Tocar means to touch, to play (an instrument). Learn five tenses, then practise each person.
Present: toco, tocas, toca, tocamos, tocáis, tocan.
Tocar 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.
Tocar is also to play an instrument: toco la guitarra.
Tocar in the preterite tense
Use the preterite for a completed event in the past, viewed as a whole.
Tocar in the imperfect tense
Use the imperfect for past habits, ongoing situations and background descriptions, without marking their endpoint.
Tocar in the future tense
Use the simple future for what will happen. Spanish also uses this tense for a guess about the present.
Tocar 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 | toco | toqué | tocaba | tocaré | tocaría |
| tú | tocas | tocaste | tocabas | tocarás | tocarías |
| él / ella / usted | toca | tocó | tocaba | tocará | tocaría |
| nosotros / nosotras | tocamos | tocamos | tocábamos | tocaremos | tocaríamos |
| vosotros / vosotras | tocáis | tocasteis | tocabais | tocaréis | tocaríais |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | tocan | tocaron | tocaban | tocarán | tocarían |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | toco | I touch |
| tú | tocas | you touch |
| él / ella / usted | toca | he/she touches |
| nosotros / nosotras | tocamos | we touch |
| vosotros / vosotras | tocáis | you all (vosotros) touch |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | tocan | they touch |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | toqué | I touched |
| tú | tocaste | you touched |
| él / ella / usted | tocó | he/she touched |
| nosotros / nosotras | tocamos | we touched |
| vosotros / vosotras | tocasteis | you all (vosotros) touched |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | tocaron | they touched |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | tocaba | I used to touch |
| tú | tocabas | you used to touch |
| él / ella / usted | tocaba | he/she used to touch |
| nosotros / nosotras | tocábamos | we used to touch |
| vosotros / vosotras | tocabais | you all (vosotros) used to touch |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | tocaban | they used to touch |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | tocaré | I will touch |
| tú | tocarás | you will touch |
| él / ella / usted | tocará | he/she will touch |
| nosotros / nosotras | tocaremos | we will touch |
| vosotros / vosotras | tocaréis | you all (vosotros) will touch |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | tocarán | they will touch |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | tocaría | I would touch |
| tú | tocarías | you would touch |
| él / ella / usted | tocaría | he/she would touch |
| nosotros / nosotras | tocaríamos | we would touch |
| vosotros / vosotras | tocaríais | you all (vosotros) would touch |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | tocarían | they would touch |
Tocar differs from the regular endings in the preterite. Changed forms include preterite: toqué. Highlighted forms include spelling changes that preserve pronunciation as well as irregular stems and endings.
The present forms are toco, tocas, toca, tocamos, tocáis, tocan, in the order yo, tú, él/ella/usted, nosotros, vosotros and ellos/ellas/ustedes.
toqué, tocaste, tocó, tocamos, tocasteis, tocaron. For example, toqué means “I touched”.
Tocar differs from the regular endings in the preterite. Changed forms include preterite: toqué. Highlighted forms include spelling changes that preserve pronunciation as well as irregular stems and endings.
The preterite (toqué) presents a completed event; the imperfect (tocaba) gives a past habit or background situation. The English glosses are “I touched” and “I used to touch”, but context determines the best translation.
The yo forms are tocaré (“I will touch”) and tocaría (“I would touch”). The full charts above include every person.
Tocar means to touch, to play (an instrument). Tocar is also to play an instrument: toco la guitarra.
Updated · English prompts, Spanish answers.