Ella Verbscolocarse to get a position, to get a job, to stand (oneself), to sit (oneself) Irregular Verb
At a glance: Colocarse (to get a position, to get a job, to stand (oneself), to sit (oneself)) is a widely used reflexive irregular verbs in Spanish. In the present tense: me coloco, te colocas, se coloca, nos colocamos, os colocáis, se 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 (me coloque).

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The Indicative Present of colocarse 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, “me coloco”, meaning “I get a position”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Present is known as "El Presente".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me coloco | I get a position |
| Tú | te colocas | you get a position |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se coloca | s/he gets a position |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos colocamos | we get a position |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os colocáis | you (plural) get a position |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se colocan | they get a position |
How it’s built: Regular: stem coloc- plus the -ar endings. The reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes in front.
The Indicative Preterite of colocarse is used to talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time. For example, “me coloqué”, meaning “I got a position”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Preterite is known as "El Pretérito Indefinido".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me coloqué | I got a position |
| Tú | te colocaste | you got a position |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se colocó | s/he got a position |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos colocamos | we got a position |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os colocasteis | you (plural) got a position |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se colocaron | they got a position |
How it’s built: Yo changes c to qu (coloqué); the other forms are regular. The reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes in front.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
The Indicative Imperfect of colocarse is used to describe regular and repeated actions that happened in the past and descriptions of things you used to do. For example, “me colocaba”, meaning “I used to get a position”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Imperfect is known as "El Pretérito Imperfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me colocaba | I used to get a position |
| Tú | te colocabas | you used to get a position |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se colocaba | s/he used to get a position |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos colocábamos | we used to get a position |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os colocabais | you (plural) used to get a position |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se colocaban | they used to get a position |
How it’s built: Regular: stem coloc- plus the -ar endings. The reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes in front.
The Indicative Present Continuous of colocarse is used to talk about something that is happening continuously or right now. For example, “me estoy colocando”, meaning “I am getting a position”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Present Continuous is known as "El Presente Progresivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me estoy colocando | I am getting a position |
| Tú | te estás colocando | you are getting a position |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se está colocando | s/he is getting a position |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos estamos colocando | we are getting a position |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os estáis colocando | you (plural) are getting a position |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se están colocando | they are getting a position |
How it’s built: Estar in the present (estoy, estás, está, estamos, estáis, están) plus the gerund colocando. The reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes in front.
The Indicative Informal Future of colocarse is used to talk about something that will happen in the future, especially in the near future. For example, “me voy a colocar”, meaning “I am going to get a position”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Informal Future is known as "El Futuro Próximo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me voy a colocar | I am going to get a position |
| Tú | te vas a colocar | you are going to get a position |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se va a colocar | s/he is going to get a position |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos vamos a colocar | we are going to get a position |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os vais a colocar | you (plural) are going to get a position |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se van a colocar | they are going to get a position |
How it’s built: Ir in the present (voy, vas, va, vamos, vais, van), then a, then the infinitive colocar. The reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes in front.
The Indicative Future of colocarse is used to talk about something that will happen in the future. For example, “me colocaré”, meaning “I will get a position”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Future is known as "El Futuro Simple".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me colocaré | I will get a position |
| Tú | te colocarás | you will get a position |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se colocará | s/he will get a position |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos colocaremos | we will get a position |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os colocaréis | you (plural) will get a position |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se colocarán | they will get a position |
How it’s built: Regular: the infinitive colocar plus the future endings. The reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes in front.
The Indicative Conditional of colocarse is used to talk about something that may happen in the future, hypothesis and probabilities. For example, “me colocaría”, meaning “I would get a position”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional is known as "El Condicional Simple".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me colocaría | I would get a position |
| Tú | te colocarías | you would get a position |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se colocaría | s/he would get a position |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos colocaríamos | we would get a position |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os colocaríais | you (plural) would get a position |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se colocarían | they would get a position |
How it’s built: Regular: the infinitive colocar plus the conditional endings. The reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes in front.
