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SPANISH VERB

cuidar

to look after

  • #260 most used
  • Regular -ar verb
  • Gerund: cuidando
  • Past participle: cuidado

Conjugation

Tap any form to hear it. The part that changes is in colour.

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

  1. yo I look after
  2. tú you look after
  3. usted, él, ella he/she looks after
  4. nosotros we look after
  5. vosotros Spain you all look after
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they look after

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

  1. yo I looked after
  2. tú you looked after
  3. usted, él, ella he/she looked after
  4. nosotros we looked after
  5. vosotros Spain you all looked after
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they looked after

Imperfect

Pretérito imperfecto · “used to” and “was …ing”

  1. yo I used to look after
  2. tú you used to look after
  3. usted, él, ella he/she used to look after
  4. nosotros we used to look after
  5. vosotros Spain you all used to look after
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they used to look after

Future

Futuro · plans and promises; in speech, “voy a hablar” is just as common

  1. yo I will look after
  2. tú you will look after
  3. usted, él, ella he/she will look after
  4. nosotros we will look after
  5. vosotros Spain you all will look after
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they will look after

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

  1. yo I would look after
  2. tú you would look after
  3. usted, él, ella he/she would look after
  4. nosotros we would look after
  5. vosotros Spain you all would look after
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they would look after

Present subjunctive

Presente de subjuntivo · wishes, doubts, “que …”

  1. yo (that) I look after
  2. tú (that) you look after
  3. usted, él, ella (that) he/she look after
  4. nosotros (that) we look after
  5. vosotros Spain (that) you all look after
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas (that) they look after

Past subjunctive

Imperfecto de subjuntivo · “if I were”, “si …”

  1. yo (if) I looked after
  2. tú (if) you looked after
  3. usted, él, ella (if) he/she looked after
  4. nosotros (if) we looked after
  5. vosotros Spain (if) you all looked after
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas (if) they looked after

Imperative

Imperativo · requests and orders; a negative one uses the subjunctive (no hables)

  1. tú look after!
  2. usted look after! (formal)
  3. nosotros look after! (let’s)
  4. vosotros Spain look after! (all of you)
  5. ustedes look after! (all of you)

How to use cuidar

One sentence for each tense, the way people say it.

  1. Present

    Los fines de semana cuido a mis sobrinos.

    At weekends I look after my nephews and nieces.

  2. Past

    Mi vecina cuidó al perro mientras estábamos fuera.

    My neighbour looked after the dog while we were away.

  3. Imperfect

    Mi abuela cuidaba de todos nosotros con mucho cariño.

    My grandmother looked after all of us with great affection.

  4. Future

    ¿Quién cuidará las plantas durante el viaje?

    Who'll look after the plants during the trip?

  5. Conditional

    Yo cuidaría mejor ese coche tan bonito.

    I'd take better care of such a nice car.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Es importante que cuides tu espalda en el trabajo.

    It's important that you look after your back at work.

  7. Past subjunctive

    Le pedí que cuidara a los niños una hora.

    I asked her to look after the kids for an hour.

  8. Imperative

    ¡Cuídate mucho y escríbeme cuando llegues!

    Take good care of yourself and text me when you arrive!

Good to know

  • "Cuidar a alguien" is to look after someone; "cuidarse" is to take care of yourself: ¡cuídate!

Where you hear cuidar

The lessons that teach a form of it, and how they say it.

Spanish · Advanced Level 1

  • Yo cuido las plantas del patio. I look after the plants in the patio.
  • Anoche cuidé a tres madres. Last night I looked after three mothers.
  • Yo os voy a cuidar. I'm going to look after you both.

Spanish · Advanced Level 3

  • Los padres cuidan a su hija. The parents look after their daughter.
  • Cuidé a Isabel mientras Valeria comía. I looked after Isabel while Valeria was eating.
  • Voy a cuidar de Isabel un rato. I'm going to look after Isabel for a while.
9
The Same, But Different

Advanced Level 1 · Cuídemelos.

Needs a subscription 19
Your Last Night of Freedom

Advanced Level 3 · cuida a su hermana

Needs a subscription 22
What Father?

Advanced Level 3 · gracias por cuidar a mi hija

Needs a subscription 25
Coins, Godmother!

Advanced Level 3 · a cuidarla

Needs a subscription 28
All the Days of My Life

Advanced Level 3 · cuídala · la cuidaré · cuidarlas

Needs a subscription 5
On the Tip of My Tongue

Fluency Level 2 · cuidar de

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Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: regular -ar verb.