Introduction

consultar means “to consult”, and it is one of the verbs you will use every day in Spanish. It is the verb for expressing “to consult” in everyday Spanish — in conversation, at work, and at home. This page shows consultar in real sentences, in short dialogues, and in the mistakes learners make most often, and it finishes with a ten-question quiz so you can test yourself. Every sentence below comes with its English translation, and every form is the correct form unless the sentence is clearly marked as past or future. For a first taste: “Yo consulto al médico por la mañana.” — “I consult the doctor.”

consultar in real example sentences

The twelve sentences below are grouped by how consultar is used. Read each one out loud, then read the translation. If a sentence feels useful, copy it into your own notebook with one small change — a different time, a different person, a different place — and you have a new sentence of your own.

In the present: everyday use

These sentences use {verb} in the present tense, which is how you will meet it most often: routines, facts, and things happening now.

  1. “Yo consulto al médico cada día.” — “I consult the doctor.”
  2. “Tú consultas al médico cada día.” — “you consult the doctor.”
  3. “Él consulta al médico siempre.” — “He consults the doctor.”
  4. “Nosotros consultamos al médico todos los días.” — “We consult the doctor.”

Talking about the past

The present is not the only tense you need. These sentences show {verb} in the past, so you can talk about what already happened. 5. “Yo consulté al médico ayer.” — “I consulted the doctor.” (preterite) 6. “Él consultó al médico ayer.” — “He consulted the doctor.” (preterite) 7. “Yo consultaba al médico cuando era joven.” — “I used to consult the doctor.” (imperfect)

Plans and things already done

These sentences look forward, or look back at something already finished. Notice how the verb form changes while the meaning of {verb} stays the same. 8. “Nosotros consultaremos al médico mañana.” — “We will consult the doctor.” (future) 9. “Tú has consultado al médico hoy.” — “you have consulted the doctor.” (present-perfect) 10. “Espero que yo consulte al médico.” — “I hope that I consult the doctor.” (present-subjunctive)

More everyday uses

Two more present-tense sentences, covering the remaining persons, so you can see the whole table in action. 11. “Vosotros consultáis al médico cada semana.” — “You consult the doctor.” 12. “Ellos consultan al médico normalmente.” — “They consult the doctor.”

consultar in context

Single sentences teach you the forms. Dialogues teach you when to use them. Read the short conversation below, then the paragraph that follows, and notice how consultar appears naturally, without anyone stopping to think about conjugation.

Dialogue in a café

Sofía: “¿Tú consultas al médico?” — Do you consult the doctor?

Diego: “Sí, yo consulto al médico cada día. Es parte de mi rutina.” — Yes, I consult the doctor every day. It is part of my routine.

Sofía: “¿Y ayer? ¿También consultas al médico?” — And yesterday? Did you consult the doctor too?

Diego: “Sí, ayer yo consulté al médico. Mañana nosotros consultaremos al médico otra vez.” — Yes, yesterday I consulted the doctor. Tomorrow we will consult the doctor again.

A short paragraph

Él consulta al médico cada día — that one sentence already tells you a lot about how consultar works in real Spanish: who does it, when, and with what. Around it you can build a whole paragraph: what happened yesterday, what is happening now, and what will happen tomorrow, all with the same verb. When you write your own paragraph, start with the present — yo consulto al médico — then add one past sentence and one future sentence, and you have practised three tenses with one verb. That is the fastest way to make consultar yours: use it in a story, not only in a table.

Common mistakes

Forgetting the accent in the preterite

The yo preterite form is consulté, with an accent on the stressed vowel. Writing it without the accent — consulte — is a spelling error, and in speech the stress lands in the wrong place. Preterite yo forms that end in a vowel carry that accent, so check it every time you write the preterite of consultar.

Mixing up present and preterite nosotros

For consultar, the nosotros form is the same in the present and the preterite: consultamos. Only the context tells you which tense is meant, so pay attention to the time words around it — cada día points to the present, ayer points to the preterite. Do not invent a different form for one of the tenses.

