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How to conjugate Explicar in Spanish

To explain Irregular Verb Top 100

Introduction

Explicar is the Spanish verb for "to explain". It is an irregular verb, and one of the most popular 100 Spanish verbs. Read on below to see how it is conjugated in the 18 major Spanish tenses!

ItemSpanishEnglish
Infinitiveexplicarto explain
Past participleexplicadoexplained
Gerundexplicandoexplaining
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Indicative Tenses of Explicar

Explicar in the Indicative Present

The Indicative Present of explicar 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, "explico la respuesta a los alumnos", meaning "I explain the answer to the students".

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
YoexplicoI explain
explicasyou explain
Ella / Él / Ustedexplicas/he explains, you (formal) explain
Nosotras / Nosotrosexplicamoswe explain
Vosotras / Vosotrosexplicáisyou (plural) explain
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesexplicanthey explain, you (plural formal) explain

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Explicar in the Indicative Preterite

The Indicative Preterite of explicar is used to talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time. For example, "expliqué la respuesta a los alumnos", meaning "I explained the answer to the students".

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yoexpliqué I explained
explicasteyou explained
Ella / Él / Ustedexplicós/he explained, you (formal) explained
Nosotras / Nosotrosexplicamoswe explained
Vosotras / Vosotrosexplicasteisyou (plural) explained
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesexplicaronthey explained, you (plural formal) explained

The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.

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Explicar in the Indicative Imperfect

The Indicative Imperfect of explicar is used to describe regular and repeated actions that happened in the past and descriptions of things you used to do. For example, "explicaba la respuesta a los alumnos", meaning "I used to explain the answer to the students".

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
YoexplicabaI used to explain
explicabasyou used to explain
Ella / Él / Ustedexplicabas/he used to explain, you (formal) used to explain
Nosotras / Nosotrosexplicábamoswe used to explain
Vosotras / Vosotrosexplicabaisyou (plural) used to explain
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesexplicabanthey used to explain, you (plural formal) used to explain

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Explicar in the Indicative Present Continuous

The Indicative Present Continuous of explicar is used to talk about something that is happening continuously or right now. For example, "estoy explicando la respuesta a los alumnos", meaning "I am explaining the answer to the students".

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yoestoy explicandoI am explaining
estás explicandoyou are explaining
Ella / Él / Ustedestá explicandos/he is explaining, you (formal) are explaining
Nosotras / Nosotrosestamos explicandowe are explaining
Vosotras / Vosotrosestáis explicandoyou (plural) are explaining
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesestán explicandothey are explaining, you (plural formal) are explaining

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Explicar in the Indicative Informal Future

The Indicative Informal Future of explicar is used to talk about something that will happen in the future, especially in the near future. For example, "voy a explicar la respuesta a los alumnos", meaning "I am going to explain the answer to the students".

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yovoy a explicarI am going to explain
vas a explicaryou are going to explain
Ella / Él / Ustedva a explicars/he is going to explain, you (formal) are going to explain
Nosotras / Nosotrosvamos a explicarwe are going to explain
Vosotras / Vosotrosvais a explicaryou (plural) are going to explain
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesvan a explicarthey are going to explain, you (plural formal) are going to explain

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Explicar in the Indicative Future

The Indicative Future of explicar is used to talk about something that will happen in the future. For example, "explicaré la respuesta a los alumnos", meaning "I will explain the answer to the students".

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
YoexplicaréI will explain
explicarásyou will explain
Ella / Él / Ustedexplicarás/he will explain, you (formal) will explain
Nosotras / Nosotrosexplicaremoswe will explain
Vosotras / Vosotrosexplicaréisyou (plural) will explain
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesexplicaránthey will explain, you (plural formal) will explain

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Explicar in the Indicative Conditional

The Indicative Conditional of explicar is used to talk about something that may happen in the future, hypothesis and probabilities. For example, "explicaría la respuesta a los alumnos", meaning "I would explain the answer to the students".

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
YoexplicaríaI would explain
explicaríasyou would explain
Ella / Él / Ustedexplicarías/he would explain, you (formal) would explain
Nosotras / Nosotrosexplicaríamoswe would explain
Vosotras / Vosotrosexplicaríaisyou (plural) would explain
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesexplicaríanthey would explain, you (plural formal) would explain

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Explicar in the Indicative Present Perfect

The Indicative Present Perfect of explicar 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 explicado la respuesta a los alumnos", meaning "I have explained the answer to the students".

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohe explicadoI have explained
has explicadoyou have explained
Ella / Él / Ustedha explicados/he has explained, you (formal) have explained
Nosotras / Nosotroshemos explicadowe have explained
Vosotras / Vosotroshabéis explicadoyou (plural) have explained
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshan explicadothey have explained, you (plural formal) have explained

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Explicar in the Indicative Past Perfect

The Indicative Past Perfect of explicar is used to talk about actions that happened before another action in the past. For example, "había explicado la respuesta a los alumnos", meaning "I had explained the answer to the students".

