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How to conjugate Colocar in Spanish

colocar to place, to put Irregular Verb

At a glance: Colocar (to place, to put) is a widely used irregular verbs in Spanish. In the present tense: coloco, colocas, coloca, colocamos, colocáis, colocan. The present tense is regular. In the preterite: yo changes c to qu (coloqué); the other forms are regular. It is also irregular in the present subjunctive (coloque).

Past participle
colocado placed
Gerund
colocando placing
Similar
meter, poner, posar, situar, dejar, echar
Sample Verb Conjugation Tables

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Indicative tenses of Colocar

Colocar in the Indicative Present

The Indicative Present of colocar 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, “coloco”, meaning “I place”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Present is known as "El Presente".

PronounSpanishEnglish
YocolocoI place
Túcolocasyou place
Ella / Él / Ustedcolocas/he places
Nosotras / Nosotroscolocamoswe place
Vosotras / Vosotroscolocáisyou (plural) place
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedescolocanthey place

How it’s built: Regular: stem coloc- plus the -ar endings.

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Colocar in the Indicative Preterite

The Indicative Preterite of colocar is used to talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time. For example, “coloqué”, meaning “I placed”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Preterite is known as "El Pretérito Indefinido".

PronounSpanishEnglish
YocoloquéI placed
Túcolocasteyou placed
Ella / Él / Ustedcolocós/he placed
Nosotras / Nosotroscolocamoswe placed
Vosotras / Vosotroscolocasteisyou (plural) placed
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedescolocaronthey placed

How it’s built: Yo changes c to qu (coloqué); the other forms are regular.

Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.

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Colocar in the Indicative Imperfect

The Indicative Imperfect of colocar is used to describe regular and repeated actions that happened in the past and descriptions of things you used to do. For example, “colocaba”, meaning “I used to place”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Imperfect is known as "El Pretérito Imperfecto".

PronounSpanishEnglish
YocolocabaI used to place
Túcolocabasyou used to place
Ella / Él / Ustedcolocabas/he used to place
Nosotras / Nosotroscolocábamoswe used to place
Vosotras / Vosotroscolocabaisyou (plural) used to place
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedescolocabanthey used to place

How it’s built: Regular: stem coloc- plus the -ar endings.

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Colocar in the Indicative Present Continuous

The Indicative Present Continuous of colocar is used to talk about something that is happening continuously or right now. For example, “estoy colocando”, meaning “I am placing”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Present Continuous is known as "El Presente Progresivo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yoestoy colocandoI am placing
Túestás colocandoyou are placing
Ella / Él / Ustedestá colocandos/he is placing
Nosotras / Nosotrosestamos colocandowe are placing
Vosotras / Vosotrosestáis colocandoyou (plural) are placing
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesestán colocandothey are placing

How it’s built: Estar in the present (estoy, estás, está, estamos, estáis, están) plus the gerund colocando.

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Colocar in the Indicative Informal Future

The Indicative Informal Future of colocar is used to talk about something that will happen in the future, especially in the near future. For example, “voy a colocar”, meaning “I am going to place”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Informal Future is known as "El Futuro Próximo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yovoy a colocarI am going to place
Túvas a colocaryou are going to place
Ella / Él / Ustedva a colocars/he is going to place
Nosotras / Nosotrosvamos a colocarwe are going to place
Vosotras / Vosotrosvais a colocaryou (plural) are going to place
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesvan a colocarthey are going to place

How it’s built: Ir in the present (voy, vas, va, vamos, vais, van), then a, then the infinitive colocar.

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Colocar in the Indicative Future

The Indicative Future of colocar is used to talk about something that will happen in the future. For example, “colocaré”, meaning “I will place”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Future is known as "El Futuro Simple".

PronounSpanishEnglish
YocolocaréI will place
Túcolocarásyou will place
Ella / Él / Ustedcolocarás/he will place
Nosotras / Nosotroscolocaremoswe will place
Vosotras / Vosotroscolocaréisyou (plural) will place
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedescolocaránthey will place

How it’s built: Regular: the infinitive colocar plus the future endings.

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Colocar in the Indicative Conditional

The Indicative Conditional of colocar is used to talk about something that may happen in the future, hypothesis and probabilities. For example, “colocaría”, meaning “I would place”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional is known as "El Condicional Simple".

PronounSpanishEnglish
YocolocaríaI would place
Túcolocaríasyou would place
Ella / Él / Ustedcolocarías/he would place
Nosotras / Nosotroscolocaríamoswe would place
Vosotras / Vosotroscolocaríaisyou (plural) would place
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedescolocaríanthey would place

How it’s built: Regular: the infinitive colocar plus the conditional endings.

