Introduction

culpar means “to blame” 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 my brother — 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 culpar 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. culpar 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 culpo a mi hermano todos los días.” — “I blame my brother.” Work through the tables, read the notes, then test yourself with the quiz at the end of the page.

Quick facts
Infinitive culpar
English to blame
Verb type Regular -ar verb
Gerund culpando
Past participle culpado
Auxiliary verb haber

Full conjugation tables

Gerund: culpando · Past participle: culpado

Present Indicative

Person Form
yo culpo
tú culpas
él/ella/Ud. culpa
nosotros/as culpamos
vosotros/as culpáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. culpan

The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For culpar, the yo form is culpo, as in “Yo culpo a mi hermano.” — “I blame my brother.”

Preterite

Person Form
yo culpé
tú culpaste
él/ella/Ud. culpó
nosotros/as culpamos
vosotros/as culpasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. culparon

The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. For culpar, the yo form is culpé, as in “Yo culpé a mi hermano.” — “I blamed my brother.”

Imperfect

Person Form
yo culpaba
tú culpabas
él/ella/Ud. culpaba
nosotros/as culpábamos
vosotros/as culpabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. culpaban

The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. For culpar, the yo form is culpaba, as in “Yo culpaba a mi hermano.” — “I used to blame my brother.”

Future

Person Form
yo culparé
tú culparás
él/ella/Ud. culpará
nosotros/as culparemos
vosotros/as culparéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. culparán

The future tense states what will happen. It is also used for predictions and promises. For culpar, the yo form is culparé, as in “Yo culparé a mi hermano.” — “I will blame my brother.”

Conditional

Person Form
yo culparía
tú culparías
él/ella/Ud. culparía
nosotros/as culparíamos
vosotros/as culparíais
ellos/ellas/Uds. culparían

The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. For culpar, the yo form is culparía, as in “Yo culparía a mi hermano.” — “I would blame my brother.”

Present Perfect

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

The present perfect connects the past with the present: something that has happened, often today or recently. For culpar, the yo form is he culpado, as in “Yo he culpado a mi hermano.” — “I have blamed my brother.”

Pluperfect

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

The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event. For culpar, the yo form is había culpado, as in “Yo había culpado a mi hermano.” — “I had blamed my brother.”

Future Perfect

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

The future perfect describes something that will already be finished by a future moment. For culpar, the yo form is habré culpado, as in “Yo habré culpado a mi hermano.” — “I will have blamed my brother.”

Conditional Perfect

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

The conditional perfect describes what would have happened under different conditions. For culpar, the yo form is habría culpado, as in “Yo habría culpado a mi hermano.” — “I would have blamed my brother.”

Present Subjunctive

Person Form
yo culpe
tú culpes
él/ella/Ud. culpe
nosotros/as culpemos
vosotros/as culpéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. culpen

The present subjunctive is used after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and influence. For culpar, the yo form is culpe, as in “Espero que yo culpe a mi hermano.” — “I hope that I blame my brother.”

Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra)

Person Form
yo culpara
tú culparas
él/ella/Ud. culpara
nosotros/as culpáramos
vosotros/as culparais
ellos/ellas/Uds. culparan

The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past versions of subjunctive clauses, and after "si" in hypothetical sentences. For culpar, the yo form is culpara, as in “Si yo culpara a mi hermano, ...” — “If I blamed my brother, ...”

The -se variant of this tense follows the same pattern with -se instead of -ra: culpara becomes culpase, 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 culpa
Ud. culpe
nosotros/as culpemos
vosotros/as culpad
Uds. culpen

Imperative (negative)

Person Form
tú culpes
Ud. culpe
nosotros/as culpemos
vosotros/as culpéis
Uds. culpen

The imperative is for orders, requests and advice. The affirmative tú form is culpa, as in “¡Culpa a mi hermano” — “Blame my brother” For the negative imperative, Spanish uses the subjunctive forms: no culpes. Note that the affirmative and negative forms differ, so check the table above before you give an order with culpar.

Example sentences

Here are ten sentences with culpar, 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 culpo a mi hermano cada día.” — “I blame my brother.”
  2. “Él culpa a mi hermano todos los días.” — “He blames my brother.”
  3. “Yo culpé a mi hermano ayer.” — “I blamed my brother.”
  4. “Él culpó a mi hermano ayer.” — “He blamed my brother.”
  5. “Yo culpaba a mi hermano cuando era joven.” — “I used to blame my brother.”
  6. “Nosotros culparemos a mi hermano mañana.” — “We will blame my brother.”
  7. “Si pudiera, yo culparía a mi hermano.” — “If I could, i would blame my brother.”
  8. “Yo he culpado a mi hermano hoy.” — “I have blamed my brother.”
  9. “Espero que yo culpe a mi hermano.” — “I hope that I blame my brother.”
  10. “estoy culpando a mi hermano ahora mismo.” — “I am blaming my brother.”

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

Is culpar regular or irregular?

culpar 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 culpar?

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

What is the gerund of culpar?

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

What is the yo form of culpar in the present?

The yo form is culpo — “Yo culpo a mi hermano.” means “I blame my brother.” That is the form you will use most often when you talk about yourself. For other persons, use the present table above: tú culpas, él culpa, nosotros culpamos, ellos culpan.

What is the difference between culpar and cultivar?

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

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