Ella Verbstocar to play (an instrument), to touch, to be (someone's) turn Irregular Verb Top 100
At a glance: Tocar (to play (an instrument), to touch, to be (someone's) turn) is one of the most common irregular verbs in Spanish. In the present tense: toco, tocas, toca, tocamos, tocáis, tocan. The present tense is regular. In the preterite: yo changes c to qu (toqué); the other forms are regular. It is also irregular in the present subjunctive (toque).

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The Indicative Present of tocar 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, “toco la guitarra”, meaning “I play the guitar”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Present is known as "El Presente".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | toco | I play |
| Tú | tocas | you play |
| Ella / Él / Usted | toca | s/he plays |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | tocamos | we play |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | tocáis | you (plural) play |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | tocan | they play |
How it’s built: Regular: stem toc- plus the -ar endings.
The Indicative Preterite of tocar is used to talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time. For example, “toqué la guitarra”, meaning “I played the guitar”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Preterite is known as "El Pretérito Indefinido".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | toqué | I played |
| Tú | tocaste | you played |
| Ella / Él / Usted | tocó | s/he played |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | tocamos | we played |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | tocasteis | you (plural) played |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | tocaron | they played |
How it’s built: Yo changes c to qu (toqué); the other forms are regular.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
The Indicative Imperfect of tocar is used to describe regular and repeated actions that happened in the past and descriptions of things you used to do. For example, “tocaba la guitarra”, meaning “I used to play the guitar”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Imperfect is known as "El Pretérito Imperfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | tocaba | I used to play |
| Tú | tocabas | you used to play |
| Ella / Él / Usted | tocaba | s/he used to play |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | tocábamos | we used to play |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | tocabais | you (plural) used to play |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | tocaban | they used to play |
How it’s built: Regular: stem toc- plus the -ar endings.
The Indicative Present Continuous of tocar is used to talk about something that is happening continuously or right now. For example, “estoy tocando la guitarra”, meaning “I am playing the guitar”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Present Continuous is known as "El Presente Progresivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | estoy tocando | I am playing |
| Tú | estás tocando | you are playing |
| Ella / Él / Usted | está tocando | s/he is playing |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | estamos tocando | we are playing |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | estáis tocando | you (plural) are playing |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | están tocando | they are playing |
How it’s built: Estar in the present (estoy, estás, está, estamos, estáis, están) plus the gerund tocando.
The Indicative Informal Future of tocar is used to talk about something that will happen in the future, especially in the near future. For example, “voy a tocar la guitarra”, meaning “I am going to play the guitar”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Informal Future is known as "El Futuro Próximo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | voy a tocar | I am going to play |
| Tú | vas a tocar | you are going to play |
| Ella / Él / Usted | va a tocar | s/he is going to play |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | vamos a tocar | we are going to play |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | vais a tocar | you (plural) are going to play |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | van a tocar | they are going to play |
How it’s built: Ir in the present (voy, vas, va, vamos, vais, van), then a, then the infinitive tocar.
The Indicative Future of tocar is used to talk about something that will happen in the future. For example, “tocaré la guitarra”, meaning “I will play the guitar”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Future is known as "El Futuro Simple".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | tocaré | I will play |
| Tú | tocarás | you will play |
| Ella / Él / Usted | tocará | s/he will play |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | tocaremos | we will play |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | tocaréis | you (plural) will play |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | tocarán | they will play |
How it’s built: Regular: the infinitive tocar plus the future endings.
The Indicative Conditional of tocar is used to talk about something that may happen in the future, hypothesis and probabilities. For example, “tocaría la guitarra”, meaning “I would play the guitar”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional is known as "El Condicional Simple".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | tocaría | I would play |
| Tú | tocarías | you would play |
| Ella / Él / Usted | tocaría | s/he would play |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | tocaríamos | we would play |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | tocaríais | you (plural) would play |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | tocarían | they would play |
How it’s built: Regular: the infinitive tocar plus the conditional endings.
