Ella VerbsHow to conjugate Utilizar in Spanish
utilizar to use, to utilize Irregular Verb Top 100
At a glance: Utilizar (to use, to utilize) is one of the most common irregular verbs in Spanish. In the present tense: utilizo, utilizas, utiliza, utilizamos, utilizáis, utilizan. The present tense is regular. In the preterite: yo changes z to c (utilicé); the other forms are regular. It is also irregular in the present subjunctive (utilice).
- Past participle
- utilizado used
- Gerund
- utilizando using
- Similar
- emplear, usar
Table of contents
- Indicative tenses of Utilizar
- Utilizar in the Indicative Present
- Utilizar in the Indicative Preterite
- Utilizar in the Indicative Imperfect
- Utilizar in the Indicative Present Continuous
- Utilizar in the Indicative Informal Future
- Utilizar in the Indicative Future
- Utilizar in the Indicative Conditional
- Utilizar in the Indicative Present Perfect
- Utilizar in the Indicative Past Perfect
- Utilizar in the Indicative Future Perfect
- Utilizar in the Indicative Conditional Perfect
- Subjunctive tenses of Utilizar
- Imperative tenses of Utilizar
- Verbs that follow the same patterns
- Example sentences and usage
- Frequently asked questions
- Downloadable cheat sheet (PDF)
- Practise Utilizar conjugations (free mobile app)
Utilizar conjugation tables as a PDF
A printable two-page cheat sheet, sent to your inbox.
Indicative tenses of Utilizar
Utilizar in the Indicative Present
The Indicative Present of utilizar 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, “utilizo”, meaning “I use”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Present is known as "El Presente".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | utilizo | I use |
| Tú | utilizas | you use |
| Ella / Él / Usted | utiliza | s/he uses |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | utilizamos | we use |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | utilizáis | you (plural) use |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | utilizan | they use |
How it’s built: Regular: stem utiliz- plus the -ar endings.
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Utilizar in the Indicative Preterite
The Indicative Preterite of utilizar is used to talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time. For example, “utilicé”, meaning “I used”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Preterite is known as "El Pretérito Indefinido".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | utilicé | I used |
| Tú | utilizaste | you used |
| Ella / Él / Usted | utilizó | s/he used |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | utilizamos | we used |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | utilizasteis | you (plural) used |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | utilizaron | they used |
How it’s built: Yo changes z to c (utilicé); the other forms are regular.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
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Utilizar in the Indicative Imperfect
The Indicative Imperfect of utilizar is used to describe regular and repeated actions that happened in the past and descriptions of things you used to do. For example, “utilizaba”, meaning “I used to use”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Imperfect is known as "El Pretérito Imperfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | utilizaba | I used to use |
| Tú | utilizabas | you used to use |
| Ella / Él / Usted | utilizaba | s/he used to use |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | utilizábamos | we used to use |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | utilizabais | you (plural) used to use |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | utilizaban | they used to use |
How it’s built: Regular: stem utiliz- plus the -ar endings.
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Utilizar in the Indicative Present Continuous
The Indicative Present Continuous of utilizar is used to talk about something that is happening continuously or right now. For example, “estoy utilizando”, meaning “I am using”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Present Continuous is known as "El Presente Progresivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | estoy utilizando | I am using |
| Tú | estás utilizando | you are using |
| Ella / Él / Usted | está utilizando | s/he is using |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | estamos utilizando | we are using |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | estáis utilizando | you (plural) are using |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | están utilizando | they are using |
How it’s built: Estar in the present (estoy, estás, está, estamos, estáis, están) plus the gerund utilizando.
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Utilizar in the Indicative Informal Future
The Indicative Informal Future of utilizar is used to talk about something that will happen in the future, especially in the near future. For example, “voy a utilizar”, meaning “I am going to use”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Informal Future is known as "El Futuro Próximo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | voy a utilizar | I am going to use |
| Tú | vas a utilizar | you are going to use |
| Ella / Él / Usted | va a utilizar | s/he is going to use |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | vamos a utilizar | we are going to use |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | vais a utilizar | you (plural) are going to use |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | van a utilizar | they are going to use |
How it’s built: Ir in the present (voy, vas, va, vamos, vais, van), then a, then the infinitive utilizar.
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Utilizar in the Indicative Future
The Indicative Future of utilizar is used to talk about something that will happen in the future. For example, “utilizaré”, meaning “I will use”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Future is known as "El Futuro Simple".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | utilizaré | I will use |
| Tú | utilizarás | you will use |
| Ella / Él / Usted | utilizará | s/he will use |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | utilizaremos | we will use |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | utilizaréis | you (plural) will use |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | utilizarán | they will use |
How it’s built: Regular: the infinitive utilizar plus the future endings.
