Valer means "to be worth," and it expresses the value, importance, or cost of someone or something. It's used for things, ideas, experiences, and even advice, highlighting their worth in various contexts. Because it deals with value, valer is often used in situations involving money, effort, or emotional significance.
- Describes worth, value, or importance
- Used for money, effort, ideas, and experiences
- Can be applied both literally and figuratively
*valer* means 'to be worth' and is used to express value or importance.
Conjugation Highlights
Valer is a regular -er verb in most forms but has an irregular stem (val-) and unique forms in some tenses.
| Tense | Example (yo) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Present | valgo | Yo form is irregular |
| vales, vale... | Others regular -er | |
| Preterite | valí | Regular |
| valiste, valió... | ||
| Future | valdré | Irregular stem: valdr- |
| Conditional | valdría | Irregular stem: valdr- |
- Yo form (present): valgo
- Future/conditional stem: valdr-
*valer* has an irregular yo form (*valgo*) and a stem (*valdr-*) for future/conditional.
Present
| Subject | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | valgo | Yo valgo mucho. (I'm worth a lot.) |
| Tú | vales | Tú vales mucho para mí. (You are worth a lot to me.) |
| Él/Ella/Ud. | vale | Esta joya vale mucho. (This jewel is worth a lot.) |
| Nosotros | valemos | Nosotros valemos como equipo. (We are worth it as a team.) |
| Ellos | valen | Sus opiniones valen mucho. (Their opinions are very valuable.) |
- Use for both tangible and intangible things.
- Can express personal value or actual monetary worth.
Yes, *valer* can express the worth of opinions, advice, or feelings.
The correct form for 'this car is worth a lot' is 'Este coche vale mucho.'
Preterite
| Subject | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | valí | Ayer, mi reloj valió mucho. (Yesterday, my watch was worth a lot.) |
| Tú | valiste | Tus palabras valieron mucho. (Your words were worth a lot.) |
| Él/Ella/Ud. | valió | El proyecto valió el esfuerzo. (The project was worth the effort.) |
| Nosotros | valimos | Nuestro trabajo valió la pena. |
| Ellos | valieron | Los resultados valieron oro. (The results were worth gold.) |
- Use for expressing value at a specific past moment.
Correct is 'El consejo valió la pena.' (valió is for él/ella/Ud., preterite)
Future
| Subject | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | valdré | Valdré más cuando sea adulto. (I will be worth more when I'm an adult.) |
| Tú | valdrás | Valdrás lo que haces. (You will be worth what you do.) |
| Él/Ella/Ud. | valdrá | Este coche valdrá una fortuna. (This car will be worth a fortune.) |
| Nosotros | valdremos | Valdremos mucho para la empresa. |
| Ellos | valdrán | Sus ideas valdrán mucho. |
- The stem changes to valdr- for all subjects.
The future uses an irregular stem: valdr- (valdré, valdrás...).
Both 'Tus ideas valdrán mucho.' and 'Tus ideas valdrán mucho mañana.' are correct future uses.
Conditional
| Subject | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | valdría | Yo valdría más si tuviera experiencia. (I would be worth more if I had experience.) |
| Tú | valdrías | Valdrías la pena conocerlo. (You would be worth getting to know.) |
| Él/Ella/Ud. | valdría | Ese recuerdo valdría mucho para mí. (That memory would be worth a lot to me.) |
| Nosotros | valdríamos | Valdríamos más juntos. |
| Ellos | valdrían | Ellos valdrían un premio. |
- Also uses the valdr- stem like the future.
Correct is 'El coche viejo valdría mucho.' (conditional, él form)
Summary
valer is a versatile verb for expressing worth in many forms: things, people, ideas, and emotions.
- Expresses value/importance for tangible and intangible things.
- Has irregular forms: yo (valgo), future/conditional stem (valdr-).
- Common in present, past (preterite), future, and conditional with nuanced uses of value.
*valer* is used for contexts involving worth: money, effort, advice, opinions.
The yo form is 'valgo.'
The stem is 'valdr-' for future and conditional.
Correct is 'Su opinión valió mucho.' (valió = él/ella/ud. preterite)