What does 'cavar' mean in English?

In Spanish, 'cavar' means to dig. It is a regular -AR verb used across all 18 standard Spanish tenses.

Is cavar an irregular verb in Spanish?

Cavar is a regular -AR verb. Its endings follow the standard pattern in every tense without stem or root changes.

How do you conjugate cavar in the present tense?

Present tense (Presente) of cavar: yo cavo, tú cavas, él/ella/usted cava, nosotros cavamos, vosotros caváis, ellos/ellas/ustedes cavan.

How do you conjugate cavar in the preterite?

Preterite (Pretérito Indefinido) of cavar: yo cavé, tú cavaste, él/ella/usted cavó, nosotros cavamos, vosotros cavasteis, ellos/ellas/ustedes cavaron. This tense expresses completed past actions at a defined point in time.

What is the imperfect tense of cavar?

Imperfect (Pretérito Imperfecto) of cavar: yo cavaba, tú cavabas, él/ella/usted cavaba, nosotros cavábamos, vosotros cavabais, ellos/ellas/ustedes cavaban. The imperfect describes past habits, ongoing actions, and background states.

What is the past participle of cavar?

The past participle of cavar is 'cavado'. It is used to form compound tenses with the auxiliary verb haber — for example, 'he cavado' (I have diged), 'has cavado', 'ha cavado'.

What is the gerundio (present participle) of cavar?

The gerundio of cavar is 'cavando'. It pairs with estar to form the present continuous (estoy cavando) and other progressive tenses, indicating an action in progress.

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Spanish verb conjugation

Cavar conjugation

cavar is a regular Spanish -AR verb meaning dig. In the present tense: yo cavo, tú cavas, él/ella cava, nosotros cavamos, vosotros caváis, ellos cavan. Full conjugation across 18 tenses below.

Rank #1416-ARRegular18 tense tables

At a glance

Infinitive: cavar
Gerundio: cavando
Meaning: dig
Pattern: Regular
Difficulty: Level 1

Practice this verb

Conjugation tables

Cavar across the MuyVerbs tense system

Non-finite forms

Infinitivo and Gerundio

Study present continuous

Form	Spanish	Use
Infinitivo	cavar	Dictionary form and base form for many compound structures.
Gerundio	cavando	Used with estar for progressive forms, for example estar cavando.

Presente

Present

Pronoun	Form	Context
yo	cavo	Yo cavo un hoyo junto al limonero.I dig a hole by the lemon tree.
tú	cavas	Normalmente, tú cavas la zanja con una pala corta.You usually dig the trench with a short shovel.
él	cava	Hoy, el topo del jardín cava bajo la cerca toda la noche.Today, the mole in the garden digs under the fence all night.
nosotros	cavamos	A veces, nosotros cavamos la tierra para el poste.At times, we dig the ground for the post.
vosotros	caváis	Ahora, vosotros caváis en la arena buscando conchas.Right now, you all dig in the sand looking for shells.
ellos	cavan	Casi siempre, los obreros del cruce cavan la calle desde temprano.Most of the time, the workers at the crossing dig the street since early morning.

Pronoun	Form	Context
yo	he cavado	Este año, yo he cavado un hoyo junto al limonero.This year, I have dug a hole by the lemon tree.
tú	has cavado	Últimamente, tú has cavado la zanja con una pala corta.Lately, you have dug the trench with a short shovel.
él	ha cavado	En estos meses, el topo del jardín ha cavado bajo la cerca toda la noche.In these months, the mole in the garden has dug under the fence all night.
nosotros	hemos cavado	Hasta ahora, nosotros hemos cavado la tierra para el poste.So far, we have dug the ground for the post.
vosotros	habéis cavado	En lo que va de curso, vosotros habéis cavado en la arena buscando conchas.This term, you all have dug in the sand looking for shells.
ellos	han cavado	En este tiempo, los obreros del cruce han cavado la calle desde temprano.During this time, the workers at the crossing have dug the street since early morning.

Pronoun	Form	Context
yo	cavé	Ayer, yo cavé un hoyo junto al limonero.Yesterday, I dug a hole by the lemon tree.
tú	cavaste	Hace un rato, tú cavaste la zanja con una pala corta.A little while ago, you dug the trench with a short shovel.
él	cavó	Esta mañana, el topo del jardín cavó bajo la cerca toda la noche.This morning, the mole in the garden dug under the fence all night.
nosotros	cavamos	Anoche, nosotros cavamos la tierra para el poste.Last night, we dug the ground for the post.
vosotros	cavasteis	El sábado, vosotros cavasteis en la arena buscando conchas.On Saturday, you all dug in the sand looking for shells.
ellos	cavaron	Hace poco, los obreros del cruce cavaron la calle desde temprano.Not long ago, the workers at the crossing dug the street since early morning.

