Introduction

curar means “to cure, to heal”, and it is one of the verbs you will use every day in Spanish. It is the verb for expressing “to cure, to heal” in everyday Spanish — in conversation, at work, and at home. This page shows curar 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 curo la herida por la mañana.” — “I cure the wound.”

curar in real example sentences

The twelve sentences below are grouped by how curar 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 curo la herida cada día.” — “I cure the wound.”
  2. “Tú curas la herida cada día.” — “you cure the wound.”
  3. “Él cura la herida siempre.” — “He cures the wound.”
  4. “Nosotros curamos la herida todos los días.” — “We cure the wound.”

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 curé la herida ayer.” — “I cured the wound.” (preterite) 6. “Él curó la herida ayer.” — “He cured the wound.” (preterite) 7. “Yo curaba la herida cuando era joven.” — “I used to cure the wound.” (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 curaremos la herida mañana.” — “We will cure the wound.” (future) 9. “Tú has curado la herida hoy.” — “you have cured the wound.” (present-perfect) 10. “Espero que yo cure la herida.” — “I hope that I cure the wound.” (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 curáis la herida cada semana.” — “You cure the wound.” 12. “Ellos curan la herida normalmente.” — “They cure the wound.”

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

Dialogue on the phone

Lucía: “¿Tú curas la herida?” — Do you cure the wound?

Pedro: “Sí, yo curo la herida cada día. Es parte de mi rutina.” — Yes, I cure the wound every day. It is part of my routine.

Lucía: “¿Y ayer? ¿También curas la herida?” — And yesterday? Did you cure the wound too?

Pedro: “Sí, ayer yo curé la herida. Mañana nosotros curaremos la herida otra vez.” — Yes, yesterday I cured the wound. Tomorrow we will cure the wound again.

A short paragraph

Él cura la herida cada día — that one sentence already tells you a lot about how curar 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 curo la herida — 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 curar yours: use it in a story, not only in a table.

Common mistakes

Forgetting the accent in the preterite

The yo preterite form is curé, with an accent on the stressed vowel. Writing it without the accent — cure — 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 curar.

Mixing up present and preterite nosotros

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

Confusing curar with cursar

curar and cursar 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 curar — cure — the sentence needs curar; if it needs the meaning of cursar, use that verb instead.

Using the indicative after "espero que"

After espero que (I hope that), Spanish needs the subjunctive: Espero que yo cure la herida. Using the indicative — Espero que yo curo — is one of the most frequent learner errors with curar. 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 curar in the present?

  • A. curas
  • B. cura
  • C. curamos
  • D. curo

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

  • A. curamos
  • B. curaste
  • C. curé
  • D. curó

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

  • A. curabas
  • B. curábamos
  • C. curabais
  • D. curaba

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

  • A. curará
  • B. curaremos
  • C. curaré
  • D. curarás

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

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

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

  • A. cure
  • B. curen
  • C. cure
  • D. cures

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

  • A. curaste
  • B. curó
  • C. curamos
  • D. curé

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

  • A. curábamos
  • B. curabas
  • C. curaba
  • D. curaba

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

  • A. curaré
  • B. curarás
  • C. curaremos
  • D. curará

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

  • A. curaría
  • B. curaríamos
  • C. curaría
  • D. curarías

Answer key

  1. curo — The present table gives yo = curo.
  2. curaste — The preterite table gives tu = curaste.
  3. curaba — The imperfect table gives el = curaba.
  4. curaremos — The future table gives nosotros = curaremos.
  5. habéis curado — The present perfect table gives vosotros = habéis curado.
  6. curen — The present subjunctive table gives ellos = curen.
  7. curé — The preterite table gives yo = curé.
  8. curabas — The imperfect table gives tu = curabas.
  9. curará — The future table gives el = curará.
  10. curaríamos — The conditional table gives nosotros = curaríamos.

Frequently asked questions

How do I use curar in a sentence?

Put the subject first, then the conjugated form, then the rest: “Yo curo la herida.” — “I cure the wound.” Change the form for the person and the tense, but keep the sentence pattern the same.

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

Learn the present yo form curo first, then the preterite yo form curé and the participle curado. With those three you can talk about the present, the past and the perfect tenses. Add the gerund curando next, and you can describe actions in progress too.

Is curar reflexive?

No — curar is not reflexive. It takes a direct object, not a reflexive pronoun: yo curo la herida. 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 curar?

On the main conjugation page for curar, 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