Introduction

cooperar means “to cooperate” 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 with the team — 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 cooperar 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. cooperar 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 coopero con el equipo todos los días.” — “I cooperate with the team.” Work through the tables, read the notes, then test yourself with the quiz at the end of the page.

Quick facts
Infinitive cooperar
English to cooperate
Verb type Regular -ar verb
Gerund cooperando
Past participle cooperado
Auxiliary verb haber

Full conjugation tables

Gerund: cooperando · Past participle: cooperado

Present Indicative

Person Form
yo coopero
tú cooperas
él/ella/Ud. coopera
nosotros/as cooperamos
vosotros/as cooperáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. cooperan

The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For cooperar, the yo form is coopero, as in “Yo coopero con el equipo.” — “I cooperate with the team.”

Preterite

Person Form
yo cooperé
tú cooperaste
él/ella/Ud. cooperó
nosotros/as cooperamos
vosotros/as cooperasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. cooperaron

The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. For cooperar, the yo form is cooperé, as in “Yo cooperé con el equipo.” — “I cooperated with the team.”

Imperfect

Person Form
yo cooperaba
tú cooperabas
él/ella/Ud. cooperaba
nosotros/as cooperábamos
vosotros/as cooperabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. cooperaban

The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. For cooperar, the yo form is cooperaba, as in “Yo cooperaba con el equipo.” — “I used to cooperate with the team.”

Future

Person Form
yo cooperaré
tú cooperarás
él/ella/Ud. cooperará
nosotros/as cooperaremos
vosotros/as cooperaréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. cooperarán

The future tense states what will happen. It is also used for predictions and promises. For cooperar, the yo form is cooperaré, as in “Yo cooperaré con el equipo.” — “I will cooperate with the team.”

Conditional

Person Form
yo cooperaría
tú cooperarías
él/ella/Ud. cooperaría
nosotros/as cooperaríamos
vosotros/as cooperaríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. cooperarían

The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. For cooperar, the yo form is cooperaría, as in “Yo cooperaría con el equipo.” — “I would cooperate with the team.”

Present Perfect

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

The present perfect connects the past with the present: something that has happened, often today or recently. For cooperar, the yo form is he cooperado, as in “Yo he cooperado con el equipo.” — “I have cooperated with the team.”

Pluperfect

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

The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event. For cooperar, the yo form is había cooperado, as in “Yo había cooperado con el equipo.” — “I had cooperated with the team.”

Future Perfect

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

The future perfect describes something that will already be finished by a future moment. For cooperar, the yo form is habré cooperado, as in “Yo habré cooperado con el equipo.” — “I will have cooperated with the team.”

Conditional Perfect

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

The conditional perfect describes what would have happened under different conditions. For cooperar, the yo form is habría cooperado, as in “Yo habría cooperado con el equipo.” — “I would have cooperated with the team.”

Present Subjunctive

Person Form
yo coopere
tú cooperes
él/ella/Ud. coopere
nosotros/as cooperemos
vosotros/as cooperéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. cooperen

The present subjunctive is used after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and influence. For cooperar, the yo form is coopere, as in “Espero que yo coopere con el equipo.” — “I hope that I cooperate with the team.”

Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra)

Person Form
yo cooperara
tú cooperaras
él/ella/Ud. cooperara
nosotros/as cooperáramos
vosotros/as cooperarais
ellos/ellas/Uds. cooperaran

The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past versions of subjunctive clauses, and after "si" in hypothetical sentences. For cooperar, the yo form is cooperara, as in “Si yo cooperara con el equipo, ...” — “If I cooperated with the team, ...”

The -se variant of this tense follows the same pattern with -se instead of -ra: cooperara becomes cooperase, 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 coopera
Ud. coopere
nosotros/as cooperemos
vosotros/as cooperad
Uds. cooperen

Imperative (negative)

Person Form
tú cooperes
Ud. coopere
nosotros/as cooperemos
vosotros/as cooperéis
Uds. cooperen

The imperative is for orders, requests and advice. The affirmative tú form is coopera, as in “¡Coopera con el equipo” — “Cooperate with the team” For the negative imperative, Spanish uses the subjunctive forms: no cooperes. Note that the affirmative and negative forms differ, so check the table above before you give an order with cooperar.

