Ella Verbsaplicar to apply Irregular Verb
At a glance: Aplicar (to apply) is a widely used irregular verbs in Spanish. In the present tense: aplico, aplicas, aplica, aplicamos, aplicáis, aplican. The present tense is regular. In the preterite: yo changes c to qu (apliqué); the other forms are regular. It is also irregular in the present subjunctive (aplique).

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The Indicative Present of aplicar is used to talk about situations, events or thoughts that are happening now or in the near future. It is also used to talk about facts and truths. For example, “aplico”, meaning “I apply”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Present is known as "El Presente".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | aplico | I apply |
| Tú | aplicas | you apply |
| Ella / Él / Usted | aplica | s/he applies |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | aplicamos | we apply |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | aplicáis | you (plural) apply |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | aplican | they apply |
How it’s built: Regular: stem aplic- plus the -ar endings.
The Indicative Preterite of aplicar is used to talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time. For example, “apliqué”, meaning “I applied”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Preterite is known as "El Pretérito Indefinido".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | apliqué | I applied |
| Tú | aplicaste | you applied |
| Ella / Él / Usted | aplicó | s/he applied |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | aplicamos | we applied |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | aplicasteis | you (plural) applied |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | aplicaron | they applied |
How it’s built: Yo changes c to qu (apliqué); the other forms are regular.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
The Indicative Imperfect of aplicar is used to describe regular and repeated actions that happened in the past and descriptions of things you used to do. For example, “aplicaba”, meaning “I used to apply”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Imperfect is known as "El Pretérito Imperfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | aplicaba | I used to apply |
| Tú | aplicabas | you used to apply |
| Ella / Él / Usted | aplicaba | s/he used to apply |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | aplicábamos | we used to apply |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | aplicabais | you (plural) used to apply |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | aplicaban | they used to apply |
How it’s built: Regular: stem aplic- plus the -ar endings.
The Indicative Present Continuous of aplicar is used to talk about something that is happening continuously or right now. For example, “estoy aplicando”, meaning “I am applying”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Present Continuous is known as "El Presente Progresivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | estoy aplicando | I am applying |
| Tú | estás aplicando | you are applying |
| Ella / Él / Usted | está aplicando | s/he is applying |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | estamos aplicando | we are applying |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | estáis aplicando | you (plural) are applying |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | están aplicando | they are applying |
How it’s built: Estar in the present (estoy, estás, está, estamos, estáis, están) plus the gerund aplicando.
The Indicative Informal Future of aplicar is used to talk about something that will happen in the future, especially in the near future. For example, “voy a aplicar”, meaning “I am going to apply”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Informal Future is known as "El Futuro Próximo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | voy a aplicar | I am going to apply |
| Tú | vas a aplicar | you are going to apply |
| Ella / Él / Usted | va a aplicar | s/he is going to apply |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | vamos a aplicar | we are going to apply |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | vais a aplicar | you (plural) are going to apply |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | van a aplicar | they are going to apply |
How it’s built: Ir in the present (voy, vas, va, vamos, vais, van), then a, then the infinitive aplicar.
The Indicative Future of aplicar is used to talk about something that will happen in the future. For example, “aplicaré”, meaning “I will apply”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Future is known as "El Futuro Simple".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | aplicaré | I will apply |
| Tú | aplicarás | you will apply |
| Ella / Él / Usted | aplicará | s/he will apply |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | aplicaremos | we will apply |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | aplicaréis | you (plural) will apply |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | aplicarán | they will apply |
How it’s built: Regular: the infinitive aplicar plus the future endings.
The Indicative Conditional of aplicar is used to talk about something that may happen in the future, hypothesis and probabilities. For example, “aplicaría”, meaning “I would apply”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional is known as "El Condicional Simple".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | aplicaría | I would apply |
| Tú | aplicarías | you would apply |
| Ella / Él / Usted | aplicaría | s/he would apply |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | aplicaríamos | we would apply |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | aplicaríais | you (plural) would apply |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | aplicarían | they would apply |
How it’s built: Regular: the infinitive aplicar plus the conditional endings.
