Acariciar Conjugation in Spanish
The Spanish verb acariciar means to caress, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. Acariciar is a regular -ar verb, so the tables below show you exactly how it behaves in every tense. On this page you will find the full conjugation of acariciar in all thirteen tenses, notes on when to use each one, example sentences, the mistakes learners make most often, a ten-question quiz and answers to the questions students ask about this verb. For example, in the present tense you say Yo acaricio a su perro — "I caress his dog" — and in the preterite you say Yo acaricié el pelo de su hija — "I caressed his daughter's hair". Work through the tables below, read the notes for each tense, and then test yourself with the examples, the common mistakes and the quiz at the end of the page.
Quick facts
- Infinitive: acariciar
- English: to caress
- Verb type: regular -ar verb
- Ending: -ar
- Gerund: acariciando
- Past participle: acariciado
- Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + acariciado)
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for acariciar, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for acariciar. The imperfect subjunctive is shown in its -ra forms; the -se forms use the same stem. For reflexive verbs, the pronoun column shows the reflexive pronoun that goes before each form.
Gerund: acariciando · Past participle: acariciado
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | acaricio |
| tú | acaricias |
| él/ella/Ud. | acaricia |
| nosotros/as | acariciamos |
| vosotros/as | acariciáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | acarician |
Preterite
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | acaricié |
| tú | acariciaste |
| él/ella/Ud. | acarició |
| nosotros/as | acariciamos |
| vosotros/as | acariciasteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | acariciaron |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | acariciaba |
| tú | acariciabas |
| él/ella/Ud. | acariciaba |
| nosotros/as | acariciábamos |
| vosotros/as | acariciabais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | acariciaban |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | acariciaré |
| tú | acariciarás |
| él/ella/Ud. | acariciará |
| nosotros/as | acariciaremos |
| vosotros/as | acariciaréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | acariciarán |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | acariciaría |
| tú | acariciarías |
| él/ella/Ud. | acariciaría |
| nosotros/as | acariciaríamos |
| vosotros/as | acariciaríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | acariciarían |
Present perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he acariciado |
| tú | has acariciado |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha acariciado |
| nosotros/as | hemos acariciado |
| vosotros/as | habéis acariciado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han acariciado |
Pluperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había acariciado |
| tú | habías acariciado |
| él/ella/Ud. | había acariciado |
| nosotros/as | habíamos acariciado |
| vosotros/as | habíais acariciado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían acariciado |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré acariciado |
| tú | habrás acariciado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá acariciado |
| nosotros/as | habremos acariciado |
| vosotros/as | habréis acariciado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán acariciado |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría acariciado |
| tú | habrías acariciado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría acariciado |
| nosotros/as | habríamos acariciado |
| vosotros/as | habríais acariciado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían acariciado |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | acaricie |
| tú | acaricies |
| él/ella/Ud. | acaricie |
| nosotros/as | acariciemos |
| vosotros/as | acariciéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | acaricien |
Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | acariciara |
| tú | acariciaras |
| él/ella/Ud. | acariciara |
| nosotros/as | acariciáramos |
| vosotros/as | acariciarais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | acariciaran |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | acaricia |
| él/ella/Ud. | acaricie |
| nosotros/as | acariciemos |
| vosotros/as | acariciad |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | acaricien |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | acaricies |
| él/ella/Ud. | acaricie |
| nosotros/as | acariciemos |
| vosotros/as | acariciéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | acaricien |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | Spanish | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Gerund | acariciando | with estar for the progressive: estoy acariciando |
| Past participle | acariciado | with haber for the perfect tenses: he acariciado |
How to use each tense
Present indicative
Use the present for routines, general facts and what is happening right now. It is the tense you will use most often in everyday conversation, for habits with words like todos los días and for statements that are true in general. For acariciar, the present indicative looks like this in a real sentence: Yo acaricio el pelo de su hija — "I caress his daughter's hair". Learn the present indicative forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Preterite