Example sentences

Here are ten sentences with cooperar, 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 coopero con el equipo cada día.” — “I cooperate with the team.”
  2. “Él coopera con el equipo todos los días.” — “He cooperates with the team.”
  3. “Yo cooperé con el equipo ayer.” — “I cooperated with the team.”
  4. “Él cooperó con el equipo ayer.” — “He cooperated with the team.”
  5. “Yo cooperaba con el equipo cuando era joven.” — “I used to cooperate with the team.”
  6. “Nosotros cooperaremos con el equipo mañana.” — “We will cooperate with the team.”
  7. “Si pudiera, yo cooperaría con el equipo.” — “If I could, i would cooperate with the team.”
  8. “Yo he cooperado con el equipo hoy.” — “I have cooperated with the team.”
  9. “Espero que yo coopere con el equipo.” — “I hope that I cooperate with the team.”
  10. “estoy cooperando con el equipo ahora mismo.” — “I am cooperating with the team.”

Common mistakes

Forgetting the accent in the preterite

The yo preterite form is cooperé, with an accent on the stressed vowel. Writing it without the accent — coopere — 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 cooperar.

Mixing up present and preterite nosotros

For cooperar, the nosotros form is the same in the present and the preterite: cooperamos. 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 cooperado con el equipo. English speakers sometimes reach for soy because English uses to be in some passives, but soy cooperado is not the present perfect of cooperar — it is a passive construction with a different meaning.

Confusing cooperar with coordinar

cooperar and coordinar 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 cooperar — cooperate — the sentence needs cooperar; if it needs the meaning of coordinar, use that verb instead.

Using the indicative after "espero que"

After espero que (I hope that), Spanish needs the subjunctive: Espero que yo coopere con el equipo. Using the indicative — Espero que yo coopero — is one of the most frequent learner errors with cooperar. 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 cooperar in the present?

  • A. cooperas
  • B. coopera
  • C. cooperamos
  • D. coopero

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

  • A. cooperamos
  • B. cooperaste
  • C. cooperé
  • D. cooperó

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

  • A. cooperabas
  • B. cooperábamos
  • C. cooperabais
  • D. cooperaba

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

  • A. cooperará
  • B. cooperaremos
  • C. cooperaré
  • D. cooperarás

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

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

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

  • A. coopere
  • B. cooperen
  • C. coopere
  • D. cooperes

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

  • A. cooperaste
  • B. cooperó
  • C. cooperamos
  • D. cooperé

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

  • A. cooperábamos
  • B. cooperabas
  • C. cooperaba
  • D. cooperaba

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

  • A. cooperaré
  • B. cooperarás
  • C. cooperaremos
  • D. cooperará

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

  • A. cooperaría
  • B. cooperaríamos
  • C. cooperaría
  • D. cooperarías

Answer key

  1. coopero — The present table gives yo = coopero.
  2. cooperaste — The preterite table gives tu = cooperaste.
  3. cooperaba — The imperfect table gives el = cooperaba.
  4. cooperaremos — The future table gives nosotros = cooperaremos.
  5. habéis cooperado — The present perfect table gives vosotros = habéis cooperado.
  6. cooperen — The present subjunctive table gives ellos = cooperen.
  7. cooperé — The preterite table gives yo = cooperé.
  8. cooperabas — The imperfect table gives tu = cooperabas.
  9. cooperará — The future table gives el = cooperará.
  10. cooperaríamos — The conditional table gives nosotros = cooperaríamos.

Frequently asked questions

Is cooperar regular or irregular?

cooperar 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 cooperar?

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

What is the gerund of cooperar?

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

What is the yo form of cooperar in the present?

The yo form is coopero — “Yo coopero con el equipo.” means “I cooperate with the team.” That is the form you will use most often when you talk about yourself. For other persons, use the present table above: tú cooperas, él coopera, nosotros cooperamos, ellos cooperan.

What is the difference between cooperar and coordinar?

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

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