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Colocar in the Indicative Present Perfect

The Indicative Present Perfect of colocar 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 colocado”, meaning “I have placed”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohe colocadoI have placed
Túhas colocadoyou have placed
Ella / Él / Ustedha colocados/he has placed
Nosotras / Nosotroshemos colocadowe have placed
Vosotras / Vosotroshabéis colocadoyou (plural) have placed
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshan colocadothey have placed

How it’s built: Haber in the present (he, has, ha, hemos, habéis, han) plus the past participle colocado.

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Colocar in the Indicative Past Perfect

The Indicative Past Perfect of colocar is used to talk about actions that happened before another action in the past. For example, “había colocado”, meaning “I had placed”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohabía colocadoI had placed
Túhabías colocadoyou had placed
Ella / Él / Ustedhabía colocados/he had placed
Nosotras / Nosotroshabíamos colocadowe had placed
Vosotras / Vosotroshabíais colocadoyou (plural) had placed
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshabían colocadothey had placed

How it’s built: Haber in the imperfect (había, habías, había, habíamos, habíais, habían) plus the past participle colocado.

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Colocar in the Indicative Future Perfect

The Indicative Future Perfect of colocar is used to talk about something that will have happened in the future after something else has already happened. For example, “habré colocado”, meaning “I will have placed”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohabré colocadoI will have placed
Túhabrás colocadoyou will have placed
Ella / Él / Ustedhabrá colocados/he will have placed
Nosotras / Nosotroshabremos colocadowe will have placed
Vosotras / Vosotroshabréis colocadoyou (plural) will have placed
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshabrán colocadothey will have placed

How it’s built: Haber in the future (habré, habrás, habrá, habremos, habréis, habrán) plus the past participle colocado.

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Colocar in the Indicative Conditional Perfect

The Indicative Conditional Perfect of colocar is used to talk about something that would have happened in the past but didn’t due to another action. For example, “habría colocado”, meaning “I would have placed”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional Perfect is known as "El Condicional Perfecto".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohabría colocadoI would have placed
Túhabrías colocadoyou would have placed
Ella / Él / Ustedhabría colocados/he would have placed
Nosotras / Nosotroshabríamos colocadowe would have placed
Vosotras / Vosotroshabríais colocadoyou (plural) would have placed
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshabrían colocadothey would have placed

How it’s built: Haber in the conditional (habría, habrías, habría, habríamos, habríais, habrían) plus the past participle colocado.

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Subjunctive tenses of Colocar

Colocar in the Subjunctive Present

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, “coloque”, meaning “I place”.

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present is known as "El Presente de Subjuntivo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
YocoloqueI place
Túcoloquesyou place
Ella / Él / Ustedcoloques/he places
Nosotras / Nosotroscoloquemoswe place
Vosotras / Vosotroscoloquéisyou (plural) place
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedescoloquenthey place

How it’s built: Every form changes c to qu (coloque, coloques, coloque, coloquemos, coloquéis, coloquen).

Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.

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Colocar in the Subjunctive Imperfect

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, “colocara”, meaning “I placed”.

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Imperfect is known as "El Imperfecto Subjuntivo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
YocolocaraI placed
Túcolocarasyou placed
Ella / Él / Ustedcolocaras/he placed
Nosotras / Nosotroscolocáramoswe placed
Vosotras / Vosotroscolocaraisyou (plural) placed
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedescolocaranthey placed

How it’s built: Regular: the ellas/ellos preterite, colocaron, without -ron, plus the -ra endings; nosotros adds an accent (colocáramos).

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Colocar in the Subjunctive Future

The Subjunctive Future is used to speak about hypothetical situations, and actions/events that may happen in the future. For example, “colocare”, meaning “I will place”.

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future is known as "El Futuro de Subjuntivo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
YocolocareI will place
Túcolocaresyou will place
Ella / Él / Ustedcolocares/he will place
Nosotras / Nosotroscolocáremoswe will place
Vosotras / Vosotroscolocareisyou (plural) will place
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedescolocarenthey will place

How it’s built: Regular: the ellas/ellos preterite, colocaron, without -ron, plus the -re endings; nosotros adds an accent (colocáremos).

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Colocar in the Subjunctive Present Perfect

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 colocado”, meaning “I have placed”.

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto de Subjuntivo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohaya colocadoI have placed
Túhayas colocadoyou have placed
Ella / Él / Ustedhaya colocados/he has placed
Nosotras / Nosotroshayamos colocadowe have placed
Vosotras / Vosotroshayáis colocadoyou (plural) have placed
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshayan colocadothey have placed

How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive present (haya, hayas, haya, hayamos, hayáis, hayan) plus the past participle colocado.