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohabía explicadoI had explained
habías explicadoyou had explained
Ella / Él / Ustedhabía explicados/he had explained, you (formal) had explained
Nosotras / Nosotroshabíamos explicadowe had explained
Vosotras / Vosotroshabíais explicadoyou (plural) had explained
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshabían explicadothey had explained, you (plural formal) had explained

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Explicar in the Indicative Future Perfect

The Indicative Future Perfect of explicar is used to talk about something that will have happened in the future after something else has already happened. For example, "habré explicado la respuesta a los alumnos", meaning "I will have explained the answer to the students".

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohabré explicadoI will have explained
habrás explicadoyou will have explained
Ella / Él / Ustedhabrá explicados/he will have explained, you (formal) will have explained
Nosotras / Nosotroshabremos explicadowe will have explained
Vosotras / Vosotroshabréis explicadoyou (plural) will have explained
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshabrán explicadothey will have explained, you (plural formal) will have explained

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Explicar in the Indicative Conditional Perfect

The Indicative Conditional Perfect of explicar is used to talk about something that would have happened in the past but didn’t due to another action. For example, "habría explicado la respuesta a los alumnos", meaning "I would have explained the answer to the students".

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohabría explicadoI would have explained
habrías explicadoyou would have explained
Ella / Él / Ustedhabría explicados/he would have explained, you (formal) would have explained
Nosotras / Nosotroshabríamos explicadowe would have explained
Vosotras / Vosotroshabríais explicadoyou (plural) would have explained
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshabrían explicadothey would have explained, you (plural formal) would have explained

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Subjunctive Tenses of Explicar

Explicar 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, "explique", meaning "I explain".

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yoexplique I explain
expliques you explain
Ella / Él / Ustedexplique s/he explains, you (formal) explain
Nosotras / Nosotrosexpliquemos we explain
Vosotras / Vosotrosexpliquéis you (plural) explain
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesexpliquen they explain, you (plural formal) explain

The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.

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Explicar 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, "explicara", meaning "I explained".

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
YoexplicaraI explained
explicarasyou explained
Ella / Él / Ustedexplicaras/he explained, you (formal) explained
Nosotras / Nosotrosexplicáramoswe explained
Vosotras / Vosotrosexplicaraisyou (plural) explained
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesexplicaranthey explained, you (plural formal) explained

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Explicar 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, "explicare", meaning "I will explain".

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
YoexplicareI will explain
explicaresyou will explain
Ella / Él / Ustedexplicares/he will explain, you (formal) will explain
Nosotras / Nosotrosexplicáremoswe will explain
Vosotras / Vosotrosexplicareisyou (plural) will explain
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesexplicarenthey will explain, you (plural formal) will explain

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Explicar 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 explicado", meaning "I have explained".

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohaya explicadoI have explained
hayas explicadoyou have explained
Ella / Él / Ustedhaya explicados/he has explained, you (formal) have explained
Nosotras / Nosotroshayamos explicadowe have explained
Vosotras / Vosotroshayáis explicadoyou (plural) have explained
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshayan explicadothey have explained, you (plural formal) have explained

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Explicar 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 explicado", meaning "I had explained".

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohubiera explicadoI had explained
hubieras explicadoyou had explained
Ella / Él / Ustedhubiera explicados/he had explained, you (formal) had explained
Nosotras / Nosotroshubiéramos explicadowe had explained
Vosotras / Vosotroshubierais explicadoyou (plural) had explained
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshubieran explicadothey had explained, you (plural formal) had explained

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Explicar 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 explicado", meaning "I will have explained".

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohubiere explicadoI will have explained
hubieres explicadoyou will have explained
Ella / Él / Ustedhubiere explicados/he will have explained, you (formal) will have explained
Nosotras / Nosotroshubiéremos explicadowe will have explained
Vosotras / Vosotroshubiereis explicadoyou (plural) will have explained
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshubieren explicadothey will have explained, you (plural formal) will have explained

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Imperative Tenses of Explicar

Explicar in the Imperative Affirmative

The Imperative Affirmative is used to give orders and commands, to tell someone to do something. For example, "explique", meaning "(to you formal) explain!".

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yo--
explica(to you) explain!
Ella / Él / Ustedexplique (to you formal) explain!
Nosotras / Nosotrosexpliquemos let's explain!
Vosotras / Vosotrosexplicad(to you plural) explain!
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesexpliquen (to you plural formal) explain!

The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.

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Explicar in the Imperative Negative

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

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yo--
no expliques (to you) don't explain!
Ella / Él / Ustedno explique (to you formal) don't explain!
Nosotras / Nosotrosno expliquemos let's not explain!
Vosotras / Vosotrosno expliquéis (to you plural) don't explain!
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesno expliquen (to you plural formal) don't explain!

The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.

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Downloadable cheat sheets

Download and print a cheat sheet of Explicar Spanish conjugation tables in image or PDF format:

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