The Indicative Present Perfect of colocarse 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, “me he colocado”, meaning “I have gotten a position”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me he colocado | I have gotten a position |
| Tú | te has colocado | you have gotten a position |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se ha colocado | s/he has gotten a position |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos hemos colocado | we have gotten a position |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os habéis colocado | you (plural) have gotten a position |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se han colocado | they have gotten a position |
How it’s built: Haber in the present (he, has, ha, hemos, habéis, han) plus the past participle colocado. The reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes in front.
The Indicative Past Perfect of colocarse is used to talk about actions that happened before another action in the past. For example, “me había colocado”, meaning “I had gotten a position”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me había colocado | I had gotten a position |
| Tú | te habías colocado | you had gotten a position |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se había colocado | s/he had gotten a position |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos habíamos colocado | we had gotten a position |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os habíais colocado | you (plural) had gotten a position |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se habían colocado | they had gotten a position |
How it’s built: Haber in the imperfect (había, habías, había, habíamos, habíais, habían) plus the past participle colocado. The reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes in front.
The Indicative Future Perfect of colocarse is used to talk about something that will have happened in the future after something else has already happened. For example, “me habré colocado”, meaning “I will have gotten a position”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me habré colocado | I will have gotten a position |
| Tú | te habrás colocado | you will have gotten a position |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se habrá colocado | s/he will have gotten a position |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos habremos colocado | we will have gotten a position |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os habréis colocado | you (plural) will have gotten a position |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se habrán colocado | they will have gotten a position |
How it’s built: Haber in the future (habré, habrás, habrá, habremos, habréis, habrán) plus the past participle colocado. The reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes in front.
The Indicative Conditional Perfect of colocarse is used to talk about something that would have happened in the past but didn’t due to another action. For example, “me habría colocado”, meaning “I would have gotten a position”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional Perfect is known as "El Condicional Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me habría colocado | I would have gotten a position |
| Tú | te habrías colocado | you would have gotten a position |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se habría colocado | s/he would have gotten a position |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos habríamos colocado | we would have gotten a position |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os habríais colocado | you (plural) would have gotten a position |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se habrían colocado | they would have gotten a position |
How it’s built: Haber in the conditional (habría, habrías, habría, habríamos, habríais, habrían) plus the past participle colocado. The reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes in front.
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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, “me coloque”, meaning “I get a position”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present is known as "El Presente de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me coloque | I get a position |
| Tú | te coloques | you get a position |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se coloque | s/he gets a position |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos coloquemos | we get a position |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os coloquéis | you (plural) get a position |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se coloquen | they get a position |
How it’s built: Every form changes c to qu (coloque, coloques, coloque, coloquemos, coloquéis, coloquen). The reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes in front.
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, “me colocara”, meaning “I got a position”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Imperfect is known as "El Imperfecto Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me colocara | I got a position |
| Tú | te colocaras | you got a position |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se colocara | s/he got a position |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos colocáramos | we got a position |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os colocarais | you (plural) got a position |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se colocaran | they got a position |
How it’s built: Regular: the ellas/ellos preterite, colocaron, without -ron, plus the -ra endings; nosotros adds an accent (colocáramos). The reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes in front.
The Subjunctive Future is used to speak about hypothetical situations, and actions/events that may happen in the future. For example, “me colocare”, meaning “I will get a position”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future is known as "El Futuro de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me colocare | I will get a position |
| Tú | te colocares | you will get a position |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se colocare | s/he will get a position |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos colocáremos | we will get a position |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os colocareis | you (plural) will get a position |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se colocaren | they will get a position |
How it’s built: Regular: the ellas/ellos preterite, colocaron, without -ron, plus the -re endings; nosotros adds an accent (colocáremos). The reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes in front.
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, “me haya colocado”, meaning “I have gotten a position”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me haya colocado | I have gotten a position |
| Tú | te hayas colocado | you have gotten a position |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se haya colocado | s/he has gotten a position |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos hayamos colocado | we have gotten a position |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os hayáis colocado | you (plural) have gotten a position |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se hayan colocado | they have gotten a position |
How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive present (haya, hayas, haya, hayamos, hayáis, hayan) plus the past participle colocado. The reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes in front.
