Introduction

culpar means “to blame”, and it is one of the verbs you will use every day in Spanish. It is the verb for expressing “to blame” in everyday Spanish — in conversation, at work, and at home. This page shows culpar 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 culpo a mi hermano por la mañana.” — “I blame my brother.”

culpar in real example sentences

The twelve sentences below are grouped by how culpar 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 culpo a mi hermano cada día.” — “I blame my brother.”
  2. “Tú culpas a mi hermano cada día.” — “you blame my brother.”
  3. “Él culpa a mi hermano siempre.” — “He blames my brother.”
  4. “Nosotros culpamos a mi hermano todos los días.” — “We blame my brother.”

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 culpé a mi hermano ayer.” — “I blamed my brother.” (preterite) 6. “Él culpó a mi hermano ayer.” — “He blamed my brother.” (preterite) 7. “Yo culpaba a mi hermano cuando era joven.” — “I used to blame my brother.” (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 culparemos a mi hermano mañana.” — “We will blame my brother.” (future) 9. “Tú has culpado a mi hermano hoy.” — “you have blamed my brother.” (present-perfect) 10. “Espero que yo culpe a mi hermano.” — “I hope that I blame my brother.” (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 culpáis a mi hermano cada semana.” — “You blame my brother.” 12. “Ellos culpan a mi hermano normalmente.” — “They blame my brother.”

culpar 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 culpar appears naturally, without anyone stopping to think about conjugation.

Dialogue at home in the evening

Ana: “¿Tú culpas a mi hermano?” — Do you blame my brother?

Luis: “Sí, yo culpo a mi hermano cada día. Es parte de mi rutina.” — Yes, I blame my brother every day. It is part of my routine.

Ana: “¿Y ayer? ¿También culpas a mi hermano?” — And yesterday? Did you blame my brother too?

Luis: “Sí, ayer yo culpé a mi hermano. Mañana nosotros culparemos a mi hermano otra vez.” — Yes, yesterday I blamed my brother. Tomorrow we will blame my brother again.

A short paragraph

Él culpa a mi hermano cada día — that one sentence already tells you a lot about how culpar 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 culpo a mi hermano — 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 culpar yours: use it in a story, not only in a table.

Common mistakes

Forgetting the accent in the preterite

The yo preterite form is culpé, with an accent on the stressed vowel. Writing it without the accent — culpe — 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 culpar.

Mixing up present and preterite nosotros

For culpar, the nosotros form is the same in the present and the preterite: culpamos. 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 culpado a mi hermano. English speakers sometimes reach for soy because English uses to be in some passives, but soy culpado is not the present perfect of culpar — it is a passive construction with a different meaning.

Confusing culpar with cultivar

culpar and cultivar 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 culpar — blame — the sentence needs culpar; if it needs the meaning of cultivar, use that verb instead.

Using the indicative after "espero que"

After espero que (I hope that), Spanish needs the subjunctive: Espero que yo culpe a mi hermano. Using the indicative — Espero que yo culpo — is one of the most frequent learner errors with culpar. 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 culpar in the present?

  • A. culpas
  • B. culpa
  • C. culpamos
  • D. culpo

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

  • A. culpamos
  • B. culpaste
  • C. culpé
  • D. culpó

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

  • A. culpabas
  • B. culpábamos
  • C. culpabais
  • D. culpaba

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

  • A. culpará
  • B. culparemos
  • C. culparé
  • D. culparás

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

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

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

  • A. culpe
  • B. culpen
  • C. culpe
  • D. culpes

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

  • A. culpaste
  • B. culpó
  • C. culpamos
  • D. culpé

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

  • A. culpábamos
  • B. culpabas
  • C. culpaba
  • D. culpaba

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

  • A. culparé
  • B. culparás
  • C. culparemos
  • D. culpará

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

  • A. culparía
  • B. culparíamos
  • C. culparía
  • D. culparías

Answer key

  1. culpo — The present table gives yo = culpo.
  2. culpaste — The preterite table gives tu = culpaste.
  3. culpaba — The imperfect table gives el = culpaba.
  4. culparemos — The future table gives nosotros = culparemos.
  5. habéis culpado — The present perfect table gives vosotros = habéis culpado.
  6. culpen — The present subjunctive table gives ellos = culpen.
  7. culpé — The preterite table gives yo = culpé.
  8. culpabas — The imperfect table gives tu = culpabas.
  9. culpará — The future table gives el = culpará.
  10. culparíamos — The conditional table gives nosotros = culparíamos.

Frequently asked questions

How do I use culpar in a sentence?

Put the subject first, then the conjugated form, then the rest: “Yo culpo a mi hermano.” — “I blame my brother.” Change the form for the person and the tense, but keep the sentence pattern the same.

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

Learn the present yo form culpo first, then the preterite yo form culpé and the participle culpado. With those three you can talk about the present, the past and the perfect tenses. Add the gerund culpando next, and you can describe actions in progress too.

Is culpar reflexive?

No — culpar is not reflexive. It takes a direct object, not a reflexive pronoun: yo culpo a mi hermano. 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 culpar?

On the main conjugation page for culpar, 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