The Indicative Present Perfect of tocar 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 tocado la guitarra”, meaning “I have played the guitar”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | he tocado | I have played |
| Tú | has tocado | you have played |
| Ella / Él / Usted | ha tocado | s/he has played |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hemos tocado | we have played |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habéis tocado | you (plural) have played |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | han tocado | they have played |
How it’s built: Haber in the present (he, has, ha, hemos, habéis, han) plus the past participle tocado.
The Indicative Past Perfect of tocar is used to talk about actions that happened before another action in the past. For example, “había tocado la guitarra”, meaning “I had played the guitar”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | había tocado | I had played |
| Tú | habías tocado | you had played |
| Ella / Él / Usted | había tocado | s/he had played |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habíamos tocado | we had played |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habíais tocado | you (plural) had played |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habían tocado | they had played |
How it’s built: Haber in the imperfect (había, habías, había, habíamos, habíais, habían) plus the past participle tocado.
The Indicative Future Perfect of tocar is used to talk about something that will have happened in the future after something else has already happened. For example, “habré tocado la guitarra”, meaning “I will have played the guitar”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | habré tocado | I will have played |
| Tú | habrás tocado | you will have played |
| Ella / Él / Usted | habrá tocado | s/he will have played |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habremos tocado | we will have played |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habréis tocado | you (plural) will have played |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habrán tocado | they will have played |
How it’s built: Haber in the future (habré, habrás, habrá, habremos, habréis, habrán) plus the past participle tocado.
The Indicative Conditional Perfect of tocar is used to talk about something that would have happened in the past but didn’t due to another action. For example, “habría tocado la guitarra”, meaning “I would have played the guitar”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional Perfect is known as "El Condicional Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | habría tocado | I would have played |
| Tú | habrías tocado | you would have played |
| Ella / Él / Usted | habría tocado | s/he would have played |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habríamos tocado | we would have played |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habríais tocado | you (plural) would have played |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habrían tocado | they would have played |
How it’s built: Haber in the conditional (habría, habrías, habría, habríamos, habríais, habrían) plus the past participle tocado.
Want tocar to come out without thinking?
The app teaches the “C to QU” pattern step by step, then quizzes you until forms like toqué are automatic.
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, “toque”, meaning “I play”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present is known as "El Presente de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | toque | I play |
| Tú | toques | you play |
| Ella / Él / Usted | toque | s/he plays |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | toquemos | we play |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | toquéis | you (plural) play |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | toquen | they play |
How it’s built: Every form changes c to qu (toque, toques, toque, toquemos, toquéis, toquen).
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, “tocara”, meaning “I played”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Imperfect is known as "El Imperfecto Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | tocara | I played |
| Tú | tocaras | you played |
| Ella / Él / Usted | tocara | s/he played |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | tocáramos | we played |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | tocarais | you (plural) played |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | tocaran | they played |
How it’s built: Regular: the ellas/ellos preterite, tocaron, without -ron, plus the -ra endings; nosotros adds an accent (tocáramos).
The Subjunctive Future is used to speak about hypothetical situations, and actions/events that may happen in the future. For example, “tocare”, meaning “I will play”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future is known as "El Futuro de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | tocare | I will play |
| Tú | tocares | you will play |
| Ella / Él / Usted | tocare | s/he will play |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | tocáremos | we will play |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | tocareis | you (plural) will play |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | tocaren | they will play |
How it’s built: Regular: the ellas/ellos preterite, tocaron, without -ron, plus the -re endings; nosotros adds an accent (tocáremos).
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 tocado”, meaning “I have played”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | haya tocado | I have played |
| Tú | hayas tocado | you have played |
| Ella / Él / Usted | haya tocado | s/he has played |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hayamos tocado | we have played |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hayáis tocado | you (plural) have played |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hayan tocado | they have played |
How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive present (haya, hayas, haya, hayamos, hayáis, hayan) plus the past participle tocado.