Using ser instead of haber in perfect tenses

Spanish perfect tenses always use haber, never ser: yo he consultado al médico. English speakers sometimes reach for soy because English uses to be in some passives, but soy consultado is not the present perfect of consultar — it is a passive construction with a different meaning.

Confusing consultar with conservar

consultar and conservar look similar, and learners mix them up. They are different verbs with different meanings, so check which one the sentence needs before you conjugate. If you can substitute the English meaning of consultar — consult — the sentence needs consultar; if it needs the meaning of conservar, use that verb instead.

Using the indicative after "espero que"

After espero que (I hope that), Spanish needs the subjunctive: Espero que yo consulte al médico. Using the indicative — Espero que yo consulto — is one of the most frequent learner errors with consultar. Whenever the main clause expresses a wish, doubt or emotion, switch to the subjunctive.

Quiz

Test yourself on the forms above. Choose the best answer, then check the key below.

1. What is the yo form of consultar in the present?

  • A. consultas
  • B. consulta
  • C. consultamos
  • D. consulto

2. What is the tu form of consultar in the preterite?

  • A. consultamos
  • B. consultaste
  • C. consulté
  • D. consultó

3. What is the el form of consultar in the imperfect?

  • A. consultabas
  • B. consultábamos
  • C. consultabais
  • D. consultaba

4. What is the nosotros form of consultar in the future?

  • A. consultará
  • B. consultaremos
  • C. consultaré
  • D. consultarás

5. What is the vosotros form of consultar in the present perfect?

  • A. he consultado
  • B. has consultado
  • C. ha consultado
  • D. habéis consultado

6. What is the ellos form of consultar in the present subjunctive?

  • A. consulte
  • B. consulten
  • C. consulte
  • D. consultes

7. What is the yo form of consultar in the preterite?

  • A. consultaste
  • B. consultó
  • C. consultamos
  • D. consulté

8. What is the tu form of consultar in the imperfect?

  • A. consultábamos
  • B. consultabas
  • C. consultaba
  • D. consultaba

9. What is the el form of consultar in the future?

  • A. consultaré
  • B. consultarás
  • C. consultaremos
  • D. consultará

10. What is the nosotros form of consultar in the conditional?

  • A. consultaría
  • B. consultaríamos
  • C. consultaría
  • D. consultarías

Answer key

  1. consulto — The present table gives yo = consulto.
  2. consultaste — The preterite table gives tu = consultaste.
  3. consultaba — The imperfect table gives el = consultaba.
  4. consultaremos — The future table gives nosotros = consultaremos.
  5. habéis consultado — The present perfect table gives vosotros = habéis consultado.
  6. consulten — The present subjunctive table gives ellos = consulten.
  7. consulté — The preterite table gives yo = consulté.
  8. consultabas — The imperfect table gives tu = consultabas.
  9. consultará — The future table gives el = consultará.
  10. consultaríamos — The conditional table gives nosotros = consultaríamos.

Frequently asked questions

How do I use consultar in a sentence?

Put the subject first, then the conjugated form, then the rest: “Yo consulto al médico.” — “I consult the doctor.” Change the form for the person and the tense, but keep the sentence pattern the same.

What is the most useful form of consultar to learn first?

Learn the present yo form consulto first, then the preterite yo form consulté and the participle consultado. With those three you can talk about the present, the past and the perfect tenses. Add the gerund consultando next, and you can describe actions in progress too.

Is consultar reflexive?

No — consultar is not reflexive. It takes a direct object, not a reflexive pronoun: yo consulto al médico. Do not add me or se to it unless the sentence genuinely needs a pronoun for another reason.

Where can I see the full conjugation of consultar?

On the main conjugation page for consultar, which has every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle, plus notes, examples and a quiz. The present-tense page covers one tense in depth if that is what you need right now.

Related links