Colar Conjugation in Spanish
The Spanish verb colar means to strain, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. Colar 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 colar 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 colo la sopa — "I strain the soup" — and in the preterite you say Yo colé el caldo — "I strained the stock". 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: colar
- English: to strain
- Verb type: regular -ar verb
- Ending: -ar
- Gerund: colando
- Past participle: colado
- Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + colado)
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for colar, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for colar. 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: colando · Past participle: colado
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | colo |
| tú | colas |
| él/ella/Ud. | cola |
| nosotros/as | colamos |
| vosotros/as | coláis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | colan |
Preterite
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | colé |
| tú | colaste |
| él/ella/Ud. | coló |
| nosotros/as | colamos |
| vosotros/as | colasteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | colaron |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | colaba |
| tú | colabas |
| él/ella/Ud. | colaba |
| nosotros/as | colábamos |
| vosotros/as | colabais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | colaban |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | colaré |
| tú | colarás |
| él/ella/Ud. | colará |
| nosotros/as | colaremos |
| vosotros/as | colaréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | colarán |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | colaría |
| tú | colarías |
| él/ella/Ud. | colaría |
| nosotros/as | colaríamos |
| vosotros/as | colaríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | colarían |
Present perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he colado |
| tú | has colado |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha colado |
| nosotros/as | hemos colado |
| vosotros/as | habéis colado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han colado |
Pluperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había colado |
| tú | habías colado |
| él/ella/Ud. | había colado |
| nosotros/as | habíamos colado |
| vosotros/as | habíais colado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían colado |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré colado |
| tú | habrás colado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá colado |
| nosotros/as | habremos colado |
| vosotros/as | habréis colado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán colado |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría colado |
| tú | habrías colado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría colado |
| nosotros/as | habríamos colado |
| vosotros/as | habríais colado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían colado |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | cole |
| tú | coles |
| él/ella/Ud. | cole |
| nosotros/as | colemos |
| vosotros/as | coléis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | colen |
Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | colara |
| tú | colaras |
| él/ella/Ud. | colara |
| nosotros/as | coláramos |
| vosotros/as | colarais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | colaran |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | cola |
| él/ella/Ud. | cole |
| nosotros/as | colemos |
| vosotros/as | colad |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | colen |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | coles |
| él/ella/Ud. | cole |
| nosotros/as | colemos |
| vosotros/as | coléis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | colen |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | Spanish | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Gerund | colando | with estar for the progressive: estoy colando |
| Past participle | colado | with haber for the perfect tenses: he colado |
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 colar, the present indicative looks like this in a real sentence: Yo colo el caldo — "I strain the stock". 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 colar, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Yo colé con un colador — "I strained with a strainer". 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 colar, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo colaba la sopa — "I used to strain the soup". 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 colar, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Yo colaré el caldo — "I will strain the stock". 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 colar, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Yo colaría con un colador — "I would strain with a strainer". 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 colar, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo he colado la sopa — "I have strained the soup". 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 colar, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo había colado el caldo — "I had strained the stock". 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 colar, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo habré colado con un colador — "I will have strained with a strainer". 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 colar, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo habría colado la sopa — "I would have strained the soup". 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 colar, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él cole el caldo — "I hope he strains the stock". 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 colar, the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) looks like this in a real sentence: Si yo colara con un colador, todo cambiaría — "If I strained with a strainer, 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 colar, the imperative (affirmative) looks like this in a real sentence: Cole la sopa — "Let him strain the soup". 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 colar, the imperative (negative) looks like this in a real sentence: No coles el caldo — "Don't strain the stock". 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 colar, covering different tenses and persons. Each one uses a form from the tables above.