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, “me hubiera colocado”, meaning “I had gotten a position”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me hubiera colocado | I had gotten a position |
| Tú | te hubieras colocado | you had gotten a position |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se hubiera colocado | s/he had gotten a position |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos hubiéramos colocado | we had gotten a position |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os hubierais colocado | you (plural) had gotten a position |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se hubieran colocado | they had gotten a position |
How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive imperfect (hubiera, hubieras, hubiera, hubiéramos, hubierais, hubieran) plus the past participle colocado. The reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes in front.
The Subjunctive Future Perfect is used to speak about something that will have happened if a hypothetical situations occurs in the future. For example, “me hubiere colocado”, meaning “I will have gotten a position”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me hubiere colocado | I will have gotten a position |
| Tú | te hubieres colocado | you will have gotten a position |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se hubiere colocado | s/he will have gotten a position |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos hubiéremos colocado | we will have gotten a position |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os hubiereis colocado | you (plural) will have gotten a position |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se hubieren colocado | they will have gotten a position |
How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive future (hubiere, hubieres, hubiere, hubiéremos, hubiereis, hubieren) plus the past participle colocado. The reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes in front.
The Imperative Affirmative is used to give orders and commands, to tell someone to do something. For example, “colóquese”, meaning “(to you formal) get a position!”.
In Spanish, the Imperative Affirmative is known as "El Imperativo Afirmativo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | - | - |
| Tú | colócate | (to you) get a position! |
| Ella / Él / Usted | colóquese | (to you formal) get a position! |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | coloquémonos | let's get a position! |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | colocaos | (to you plural) get a position! |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | colóquense | (to you plural formal) get a position! |
How it’s built: Tú takes the ella/él present and attaches te (colócate); usted and ustedes take the subjunctive present and attach se (colóquese, colóquense); nosotros takes the subjunctive present, drops the s and attaches nos (coloquémonos); vosotros drops the final r of the infinitive and attaches os (colocaos).
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 se coloque”, meaning “(to you formal) don't get a position!”.
In Spanish, the Imperative Negative is known as "El Imperativo Negativo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | - | - |
| Tú | no te coloques | (to you) don't get a position! |
| Ella / Él / Usted | no se coloque | (to you formal) don't get a position! |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | no nos coloquemos | let's not get a position! |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | no os coloquéis | (to you plural) don't get a position! |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | no se coloquen | (to you plural formal) don't get a position! |
How it’s built: No plus the subjunctive present: no te coloques, no se coloque, no nos coloquemos, no os coloquéis, no se coloquen.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
Colocarse 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 (me coloque).
In the present tense (presente), colocarse is conjugated as: yo me coloco, tú te colocas, él/ella/usted se coloca, nosotros nos colocamos, vosotros os colocáis, ellos/ellas/ustedes se 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.
In the preterite (pretérito indefinido), colocarse is conjugated as: yo me coloqué, tú te colocaste, él/ella/usted se colocó, nosotros nos colocamos, vosotros os colocasteis, ellos/ellas/ustedes se colocaron. The preterite is used To talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time.
In the imperfect (pretérito imperfecto), colocarse is conjugated as: yo me colocaba, tú te colocabas, él/ella/usted se colocaba, nosotros nos colocábamos, vosotros os colocabais, ellos/ellas/ustedes se colocaban. 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), colocarse is conjugated as: yo me colocaré, tú te colocarás, él/ella/usted se colocará, nosotros nos colocaremos, vosotros os colocaréis, ellos/ellas/ustedes se colocarán. The future tense is used To talk about something that will happen in the future.
In the present subjunctive (subjuntivo presente), colocarse is conjugated as: yo me coloque, tú te coloques, él/ella/usted se coloque, nosotros nos coloquemos, vosotros os coloquéis, ellos/ellas/ustedes se 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.
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