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SPANISH VERB

tocar

to play (music)

  • #73 most used
  • Regular -ar verb
  • Gerund: tocando
  • Past participle: tocado

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

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

Imperfect

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

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Past subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use tocar

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

  1. Present

    Mi hermano toca la guitarra en una banda.

    My brother plays guitar in a band.

  2. Past

    Anoche tocaron mariachis en la plaza.

    Last night mariachis played in the square.

  3. Imperfect

    Mi abuelo tocaba el piano cada tarde.

    My grandfather played the piano every afternoon.

  4. Future

    El sábado tocaremos en una boda en Querétaro.

    On Saturday we'll play at a wedding in Querétaro.

  5. Conditional

    Yo tocaría el violín si tuviera tiempo.

    I'd play the violin if I had time.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Quiero que toques esa canción otra vez.

    I want you to play that song again.

  7. Past subjunctive

    Si tocaras más bajito, los vecinos no se quejarían.

    If you played more quietly, the neighbors wouldn't complain.

  8. Imperative

    ¡Toca algo alegre para la abuela!

    Play something cheerful for grandma!

Good to know

  • "Tocar la guitarra" is to play it, but a game is "jugar"; "tocar" is also to touch and to knock: "tocan la puerta".

Where you hear tocar

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

Spanish · Beginner Level 2

  • Andrés toca la guitarra. Andres plays the guitar.
  • La banda tocó hasta las dos. The band played until two.
  • Mi nieto le va a tocar la guitarra. My grandson is going to play the guitar for him.

Spanish · Beginner Level 3

  • ¡No las toques! Don't touch them!
  • No tocamos las piedras vivas. We didn't touch the living rocks.
  • No van a tocar nada. You're not going to touch anything.
26
Everybody Was Dancing

Beginner Level 2 · tocando · toca la guitarra · tocaba

Needs a subscription 27
A Night in the Cemetery

Beginner Level 2 · tocar

Needs a subscription 22
Don't Touch Them!

Beginner Level 3 · ¡No las toques! · no las tocamos

Needs a subscription 9
Just a Coffee

Intermediate Level 1 · tocas

Needs a subscription 16
It's Your Turn

Intermediate Level 3 · ¿Qué te tocó? · me tocaba · nos tocó sol · nos toca tener suerte

Needs a subscription 5
Don't Touch Anything

Advanced Level 1 · no toquéis

Needs a subscription 28
Can You Keep a Secret?

Advanced Level 1 · nunca los toca

Needs a subscription 1
Whoever Gets the Bean

Advanced Level 2 · si me toca el haba · a quien le toque el haba · te toca pagar a ti

Free 15
As If We'd Won the Lottery

Advanced Level 2 · nos hubiera tocado la lotería

Needs a subscription 27
Not Even If They Paid Me

Advanced Level 2 · te toca bailar

Needs a subscription 20
The Other Side of the Pond

Advanced Level 3 · y me toca pagar el roscón, tocará

Needs a subscription

Verbs like this one

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