The Indicative Present Perfect of aplicar is used to describe actions that started recently (in the past) and are still happening now or things that have been done recently. For example, “he aplicado”, meaning “I have applied”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | he aplicado | I have applied |
| Tú | has aplicado | you have applied |
| Ella / Él / Usted | ha aplicado | s/he has applied |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hemos aplicado | we have applied |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habéis aplicado | you (plural) have applied |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | han aplicado | they have applied |
How it’s built: Haber in the present (he, has, ha, hemos, habéis, han) plus the past participle aplicado.
The Indicative Past Perfect of aplicar is used to talk about actions that happened before another action in the past. For example, “había aplicado”, meaning “I had applied”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | había aplicado | I had applied |
| Tú | habías aplicado | you had applied |
| Ella / Él / Usted | había aplicado | s/he had applied |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habíamos aplicado | we had applied |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habíais aplicado | you (plural) had applied |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habían aplicado | they had applied |
How it’s built: Haber in the imperfect (había, habías, había, habíamos, habíais, habían) plus the past participle aplicado.
The Indicative Future Perfect of aplicar is used to talk about something that will have happened in the future after something else has already happened. For example, “habré aplicado”, meaning “I will have applied”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | habré aplicado | I will have applied |
| Tú | habrás aplicado | you will have applied |
| Ella / Él / Usted | habrá aplicado | s/he will have applied |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habremos aplicado | we will have applied |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habréis aplicado | you (plural) will have applied |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habrán aplicado | they will have applied |
How it’s built: Haber in the future (habré, habrás, habrá, habremos, habréis, habrán) plus the past participle aplicado.
The Indicative Conditional Perfect of aplicar is used to talk about something that would have happened in the past but didn’t due to another action. For example, “habría aplicado”, meaning “I would have applied”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional Perfect is known as "El Condicional Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | habría aplicado | I would have applied |
| Tú | habrías aplicado | you would have applied |
| Ella / Él / Usted | habría aplicado | s/he would have applied |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habríamos aplicado | we would have applied |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habríais aplicado | you (plural) would have applied |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habrían aplicado | they would have applied |
How it’s built: Haber in the conditional (habría, habrías, habría, habríamos, habríais, habrían) plus the past participle aplicado.
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The Subjunctive Present is used to talk about situations of uncertainty, or emotions such as wishes, desires and hopes. It differs from the indicative mood due to the uncertainty of the events which are being spoken about. For example, “aplique”, meaning “I apply”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present is known as "El Presente de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | aplique | I apply |
| Tú | apliques | you apply |
| Ella / Él / Usted | aplique | s/he applies |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | apliquemos | we apply |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | apliquéis | you (plural) apply |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | apliquen | they apply |
How it’s built: Every form changes c to qu (aplique, apliques, aplique, apliquemos, apliquéis, apliquen).
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
The Subjunctive Imperfect is used to speak about unlikely or uncertain events in the past or to cast an opinion (emotional) about something that happened in the past. For example, “aplicara”, meaning “I applied”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Imperfect is known as "El Imperfecto Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | aplicara | I applied |
| Tú | aplicaras | you applied |
| Ella / Él / Usted | aplicara | s/he applied |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | aplicáramos | we applied |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | aplicarais | you (plural) applied |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | aplicaran | they applied |
How it’s built: Regular: the ellas/ellos preterite, aplicaron, without -ron, plus the -ra endings; nosotros adds an accent (aplicáramos).
The Subjunctive Future is used to speak about hypothetical situations, and actions/events that may happen in the future. For example, “aplicare”, meaning “I will apply”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future is known as "El Futuro de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | aplicare | I will apply |
| Tú | aplicares | you will apply |
| Ella / Él / Usted | aplicare | s/he will apply |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | aplicáremos | we will apply |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | aplicareis | you (plural) will apply |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | aplicaren | they will apply |
How it’s built: Regular: the ellas/ellos preterite, aplicaron, without -ron, plus the -re endings; nosotros adds an accent (aplicáremos).
The Subjunctive Present Perfect is used to describe past actions or events that are still connected to the present day and to speak about an action that will have happened by a certain time in the future. For example, “haya aplicado”, meaning “I have applied”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | haya aplicado | I have applied |
| Tú | hayas aplicado | you have applied |
| Ella / Él / Usted | haya aplicado | s/he has applied |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hayamos aplicado | we have applied |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hayáis aplicado | you (plural) have applied |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hayan aplicado | they have applied |
How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive present (haya, hayas, haya, hayamos, hayáis, hayan) plus the past participle aplicado.
