Introduction

controlar means “to control” 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 situation — 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 controlar 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. controlar 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 controlo la situación todos los días.” — “I control the situation.” Work through the tables, read the notes, then test yourself with the quiz at the end of the page.

Quick facts
Infinitive controlar
English to control
Verb type Regular -ar verb
Gerund controlando
Past participle controlado
Auxiliary verb haber

Full conjugation tables

Gerund: controlando · Past participle: controlado

Present Indicative

Person Form
yo controlo
tú controlas
él/ella/Ud. controla
nosotros/as controlamos
vosotros/as controláis
ellos/ellas/Uds. controlan

The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For controlar, the yo form is controlo, as in “Yo controlo la situación.” — “I control the situation.”

Preterite

Person Form
yo controlé
tú controlaste
él/ella/Ud. controló
nosotros/as controlamos
vosotros/as controlasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. controlaron

The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. For controlar, the yo form is controlé, as in “Yo controlé la situación.” — “I controlled the situation.”

Imperfect

Person Form
yo controlaba
tú controlabas
él/ella/Ud. controlaba
nosotros/as controlábamos
vosotros/as controlabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. controlaban

The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. For controlar, the yo form is controlaba, as in “Yo controlaba la situación.” — “I used to control the situation.”

Future

Person Form
yo controlaré
tú controlarás
él/ella/Ud. controlará
nosotros/as controlaremos
vosotros/as controlaréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. controlarán

The future tense states what will happen. It is also used for predictions and promises. For controlar, the yo form is controlaré, as in “Yo controlaré la situación.” — “I will control the situation.”

Conditional

Person Form
yo controlaría
tú controlarías
él/ella/Ud. controlaría
nosotros/as controlaríamos
vosotros/as controlaríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. controlarían

The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. For controlar, the yo form is controlaría, as in “Yo controlaría la situación.” — “I would control the situation.”

Present Perfect

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

The present perfect connects the past with the present: something that has happened, often today or recently. For controlar, the yo form is he controlado, as in “Yo he controlado la situación.” — “I have controlled the situation.”

Pluperfect

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

The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event. For controlar, the yo form is había controlado, as in “Yo había controlado la situación.” — “I had controlled the situation.”

Future Perfect

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

The future perfect describes something that will already be finished by a future moment. For controlar, the yo form is habré controlado, as in “Yo habré controlado la situación.” — “I will have controlled the situation.”

Conditional Perfect

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

The conditional perfect describes what would have happened under different conditions. For controlar, the yo form is habría controlado, as in “Yo habría controlado la situación.” — “I would have controlled the situation.”

Present Subjunctive

Person Form
yo controle
tú controles
él/ella/Ud. controle
nosotros/as controlemos
vosotros/as controléis
ellos/ellas/Uds. controlen

The present subjunctive is used after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and influence. For controlar, the yo form is controle, as in “Espero que yo controle la situación.” — “I hope that I control the situation.”

Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra)

Person Form
yo controlara
tú controlaras
él/ella/Ud. controlara
nosotros/as controláramos
vosotros/as controlarais
ellos/ellas/Uds. controlaran

The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past versions of subjunctive clauses, and after "si" in hypothetical sentences. For controlar, the yo form is controlara, as in “Si yo controlara la situación, ...” — “If I controlled the situation, ...”

The -se variant of this tense follows the same pattern with -se instead of -ra: controlara becomes controlase, 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 controla
Ud. controle
nosotros/as controlemos
vosotros/as controlad
Uds. controlen

Imperative (negative)

Person Form
tú controles
Ud. controle
nosotros/as controlemos
vosotros/as controléis
Uds. controlen

The imperative is for orders, requests and advice. The affirmative tú form is controla, as in “¡Controla la situación” — “Control the situation” For the negative imperative, Spanish uses the subjunctive forms: no controles. Note that the affirmative and negative forms differ, so check the table above before you give an order with controlar.

Example sentences

Here are ten sentences with controlar, 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 controlo la situación cada día.” — “I control the situation.”
  2. “Él controla la situación todos los días.” — “He controls the situation.”
  3. “Yo controlé la situación ayer.” — “I controlled the situation.”
  4. “Él controló la situación ayer.” — “He controlled the situation.”
  5. “Yo controlaba la situación cuando era joven.” — “I used to control the situation.”
  6. “Nosotros controlaremos la situación mañana.” — “We will control the situation.”
  7. “Si pudiera, yo controlaría la situación.” — “If I could, i would control the situation.”
  8. “Yo he controlado la situación hoy.” — “I have controlled the situation.”
  9. “Espero que yo controle la situación.” — “I hope that I control the situation.”
  10. “estoy controlando la situación ahora mismo.” — “I am controlling the situation.”

Common mistakes

Forgetting the accent in the preterite

The yo preterite form is controlé, with an accent on the stressed vowel. Writing it without the accent — controle — 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 controlar.

Mixing up present and preterite nosotros

For controlar, the nosotros form is the same in the present and the preterite: controlamos. 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 controlado la situación. English speakers sometimes reach for soy because English uses to be in some passives, but soy controlado is not the present perfect of controlar — it is a passive construction with a different meaning.

Confusing controlar with conservar

controlar 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 controlar — control — the sentence needs controlar; 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 controle la situación. Using the indicative — Espero que yo controlo — is one of the most frequent learner errors with controlar. 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 controlar in the present?

  • A. controlas
  • B. controla
  • C. controlamos
  • D. controlo

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

  • A. controlamos
  • B. controlaste
  • C. controlé
  • D. controló

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

  • A. controlabas
  • B. controlábamos
  • C. controlabais
  • D. controlaba

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

  • A. controlará
  • B. controlaremos
  • C. controlaré
  • D. controlarás

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

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

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

  • A. controle
  • B. controlen
  • C. controle
  • D. controles

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

  • A. controlaste
  • B. controló
  • C. controlamos
  • D. controlé

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

  • A. controlábamos
  • B. controlabas
  • C. controlaba
  • D. controlaba

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

  • A. controlaré
  • B. controlarás
  • C. controlaremos
  • D. controlará

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

  • A. controlaría
  • B. controlaríamos
  • C. controlaría
  • D. controlarías

Answer key

  1. controlo — The present table gives yo = controlo.
  2. controlaste — The preterite table gives tu = controlaste.
  3. controlaba — The imperfect table gives el = controlaba.
  4. controlaremos — The future table gives nosotros = controlaremos.
  5. habéis controlado — The present perfect table gives vosotros = habéis controlado.
  6. controlen — The present subjunctive table gives ellos = controlen.
  7. controlé — The preterite table gives yo = controlé.
  8. controlabas — The imperfect table gives tu = controlabas.
  9. controlará — The future table gives el = controlará.
  10. controlaríamos — The conditional table gives nosotros = controlaríamos.

Frequently asked questions

Is controlar regular or irregular?

controlar 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 controlar?

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

What is the gerund of controlar?

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

What is the yo form of controlar in the present?

The yo form is controlo — “Yo controlo la situación.” means “I control the situation.” That is the form you will use most often when you talk about yourself. For other persons, use the present table above: tú controlas, él controla, nosotros controlamos, ellos controlan.

What is the difference between controlar and conservar?

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

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