Explicar means to explain. Learn five tenses, then practise each person.
Present: explico, explicas, explica, explicamos, explicáis, explican.
Explicar in the present tense
Use the present for current states, habits and actions. The subject can be omitted when the verb makes it clear.
Vosotros is informal plural you in Spain. Ustedes uses the ellos/ellas form and is the usual plural you in Latin America.
Explicar in the preterite tense
Use the preterite for a completed event in the past, viewed as a whole.
Explicar in the imperfect tense
Use the imperfect for past habits, ongoing situations and background descriptions, without marking their endpoint.
Explicar in the future tense
Use the simple future for what will happen. Spanish also uses this tense for a guess about the present.
Explicar in the conditional tense
Use the conditional for what would happen, a polite request or a hypothetical situation.
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All six persons. Blue, bold forms differ from regular endings, including spelling changes that preserve pronunciation.
| Person | Present | Preterite | Imperfect | Future | Conditional |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| yo | explico | expliqué | explicaba | explicaré | explicaría |
| tú | explicas | explicaste | explicabas | explicarás | explicarías |
| él / ella / usted | explica | explicó | explicaba | explicará | explicaría |
| nosotros / nosotras | explicamos | explicamos | explicábamos | explicaremos | explicaríamos |
| vosotros / vosotras | explicáis | explicasteis | explicabais | explicaréis | explicaríais |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | explican | explicaron | explicaban | explicarán | explicarían |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | explico | I explain |
| tú | explicas | you explain |
| él / ella / usted | explica | he/she explains |
| nosotros / nosotras | explicamos | we explain |
| vosotros / vosotras | explicáis | you all (vosotros) explain |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | explican | they explain |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | expliqué | I explained |
| tú | explicaste | you explained |
| él / ella / usted | explicó | he/she explained |
| nosotros / nosotras | explicamos | we explained |
| vosotros / vosotras | explicasteis | you all (vosotros) explained |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | explicaron | they explained |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | explicaba | I used to explain |
| tú | explicabas | you used to explain |
| él / ella / usted | explicaba | he/she used to explain |
| nosotros / nosotras | explicábamos | we used to explain |
| vosotros / vosotras | explicabais | you all (vosotros) used to explain |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | explicaban | they used to explain |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | explicaré | I will explain |
| tú | explicarás | you will explain |
| él / ella / usted | explicará | he/she will explain |
| nosotros / nosotras | explicaremos | we will explain |
| vosotros / vosotras | explicaréis | you all (vosotros) will explain |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | explicarán | they will explain |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | explicaría | I would explain |
| tú | explicarías | you would explain |
| él / ella / usted | explicaría | he/she would explain |
| nosotros / nosotras | explicaríamos | we would explain |
| vosotros / vosotras | explicaríais | you all (vosotros) would explain |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | explicarían | they would explain |
Explicar differs from the regular endings in the preterite. Changed forms include preterite: expliqué. Highlighted forms include spelling changes that preserve pronunciation as well as irregular stems and endings.
The present forms are explico, explicas, explica, explicamos, explicáis, explican, in the order yo, tú, él/ella/usted, nosotros, vosotros and ellos/ellas/ustedes.
expliqué, explicaste, explicó, explicamos, explicasteis, explicaron. For example, expliqué means “I explained”.
Explicar differs from the regular endings in the preterite. Changed forms include preterite: expliqué. Highlighted forms include spelling changes that preserve pronunciation as well as irregular stems and endings.
The preterite (expliqué) presents a completed event; the imperfect (explicaba) gives a past habit or background situation. The English glosses are “I explained” and “I used to explain”, but context determines the best translation.
The yo forms are explicaré (“I will explain”) and explicaría (“I would explain”). The full charts above include every person.
Explicar means to explain.
Updated · English prompts, Spanish answers.