What does explicar mean in English?

Explicar means "to explain" in English.

How do you conjugate explicar in Spanish?

Explicar is conjugated across all Spanish tenses including present, preterite, imperfect, future, conditional, subjunctive, and more. Each tense has specific conjugations for yo, tú, él/ella/usted, nosotros, vosotros, and ellos/ustedes. You can see complete conjugation tables with audio pronunciations on this page.

What should I know about using explicar?

Explicar is a regular -ar verb with spelling change

How do you use explicar in a sentence?

Example: "El profesor explicó la lección." which means "The teacher explained the lesson." in English.

What are synonyms for explicar?

Spanish synonyms for explicar include: aclarar. The exact synonym to use depends on the context and specific meaning intended.

Explicar

to explain

🎯

Infinitive (infinitivo)

Base form of the verb

explicar

🏃

Gerund (gerundio)

Present participle (-ing form)

explicando

📋

Past Participle

Used in compound tenses

explicado

Simple Tenses

⚡

Present Indicative (presente de indicativo)

Present actions and habitual activities

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	explico I explain	I explain
tú	explicas you explain	you explain
él/ella/usted	explica he/she/you explains	he/she/you explains
nosotros	explicamos we explain	we explain
vosotros	explicáis you all explain	you all explain
ellos/ustedes	explican they/you all explain	they/you all explain

🕰️

Imperfect Indicative (imperfecto de indicativo)

Ongoing past actions and descriptions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	explicaba I used to explain	I used to explain
tú	explicabas you used to explain	you used to explain
él/ella/usted	explicaba he/she/you used to explain	he/she/you used to explain
nosotros	explicábamos we used to explain	we used to explain
vosotros	explicabais you all used to explain	you all used to explain
ellos/ustedes	explicaban they/you all used to explain	they/you all used to explain

📅

Preterit (pretérito)

Completed past actions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	explicé I explained	I explained
tú	explicaste you explained	you explained
él/ella/usted	explicó he/she/you explained	he/she/you explained
nosotros	explicamos we explained	we explained
vosotros	explicasteis you all explained	you all explained
ellos/ustedes	explicaron they/you all explained	they/you all explained

🔮

Future (futuro)

Future actions and intentions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	explicaré I will explain	I will explain
tú	explicarás you will explain	you will explain
él/ella/usted	explicará he/she/you will explain	he/she/you will explain
nosotros	explicaremos we will explain	we will explain
vosotros	explicaréis you all will explain	you all will explain
ellos/ustedes	explicarán they/you all will explain	they/you all will explain

🎯

Conditional (potencial simple)

Hypothetical and conditional actions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	explicaría I would explain	I would explain
tú	explicarías you would explain	you would explain
él/ella/usted	explicaría he/she/you would explain	he/she/you would explain
nosotros	explicaríamos we would explain	we would explain
vosotros	explicaríais you all would explain	you all would explain
ellos/ustedes	explicarían they/you all would explain	they/you all would explain

💭

Present Subjunctive (presente de subjuntivo)

Subjective present actions and desires

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	explice that I explain	that I explain
tú	explices that you explain	that you explain
él/ella/usted	explice that he/she/you explain	that he/she/you explain
nosotros	explicemos that we explain	that we explain
vosotros	explicéis that you all explain	that you all explain
ellos/ustedes	explicen that they/you all explain	that they/you all explain

🌙

Imperfect Subjunctive (imperfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective past actions and hypothetical situations

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	explicara or explicase that I explained	that I explained
tú	explicaras or explicases that you explained	that you explained
él/ella/usted	explicara or explicase that he/she/you explained	that he/she/you explained
nosotros	explicáramos or explicásemos that we explained	that we explained
vosotros	explicarais or explicaseis that you all explained	that you all explained
ellos/ustedes	explicaran or explicasen that they/you all explained	that they/you all explained

Compound Tenses

✅

Present Perfect (perfecto de indicativo)

Actions completed recently or with present relevance

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	he explicado I have explained	I have explained
tú	has explicado you have explained	you have explained
él/ella/usted	ha explicado he/she/you have explained	he/she/you have explained
nosotros	hemos explicado we have explained	we have explained
vosotros	habéis explicado you all have explained	you all have explained
ellos/ustedes	han explicado they/you all have explained	they/you all have explained

