Temer means 'to fear' or 'to be afraid of', and it is a regular -er verb that is more formal and literary than the everyday tener miedo. Temo lo peor (I fear the worst), temía que fuera tarde (I feared it was late — note the subjunctive). It often takes que + subjunctive, which makes it valuable for higher-level grammar at A-Level. The reflexive temerse adds the sense of suspecting something bad (me temo que sí, I'm afraid so). As a regular -er verb the conjugation is predictable; the interest lies in the subjunctive it introduces.
Quick facts
Temer (to fear) is a regular -er verb.
Real sentences across different tenses — the kind of thing you'd actually say or write.
Temo lo peor (I fear the worst).
Temía que fuera tarde (I feared it was late).
Reflexive me temo que sí (I'm afraid so).
More literary than tener miedo.
Fixed expressions worth knowing — they come up in listening, reading and writing tasks.
Idiomatic expressions
Temer is a regular verb. Make sure you know the endings for each tense — especially the preterite and subjunctive, which is where marks are most often lost.
temer is a regular -er verb — it follows the standard -er pattern in every tense. That makes it a good one to drill: if you know temer, you know the template for all regular -er verbs.
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 temer now →Three questions. Press Enter to check each answer.
yo: temo, tú: temes, él: teme, nosotros: tememos, vosotros: teméis, ellos: temen
Temer is a regular -er verb following the standard -er pattern.
Use temer in multiple tenses to show range — present, preterite and future at minimum. This is a key criterion for higher GCSE marks.
Verbs that are easy to confuse with temer or that behave like it.
This reference is written for UK GCSE and A-Level Spanish learners and their teachers. It is designed for exam revision: every form is checked against standard conjugation rules, and the examples reflect the registers and topics that come up in the AQA, Edexcel and Eduqas specifications. Temer is a high-frequency verb and appears often in exam papers. For active recall, use the free practice tool rather than only reading the tables.