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 tocado”, meaning “I had played”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | hubiera tocado | I had played |
| Tú | hubieras tocado | you had played |
| Ella / Él / Usted | hubiera tocado | s/he had played |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hubiéramos tocado | we had played |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hubierais tocado | you (plural) had played |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hubieran tocado | they had played |
How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive imperfect (hubiera, hubieras, hubiera, hubiéramos, hubierais, hubieran) plus the past participle tocado.
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 tocado”, meaning “I will have played”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | hubiere tocado | I will have played |
| Tú | hubieres tocado | you will have played |
| Ella / Él / Usted | hubiere tocado | s/he will have played |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hubiéremos tocado | we will have played |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hubiereis tocado | you (plural) will have played |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hubieren tocado | they will have played |
How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive future (hubiere, hubieres, hubiere, hubiéremos, hubiereis, hubieren) plus the past participle tocado.
The Imperative Affirmative is used to give orders and commands, to tell someone to do something. For example, “toque”, meaning “(to you formal) play!”.
In Spanish, the Imperative Affirmative is known as "El Imperativo Afirmativo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | - | - |
| Tú | toca | (to you) play! |
| Ella / Él / Usted | toque | (to you formal) play! |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | toquemos | let's play! |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | tocad | (to you plural) play! |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | toquen | (to you plural formal) play! |
How it’s built: Tú takes the ella/él present (toca); usted, nosotros and ustedes take the subjunctive present (toque, toquemos, toquen); vosotros swaps the final r of the infinitive for a d (tocad).
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 toque”, meaning “(to you formal) don't play!”.
In Spanish, the Imperative Negative is known as "El Imperativo Negativo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | - | - |
| Tú | no toques | (to you) don't play! |
| Ella / Él / Usted | no toque | (to you formal) don't play! |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | no toquemos | let's not play! |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | no toquéis | (to you plural) don't play! |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | no toquen | (to you plural formal) don't play! |
How it’s built: No plus the subjunctive present: no toques, no toque, no toquemos, no toquéis, no toquen.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
Tocar is an irregular Spanish verb. The present tense is regular. In the preterite: yo changes c to qu (toqué); the other forms are regular. It is also irregular in the present subjunctive (toque).
In the present tense (presente), tocar is conjugated as: yo toco, tú tocas, él/ella/usted toca, nosotros tocamos, vosotros tocáis, ellos/ellas/ustedes tocan. 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), tocar is conjugated as: yo toqué, tú tocaste, él/ella/usted tocó, nosotros tocamos, vosotros tocasteis, ellos/ellas/ustedes tocaron. The preterite is used To talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time.
In the imperfect (pretérito imperfecto), tocar is conjugated as: yo tocaba, tú tocabas, él/ella/usted tocaba, nosotros tocábamos, vosotros tocabais, ellos/ellas/ustedes tocaban. 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), tocar is conjugated as: yo tocaré, tú tocarás, él/ella/usted tocará, nosotros tocaremos, vosotros tocaréis, ellos/ellas/ustedes tocarán. The future tense is used To talk about something that will happen in the future.
In the present subjunctive (subjuntivo presente), tocar is conjugated as: yo toque, tú toques, él/ella/usted toque, nosotros toquemos, vosotros toquéis, ellos/ellas/ustedes toquen. 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.
Tocar means ‘to play (an instrument), to touch, to be (someone's) turn’ and tocarse means ‘to touch (oneself)’. Tocarse is the reflexive form of tocar, so it always takes a reflexive pronoun – me, te, se, nos, os or se – that matches the subject. The verb itself is conjugated the same way: in the present tense, yo toco becomes me toco. In the affirmative tú imperative the pronoun attaches to the end of the verb, so toca becomes tócate.
Here are everyday sentences using tocar: Él toca el piano muy bien. (He plays the piano very well.)
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Why not check out Tocarse – to touch (oneself) or see the complete list of verbs here.

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