explicar
to explainPresentewhat is going on now
Presente
Present — what is happening now, and what happens habitually
| yo | explicoI explain | nosotros | explicamoswe explain |
| tú | explicasyou explain | vosotros | explicáisyou all explain |
| él/ella/Ud. | explicahe/she explains | ellos/Uds. | explicanthey explain |
Pretérito perfecto
Present perfect — have —ed; a past still touching now. Spain: today, this week. Latin America: mostly the indefinido instead
| yo | he explicadoI have explained | nosotros | hemos explicadowe have explained |
| tú | has explicadoyou have explained | vosotros | habéis explicadoyou all have explained |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha explicadohe/she has explained | ellos/Uds. | han explicadothey have explained |
Presente de subjuntivo
Present subjunctive — after que with wishes, doubt, emotion, ojalá
| yo | explique(that) I explain | nosotros | expliquemos(that) we explain |
| tú | expliques(that) you explain | vosotros | expliquéis(that) you all explain |
| él/ella/Ud. | explique(that) he/she explains | ellos/Uds. | expliquen(that) they explain |
Perfecto de subjuntivo
Present perfect subjunctive — have —ed, under doubt or emotion: no creo que haya venido
| yo | haya explicado(that) I have explained | nosotros | hayamos explicado(that) we have explained |
| tú | hayas explicado(that) you have explained | vosotros | hayáis explicado(that) you all have explained |
| él/ella/Ud. | haya explicado(that) he/she has explained | ellos/Uds. | hayan explicado(that) they have explained |
Pasadowhat went on
Pretérito indefinido
Preterite — a finished past action — it started, it ended
| yo | expliquéI explained | nosotros | explicamoswe explained |
| tú | explicasteyou explained | vosotros | explicasteisyou all explained |
| él/ella/Ud. | explicóhe/she explained | ellos/Uds. | explicaronthey explained |
Pretérito imperfecto
Imperfect — used to / was —ing; background, habits, descriptions
| yo | explicabaI used to explain | nosotros | explicábamoswe used to explain |
| tú | explicabasyou used to explain | vosotros | explicabaisyou all used to explain |
| él/ella/Ud. | explicabahe/she used to explain | ellos/Uds. | explicabanthey used to explain |
Pretérito pluscuamperfecto
Past perfect — had —ed; further back than another past event
| yo | había explicadoI had explained | nosotros | habíamos explicadowe had explained |
| tú | habías explicadoyou had explained | vosotros | habíais explicadoyou all had explained |
| él/ella/Ud. | había explicadohe/she had explained | ellos/Uds. | habían explicadothey had explained |
Imperfecto de subjuntivo (-ra)
Imperfect subjunctive — si clauses and past-tense wishes: si tuviera, quería que fuera
| yo | explicara(that) I explained | nosotros | explicáramos(that) we explained |
| tú | explicaras(that) you explained | vosotros | explicarais(that) you all explained |
| él/ella/Ud. | explicara(that) he/she explained | ellos/Uds. | explicaran(that) they explained |
Imperfecto de subjuntivo (-se)
Imperfect subjunctive — the same tense, second form; commoner in Spain and in writing
| yo | explicase(that) I explained | nosotros | explicásemos(that) we explained |
| tú | explicases(that) you explained | vosotros | explicaseis(that) you all explained |
| él/ella/Ud. | explicase(that) he/she explained | ellos/Uds. | explicasen(that) they explained |
Pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo
Past perfect subjunctive — had —ed, hypothetically: si hubiera sabido
| yo | hubiera explicado(that) I had explained | nosotros | hubiéramos explicado(that) we had explained |
| tú | hubieras explicado(that) you had explained | vosotros | hubierais explicado(that) you all had explained |
| él/ella/Ud. | hubiera explicado(that) he/she had explained | ellos/Uds. | hubieran explicado(that) they had explained |
Pretérito anterior
Preterite perfect — had —ed, immediately before; literary, all but extinct
| yo | hube explicadoI had explained | nosotros | hubimos explicadowe had explained |
| tú | hubiste explicadoyou had explained | vosotros | hubisteis explicadoyou all had explained |
| él/ella/Ud. | hubo explicadohe/she had explained | ellos/Uds. | hubieron explicadothey had explained |
Futurowhat will or would go on
Futuro simple
Future — will — (spoken Spanish often prefers voy a + infinitivo)
| yo | explicaréI will explain | nosotros | explicaremoswe will explain |
| tú | explicarásyou will explain | vosotros | explicaréisyou all will explain |
| él/ella/Ud. | explicaráhe/she will explain | ellos/Uds. | explicaránthey will explain |
Condicional simple
Conditional — would —; also softens a request into politeness
| yo | explicaríaI would explain | nosotros | explicaríamoswe would explain |
| tú | explicaríasyou would explain | vosotros | explicaríaisyou all would explain |
| él/ella/Ud. | explicaríahe/she would explain | ellos/Uds. | explicaríanthey would explain |
Futuro perfecto
Future perfect — will have —ed; done by some future point
| yo | habré explicadoI will have explained | nosotros | habremos explicadowe will have explained |
| tú | habrás explicadoyou will have explained | vosotros | habréis explicadoyou all will have explained |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá explicadohe/she will have explained | ellos/Uds. | habrán explicadothey will have explained |
Condicional perfecto
Conditional perfect — would have —ed; the road not taken
| yo | habría explicadoI would have explained | nosotros | habríamos explicadowe would have explained |
| tú | habrías explicadoyou would have explained | vosotros | habríais explicadoyou all would have explained |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría explicadohe/she would have explained | ellos/Uds. | habrían explicadothey would have explained |
Futuro de subjuntivo
Future subjunctive — legal and proverbial only: adonde fueres, haz lo que vieres
| yo | explicare(should) I explain | nosotros | explicáremos(should) we explain |
| tú | explicares(should) you explain | vosotros | explicareis(should) you all explain |
| él/ella/Ud. | explicare(should) he/she explain | ellos/Uds. | explicaren(should) they explain |
Imperativotelling someone to
Imperativo afirmativo
Imperative (do it) — orders and requests; there is no yo form
| yo | — | nosotros | expliquemoslet's explain |
| tú | explicaexplain! | vosotros | explicadexplain! |
| él/ella/Ud. | expliqueexplain! | ellos/Uds. | expliquenexplain! |
Imperativo negativo
Imperative (don't) — no + subjunctive — never the affirmative form with no in front
| yo | — | nosotros | no expliquemoslet's not explain |
| tú | no expliquesdon't explain | vosotros | no expliquéisdon't explain |
| él/ella/Ud. | no expliquedon't explain | ellos/Uds. | no expliquendon't explain |
