Colocar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of colocar — "to place, to put" in English — is the form you need for what happens now, for habits and for general truths. This page gives you the full present conjugation table for colocar with all six persons, explains exactly how the tense is formed for this verb, shows when to use it with real examples, and finishes with a quiz so you can test yourself. Colocar means to place or to put, and it is used for placing books on a shelf, a table by a window, chairs in a living room and a picture on a wall. It is a more precise synonym of poner, and it is a spelling-change verb: the c becomes qu before e. To see it in a real sentence: Él coloca los libros en la estantería. — "He/she places the books on the shelf." Work through the table below, then the formation notes, the usage rules and the contrast with the preterite, and test yourself at the end.

Present tense conjugation table: colocar

Every person of colocar in the present tense. The gerund is colocando and the past participle is colocado.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo coloco
tú colocas
él/ella/Ud. coloca
nosotros/as colocamos
vosotros/as colocáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. colocan

How the present indicative of colocar is formed

The present indicative of colocar is built from the stem coloc- plus the present endings for -ar verbs. Take the infinitive, drop the -ar ending, and add the ending that matches the person. The table below shows the endings, and the full table above shows them attached to the stem.

Person Ending Form
yo -o coloco
tú -as colocas
él/ella/Ud. -a coloca
nosotros/as -amos colocamos
vosotros/as -áis colocáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -an colocan

colocar is a spelling-change verb: c becomes qu before e. That is why the written form changes in some persons — the sound stays the same, and only the spelling adapts. In this tense, watch the first-person form coloco in particular.

The gerund of colocar is colocando and the past participle is colocado. Both are regular for this verb, and the participle is the form you need for all the perfect tenses with haber.

When to use the present tense of colocar

The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and colocar appears in all of them. The five uses below are the ones you will meet most often, each with an example that shows the verb in a natural sentence.

Habits and routines

The present tense describes things you do regularly. If you do it every day, every week or every morning, the present is the tense to use. For colocar, this use looks like this: "Yo coloco los libros en la estantería." — "I place the books on the shelf." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

General facts

The present tense states facts that are generally true, not tied to one moment. It is the tense for definitions and permanent situations. For colocar, this use looks like this: "Él coloca la mesa junto a la ventana." — "He/she places the table by the window." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

What is happening now

The present tense also covers what is happening at this moment, especially with verbs that describe an action in progress. For colocar, this use looks like this: "Nosotros colocamos las sillas en el salón." — "We place the chairs in the living room." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

Timetables and schedules

The present tense is used for fixed plans and timetables, such as trains, classes and opening times, even when they refer to the future. For colocar, this use looks like this: "Ellos colocan el cuadro en la pared." — "They place the picture on the wall." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

Instructions and requests

The present tense appears in instructions and polite requests, where it sounds softer than a direct command. For colocar, this use looks like this: "Tú colocas los libros en la estantería." — "You place the books on the shelf." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

The present tense vs the preterite

Learners often mix up the present and the preterite with colocar. The rule is simple: the present is for habits, facts and what is happening now, while the preterite is for one finished action in the past. The three pairs below show the same idea in both tenses, so you can feel the difference.

Pair 1: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Yo coloco los libros en la estantería." — "I place the books on the shelf."
  • Preterite: "Yo coloqué los libros en la estantería." — "I placed the books on the shelf." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Pair 2: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Él coloca la mesa junto a la ventana." — "He/she places the table by the window."
  • Preterite: "Él colocó la mesa junto a la ventana." — "He/she placed the table by the window." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Pair 3: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Nosotros colocamos las sillas en el salón." — "We place the chairs in the living room."
  • Preterite: "Nosotros colocamos las sillas en el salón." — "We placed the chairs in the living room." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Example sentences in the present tense

Eight natural sentences with colocar in the present tense only. Each one uses a form from the table above.

  1. Yo coloco los libros en la estantería. — I place the books on the shelf.
  2. Tú colocas la mesa junto a la ventana. — You place the table by the window.
  3. Él coloca las sillas en el salón. — He/she places the chairs in the living room.
  4. Nosotros colocamos el cuadro en la pared. — We place the picture on the wall.
  5. Vosotros colocáis los libros en la estantería. — You all place the books on the shelf.
  6. Ellos colocan la mesa junto a la ventana. — They place the table by the window.
  7. Yo coloco las sillas en el salón. — I place the chairs in the living room.
  8. Él coloca el cuadro en la pared. — He/she places the picture on the wall.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Vosotros colocais la mesa junto a la ventana. — Right: Vosotros colocáis la mesa junto a la ventana. — The vosotros present form carries a written accent: colocáis, not colocais.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo coloco las sillas en el salón. — Right: Ayer, yo coloqué las sillas en el salón. — Ayer means yesterday, so it needs the preterite (coloqué), not the present (coloco). The present is for now, not for yesterday.
  3. Wrong: Yo coloca los libros en la estantería. — Right: Yo coloco los libros en la estantería. — The person matters: coloca is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is coloco.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy colocado la mesa junto a la ventana. — Right: Yo he colocado la mesa junto a la ventana. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he colocado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.

Quiz: test yourself

Eight questions on the present tense of colocar. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ los libros en la estantería. (present tense) A. coloco B. colocas C. coloca D. colocamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ la mesa junto a la ventana. (present tense) A. colocas B. coloco C. coloca D. colocamos

  3. Complete the sentence: Él ___ las sillas en el salón. (present tense) A. coloca B. coloco C. colocas D. colocamos

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ el cuadro en la pared. (present tense) A. colocamos B. coloco C. colocas D. coloca

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros ___ los libros en la estantería. (present tense) A. colocáis B. coloco C. colocas D. coloca

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ___ la mesa junto a la ventana. (present tense) A. colocan B. coloco C. colocas D. coloca

  7. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ las sillas en el salón. (present tense) A. coloco B. colocas C. coloca D. colocamos

  8. Complete the sentence: Él ___ el cuadro en la pared. (present tense) A. coloca B. coloco C. colocas D. colocamos

Answer key

  1. coloco — The yo present form of colocar is coloco. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  2. colocas — The tu present form of colocar is colocas. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  3. coloca — The el present form of colocar is coloca. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  4. colocamos — The nosotros present form of colocar is colocamos. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  5. colocáis — The vosotros present form of colocar is colocáis. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  6. colocan — The ellos present form of colocar is colocan. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  7. coloco — The yo present form of colocar is coloco. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  8. coloca — The el present form of colocar is coloca. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the present tense of colocar?

Use the present tense of colocar for habits, facts and what is happening now. For example: Yo coloco los libros en la estantería. — "I place the books on the shelf." The usage rules above give five situations with examples.

How is the present tense of colocar formed?

Take the stem coloc- and add the present endings for -ar verbs. The full table is at the top of this page. Remember the spelling change: c becomes qu before e.

What is the difference between the present and the preterite of colocar?

The present describes a habit or a present fact, while the preterite describes a finished action. Compare Yo coloco la mesa junto a la ventana. with Yo coloqué la mesa junto a la ventana. — the verb is the same, but the time meaning changes.

How do I practise the present tense of colocar?

Drill the six forms in the table above until you can say them without looking, then use the colocar examples and quiz page for more sentences, and test yourself with the Colocar conjugation page for the full picture across all tenses.

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