Pronoun	Form	Context
yo	cavaba	Antes, yo cavaba un hoyo junto al limonero.Before, I used to dig a hole by the lemon tree.
tú	cavabas	Por entonces, tú cavabas la zanja con una pala corta.Back then, you used to dig the trench with a short shovel.
él	cavaba	En esa época, el topo del jardín cavaba bajo la cerca toda la noche.At that time, the mole in the garden used to dig under the fence all night.
nosotros	cavábamos	Cuando eso era normal, nosotros cavábamos la tierra para el poste.When that was normal, we used to dig the ground for the post.
vosotros	cavabais	Hace años, vosotros cavabais en la arena buscando conchas.Years ago, you all used to dig in the sand looking for shells.
ellos	cavaban	En aquellos días, los obreros del cruce cavaban la calle desde temprano.In those days, the workers at the crossing used to dig the street since early morning.

Pronoun	Form	Context
yo	había cavado	Cuando llegaste, yo ya había cavado un hoyo junto al limonero.When you arrived, I had already dug a hole by the lemon tree.
tú	habías cavado	Para entonces, tú ya habías cavado la zanja con una pala corta.By then, you had already dug the trench with a short shovel.
él	había cavado	Al volver, el topo del jardín ya había cavado bajo la cerca toda la noche.When we came back, the mole in the garden had already dug under the fence all night.
nosotros	habíamos cavado	Antes de hablarlo, nosotros ya habíamos cavado la tierra para el poste.Before talking it through, we had already dug the ground for the post.
vosotros	habíais cavado	Cuando mirasteis otra vez, vosotros ya habíais cavado en la arena buscando conchas.When you looked again, you all had already dug in the sand looking for shells.
ellos	habían cavado	Para ese momento, los obreros del cruce ya habían cavado la calle desde temprano.By that moment, the workers at the crossing had already dug the street since early morning.

Pronoun	Form	Context
yo	hube cavado	Apenas yo hube cavado un hoyo junto al limonero, todo cambió.As soon as I had dug a hole by the lemon tree, everything changed.
tú	hubiste cavado	En cuanto tú hubiste cavado la zanja con una pala corta, se notó.The moment you had dug the trench with a short shovel, it showed.
él	hubo cavado	No bien el topo del jardín hubo cavado bajo la cerca toda la noche, hubo ruido.As soon as the mole in the garden had dug under the fence all night, there was trouble.
nosotros	hubimos cavado	Tan pronto como nosotros hubimos cavado la tierra para el poste, seguimos adelante.Once we had dug the ground for the post, we moved on.
vosotros	hubisteis cavado	Apenas vosotros hubisteis cavado en la arena buscando conchas, mirasteis el resultado.As soon as you all had dug in the sand looking for shells, you checked the result.
ellos	hubieron cavado	En cuanto los obreros del cruce hubieron cavado la calle desde temprano, el ambiente cambió.The moment the workers at the crossing had dug the street since early morning, the mood changed.

Pronoun	Form	Context
yo	cavaré	Mañana, yo cavaré un hoyo junto al limonero.Tomorrow, I will dig a hole by the lemon tree.
tú	cavarás	Dentro de poco, tú cavarás la zanja con una pala corta.Soon, you will dig the trench with a short shovel.
él	cavará	Esta tarde, el topo del jardín cavará bajo la cerca toda la noche.This afternoon, the mole in the garden will dig under the fence all night.
nosotros	cavaremos	La semana que viene, nosotros cavaremos la tierra para el poste.Next week, we will dig the ground for the post.
vosotros	cavaréis	Pronto, vosotros cavaréis en la arena buscando conchas.Before long, you all will dig in the sand looking for shells.
ellos	cavarán	Más adelante, los obreros del cruce cavarán la calle desde temprano.Later on, the workers at the crossing will dig the street since early morning.

Pronoun	Form	Context
yo	habré cavado	Para entonces, yo ya habré cavado un hoyo junto al limonero.By then, I will already have dug a hole by the lemon tree.
tú	habrás cavado	Antes del cierre, tú ya habrás cavado la zanja con una pala corta.Before closing time, you will already have dug the trench with a short shovel.
él	habrá cavado	Al final del día, el topo del jardín ya habrá cavado bajo la cerca toda la noche.By the end of the day, the mole in the garden will already have dug under the fence all night.
nosotros	habremos cavado	Para mañana, nosotros ya habremos cavado la tierra para el poste.By tomorrow, we will already have dug the ground for the post.
vosotros	habréis cavado	Antes de iros, vosotros ya habréis cavado en la arena buscando conchas.Before leaving, you all will already have dug in the sand looking for shells.
ellos	habrán cavado	Para esa hora, los obreros del cruce ya habrán cavado la calle desde temprano.By that hour, the workers at the crossing will already have dug the street since early morning.