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Utilizar in the Indicative Conditional
The Indicative Conditional of utilizar is used to talk about something that may happen in the future, hypothesis and probabilities. For example, “utilizaría”, meaning “I would use”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional is known as "El Condicional Simple".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | utilizaría | I would use |
| Tú | utilizarías | you would use |
| Ella / Él / Usted | utilizaría | s/he would use |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | utilizaríamos | we would use |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | utilizaríais | you (plural) would use |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | utilizarían | they would use |
How it’s built: Regular: the infinitive utilizar plus the conditional endings.
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Utilizar in the Indicative Present Perfect
The Indicative Present Perfect of utilizar 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 utilizado”, meaning “I have used”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | he utilizado | I have used |
| Tú | has utilizado | you have used |
| Ella / Él / Usted | ha utilizado | s/he has used |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hemos utilizado | we have used |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habéis utilizado | you (plural) have used |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | han utilizado | they have used |
How it’s built: Haber in the present (he, has, ha, hemos, habéis, han) plus the past participle utilizado.
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Utilizar in the Indicative Past Perfect
The Indicative Past Perfect of utilizar is used to talk about actions that happened before another action in the past. For example, “había utilizado”, meaning “I had used”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | había utilizado | I had used |
| Tú | habías utilizado | you had used |
| Ella / Él / Usted | había utilizado | s/he had used |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habíamos utilizado | we had used |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habíais utilizado | you (plural) had used |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habían utilizado | they had used |
How it’s built: Haber in the imperfect (había, habías, había, habíamos, habíais, habían) plus the past participle utilizado.
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Utilizar in the Indicative Future Perfect
The Indicative Future Perfect of utilizar is used to talk about something that will have happened in the future after something else has already happened. For example, “habré utilizado”, meaning “I will have used”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | habré utilizado | I will have used |
| Tú | habrás utilizado | you will have used |
| Ella / Él / Usted | habrá utilizado | s/he will have used |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habremos utilizado | we will have used |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habréis utilizado | you (plural) will have used |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habrán utilizado | they will have used |
How it’s built: Haber in the future (habré, habrás, habrá, habremos, habréis, habrán) plus the past participle utilizado.
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Utilizar in the Indicative Conditional Perfect
The Indicative Conditional Perfect of utilizar is used to talk about something that would have happened in the past but didn’t due to another action. For example, “habría utilizado”, meaning “I would have used”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional Perfect is known as "El Condicional Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | habría utilizado | I would have used |
| Tú | habrías utilizado | you would have used |
| Ella / Él / Usted | habría utilizado | s/he would have used |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habríamos utilizado | we would have used |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habríais utilizado | you (plural) would have used |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habrían utilizado | they would have used |
How it’s built: Haber in the conditional (habría, habrías, habría, habríamos, habríais, habrían) plus the past participle utilizado.
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Subjunctive tenses of Utilizar
Utilizar 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, “utilice”, meaning “I use”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present is known as "El Presente de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | utilice | I use |
| Tú | utilices | you use |
| Ella / Él / Usted | utilice | s/he uses |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | utilicemos | we use |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | utilicéis | you (plural) use |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | utilicen | they use |
How it’s built: Every form changes z to c (utilice, utilices, utilice, utilicemos, utilicéis, utilicen).
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
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Utilizar 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, “utilizara”, meaning “I used”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Imperfect is known as "El Imperfecto Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | utilizara | I used |
| Tú | utilizaras | you used |
| Ella / Él / Usted | utilizara | s/he used |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | utilizáramos | we used |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | utilizarais | you (plural) used |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | utilizaran | they used |
How it’s built: Regular: the ellas/ellos preterite, utilizaron, without -ron, plus the -ra endings; nosotros adds an accent (utilizáramos).
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Utilizar 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, “utilizare”, meaning “I will use”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future is known as "El Futuro de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | utilizare | I will use |
| Tú | utilizares | you will use |
| Ella / Él / Usted | utilizare | s/he will use |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | utilizáremos | we will use |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | utilizareis | you (plural) will use |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | utilizaren | they will use |
How it’s built: Regular: the ellas/ellos preterite, utilizaron, without -ron, plus the -re endings; nosotros adds an accent (utilizáremos).
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Utilizar 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 utilizado”, meaning “I have used”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | haya utilizado | I have used |
| Tú | hayas utilizado | you have used |
| Ella / Él / Usted | haya utilizado | s/he has used |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hayamos utilizado | we have used |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hayáis utilizado | you (plural) have used |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hayan utilizado | they have used |
How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive present (haya, hayas, haya, hayamos, hayáis, hayan) plus the past participle utilizado.
