Introduction

consultar means “to consult” in English, and it is a verb you will meet again and again once you start reading and speaking Spanish. It is used whenever you need to talk about the doctor — at home, at work, and in everyday conversation — which makes it a practical verb to learn early and to use confidently. This page gives you the complete conjugation of consultar in every tense and mood, with all six persons, plus the gerund and the past participle, example sentences, the mistakes learners make most often, a ten-question quiz and answers to the questions students ask about this verb. Every form below comes from VerbFlow's verified conjugation tables, so you can trust the accents and the irregular forms. consultar is a regular -ar verb, and the notes under each tense explain exactly where it follows the rules and where it breaks them. To hear it in a real sentence: “Yo consulto al médico todos los días.” — “I consult the doctor.” Work through the tables, read the notes, then test yourself with the quiz at the end of the page.

Quick facts
Infinitive consultar
English to consult
Verb type Regular -ar verb
Gerund consultando
Past participle consultado
Auxiliary verb haber

Full conjugation tables

Gerund: consultando · Past participle: consultado

Present Indicative

Person Form
yo consulto
tú consultas
él/ella/Ud. consulta
nosotros/as consultamos
vosotros/as consultáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. consultan

The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For consultar, the yo form is consulto, as in “Yo consulto al médico.” — “I consult the doctor.”

Preterite

Person Form
yo consulté
tú consultaste
él/ella/Ud. consultó
nosotros/as consultamos
vosotros/as consultasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. consultaron

The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. For consultar, the yo form is consulté, as in “Yo consulté al médico.” — “I consulted the doctor.”

Imperfect

Person Form
yo consultaba
tú consultabas
él/ella/Ud. consultaba
nosotros/as consultábamos
vosotros/as consultabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. consultaban

The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. For consultar, the yo form is consultaba, as in “Yo consultaba al médico.” — “I used to consult the doctor.”

Future

Person Form
yo consultaré
tú consultarás
él/ella/Ud. consultará
nosotros/as consultaremos
vosotros/as consultaréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. consultarán

The future tense states what will happen. It is also used for predictions and promises. For consultar, the yo form is consultaré, as in “Yo consultaré al médico.” — “I will consult the doctor.”

Conditional

Person Form
yo consultaría
tú consultarías
él/ella/Ud. consultaría
nosotros/as consultaríamos
vosotros/as consultaríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. consultarían

The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. For consultar, the yo form is consultaría, as in “Yo consultaría al médico.” — “I would consult the doctor.”

Present Perfect

Person Form
yo he consultado
tú has consultado
él/ella/Ud. ha consultado
nosotros/as hemos consultado
vosotros/as habéis consultado
ellos/ellas/Uds. han consultado

The present perfect connects the past with the present: something that has happened, often today or recently. For consultar, the yo form is he consultado, as in “Yo he consultado al médico.” — “I have consulted the doctor.”

Pluperfect

Person Form
yo había consultado
tú habías consultado
él/ella/Ud. había consultado
nosotros/as habíamos consultado
vosotros/as habíais consultado
ellos/ellas/Uds. habían consultado

The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event. For consultar, the yo form is había consultado, as in “Yo había consultado al médico.” — “I had consulted the doctor.”

Future Perfect

Person Form
yo habré consultado
tú habrás consultado
él/ella/Ud. habrá consultado
nosotros/as habremos consultado
vosotros/as habréis consultado
ellos/ellas/Uds. habrán consultado

The future perfect describes something that will already be finished by a future moment. For consultar, the yo form is habré consultado, as in “Yo habré consultado al médico.” — “I will have consulted the doctor.”

Conditional Perfect

Person Form
yo habría consultado
tú habrías consultado
él/ella/Ud. habría consultado
nosotros/as habríamos consultado
vosotros/as habríais consultado
ellos/ellas/Uds. habrían consultado

The conditional perfect describes what would have happened under different conditions. For consultar, the yo form is habría consultado, as in “Yo habría consultado al médico.” — “I would have consulted the doctor.”

Present Subjunctive

Person Form
yo consulte
tú consultes
él/ella/Ud. consulte
nosotros/as consultemos
vosotros/as consultéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. consulten

The present subjunctive is used after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and influence. For consultar, the yo form is consulte, as in “Espero que yo consulte al médico.” — “I hope that I consult the doctor.”

Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra)

Person Form
yo consultara
tú consultaras
él/ella/Ud. consultara
nosotros/as consultáramos
vosotros/as consultarais
ellos/ellas/Uds. consultaran

The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past versions of subjunctive clauses, and after "si" in hypothetical sentences. For consultar, the yo form is consultara, as in “Si yo consultara al médico, ...” — “If I consulted the doctor, ...”

The -se variant of this tense follows the same pattern with -se instead of -ra: consultara becomes consultase, and the same change applies to every person. Both variants mean the same thing; -ra is more common in everyday speech.

Imperative (affirmative)

Person Form
tú consulta
Ud. consulte
nosotros/as consultemos
vosotros/as consultad
Uds. consulten

Imperative (negative)

Person Form
tú consultes
Ud. consulte
nosotros/as consultemos
vosotros/as consultéis
Uds. consulten

The imperative is for orders, requests and advice. The affirmative tú form is consulta, as in “¡Consulta al médico” — “Consult the doctor” For the negative imperative, Spanish uses the subjunctive forms: no consultes. Note that the affirmative and negative forms differ, so check the table above before you give an order with consultar.

Example sentences

Here are ten sentences with consultar, covering different tenses and persons. Read each one out loud, then read the translation, and notice how the verb form changes while the meaning stays the same.

  1. “Yo consulto al médico cada día.” — “I consult the doctor.”
  2. “Él consulta al médico todos los días.” — “He consults the doctor.”
  3. “Yo consulté al médico ayer.” — “I consulted the doctor.”
  4. “Él consultó al médico ayer.” — “He consulted the doctor.”
  5. “Yo consultaba al médico cuando era joven.” — “I used to consult the doctor.”
  6. “Nosotros consultaremos al médico mañana.” — “We will consult the doctor.”
  7. “Si pudiera, yo consultaría al médico.” — “If I could, i would consult the doctor.”
  8. “Yo he consultado al médico hoy.” — “I have consulted the doctor.”
  9. “Espero que yo consulte al médico.” — “I hope that I consult the doctor.”
  10. “estoy consultando al médico ahora mismo.” — “I am consulting the doctor.”

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

Is consultar regular or irregular?

consultar is a regular -ar verb. It follows the regular patterns for its ending in every tense. The tables on this page show the correct form for every person, so use them rather than guessing.

What is the past participle of consultar?

The past participle of consultar is consultado. You use it with haber in the perfect tenses — he consultado, había consultado, habré consultado — and after estar in passive-style descriptions. It is the regular participle for its verb class. Learn it together with the gerund consultando and you have the two non-finite forms covered.

What is the gerund of consultar?

The gerund of consultar is consultando. You use it with estar to describe an action in progress, as in estoy consultando, and after verbs such as seguir and ir. Keep it distinct from the past participle consultado, which belongs with haber, not with estar.

What is the yo form of consultar in the present?

The yo form is consulto — “Yo consulto al médico.” means “I consult the doctor.” That is the form you will use most often when you talk about yourself. For other persons, use the present table above: tú consultas, él consulta, nosotros consultamos, ellos consultan.

What is the difference between consultar and conservar?

consultar means “to consult”, while conservar means “to preserve, to keep”. They share letters and sometimes a root, but they are different verbs. If your sentence means “to consult”, use consultar; if it is about the meaning of conservar, use conservar instead. Checking the English meaning first prevents most mix-ups.

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