Introduction

Learning to conjugate cultivar — “to cultivate, to grow” — opens up a whole set of sentences you will use in real Spanish. Whether you are talking about what you do every day, what happened yesterday, or what you plan to do tomorrow, cultivar is one of the verbs that carries those sentences, especially when the topic is tomatoes. On this page you will find the full conjugation of cultivar in all thirteen tenses, notes on when to use each one, example sentences, the mistakes learners make most often, a ten-question quiz and answers to the questions students ask about this verb. cultivar is a regular -ar verb; the gerund is cultivando and the past participle is cultivado, and both appear in the tables and examples below. For example: “Yo cultivo tomates todos los días.” — “I cultivate tomatoes.” Read the tables first, then the notes, and finish with the quiz to check what you have learned.

Quick facts
Infinitive cultivar
English to cultivate, to grow
Verb type Regular -ar verb
Gerund cultivando
Past participle cultivado
Auxiliary verb haber

Full conjugation tables

Gerund: cultivando · Past participle: cultivado

Present Indicative

Person Form
yo cultivo
tú cultivas
él/ella/Ud. cultiva
nosotros/as cultivamos
vosotros/as cultiváis
ellos/ellas/Uds. cultivan

The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For cultivar, the yo form is cultivo, as in “Yo cultivo tomates.” — “I cultivate tomatoes.”

Preterite

Person Form
yo cultivé
tú cultivaste
él/ella/Ud. cultivó
nosotros/as cultivamos
vosotros/as cultivasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. cultivaron

The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. For cultivar, the yo form is cultivé, as in “Yo cultivé tomates.” — “I cultivated tomatoes.”

Imperfect

Person Form
yo cultivaba
tú cultivabas
él/ella/Ud. cultivaba
nosotros/as cultivábamos
vosotros/as cultivabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. cultivaban

The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. For cultivar, the yo form is cultivaba, as in “Yo cultivaba tomates.” — “I used to cultivate tomatoes.”

Future

Person Form
yo cultivaré
tú cultivarás
él/ella/Ud. cultivará
nosotros/as cultivaremos
vosotros/as cultivaréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. cultivarán

The future tense states what will happen. It is also used for predictions and promises. For cultivar, the yo form is cultivaré, as in “Yo cultivaré tomates.” — “I will cultivate tomatoes.”

Conditional

Person Form
yo cultivaría
tú cultivarías
él/ella/Ud. cultivaría
nosotros/as cultivaríamos
vosotros/as cultivaríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. cultivarían

The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. For cultivar, the yo form is cultivaría, as in “Yo cultivaría tomates.” — “I would cultivate tomatoes.”

Present Perfect

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

The present perfect connects the past with the present: something that has happened, often today or recently. For cultivar, the yo form is he cultivado, as in “Yo he cultivado tomates.” — “I have cultivated tomatoes.”

Pluperfect

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

The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event. For cultivar, the yo form is había cultivado, as in “Yo había cultivado tomates.” — “I had cultivated tomatoes.”

Future Perfect

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

The future perfect describes something that will already be finished by a future moment. For cultivar, the yo form is habré cultivado, as in “Yo habré cultivado tomates.” — “I will have cultivated tomatoes.”

Conditional Perfect

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

The conditional perfect describes what would have happened under different conditions. For cultivar, the yo form is habría cultivado, as in “Yo habría cultivado tomates.” — “I would have cultivated tomatoes.”

Present Subjunctive

Person Form
yo cultive
tú cultives
él/ella/Ud. cultive
nosotros/as cultivemos
vosotros/as cultivéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. cultiven

The present subjunctive is used after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and influence. For cultivar, the yo form is cultive, as in “Espero que yo cultive tomates.” — “I hope that I cultivate tomatoes.”

Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra)

Person Form
yo cultivara
tú cultivaras
él/ella/Ud. cultivara
nosotros/as cultiváramos
vosotros/as cultivarais
ellos/ellas/Uds. cultivaran

The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past versions of subjunctive clauses, and after "si" in hypothetical sentences. For cultivar, the yo form is cultivara, as in “Si yo cultivara tomates, ...” — “If I cultivated tomatoes, ...”

