
tocar Present Conjugation
tocar — to touch
Tocar is completely regular in the present tense: toco, tocas, toca, tocamos, tocáis, tocan.
tocar Present Forms
When to Use the Present
Use the present tense for habits (playing an instrument), general facts (touching a surface), or to say whose turn it is right now.
Notes on tocar in the Present
This verb is fully regular in the present indicative. No spelling changes or stem changes occur here.
Example Sentences
Yo toco el violín todos los días.
I play the violin every day.
yo
Te toca a ti lavar los platos.
It is your turn to wash the dishes.
él/ella/usted
Ellos no tocan la pared porque está pintada.
They don't touch the wall because it is painted.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using 'jugar' instead of 'tocar' for instruments.
Correct: tocar el piano
Why: In Spanish, 'jugar' is for sports/games, while 'tocar' is for playing musical instruments.
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Related Tenses
Preterite
yo: toqué
The preterite of tocar has a spelling change in the 'yo' form (toqué) to keep the hard 'c' sound.
Imperfect
yo: tocaba
The imperfect of tocar is regular: tocaba, tocabas, tocaba, tocábamos, tocabais, tocaban.
Future
yo: tocaré
The future tense of tocar is regular, adding endings to the infinitive: tocaré, tocarás, tocará...
Conditional
yo: tocaría
The conditional of tocar is regular: tocaría, tocarías, tocaría, tocaríamos, tocaríais, tocarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: toque
The present subjunctive of tocar changes 'c' to 'qu' in all forms: toque, toques, toque, toquemos, toquéis, toquen.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: tocara
The imperfect subjunctive of tocar is built from the 'ellos' preterite: tocara, tocaras, tocara...
Affirmative Imperative
yo: toca
The imperative of tocar gives commands: toca (tú), toque (usted), tocad (vosotros).
Negative Imperative
yo: no toques
Negative commands for tocar always use the 'qu' spelling: no toques, no toque, no toquen.