Pronoun	Form	Context
yo	cavaría	En un caso así, yo cavaría un hoyo junto al limonero.In a case like that, I would dig a hole by the lemon tree.
tú	cavarías	Con un poco más de tiempo, tú cavarías la zanja con una pala corta.With a little more time, you would dig the trench with a short shovel.
él	cavaría	En esa situación, el topo del jardín cavaría bajo la cerca toda la noche.In that situation, the mole in the garden would dig under the fence all night.
nosotros	cavaríamos	Con ese panorama, nosotros cavaríamos la tierra para el poste.With that outlook, we would dig the ground for the post.
vosotros	cavaríais	Llegado el caso, vosotros cavaríais en la arena buscando conchas.If it came to that, you all would dig in the sand looking for shells.
ellos	cavarían	En un día así, los obreros del cruce cavarían la calle desde temprano.On a day like that, the workers at the crossing would dig the street since early morning.

Pronoun	Form	Context
yo	habría cavado	En otro momento, yo habría cavado un hoyo junto al limonero.At another moment, I would have dug a hole by the lemon tree.
tú	habrías cavado	Con un poco más de margen, tú habrías cavado la zanja con una pala corta.With a little more margin, you would have dug the trench with a short shovel.
él	habría cavado	A esas alturas, el topo del jardín habría cavado bajo la cerca toda la noche.By then, the mole in the garden would have dug under the fence all night.
nosotros	habríamos cavado	Con ese giro, nosotros habríamos cavado la tierra para el poste.With that turn, we would have dug the ground for the post.
vosotros	habríais cavado	Llegados ahí, vosotros habríais cavado en la arena buscando conchas.At that point, you all would have dug in the sand looking for shells.
ellos	habrían cavado	En ese punto, los obreros del cruce habrían cavado la calle desde temprano.From there, the workers at the crossing would have dug the street since early morning.

Pronoun	Form	Context
yo	cave	Es mejor que yo cave un hoyo junto al limonero.It is better that I dig a hole by the lemon tree.
tú	caves	Hace falta que tú caves la zanja con una pala corta.It is necessary that you dig the trench with a short shovel.
él	cave	Conviene que el topo del jardín cave bajo la cerca toda la noche.It is wise that the mole in the garden dig under the fence all night.
nosotros	cavemos	Importa que nosotros cavemos la tierra para el poste.It matters that we dig the ground for the post.
vosotros	cavéis	Puede ser útil que vosotros cavéis en la arena buscando conchas.It may help if you all dig in the sand looking for shells.
ellos	caven	Es posible que los obreros del cruce caven la calle desde temprano.It is possible that the workers at the crossing dig the street since early morning.

Pronoun	Form	Context
yo	haya cavado	Ojalá yo haya cavado un hoyo junto al limonero.Hopefully I have dug a hole by the lemon tree.
tú	hayas cavado	Puede que tú ya hayas cavado la zanja con una pala corta.Maybe you already have dug the trench with a short shovel.
él	haya cavado	Tal vez el topo del jardín haya cavado bajo la cerca toda la noche.Perhaps the mole in the garden has dug under the fence all night.
nosotros	hayamos cavado	Quizá nosotros ya hayamos cavado la tierra para el poste.Maybe we already have dug the ground for the post.
vosotros	hayáis cavado	Es probable que vosotros hayáis cavado en la arena buscando conchas.It is likely that you all have dug in the sand looking for shells.
ellos	hayan cavado	Puede ser que los obreros del cruce ya hayan cavado la calle desde temprano.It may be that the workers at the crossing already have dug the street since early morning.

Pronoun	Form	Context
yo	cavara	Si yo cavara un hoyo junto al limonero, se notaría enseguida.If I dug a hole by the lemon tree, it would show right away.
tú	cavaras	Si tú cavaras la zanja con una pala corta, costaría ocultarlo.If you dug the trench with a short shovel, it would be hard to hide.
él	cavara	Si el topo del jardín cavara bajo la cerca toda la noche, daría mucho que hablar.If the mole in the garden dug under the fence all night, it would give people plenty to talk about.
nosotros	caváramos	Si nosotros caváramos la tierra para el poste, todo iría por otro lado.If we dug the ground for the post, everything would go another way.
vosotros	cavarais	Si vosotros cavarais en la arena buscando conchas, cambiaría el ambiente.If you all dug in the sand looking for shells, the mood would change.
ellos	cavaran	Si los obreros del cruce cavaran la calle desde temprano, la escena sería otra.If the workers at the crossing dug the street since early morning, the whole scene would be different.