The -se variant of this tense follows the same pattern with -se instead of -ra: cultivara becomes cultivase, 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 cultiva
Ud. cultive
nosotros/as cultivemos
vosotros/as cultivad
Uds. cultiven

Imperative (negative)

Person Form
tú cultives
Ud. cultive
nosotros/as cultivemos
vosotros/as cultivéis
Uds. cultiven

The imperative is for orders, requests and advice. The affirmative tú form is cultiva, as in “¡Cultiva tomates” — “Cultivate tomatoes” For the negative imperative, Spanish uses the subjunctive forms: no cultives. Note that the affirmative and negative forms differ, so check the table above before you give an order with cultivar.

Example sentences

Here are ten sentences with cultivar, 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 cultivo tomates cada día.” — “I cultivate tomatoes.”
  2. “Él cultiva tomates todos los días.” — “He cultivates tomatoes.”
  3. “Yo cultivé tomates ayer.” — “I cultivated tomatoes.”
  4. “Él cultivó tomates ayer.” — “He cultivated tomatoes.”
  5. “Yo cultivaba tomates cuando era joven.” — “I used to cultivate tomatoes.”
  6. “Nosotros cultivaremos tomates mañana.” — “We will cultivate tomatoes.”
  7. “Si pudiera, yo cultivaría tomates.” — “If I could, i would cultivate tomatoes.”
  8. “Yo he cultivado tomates hoy.” — “I have cultivated tomatoes.”
  9. “Espero que yo cultive tomates.” — “I hope that I cultivate tomatoes.”
  10. “estoy cultivando tomates ahora mismo.” — “I am cultivating tomatoes.”

Common mistakes

Forgetting the accent in the preterite

The yo preterite form is cultivé, with an accent on the stressed vowel. Writing it without the accent — cultive — 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 cultivar.

Mixing up present and preterite nosotros

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

Confusing cultivar with culpar

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

Using the indicative after "espero que"

After espero que (I hope that), Spanish needs the subjunctive: Espero que yo cultive tomates. Using the indicative — Espero que yo cultivo — is one of the most frequent learner errors with cultivar. 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 cultivar in the present?

  • A. cultivas
  • B. cultiva
  • C. cultivamos
  • D. cultivo

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

  • A. cultivamos
  • B. cultivaste
  • C. cultivé
  • D. cultivó

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

  • A. cultivabas
  • B. cultivábamos
  • C. cultivabais
  • D. cultivaba

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

  • A. cultivará
  • B. cultivaremos
  • C. cultivaré
  • D. cultivarás

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

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

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

  • A. cultive
  • B. cultiven
  • C. cultive
  • D. cultives

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

  • A. cultivaste
  • B. cultivó
  • C. cultivamos
  • D. cultivé

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

  • A. cultivábamos
  • B. cultivabas
  • C. cultivaba
  • D. cultivaba

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

  • A. cultivaré
  • B. cultivarás
  • C. cultivaremos
  • D. cultivará

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

  • A. cultivaría
  • B. cultivaríamos
  • C. cultivaría
  • D. cultivarías

Answer key

  1. cultivo — The present table gives yo = cultivo.
  2. cultivaste — The preterite table gives tu = cultivaste.
  3. cultivaba — The imperfect table gives el = cultivaba.
  4. cultivaremos — The future table gives nosotros = cultivaremos.
  5. habéis cultivado — The present perfect table gives vosotros = habéis cultivado.
  6. cultiven — The present subjunctive table gives ellos = cultiven.
  7. cultivé — The preterite table gives yo = cultivé.
  8. cultivabas — The imperfect table gives tu = cultivabas.
  9. cultivará — The future table gives el = cultivará.
  10. cultivaríamos — The conditional table gives nosotros = cultivaríamos.

Frequently asked questions

Is cultivar regular or irregular?

cultivar 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 cultivar?

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

What is the gerund of cultivar?

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

What is the yo form of cultivar in the present?

The yo form is cultivo — “Yo cultivo tomates.” means “I cultivate tomatoes.” That is the form you will use most often when you talk about yourself. For other persons, use the present table above: tú cultivas, él cultiva, nosotros cultivamos, ellos cultivan.

What is the difference between cultivar and culpar?

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

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