- Yo colo con un colador — "I strain with a strainer"
- Él cola la sopa — "He strains the soup"
- Yo colé el caldo — "I strained the stock"
- Yo colaba con un colador — "I used to strain with a strainer"
- Tú colarás la sopa — "You will strain the soup"
- Yo colaría el caldo — "I would strain the stock"
- Él ha colado con un colador — "He has strained with a strainer"
- Espero que él cole la sopa — "I hope he strains the soup"
- Yo había colado el caldo — "I had strained the stock"
- Ellos colaban con un colador — "They used to strain with a strainer"
Common mistakes
- Wrong: Ellos cola la sopa — Right: Ellos colan la sopa — Ellos needs the ellos form colan. The singular cola belongs with él, ella or a singular noun.
- Wrong: Ayer, yo colo — Right: Ayer, yo colé — The present tense cannot describe a finished action yesterday. Ayer forces the preterite, so the form must change to colé.
- Wrong: De niño, yo colé todos los días. — Right: Todos los días, yo colaba — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (colaba), not the preterite. The preterite (colé) is for one finished action.
- Wrong: Yo soy colado el caldo. — Right: Yo he colado el caldo. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he colado, has colado, ha colado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
- Wrong: Espero que él cola la sopa. — Right: Espero que él cole la sopa. — After espero que, Spanish needs the subjunctive: cole. The indicative cola is wrong here.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on colar. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
Complete the sentence: Yo ___ la sopa. (present tense) A. habríamos colado B. colaría C. colaremos D. colo
Complete the sentence: Él ___ la sopa. (preterite) A. coláramos B. habré colado C. coló D. coláis
Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ la sopa. (imperfect) A. coles B. colaremos C. colaran D. colábamos
Complete the sentence: Tú ___ la sopa. (future) A. colaba B. habría colado C. colarás D. hemos colado
Complete the sentence: Yo ___ la sopa. (conditional) A. colasteis B. colabas C. colaría D. colaran
Complete the sentence: Espero que él ___ la sopa. (present subjunctive) A. coláis B. habréis colado C. cole D. he colado
Complete the sentence: Si yo ___ la sopa, todo cambiaría. (imperfect subjunctive, -ra form) A. colarán B. cola C. colara D. colabas
Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ la sopa. (present perfect) A. habrás colado B. colaré C. hemos colado D. coláramos
Complete the command: No ___ la sopa. (negative imperative, tú) A. colemos B. coléis C. coles D. colen
Which is the gerund of colar, used with estar for the progressive? A. colaba B. colo C. colando D. colé
Answer key
- colo — The yo present tense of colar is colo.
- coló — The él/ella/Ud. preterite of colar is coló.
- colábamos — The nosotros/as imperfect of colar is colábamos.
- colarás — The tú future of colar is colarás.
- colaría — The yo conditional of colar is colaría.
- cole — The él/ella/Ud. present subjunctive of colar is cole.
- colara — The yo imperfect subjunctive, -ra form of colar is colara.
- hemos colado — The nosotros/as present perfect of colar is hemos colado.
- coles — The negative tú imperative uses the present subjunctive form with no before it: coles.
- colando — The gerund of colar is colando: estoy colando. The participle colado is used with haber instead.
Frequently asked questions
What does colar mean in English?
Colar means to strain. It is used in everyday situations such as Yo colo la sopa. The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.
Is colar regular?
Yes. Colar is a regular -ar verb: colo, colas, cola. 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 colar?
The gerund is colando, used with estar for the progressive: estoy colando. The past participle is colado, used with haber in the perfect tenses: he colado.
How do I say “I strain” in the past?
It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: Yo colé el caldo. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Yo colaba con un colador. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Yo he colado la sopa.
How do I practise colar?
Start with the present tense table, then drill the preterite and the imperfect, since those two past tenses cause the most mistakes. Try the colar examples and quiz page for more sentences, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure.
Related links
- Colar in the present tense — the full present-tense table for colar.
- Colar examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice for colar.
- Spanish verbs — the Spanish hub, with every verb and tense guide.
- Estornudar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with colar.
- Bostezar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with colar.
- Eructar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with colar.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — test yourself on real conjugated forms.
- Verb Conjugator — conjugate any Spanish verb in every tense.