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A man in a simple orange jumpsuit standing behind black metal bars of a cell.

encarcelar

to imprison

Complete conjugation tables and interactive practice exercises. This is a regular -ar verb.

The Spanish verb encarcelar means to imprison.

Present tense:

yoencarcielo
encarcielas
él/ella/ustedencarciela
nosotrosencarcelamos
vosotrosencarceláis
ellos/ellas/ustedesencarcielan

Complete Conjugation Tables

Reference all tenses and moods

🔄 Conjugations

subjunctive

imperfect

ellos/ellas/ustedesencarcelaran
yoencarcelara
encarcelaras
vosotrosencarcelarais
nosotrosencarceláramos
él/ella/ustedencarcelara

The imperfect subjunctive of encarcelar expresses past hypotheticals or wishes, like 'si encarcelara' (if I were to imprison).

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present

ellos/ellas/ustedesencarcielen
yoencarciele
encarcieles
vosotrosencarceléis
nosotrosencarcelemos
él/ella/ustedencarciele

The present subjunctive of encarcelar is used for wishes, doubts, and emotions, like 'Espero que encarcieles' (I hope you imprison).

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imperative

negative

no encarcieles
vosotrosno encarceléis
ustedesno encarcielen
nosotrosno encarcelemos
ustedno encarciele

Negative commands with encarcelar use the present subjunctive, like '¡No encarceles!' (you, singular).

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affirmative

encarciela
vosotrosencarcelad
ustedesencarcielen
nosotrosencarcelemos
ustedencarciele

The imperative of encarcelar has commands like '¡Encarcela!' (you, singular) and '¡Encarcelad!' (you, plural, Spain).

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indicative

conditional

ellos/ellas/ustedesencarcelarían
yoencarcelaría
encarcelarías
vosotrosencarcelaríais
nosotrosencarcelaríamos
él/ella/ustedencarcelaría

The conditional of encarcelar expresses hypothetical actions, like 'Yo encarcelaría' (I would imprison).

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preterite

ellos/ellas/ustedesencarcelaron
yoencarcelé
encarcelaste
vosotrosencarcelasteis
nosotrosencarcelamos
él/ella/ustedencarceló

The preterite of encarcelar is regular: encarcelé, encarcelaste, encarceló, encarcelamos, encarcelasteis, encarcelaron.

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imperfect

ellos/ellas/ustedesencarcelaban
yoencarcelaba
encarcelabas
vosotrosencarcelabais
nosotrosencarcelábamos
él/ella/ustedencarcelaba

The imperfect of encarcelar describes ongoing or habitual past imprisonment, like 'Yo encarcelaba' (I used to imprison).

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present

ellos/ellas/ustedesencarcielan
yoencarcielo
encarcielas
vosotrosencarceláis
nosotrosencarcelamos
él/ella/ustedencarciela

The present tense of encarcelar means 'to imprison' or 'is imprisoning,' like 'Yo encarcielo' (I imprison).

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future

ellos/ellas/ustedesencarcelarán
yoencarcelaré
encarcelarás
vosotrosencarcelaréis
nosotrosencarcelaremos
él/ella/ustedencarcelará

The future tense of encarcelar indicates future actions, like 'Yo encarcelaré' (I will imprison).

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Practice Conjugations

Test your knowledge with interactive exercises

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Take encarcelar from tables to real Spanish

Conjugation tables are the start. Read 200+ illustrated and narrated Spanish stories to see 'encarcelar' in action across real sentences — and build the instinct that native speakers have.