes (Uds.)	¡No aprieten!	Don’t squeeze /press!

Examples

¡No aprieten las manos!

Don’t squeeze your hads!