Use the preterite for finished actions in the past — things that started and ended, often with time words like ayer, anoche or la semana pasada. The preterite moves a story forward, one completed event at a time. For acariciar, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Yo acaricié con ternura — "I caressed tenderly". Learn the preterite forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Imperfect
Use the imperfect for background, habits and actions in progress in the past, often with words like antes, de niño or mientras. It describes how things used to be, not one finished event. For acariciar, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo acariciaba a su perro — "I used to caress his dog". Learn the imperfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Future
Use the future for plans, predictions and promises, often with mañana, el año que viene or pronto. It talks about what will happen, not what is happening now. For acariciar, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Yo acariciaré el pelo de su hija — "I will caress his daughter's hair". Learn the future forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Conditional
Use the conditional for polite requests, hypotheticals and what would happen, often in si clauses. It softens a request and describes imagined situations. For acariciar, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Yo acariciaría con ternura — "I would caress tenderly". Learn the conditional forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Present perfect
Use the present perfect for recent actions and experiences, often with hoy, esta semana or ya. It connects the past with the present moment. For acariciar, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo he acariciado a su perro — "I have caressed his dog". Learn the present perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Pluperfect
Use the pluperfect when one past action happened before another past action. It is the past of the past, and it usually appears with antes de or ya. For acariciar, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo había acariciado el pelo de su hija — "I had caressed his daughter's hair". Learn the pluperfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Future perfect
Use the future perfect for something that will already be finished by a future time, often with para mañana or para el viernes. For acariciar, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo habré acariciado con ternura — "I will have caressed tenderly". Learn the future perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Conditional perfect
Use the conditional perfect for what would have happened under different conditions. It looks back at a past that never happened. For acariciar, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo habría acariciado a su perro — "I would have caressed his dog". Learn the conditional perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Present subjunctive
Use the present subjunctive after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and hope, such as espero que or quiero que. The subjunctive does not state a fact; it states an attitude towards the action. For acariciar, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él acaricie el pelo de su hija — "I hope he caresses his daughter's hair". Learn the present subjunctive forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)
Use the imperfect subjunctive after past wishes and in si clauses about the past, and note the -ra forms shown here; the -se forms use the same stem. For acariciar, the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) looks like this in a real sentence: Si yo acariciara con ternura, todo cambiaría — "If I caressed tenderly, everything would change". Learn the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Imperative (affirmative)
Use the affirmative imperative for direct commands, instructions and invitations. It tells someone to do something, and it has no yo form. For acariciar, the imperative (affirmative) looks like this in a real sentence: Acaricie a su perro — "Let him caress his dog". Learn the imperative (affirmative) forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Imperative (negative)
Use the negative imperative, always with no, to tell someone not to do something. It uses the subjunctive forms, so it looks different from the affirmative commands. For acariciar, the imperative (negative) looks like this in a real sentence: No acaricies el pelo de su hija — "Don't caress his daughter's hair". Learn the imperative (negative) forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with acariciar, covering different tenses and persons. Each one uses a form from the tables above.
- Yo acaricio con ternura — "I caress tenderly"
- Él acaricia a su perro — "He caresses his dog"
- Yo acaricié el pelo de su hija — "I caressed his daughter's hair"
- Yo acariciaba con ternura — "I used to caress tenderly"
- Tú acariciarás a su perro — "You will caress his dog"
- Yo acariciaría el pelo de su hija — "I would caress his daughter's hair"
- Él ha acariciado con ternura — "He has caressed tenderly"
- Espero que él acaricie a su perro — "I hope he caresses his dog"
- Yo había acariciado el pelo de su hija — "I had caressed his daughter's hair"
- Ellos acariciaban con ternura — "They used to caress tenderly"
Common mistakes
- Wrong: Ellos acaricia a su perro — Right: Ellos acarician a su perro — Ellos needs the ellos form acarician. The singular acaricia belongs with él, ella or a singular noun.
- Wrong: Ayer, yo acaricio — Right: Ayer, yo acaricié — The present tense cannot describe a finished action yesterday. Ayer forces the preterite, so the form must change to acaricié.
