Brotar Conjugation in Spanish
The Spanish verb brotar means to sprout, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. Brotar 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 brotar 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 En primavera, yo broto — "In spring, I sprout" — and in the preterite you say Yo broté las flores — "I sprouted the flowers". 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: brotar
- English: to sprout
- Verb type: regular -ar verb
- Ending: -ar
- Gerund: brotando
- Past participle: brotado
- Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + brotado)
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for brotar, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for brotar. 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: brotando · Past participle: brotado
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | broto |
| tú | brotas |
| él/ella/Ud. | brota |
| nosotros/as | brotamos |
| vosotros/as | brotáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | brotan |
Preterite
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | broté |
| tú | brotaste |
| él/ella/Ud. | brotó |
| nosotros/as | brotamos |
| vosotros/as | brotasteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | brotaron |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | brotaba |
| tú | brotabas |
| él/ella/Ud. | brotaba |
| nosotros/as | brotábamos |
| vosotros/as | brotabais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | brotaban |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | brotaré |
| tú | brotarás |
| él/ella/Ud. | brotará |
| nosotros/as | brotaremos |
| vosotros/as | brotaréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | brotarán |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | brotaría |
| tú | brotarías |
| él/ella/Ud. | brotaría |
| nosotros/as | brotaríamos |
| vosotros/as | brotaríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | brotarían |
Present perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he brotado |
| tú | has brotado |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha brotado |
| nosotros/as | hemos brotado |
| vosotros/as | habéis brotado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han brotado |
Pluperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había brotado |
| tú | habías brotado |
| él/ella/Ud. | había brotado |
| nosotros/as | habíamos brotado |
| vosotros/as | habíais brotado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían brotado |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré brotado |
| tú | habrás brotado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá brotado |
| nosotros/as | habremos brotado |
| vosotros/as | habréis brotado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán brotado |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría brotado |
| tú | habrías brotado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría brotado |
| nosotros/as | habríamos brotado |
| vosotros/as | habríais brotado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían brotado |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | brote |
| tú | brotes |
| él/ella/Ud. | brote |
| nosotros/as | brotemos |
| vosotros/as | brotéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | broten |
Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | brotara |
| tú | brotaras |
| él/ella/Ud. | brotara |
| nosotros/as | brotáramos |
| vosotros/as | brotarais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | brotaran |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | brota |
| él/ella/Ud. | brote |
| nosotros/as | brotemos |
| vosotros/as | brotad |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | broten |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | brotes |
| él/ella/Ud. | brote |
| nosotros/as | brotemos |
| vosotros/as | brotéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | broten |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | Spanish | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Gerund | brotando | with estar for the progressive: estoy brotando |
| Past participle | brotado | with haber for the perfect tenses: he brotado |
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 brotar, the present indicative looks like this in a real sentence: Yo broto las flores — "I sprout the flowers". 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 brotar, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Yo broté de la tierra — "I sprouted from the ground". 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 brotar, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: En primavera, yo brotaba — "In spring, I used to sprout". 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 brotar, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Yo brotaré las flores — "I will sprout the flowers". 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 brotar, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Yo brotaría de la tierra — "I would sprout from the ground". 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 brotar, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: En primavera, yo he brotado — "In spring, I have sprouted". 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 brotar, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo había brotado las flores — "I had sprouted the flowers". 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 brotar, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo habré brotado de la tierra — "I will have sprouted from the ground". 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 brotar, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: En primavera, yo habría brotado — "In spring, I would have sprouted". 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 brotar, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él brote las flores — "I hope he sprouts the flowers". 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 brotar, the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) looks like this in a real sentence: Si yo brotara de la tierra, todo cambiaría — "If I sprouted from the ground, 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 brotar, the imperative (affirmative) looks like this in a real sentence: Brote en primavera — "Let him sprout in spring". 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 brotar, the imperative (negative) looks like this in a real sentence: No brotes las flores — "Don't sprout the flowers". 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 brotar, covering different tenses and persons. Each one uses a form from the tables above.