Pronoun	Form	Context
yo	hubiera cavado	Si yo hubiera cavado un hoyo junto al limonero, aún se recordaría.If I had dug a hole by the lemon tree, it would still be remembered.
tú	hubieras cavado	Si tú hubieras cavado la zanja con una pala corta, eso habría dejado marca.If you had dug the trench with a short shovel, that would have left a mark.
él	hubiera cavado	Si el topo del jardín hubiera cavado bajo la cerca toda la noche, todavía se hablaría de eso.If the mole in the garden had dug under the fence all night, people would still be talking about it.
nosotros	hubiéramos cavado	Si nosotros hubiéramos cavado la tierra para el poste, el día habría seguido otro rumbo.If we had dug the ground for the post, the day would have gone another way.
vosotros	hubierais cavado	Si vosotros hubierais cavado en la arena buscando conchas, el cambio se habría notado antes.If you all had dug in the sand looking for shells, the change would have shown earlier.
ellos	hubieran cavado	Si los obreros del cruce hubieran cavado la calle desde temprano, nada habría quedado igual.If the workers at the crossing had dug the street since early morning, nothing would have stayed the same.

Pronoun	Form	Context
yo	cavare	Si yo cavare un hoyo junto al limonero, se notará enseguida.If I dig a hole by the lemon tree, it will show right away.
tú	cavares	Si tú cavares la zanja con una pala corta, costará ignorarlo.If you dig the trench with a short shovel, it will be hard to ignore.
él	cavare	Si el topo del jardín cavare bajo la cerca toda la noche, dará mucho que hablar.If the mole in the garden digs under the fence all night, it will give people plenty to talk about.
nosotros	caváremos	Si nosotros caváremos la tierra para el poste, todo irá por otro camino.If we dig the ground for the post, everything will go another way.
vosotros	cavareis	Si vosotros cavareis en la arena buscando conchas, el ambiente cambiará rápido.If you all dig in the sand looking for shells, the mood will change fast.
ellos	cavaren	Si los obreros del cruce cavaren la calle desde temprano, la escena será distinta.If the workers at the crossing dig the street since early morning, the whole scene will be different.

Pronoun	Form	Context
yo	hubiere cavado	Cuando yo hubiere cavado un hoyo junto al limonero, ya se notará.When I have dug a hole by the lemon tree, it will already show.
tú	hubieres cavado	En cuanto tú hubieres cavado la zanja con una pala corta, será difícil no verlo.As soon as you have dug the trench with a short shovel, it will be hard not to see.
él	hubiere cavado	Cuando el topo del jardín hubiere cavado bajo la cerca toda la noche, se verá de inmediato.When the mole in the garden has dug under the fence all night, it will show at once.
nosotros	hubiéremos cavado	Si para entonces nosotros hubiéremos cavado la tierra para el poste, todo irá de otra manera.If by then we have dug the ground for the post, everything will move differently.
vosotros	hubiereis cavado	Cuando vosotros hubiereis cavado en la arena buscando conchas, el ambiente sonará distinto.When you all have dug in the sand looking for shells, the mood will sound different.
ellos	hubieren cavado	En cuanto los obreros del cruce hubieren cavado la calle desde temprano, el cambio quedará claro.As soon as the workers at the crossing have dug the street since early morning, the change will be clear.

Pronoun	Form	Context
yo	-	-
tú	cava	cava la zanja con una pala corta.Dig the trench with a short shovel.
él	cave	Que el topo del jardín cave bajo la cerca toda la noche.Let the mole in the garden Dig under the fence all night.
nosotros	cavemos	cavemos la tierra para el poste.Dig the ground for the post.
vosotros	cavad	cavad en la arena buscando conchas.Dig in the sand looking for shells.
ellos	caven	Que los obreros del cruce caven la calle desde temprano.Let the workers at the crossing Dig the street since early morning.

Pronoun	Form	Context
yo	-	-
tú	no caves	No no caves la zanja con una pala corta.Do not dig the trench with a short shovel.
él	no cave	Que el topo del jardín no no cave bajo la cerca toda la noche.Let the mole in the garden not dig under the fence all night.
nosotros	no cavemos	No no cavemos la tierra para el poste.Let us not dig the ground for the post.
vosotros	no cavéis	No no cavéis en la arena buscando conchas.Do not dig in the sand looking for shells.
ellos	no caven	Que los obreros del cruce no no caven la calle desde temprano.Let the workers at the crossing not dig the street since early morning.

Cavar conjugation

Cavar across the MuyVerbs tense system

Non-finite forms

Presente

Pretérito Perfecto

Pretérito Indefinido

Pretérito Imperfecto

Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto

Pretérito Anterior

Futuro

Futuro Perfecto

Condicional

Condicional Perfecto

Subjuntivo Presente

Subjuntivo Pretérito Perfecto

Subjuntivo Pretérito Imperfecto

Subjuntivo Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto

Subjuntivo Futuro

Subjuntivo Futuro Perfecto

Imperativo Afirmativo

Imperativo Negativo

Practice cavar

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Cavar conjugation — frequently asked

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