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Colocar in the Subjunctive Past Perfect

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 colocado”, meaning “I had placed”.

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto de Subjuntivo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohubiera colocadoI had placed
Túhubieras colocadoyou had placed
Ella / Él / Ustedhubiera colocados/he had placed
Nosotras / Nosotroshubiéramos colocadowe had placed
Vosotras / Vosotroshubierais colocadoyou (plural) had placed
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshubieran colocadothey had placed

How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive imperfect (hubiera, hubieras, hubiera, hubiéramos, hubierais, hubieran) plus the past participle colocado.

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Colocar in the Subjunctive Future Perfect

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 colocado”, meaning “I will have placed”.

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto de Subjuntivo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohubiere colocadoI will have placed
Túhubieres colocadoyou will have placed
Ella / Él / Ustedhubiere colocados/he will have placed
Nosotras / Nosotroshubiéremos colocadowe will have placed
Vosotras / Vosotroshubiereis colocadoyou (plural) will have placed
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshubieren colocadothey will have placed

How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive future (hubiere, hubieres, hubiere, hubiéremos, hubiereis, hubieren) plus the past participle colocado.

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Imperative tenses of Colocar

Colocar in the Imperative Affirmative

The Imperative Affirmative is used to give orders and commands, to tell someone to do something. For example, “coloque”, meaning “(to you formal) place!”.

In Spanish, the Imperative Affirmative is known as "El Imperativo Afirmativo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yo--
Túcoloca(to you) place!
Ella / Él / Ustedcoloque(to you formal) place!
Nosotras / Nosotroscoloquemoslet's place!
Vosotras / Vosotroscolocad(to you plural) place!
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedescoloquen(to you plural formal) place!

How it’s built: Tú takes the ella/él present (coloca); usted, nosotros and ustedes take the subjunctive present (coloque, coloquemos, coloquen); vosotros swaps the final r of the infinitive for a d (colocad).

Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.

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Colocar in the Imperative Negative

The Imperative Negative is used to give orders and commands, telling someone not to do something. For example, “no coloque”, meaning “(to you formal) don't place!”.

In Spanish, the Imperative Negative is known as "El Imperativo Negativo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yo--
Túno coloques(to you) don't place!
Ella / Él / Ustedno coloque(to you formal) don't place!
Nosotras / Nosotrosno coloquemoslet's not place!
Vosotras / Vosotrosno coloquéis(to you plural) don't place!
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesno coloquen(to you plural formal) don't place!

How it’s built: No plus the subjunctive present: no coloques, no coloque, no coloquemos, no coloquéis, no coloquen.

Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.

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Frequently asked questions about Colocar

Is colocar a regular or irregular verb?

Colocar is an irregular Spanish verb. The present tense is regular. In the preterite: yo changes c to qu (coloqué); the other forms are regular. It is also irregular in the present subjunctive (coloque).

How do you conjugate colocar in the present tense (presente)?

In the present tense (presente), colocar is conjugated as: yo coloco, tú colocas, él/ella/usted coloca, nosotros colocamos, vosotros colocáis, ellos/ellas/ustedes colocan. 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.

How do you conjugate colocar in the preterite (pretérito indefinido)?

In the preterite (pretérito indefinido), colocar is conjugated as: yo coloqué, tú colocaste, él/ella/usted colocó, nosotros colocamos, vosotros colocasteis, ellos/ellas/ustedes colocaron. The preterite is used To talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time.

How do you conjugate colocar in the imperfect (pretérito imperfecto)?

In the imperfect (pretérito imperfecto), colocar is conjugated as: yo colocaba, tú colocabas, él/ella/usted colocaba, nosotros colocábamos, vosotros colocabais, ellos/ellas/ustedes colocaban. The imperfect is used To describe regular and repeated actions that happened in the past and descriptions of things you used to do.

How do you conjugate colocar in the future tense (futuro simple)?

In the future tense (futuro simple), colocar is conjugated as: yo colocaré, tú colocarás, él/ella/usted colocará, nosotros colocaremos, vosotros colocaréis, ellos/ellas/ustedes colocarán. The future tense is used To talk about something that will happen in the future.

How do you conjugate colocar in the present subjunctive (subjuntivo presente)?

In the present subjunctive (subjuntivo presente), colocar is conjugated as: yo coloque, tú coloques, él/ella/usted coloque, nosotros coloquemos, vosotros coloquéis, ellos/ellas/ustedes coloquen. 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.

What is the difference between colocar and colocarse?

Colocar means "to place, to put" in the standard sense. Colocarse is the reflexive form, which typically means the action is done to oneself or to each other. The reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) is added before the conjugated verb. For example, "no se colocan" instead of "no colocan".


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