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Utilizar 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 utilizado”, meaning “I had used”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | hubiera utilizado | I had used |
| Tú | hubieras utilizado | you had used |
| Ella / Él / Usted | hubiera utilizado | s/he had used |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hubiéramos utilizado | we had used |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hubierais utilizado | you (plural) had used |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hubieran utilizado | they had used |
How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive imperfect (hubiera, hubieras, hubiera, hubiéramos, hubierais, hubieran) plus the past participle utilizado.
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Utilizar 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 utilizado”, meaning “I will have used”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | hubiere utilizado | I will have used |
| Tú | hubieres utilizado | you will have used |
| Ella / Él / Usted | hubiere utilizado | s/he will have used |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hubiéremos utilizado | we will have used |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hubiereis utilizado | you (plural) will have used |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hubieren utilizado | they will have used |
How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive future (hubiere, hubieres, hubiere, hubiéremos, hubiereis, hubieren) plus the past participle utilizado.
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Imperative tenses of Utilizar
Utilizar in the Imperative Affirmative
The Imperative Affirmative is used to give orders and commands, to tell someone to do something. For example, “utilice”, meaning “(to you formal) use!”.
In Spanish, the Imperative Affirmative is known as "El Imperativo Afirmativo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | - | - |
| Tú | utiliza | (to you) use! |
| Ella / Él / Usted | utilice | (to you formal) use! |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | utilicemos | let's use! |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | utilizad | (to you plural) use! |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | utilicen | (to you plural formal) use! |
How it’s built: Tú takes the ella/él present (utiliza); usted, nosotros and ustedes take the subjunctive present (utilice, utilicemos, utilicen); vosotros swaps the final r of the infinitive for a d (utilizad).
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
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Utilizar in the Imperative Negative
The Imperative Negative is used to give orders and commands, telling someone not to do something. For example, “no utilice”, meaning “(to you formal) don't use!”.
In Spanish, the Imperative Negative is known as "El Imperativo Negativo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | - | - |
| Tú | no utilices | (to you) don't use! |
| Ella / Él / Usted | no utilice | (to you formal) don't use! |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | no utilicemos | let's not use! |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | no utilicéis | (to you plural) don't use! |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | no utilicen | (to you plural formal) don't use! |
How it’s built: No plus the subjunctive present: no utilices, no utilice, no utilicemos, no utilicéis, no utilicen.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
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Example sentences and usage
- ¿Sabes cómo se utiliza un diccionario? Do you know how to use a dictionary?
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Frequently asked questions about Utilizar
Is utilizar a regular or irregular verb?
Utilizar is an irregular Spanish verb. The present tense is regular. In the preterite: yo changes z to c (utilicé); the other forms are regular. It is also irregular in the present subjunctive (utilice).
How do you conjugate utilizar in the present tense (presente)?
In the present tense (presente), utilizar is conjugated as: yo utilizo, tú utilizas, él/ella/usted utiliza, nosotros utilizamos, vosotros utilizáis, ellos/ellas/ustedes utilizan. 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 utilizar in the preterite (pretérito indefinido)?
In the preterite (pretérito indefinido), utilizar is conjugated as: yo utilicé, tú utilizaste, él/ella/usted utilizó, nosotros utilizamos, vosotros utilizasteis, ellos/ellas/ustedes utilizaron. The preterite is used To talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time.
How do you conjugate utilizar in the imperfect (pretérito imperfecto)?
In the imperfect (pretérito imperfecto), utilizar is conjugated as: yo utilizaba, tú utilizabas, él/ella/usted utilizaba, nosotros utilizábamos, vosotros utilizabais, ellos/ellas/ustedes utilizaban. 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 utilizar in the future tense (futuro simple)?
In the future tense (futuro simple), utilizar is conjugated as: yo utilizaré, tú utilizarás, él/ella/usted utilizará, nosotros utilizaremos, vosotros utilizaréis, ellos/ellas/ustedes utilizarán. The future tense is used To talk about something that will happen in the future.
How do you conjugate utilizar in the present subjunctive (subjuntivo presente)?
In the present subjunctive (subjuntivo presente), utilizar is conjugated as: yo utilice, tú utilices, él/ella/usted utilice, nosotros utilicemos, vosotros utilicéis, ellos/ellas/ustedes utilicen. 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 are some common example sentences using utilizar?
Here are everyday sentences using utilizar: ¿Sabes cómo se utiliza un diccionario? (Do you know how to use a dictionary?)
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Downloadable cheat sheets
Download and print a cheat sheet of Utilizar Spanish conjugation tables in image or PDF format:
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Practise Utilizar conjugations (free mobile & web app)
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About Ella Verbs
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Want to explore other verb conjugations?
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