picar Present Conjugation
picar — to sting or bite
The present tense of picar is completely regular: pico, picas, pica, picamos, picáis, pican.
picar Present Forms
When to Use the Present
Use this to describe things that currently itch, insects that bite, or the habit of snacking between meals.
Notes on picar in the Present
Picar is a regular -ar verb in the present tense. No spelling changes are needed here because the endings start with 'o' or 'a'.
Example Sentences
Me pica mucho la espalda.
My back itches a lot.
él/ella/usted
Nosotros siempre picamos algo a media tarde.
We always snack on something in the mid-afternoon.
nosotros
Estas hormigas pican muy fuerte.
These ants bite very hard.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using 'me pico' to say 'I itch'.
Correct: me pica
Why: When talking about an itch, the 'thing' is the subject. Use 'me pica la mano' (the hand itches me), not 'yo pico'.
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Related Tenses
Preterite
yo: piqué
The preterite of picar is regular except for the 'yo' form, which changes to 'piqué' to keep the hard 'k' sound.
Imperfect
yo: picaba
The imperfect of picar is regular: picaba, picabas, picaba, picábamos, picabais, picaban.
Future
yo: picaré
The future tense of picar is regular: picaré, picarás, picará, picaremos, picaréis, picarán.
Conditional
yo: picaría
The conditional of picar is regular: picaría, picarías, picaría, picaríamos, picaríais, picarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: pique
The present subjunctive of picar features a spelling change from 'c' to 'qu' in all forms: pique, piques, pique, piquemos, piquéis, piquen.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: picara
The imperfect subjunctive of picar is formed from the third-person plural preterite: picara, picaras, picara, picáramos, picarais, picaran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: pica
The imperative of picar involves a spelling change (qu) for formal commands and 'nosotros'.
Negative Imperative
yo: no piques
The negative imperative of picar uses the 'qu' spelling change for all forms: no piques, no pique, no piquemos, no piquéis, no piquen.