- Wrong: De niño, yo acaricié todos los días. — Right: Todos los días, yo acariciaba — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (acariciaba), not the preterite. The preterite (acaricié) is for one finished action.
- Wrong: Yo soy acariciado el pelo de su hija. — Right: Yo he acariciado el pelo de su hija. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he acariciado, has acariciado, ha acariciado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
- Wrong: Espero que él acaricia a su perro. — Right: Espero que él acaricie a su perro. — After espero que, Spanish needs the subjunctive: acaricie. The indicative acaricia is wrong here.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on acariciar. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
Complete the sentence: Yo ___ a su perro. (present tense) A. acaricio B. acariciaste C. acariciéis D. has acariciado
Complete the sentence: Él ___ a su perro. (preterite) A. ha acariciado B. habrían acariciado C. acarició D. acariciaban
Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ a su perro. (imperfect) A. habréis acariciado B. acariciábamos C. acaricio D. habíais acariciado
Complete the sentence: Tú ___ a su perro. (future) A. habríais acariciado B. acariciarán C. acariciarás D. habíais acariciado
Complete the sentence: Yo ___ a su perro. (conditional) A. acariciaríamos B. acariciaría C. habría acariciado D. acariciarías
Complete the sentence: Espero que él ___ a su perro. (present subjunctive) A. acariciaríais B. acariciaremos C. acariciabas D. acaricie
Complete the sentence: Si yo ___ a su perro, todo cambiaría. (imperfect subjunctive, -ra form) A. acariciara B. habríais acariciado C. acaricien D. acariciarás
Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ a su perro. (present perfect) A. hemos acariciado B. habréis acariciado C. acariciáis D. acarician
Complete the command: No ___ a su perro. (negative imperative, tú) A. acariciéis B. acaricien C. acaricies D. acariciemos
Which is the gerund of acariciar, used with estar for the progressive? A. acariciando B. acariciaré C. acaricio D. acariciaba
Answer key
- acaricio — The yo present tense of acariciar is acaricio.
- acarició — The él/ella/Ud. preterite of acariciar is acarició.
- acariciábamos — The nosotros/as imperfect of acariciar is acariciábamos.
- acariciarás — The tú future of acariciar is acariciarás.
- acariciaría — The yo conditional of acariciar is acariciaría.
- acaricie — The él/ella/Ud. present subjunctive of acariciar is acaricie.
- acariciara — The yo imperfect subjunctive, -ra form of acariciar is acariciara.
- hemos acariciado — The nosotros/as present perfect of acariciar is hemos acariciado.
- acaricies — The negative tú imperative uses the present subjunctive form with no before it: acaricies.
- acariciando — The gerund of acariciar is acariciando: estoy acariciando. The participle acariciado is used with haber instead.
Frequently asked questions
What does acariciar mean in English?
Acariciar means to caress. It is used in everyday situations such as Yo acaricio a su perro. The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.
Is acariciar regular?
Yes. Acariciar is a regular -ar verb: acaricio, acaricias, acaricia. The only thing to learn is the pattern of endings, which is the same for every regular -ar verb.
What is the gerund and the past participle of acariciar?
The gerund is acariciando, used with estar for the progressive: estoy acariciando. The past participle is acariciado, used with haber in the perfect tenses: he acariciado.
How do I say “I caress” in the past?
It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: Yo acaricié el pelo de su hija. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Yo acariciaba con ternura. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Yo he acariciado a su perro.
How do I practise acariciar?
Start with the present tense table, then drill the preterite and the imperfect, since those two past tenses cause the most mistakes. Try the acariciar examples and quiz page for more sentences, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure.
Related links
- Acariciar in the present tense — the full present-tense table for acariciar.
- Acariciar examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice for acariciar.
- Spanish verbs — the Spanish hub, with every verb and tense guide.
- Mimar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with acariciar.
- Sonrojarse conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with acariciar.
- Ruborizarse conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with acariciar.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — test yourself on real conjugated forms.
- Verb Conjugator — conjugate any Spanish verb in every tense.