
colocar Present Subjunctive Conjugation
colocar — to place
The present subjunctive of colocar uses 'qu' in all forms: coloque, coloques, coloque, coloquemos, coloquéis, coloquen.
colocar Present Subjunctive Forms
When to Use the Present Subjunctive
Use this when you want someone else to place something, or when expressing doubt or emotion about where something is placed.
Notes on colocar in the Present Subjunctive
Because the subjunctive endings for -ar verbs start with 'e', the 'c' must change to 'qu' in every single form to maintain the hard 'k' sound.
Example Sentences
Espero que coloques bien los platos.
I hope you place the plates correctly.
tú
Quiero que él coloque el libro en su sitio.
I want him to put the book in its place.
él/ella/usted
Tal vez coloquemos una planta aquí.
Maybe we will place a plant here.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: coloces
Correct: coloques
Why: Without the 'u', 'coloces' would be pronounced like 'co-lo-ses'.
Master Spanish verbs in context
Memorizing tables only gets you so far. Read 200+ illustrated and narrated Spanish stories to see verbs like 'colocar' used naturally — in the tenses you're learning.
Related Tenses
Present
yo: coloco
The present tense of colocar is completely regular: coloco, colocas, coloca, colocamos, colocáis, colocan.
Preterite
yo: coloqué
The preterite of colocar features a spelling change in the first person: coloqué, colocaste, colocó, colocamos, colocasteis, colocaron.
Imperfect
yo: colocaba
The imperfect of colocar is regular: colocaba, colocabas, colocaba, colocábamos, colocabais, colocaban.
Future
yo: colocaré
The future tense of colocar is regular: colocaré, colocarás, colocará, colocaremos, colocaréis, colocarán.
Conditional
yo: colocaría
The conditional of colocar is regular: colocaría, colocarías, colocaría, colocaríamos, colocaríais, colocarían.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: colocara
The imperfect subjunctive of colocar is regular: colocara, colocaras, colocara, colocáramos, colocarais, colocaran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: coloca
The imperative of colocar gives commands: coloca (tú), coloque (usted), coloquemos (nosotros), colocad (vosotros), coloquen (ustedes).
Negative Imperative
yo: no coloques
The negative imperative of colocar uses 'qu' throughout: no coloques, no coloque, no coloquemos, no coloquéis, no coloquen.