Abrir is a regular -ir verb in Spanish with one irregular form: its past participle, abierto.
Practice abrir free →Abrir means 'to open', and although it conjugates as a regular -ir verb in the present and preterite, it has one irregular feature you must know: its past participle is abierto ('opened'), not the form you might expect. So 'I have opened' is he abierto. Abro la ventana (I open the window), la tienda abre a las nueve (the shop opens at nine). Its natural opposite is cerrar ('to close'). Because opening and closing come up in directions, shops and daily routine, abrir is a genuinely everyday verb — and remembering abierto in the perfect tense is an easy way to avoid a common mistake.
Quick facts
Abrir (to open) is an irregular -ir verb.
Real sentences across different tenses — the kind of thing you'd actually say or write.
Abro la puerta (I open the door).
La tienda abre a las nueve (the shop opens at nine).
Irregular participle: he abierto (I have opened).
Cerrar (to close) is the natural opposite.
Fixed expressions worth knowing — they come up in listening, reading and writing tasks.
Idiomatic expressions
Abrir is regular in most tenses but its past participle is irregular: abierto, not 'abrido' — and it's the participle you need for all the perfect tenses (he abierto). The yo present is abro, so don't double up on vowels. Learning abierto as its own word is the single best way to avoid the most common slip in exams.
Irregular past participle — it does not end in -ido.
Irregular past participle — same as in the present perfect.
Type conjugations from memory and get instant feedback. That's how you actually build the automatic recall the exam needs — not from reading tables.
Practice abrir now →Three questions, no account needed. Type the form, then press Enter or tap Check.
yo: abro, tú: abres, él: abre, nosotros: abrimos, vosotros: abrís, ellos: abren
Abrir follows the regular -ir pattern in every simple tense. Only its past participle is irregular: abierto.
The past participle is abierto (he abierto) and the gerund is abriendo (estoy abriendo).
Verbs that are easy to confuse with abrir or that behave like it.
Abrir is on the AQA, Edexcel and Eduqas GCSE Spanish vocabulary lists. Compare the exam boards.
Written by Daniel Holmes for GCSE & A-Level Spanish students.