- Yo broto de la tierra — "I sprout from the ground"
- En primavera, él brota — "In spring, he sprouts"
- Yo broté las flores — "I sprouted the flowers"
- Yo brotaba de la tierra — "I used to sprout from the ground"
- En primavera, tú brotarás — "In spring, you will sprout"
- Yo brotaría las flores — "I would sprout the flowers"
- Él ha brotado de la tierra — "He has sprouted from the ground"
- Espero que él brote en primavera — "I hope he sprouts in spring"
- Yo había brotado las flores — "I had sprouted the flowers"
- Ellos brotaban de la tierra — "They used to sprout from the ground"
Common mistakes
- Wrong: Ellos brota en primavera — Right: En primavera, ellos brotan — Ellos needs the ellos form brotan. The singular brota belongs with él, ella or a singular noun.
- Wrong: Ayer, yo broto — Right: Ayer, yo broté — The present tense cannot describe a finished action yesterday. Ayer forces the preterite, so the form must change to broté.
- Wrong: De niño, yo broté todos los días. — Right: Todos los días, yo brotaba — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (brotaba), not the preterite. The preterite (broté) is for one finished action.
- Wrong: Yo soy brotado las flores. — Right: Yo he brotado las flores. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he brotado, has brotado, ha brotado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
- Wrong: Espero que él brota en primavera. — Right: Espero que él brote en primavera. — After espero que, Spanish needs the subjunctive: brote. The indicative brota is wrong here.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on brotar. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
Complete the sentence: Yo ___ las flores. (present tense) A. habrán brotado B. brotaste C. has brotado D. broto
Complete the sentence: Él ___ las flores. (preterite) A. brotarían B. brotó C. brotabais D. brotaron
Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ las flores. (imperfect) A. brotábamos B. brotan C. había brotado D. habré brotado
Complete the sentence: Tú ___ las flores. (future) A. broto B. habrán brotado C. brotaré D. brotarás
Complete the sentence: Yo ___ las flores. (conditional) A. brotaron B. brotemos C. brotabas D. brotaría
Complete the sentence: Espero que él ___ las flores. (present subjunctive) A. habríamos brotado B. brotaste C. brote D. broten
Complete the sentence: Si yo ___ las flores, todo cambiaría. (imperfect subjunctive, -ra form) A. brotará B. hemos brotado C. brotara D. brota
Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ las flores. (present perfect) A. has brotado B. han brotado C. hemos brotado D. brota
Complete the command: No ___ las flores. (negative imperative, tú) A. brote B. broten C. brotes D. brotemos
Which is the gerund of brotar, used with estar for the progressive? A. brotaré B. brotando C. brotaba D. brotado
Answer key
- broto — The yo present tense of brotar is broto.
- brotó — The él/ella/Ud. preterite of brotar is brotó.
- brotábamos — The nosotros/as imperfect of brotar is brotábamos.
- brotarás — The tú future of brotar is brotarás.
- brotaría — The yo conditional of brotar is brotaría.
- brote — The él/ella/Ud. present subjunctive of brotar is brote.
- brotara — The yo imperfect subjunctive, -ra form of brotar is brotara.
- hemos brotado — The nosotros/as present perfect of brotar is hemos brotado.
- brotes — The negative tú imperative uses the present subjunctive form with no before it: brotes.
- brotando — The gerund of brotar is brotando: estoy brotando. The participle brotado is used with haber instead.
Frequently asked questions
What does brotar mean in English?
Brotar means to sprout. It is used in everyday situations such as En primavera, yo broto. The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.
Is brotar regular?
Yes. Brotar is a regular -ar verb: broto, brotas, brota. 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 brotar?
The gerund is brotando, used with estar for the progressive: estoy brotando. The past participle is brotado, used with haber in the perfect tenses: he brotado.
How do I say “I sprout” in the past?
It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: Yo broté las flores. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Yo brotaba de la tierra. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: En primavera, yo he brotado.
How do I practise brotar?
Start with the present tense table, then drill the preterite and the imperfect, since those two past tenses cause the most mistakes. Try the brotar examples and quiz page for more sentences, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure.
Related links
- Brotar in the present tense — the full present-tense table for brotar.
- Brotar examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice for brotar.
- Spanish verbs — the Spanish hub, with every verb and tense guide.
- Marchitarse conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with brotar.
- Germinar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with brotar.
- Podar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with brotar.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — test yourself on real conjugated forms.
- Verb Conjugator — conjugate any Spanish verb in every tense.