The Spanish verb explicar means "to explain". Below are its 8 tenses as tables, with the irregular forms marked, 4 example sentences and answers to 3 common questions. Press play next to a present tense form or an example to hear it.
The present tense of explicar is yo explico, tú explicas, él/ella/usted explica, nosotros explicamos, vosotros explicáis, ellos/ellas/ustedes explican. It counts as a regular -ar verb, though 10 of its forms differ from the model pattern and are marked in the tables. The tables below cover 8 tenses, from the present to the present perfect.
Forms in orange break the regular -ar pattern.
| yo | explico | |
|---|---|---|
| tú | explicas | |
| él/ | explica | |
| nosotros | explicamos | |
| vosotros | explicáis | |
| ellos/ | explican |
| yo | expliqué (irregular) |
|---|---|
| tú | explicaste |
| él/ | explicó |
| nosotros | explicamos |
| vosotros | explicasteis |
| ellos/ | explicaron |
| yo | explicaba |
|---|---|
| tú | explicabas |
| él/ | explicaba |
| nosotros | explicábamos |
| vosotros | explicabais |
| ellos/ | explicaban |
| yo | explicaré |
|---|---|
| tú | explicarás |
| él/ | explicará |
| nosotros | explicaremos |
| vosotros | explicaréis |
| ellos/ | explicarán |
| yo | explicaría |
|---|---|
| tú | explicarías |
| él/ | explicaría |
| nosotros | explicaríamos |
| vosotros | explicaríais |
| ellos/ | explicarían |
| yo | explique (irregular) |
|---|---|
| tú | expliques (irregular) |
| él/ | explique (irregular) |
| nosotros | expliquemos (irregular) |
| vosotros | expliquéis (irregular) |
| ellos/ | expliquen (irregular) |
| tú | explica |
|---|---|
| usted | explique (irregular) |
| nosotros | expliquemos (irregular) |
| vosotros | explicad |
| ustedes | expliquen (irregular) |
| yo | he explicado |
|---|---|
| tú | has explicado |
| él/ | ha explicado |
| nosotros | hemos explicado |
| vosotros | habéis explicado |
| ellos/ | han explicado |
Explicar is regular, with spelling changes only. The spelling changes appear in expliqué, the present subjunctive forms such as explique and expliquemos, and the formal commands explique and expliquen.
Lingo7 is an app for reading books in Spanish with a translation under every sentence and audio, so the forms in these tables come back in context.
Yes, explicar is regular, with spelling changes only. Its forms follow the regular -ar model.
The preterite yo form is expliqué. The spelling changes from c to qu before é.
They are explique, expliques, explique, expliquemos, expliquéis, and expliquen. The c changes to qu in these forms.