⏪

Pluperfect Indicative (pluscuamperfecto de indicativo)

Actions completed before another past action

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	había explicado I had explained	I had explained
tú	habías explicado you had explained	you had explained
él/ella/usted	había explicado he/she/you had explained	he/she/you had explained
nosotros	habíamos explicado we had explained	we had explained
vosotros	habíais explicado you all had explained	you all had explained
ellos/ustedes	habían explicado they/you all had explained	they/you all had explained

📍

Preterit Perfect (pretérito anterior)

Actions completed immediately before another past action

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	hube explicado I had explained	I had explained
tú	hubiste explicado you had explained	you had explained
él/ella/usted	hubo explicado he/she/you had explained	he/she/you had explained
nosotros	hubimos explicado we had explained	we had explained
vosotros	hubisteis explicado you all had explained	you all had explained
ellos/ustedes	hubieron explicado they/you all had explained	they/you all had explained

🎊

Future Perfect (futuro perfecto)

Actions that will be completed by a future time

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	habré explicado I will have explained	I will have explained
tú	habrás explicado you will have explained	you will have explained
él/ella/usted	habrá explicado he/she/you will have explained	he/she/you will have explained
nosotros	habremos explicado we will have explained	we will have explained
vosotros	habréis explicado you all will have explained	you all will have explained
ellos/ustedes	habrán explicado they/you all will have explained	they/you all will have explained

🔄

Conditional Perfect (potencial compuesto)

Actions that would have been completed under certain conditions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	habría explicado I would have explained	I would have explained
tú	habrías explicado you would have explained	you would have explained
él/ella/usted	habría explicado he/she/you would have explained	he/she/you would have explained
nosotros	habríamos explicado we would have explained	we would have explained
vosotros	habríais explicado you all would have explained	you all would have explained
ellos/ustedes	habrían explicado they/you all would have explained	they/you all would have explained

💫

Subjunctive Present Perfect (perfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective actions completed in relation to the present

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	haya explicado that I have explained	that I have explained
tú	hayas explicado that you have explained	that you have explained
él/ella/usted	haya explicado that he/she/you have explained	that he/she/you have explained
nosotros	hayamos explicado that we have explained	that we have explained
vosotros	hayáis explicado that you all have explained	that you all have explained
ellos/ustedes	hayan explicado that they/you all have explained	that they/you all have explained

🌌

Subjunctive Past Perfect (pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective actions completed before another past action

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	hubiera explicado that I had explained	that I had explained
tú	hubieras explicado that you had explained	that you had explained
él/ella/usted	hubiera explicado that he/she/you had explained	that he/she/you had explained
nosotros	hubiéramos explicado that we had explained	that we had explained
vosotros	hubierais explicado that you all had explained	that you all had explained
ellos/ustedes	hubieran explicado that they/you all had explained	that they/you all had explained

❗

Commands (imperativo)

Commands and direct orders

Person	Command	English
tú	explica	explain! (you)
usted	explice	explain! (you formal)
nosotros	explicemos	let's explain!
vosotros	explicad	explain! (you all)
ustedes	explicen	explain! (you all)

🚫

Negative Commands (imperativo negativo)

Negative commands and prohibitions

Person	Command	English
tú	no explices	don't explain! (you)
usted	no explice	don't explain! (you formal)
nosotros	no explicemos	let's not explain!
vosotros	no explicéis	don't explain! (you all)
ustedes	no explicen	don't explain! (you all)

More About "explicar"

Examples in Context

El profesor explicó la lección.

The teacher explained the lesson.

Preterite

¿Me puedes explicar esto?

Can you explain this to me?

Present

He explicado el problema varias veces.

I have explained the problem several times.

Present Perfect

Te explicaré todo mañana.

I will explain everything to you tomorrow.

Future

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms:

aclarar(to clarify)

For making things clear

Usage Notes

•Explicar is a regular -ar verb with spelling change
•Spelling change: c→qu before e (expliqué, explique)
•Main meaning: to explain
•Takes indirect object: Le expliqué (I explained to him/her)

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Explicar

Simple Tenses

Compound Tenses

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