What does preparar mean in English?

Preparar means "to prepare" in English.

How do you conjugate preparar in Spanish?

Preparar 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 are common idiomatic expressions with preparar?

Common idiomatic expressions using preparar include: "prepararse para" (to prepare for / to get ready for). These expressions are frequently used in everyday Spanish conversation.

How do you use preparar in a sentence?

Example: "Preparé la cena." which means "I prepared dinner." in English.

Preparar

to prepare

🎯

Infinitive (infinitivo)

Base form of the verb

preparar

🏃

Gerund (gerundio)

Present participle (-ing form)

preparando

📋

Past Participle

Used in compound tenses

preparado

Simple Tenses

⚡

Present Indicative (presente de indicativo)

Present actions and habitual activities

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	preparo I prepare	I prepare
tú	preparas you prepare	you prepare
él/ella/usted	prepara he/she/you prepares	he/she/you prepares
nosotros	preparamos we prepare	we prepare
vosotros	preparáis you all prepare	you all prepare
ellos/ustedes	preparan they/you all prepare	they/you all prepare

🕰️

Imperfect Indicative (imperfecto de indicativo)

Ongoing past actions and descriptions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	preparaba I used to prepare	I used to prepare
tú	preparabas you used to prepare	you used to prepare
él/ella/usted	preparaba he/she/you used to prepare	he/she/you used to prepare
nosotros	preparábamos we used to prepare	we used to prepare
vosotros	preparabais you all used to prepare	you all used to prepare
ellos/ustedes	preparaban they/you all used to prepare	they/you all used to prepare

📅

Preterit (pretérito)

Completed past actions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	preparé I prepared	I prepared
tú	preparaste you prepared	you prepared
él/ella/usted	preparó he/she/you prepared	he/she/you prepared
nosotros	preparamos we prepared	we prepared
vosotros	preparasteis you all prepared	you all prepared
ellos/ustedes	prepararon they/you all prepared	they/you all prepared

🔮

Future (futuro)

Future actions and intentions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	prepararé I will prepare	I will prepare
tú	prepararás you will prepare	you will prepare
él/ella/usted	preparará he/she/you will prepare	he/she/you will prepare
nosotros	prepararemos we will prepare	we will prepare
vosotros	prepararéis you all will prepare	you all will prepare
ellos/ustedes	prepararán they/you all will prepare	they/you all will prepare

🎯

Conditional (potencial simple)

Hypothetical and conditional actions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	prepararía I would prepare	I would prepare
tú	prepararías you would prepare	you would prepare
él/ella/usted	prepararía he/she/you would prepare	he/she/you would prepare
nosotros	prepararíamos we would prepare	we would prepare
vosotros	prepararíais you all would prepare	you all would prepare
ellos/ustedes	prepararían they/you all would prepare	they/you all would prepare

💭

Present Subjunctive (presente de subjuntivo)

Subjective present actions and desires

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	prepare that I prepare	that I prepare
tú	prepares that you prepare	that you prepare
él/ella/usted	prepare that he/she/you prepare	that he/she/you prepare
nosotros	preparemos that we prepare	that we prepare
vosotros	preparéis that you all prepare	that you all prepare
ellos/ustedes	preparen that they/you all prepare	that they/you all prepare

🌙

Imperfect Subjunctive (imperfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective past actions and hypothetical situations

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	preparara or preparase that I prepared	that I prepared
tú	prepararas or preparases that you prepared	that you prepared
él/ella/usted	preparara or preparase that he/she/you prepared	that he/she/you prepared
nosotros	preparáramos or preparásemos that we prepared	that we prepared
vosotros	prepararais or preparaseis that you all prepared	that you all prepared
ellos/ustedes	prepararan or preparasen that they/you all prepared	that they/you all prepared

Compound Tenses

✅

Present Perfect (perfecto de indicativo)

Actions completed recently or with present relevance

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

⏪

Pluperfect Indicative (pluscuamperfecto de indicativo)

Actions completed before another past action

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

📍

Preterit Perfect (pretérito anterior)

Actions completed immediately before another past action

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

🎊

Future Perfect (futuro perfecto)

Actions that will be completed by a future time

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

🔄

Conditional Perfect (potencial compuesto)

Actions that would have been completed under certain conditions

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

💫

Subjunctive Present Perfect (perfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective actions completed in relation to the present

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

🌌

Subjunctive Past Perfect (pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective actions completed before another past action

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

❗

Commands (imperativo)

Commands and direct orders

Person	Command	English
tú	prepara	prepare! (you)
usted	prepare	prepare! (you formal)
nosotros	preparemos	let's prepare!
vosotros	preparad	prepare! (you all)
ustedes	preparen	prepare! (you all)

🚫

Negative Commands (imperativo negativo)

Negative commands and prohibitions

Person	Command	English
tú	no prepares	don't prepare! (you)
usted	no prepare	don't prepare! (you formal)
nosotros	no preparemos	let's not prepare!
vosotros	no preparéis	don't prepare! (you all)
ustedes	no preparen	don't prepare! (you all)

More About "preparar"

Idiomatic Expressions

prepararse para

to prepare for / to get ready for

💡 Getting ready for something

Examples in Context

Preparé la cena.

I prepared dinner.

Preterite

Preparo mi presentación.

I prepare my presentation.

Present

Me he preparado bien.

I have prepared well.

Present Perfect

Prepararé todo.

I will prepare everything.

Future

Usage Notes

•Preparar is a regular -ar verb
•Main meaning: to prepare
•Reflexive "prepararse" is very common

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