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SPANISH VERB

provocar

to cause, to provoke

  • #199 most used
  • Regular -ar verb
  • Gerund: provocando
  • Past participle: provocado

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

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

Imperfect

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

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Past subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use provocar

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

  1. Present

    Ese perfume me provoca dolor de cabeza.

    That perfume gives me a headache.

  2. Past

    La tormenta provocó un apagón en todo el barrio.

    The storm caused a blackout in the whole neighborhood.

  3. Imperfect

    Sus chistes siempre provocaban risas en la oficina.

    His jokes always got laughs at the office.

  4. Future

    ¿Crees que esa noticia provocará muchas preguntas?

    Do you think that news will raise a lot of questions?

  5. Conditional

    Una subida de precios provocaría muchas protestas.

    A price rise would cause a lot of protests.

  6. Present subjunctive

    No dejes que tu hermano te provoque.

    Don't let your brother provoke you.

  7. Past subjunctive

    Temíamos que el calor provocara un incendio.

    We were afraid the heat would start a fire.

  8. Imperative

    ¡No provoques al perro, que muerde!

    Don't provoke the dog, it bites!

Good to know

  • "Provocar" is also to cause something: la lluvia provocó un accidente.

Verbs like this one

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