explicar Imperfect Subjunctive Conjugation
explicar — to explain
The imperfect subjunctive of explicar is regular: explicara, explicaras, explicara, explicáramos, explicarais, explicaran.
explicar Imperfect Subjunctive Forms
When to Use the Imperfect Subjunctive
Use this for hypothetical situations or past requests involving explanations, such as 'If you explained it to me, I would understand.'
Notes on explicar in the Imperfect Subjunctive
This tense is regular for explicar. It is built from the third-person plural preterite (explicaron).
Example Sentences
Si me lo explicaras, lo entendería.
If you explained it to me, I would understand it.
tú
Me gustaría que nos explicaran el plan.
I would like them to explain the plan to us.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Era importante que él explicara las reglas.
It was important that he explained the rules.
él/ella/usted
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Forgetting the accent on the 'nosotros' form: explicaramos.
Correct: explicáramos
Why: The 'nosotros' form of the imperfect subjunctive always requires an accent on the vowel before the -ramos ending.
Master Spanish verbs in context
Memorizing tables only gets you so far. Read 200+ illustrated and narrated Spanish stories to see verbs like 'explicar' used naturally — in the tenses you're learning.
Related Tenses
Present
yo: explico
The present tense of explicar is regular: explico, explicas, explica, explicamos, explicáis, explican.
Preterite
yo: expliqué
The preterite of explicar has a spelling change only in the 'yo' form: expliqué.
Imperfect
yo: explicaba
The imperfect of explicar is regular: explicaba, explicabas, explicaba, explicábamos, explicabais, explicaban.
Future
yo: explicaré
The future tense of explicar is fully regular: explicaré, explicarás, explicará, explicaremos, explicaréis, explicarán.
Conditional
yo: explicaría
The conditional of explicar is regular: explicaría, explicarías, explicaría, explicaríamos, explicaríais, explicarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: explique
The present subjunctive of explicar features a 'c' to 'qu' spelling change: explique, expliques, explique, expliquemos, expliquéis, expliquen.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: explica
The affirmative imperative of explicar uses 'explica' (tú) and 'explique' (usted).
Negative Imperative
yo: no expliques
The negative imperative of explicar always uses the 'qu' spelling change: no expliques, no explique, no expliquen.