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SPANISH VERB

practicar

to practise

  • #444 most used
  • Regular -ar verb
  • Gerund: practicando
  • Past participle: practicado

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

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

Imperfect

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

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Past subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use practicar

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

  1. Present

    Practico español todas las noches con mi suegra.

    I practise Spanish every night with my mother-in-law.

  2. Past

    Ayer practicamos la coreografía de la boda tres horas.

    Yesterday we practised the wedding dance for three hours.

  3. Imperfect

    Mi papá practicaba su español en el baño, en secreto.

    My dad practised his Spanish in the bathroom, in secret.

  4. Future

    ¿Practicarás conmigo antes del examen oral?

    Will you practise with me before the oral exam?

  5. Conditional

    Practicaría más si tuviera con quién hablar.

    I'd practise more if I had someone to talk to.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Es importante que practiques un poquito cada día.

    It's important that you practise a little every day.

  7. Past subjunctive

    El maestro nos pidió que practicáramos los verbos en casa.

    The teacher asked us to practise the verbs at home.

  8. Imperative

    ¡Practica con el mesero, no tengas pena!

    Practise with the waiter, don't be shy!

Good to know

  • "Practicar" takes no preposition: practico español, practica futbol.

Where you hear practicar

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

Spanish · Intermediate Level 2

  • Practico mi español todos los días. I practise my Spanish every day.
  • Ayer practiqué con Elena. Yesterday I practised with Elena.
  • Mañana vamos a practicar en el mercado. Tomorrow we're going to practise at the market.

Spanish · Advanced Level 1

  • Practico español con vídeos. I practise Spanish with videos.
  • Ayer practiqué durante media hora. Yesterday I practised for half an hour.
  • Vamos a practicar estas preguntas. We're going to practise these questions.
16
The Guelaguetza

Intermediate Level 2 · practico

Needs a subscription 30
The End of Summer

Intermediate Level 2 · practicamos

Needs a subscription 24
When Are You Due?

Advanced Level 1 · he estado practicando

Needs a subscription 30
The Morning After

Advanced Level 1 · para ir practicando

Needs a subscription 7
The More I Think About It

Advanced Level 3 · cuanto más practicas

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Verbs like this one

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