The Subjunctive Past Perfect is used to speak about hypothetical situations, and actions/events that occurred before other actions/events in the past. For example, “hubiera aplicado”, meaning “I had applied”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | hubiera aplicado | I had applied |
| Tú | hubieras aplicado | you had applied |
| Ella / Él / Usted | hubiera aplicado | s/he had applied |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hubiéramos aplicado | we had applied |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hubierais aplicado | you (plural) had applied |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hubieran aplicado | they had applied |
How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive imperfect (hubiera, hubieras, hubiera, hubiéramos, hubierais, hubieran) plus the past participle aplicado.
The Subjunctive Future Perfect is used to speak about something that will have happened if a hypothetical situations occurs in the future. For example, “hubiere aplicado”, meaning “I will have applied”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | hubiere aplicado | I will have applied |
| Tú | hubieres aplicado | you will have applied |
| Ella / Él / Usted | hubiere aplicado | s/he will have applied |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hubiéremos aplicado | we will have applied |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hubiereis aplicado | you (plural) will have applied |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hubieren aplicado | they will have applied |
How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive future (hubiere, hubieres, hubiere, hubiéremos, hubiereis, hubieren) plus the past participle aplicado.
The Imperative Affirmative is used to give orders and commands, to tell someone to do something. For example, “aplique”, meaning “(to you formal) apply!”.
In Spanish, the Imperative Affirmative is known as "El Imperativo Afirmativo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | - | - |
| Tú | aplica | (to you) apply! |
| Ella / Él / Usted | aplique | (to you formal) apply! |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | apliquemos | let's apply! |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | aplicad | (to you plural) apply! |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | apliquen | (to you plural formal) apply! |
How it’s built: Tú takes the ella/él present (aplica); usted, nosotros and ustedes take the subjunctive present (aplique, apliquemos, apliquen); vosotros swaps the final r of the infinitive for a d (aplicad).
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
The Imperative Negative is used to give orders and commands, telling someone not to do something. For example, “no aplique”, meaning “(to you formal) don't apply!”.
In Spanish, the Imperative Negative is known as "El Imperativo Negativo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | - | - |
| Tú | no apliques | (to you) don't apply! |
| Ella / Él / Usted | no aplique | (to you formal) don't apply! |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | no apliquemos | let's not apply! |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | no apliquéis | (to you plural) don't apply! |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | no apliquen | (to you plural formal) don't apply! |
How it’s built: No plus the subjunctive present: no apliques, no aplique, no apliquemos, no apliquéis, no apliquen.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
Aplicar is an irregular Spanish verb. The present tense is regular. In the preterite: yo changes c to qu (apliqué); the other forms are regular. It is also irregular in the present subjunctive (aplique).
In the present tense (presente), aplicar is conjugated as: yo aplico, tú aplicas, él/ella/usted aplica, nosotros aplicamos, vosotros aplicáis, ellos/ellas/ustedes aplican. The present tense is used To talk about situations, events or thoughts that are happening now or in the near future. It is also used to talk about facts and truths.
In the preterite (pretérito indefinido), aplicar is conjugated as: yo apliqué, tú aplicaste, él/ella/usted aplicó, nosotros aplicamos, vosotros aplicasteis, ellos/ellas/ustedes aplicaron. The preterite is used To talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time.
In the imperfect (pretérito imperfecto), aplicar is conjugated as: yo aplicaba, tú aplicabas, él/ella/usted aplicaba, nosotros aplicábamos, vosotros aplicabais, ellos/ellas/ustedes aplicaban. The imperfect is used To describe regular and repeated actions that happened in the past and descriptions of things you used to do.
In the future tense (futuro simple), aplicar is conjugated as: yo aplicaré, tú aplicarás, él/ella/usted aplicará, nosotros aplicaremos, vosotros aplicaréis, ellos/ellas/ustedes aplicarán. The future tense is used To talk about something that will happen in the future.
In the present subjunctive (subjuntivo presente), aplicar is conjugated as: yo aplique, tú apliques, él/ella/usted aplique, nosotros apliquemos, vosotros apliquéis, ellos/ellas/ustedes apliquen. The present subjunctive is used To talk about situations of uncertainty, or emotions such as wishes, desires and hopes. It differs from the indicative mood due to the uncertainty of the events which are being spoken about.
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