querer

Querer is a Spanish verb with two primary meanings: to want or to desire something, and to love someone or something. It also serves as a flexible auxiliary for polite requests in the conditional form Querría. Etymology traces it to Latin quaerere, meaning “to seek” or “to desire,” entering Spanish via Old Spanish and acquiring its broad modern usage.

Querer is irregular in several tenses. In the present indicative the forms are quiero, quieres, quiere, queremos, queréis, quieren. The preterite is quise, quisiste, quiso, quisimos, quisisteis, quisieron. The imperfect is quería, querías, quería, queríamos, queríais, querían. The future forms are querré, querrás, querrá, querremos, querréis, querrán, and the conditional forms are querría, querrías, querría, querríamos, querríais, querrían. In the present subjunctive: quiera, quieras, quiera, queramos, queráis, quieran; the imperfect subjunctive is quisiera (or queriese). The verb is commonly used with an infinitive (querer + infinitivo) to express desire: quiero comer, quiero ir. When referring to people, it typically uses a with people (quiero a mi madre; te quiero).

Usage: Querer expresses desire for things, actions, or outcomes, and also expresses affection, especially in casual speech (te quiero). The distinction with amar is nuanced: amar often conveys deeper or more formal love, while querer is standard in everyday interaction. Querer also appears in polite requests via Querría (Querría un café, por favor). Other related senses include querer decir, meaning “to mean.”