Introduction
curar means “to cure, to heal”. It belongs to the group of Spanish verbs that express “to cure, to heal”, and once you can conjugate it you can say a surprising amount with a single verb. This page is the complete reference for curar: every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle, with notes on usage, real example sentences, common mistakes, a quiz and frequently asked questions. curar is a regular -ar verb. If it is irregular in a tense, the note under that table says so plainly, and the forms in the table are the correct ones — copy them, do not guess them from the infinitive. A first example to fix the verb in your mind: “Yo curo la herida todos los días.” — “I cure the wound.”
Quick facts
| Infinitive | curar |
| English | to cure, to heal |
| Verb type | Regular -ar verb |
| Gerund | curando |
| Past participle | curado |
| Auxiliary verb | haber |
Full conjugation tables
Gerund: curando · Past participle: curado
Present Indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | curo |
| tú | curas |
| él/ella/Ud. | cura |
| nosotros/as | curamos |
| vosotros/as | curáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | curan |
The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For curar, the yo form is curo, as in “Yo curo la herida.” — “I cure the wound.”
Preterite
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | curé |
| tú | curaste |
| él/ella/Ud. | curó |
| nosotros/as | curamos |
| vosotros/as | curasteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | curaron |
The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. For curar, the yo form is curé, as in “Yo curé la herida.” — “I cured the wound.”
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | curaba |
| tú | curabas |
| él/ella/Ud. | curaba |
| nosotros/as | curábamos |
| vosotros/as | curabais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | curaban |
The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. For curar, the yo form is curaba, as in “Yo curaba la herida.” — “I used to cure the wound.”
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | curaré |
| tú | curarás |
| él/ella/Ud. | curará |
| nosotros/as | curaremos |
| vosotros/as | curaréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | curarán |
The future tense states what will happen. It is also used for predictions and promises. For curar, the yo form is curaré, as in “Yo curaré la herida.” — “I will cure the wound.”
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | curaría |
| tú | curarías |
| él/ella/Ud. | curaría |
| nosotros/as | curaríamos |
| vosotros/as | curaríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | curarían |
The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. For curar, the yo form is curaría, as in “Yo curaría la herida.” — “I would cure the wound.”
Present Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he curado |
| tú | has curado |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha curado |
| nosotros/as | hemos curado |
| vosotros/as | habéis curado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han curado |
The present perfect connects the past with the present: something that has happened, often today or recently. For curar, the yo form is he curado, as in “Yo he curado la herida.” — “I have cured the wound.”
Pluperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había curado |
| tú | habías curado |
| él/ella/Ud. | había curado |
| nosotros/as | habíamos curado |
| vosotros/as | habíais curado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían curado |
The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event. For curar, the yo form is había curado, as in “Yo había curado la herida.” — “I had cured the wound.”
Future Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré curado |
| tú | habrás curado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá curado |
| nosotros/as | habremos curado |
| vosotros/as | habréis curado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán curado |
The future perfect describes something that will already be finished by a future moment. For curar, the yo form is habré curado, as in “Yo habré curado la herida.” — “I will have cured the wound.”
Conditional Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría curado |
| tú | habrías curado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría curado |
| nosotros/as | habríamos curado |
| vosotros/as | habríais curado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían curado |
The conditional perfect describes what would have happened under different conditions. For curar, the yo form is habría curado, as in “Yo habría curado la herida.” — “I would have cured the wound.”
Present Subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | cure |
| tú | cures |
| él/ella/Ud. | cure |
| nosotros/as | curemos |
| vosotros/as | curéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | curen |
The present subjunctive is used after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and influence. For curar, the yo form is cure, as in “Espero que yo cure la herida.” — “I hope that I cure the wound.”
Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | curara |
| tú | curaras |
| él/ella/Ud. | curara |
| nosotros/as | curáramos |
| vosotros/as | curarais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | curaran |
The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past versions of subjunctive clauses, and after "si" in hypothetical sentences. For curar, the yo form is curara, as in “Si yo curara la herida, ...” — “If I cured the wound, ...”
The -se variant of this tense follows the same pattern with -se instead of -ra: curara becomes curase, 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 | cura |
| Ud. | cure |
| nosotros/as | curemos |
| vosotros/as | curad |
| Uds. | curen |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | cures |
| Ud. | cure |
| nosotros/as | curemos |
| vosotros/as | curéis |
| Uds. | curen |
The imperative is for orders, requests and advice. The affirmative tú form is cura, as in “¡Cura la herida” — “Cure the wound” For the negative imperative, Spanish uses the subjunctive forms: no cures. Note that the affirmative and negative forms differ, so check the table above before you give an order with curar.
Example sentences
Here are ten sentences with curar, 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.
- “Yo curo la herida cada día.” — “I cure the wound.”
- “Él cura la herida todos los días.” — “He cures the wound.”
- “Yo curé la herida ayer.” — “I cured the wound.”
- “Él curó la herida ayer.” — “He cured the wound.”
- “Yo curaba la herida cuando era joven.” — “I used to cure the wound.”
- “Nosotros curaremos la herida mañana.” — “We will cure the wound.”
- “Si pudiera, yo curaría la herida.” — “If I could, i would cure the wound.”
- “Yo he curado la herida hoy.” — “I have cured the wound.”
- “Espero que yo cure la herida.” — “I hope that I cure the wound.”
- “estoy curando la herida ahora mismo.” — “I am curing the wound.”
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
- curo — The present table gives yo = curo.
- curaste — The preterite table gives tu = curaste.
- curaba — The imperfect table gives el = curaba.
- curaremos — The future table gives nosotros = curaremos.
- habéis curado — The present perfect table gives vosotros = habéis curado.
- curen — The present subjunctive table gives ellos = curen.
- curé — The preterite table gives yo = curé.
- curabas — The imperfect table gives tu = curabas.
- curará — The future table gives el = curará.
- curaríamos — The conditional table gives nosotros = curaríamos.
Frequently asked questions
Is curar regular or irregular?
curar 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 curar?
The past participle of curar is curado. You use it with haber in the perfect tenses — he curado, había curado, habré curado — and after estar in passive-style descriptions. It is the regular participle for its verb class. Learn it together with the gerund curando and you have the two non-finite forms covered.
What is the gerund of curar?
The gerund of curar is curando. You use it with estar to describe an action in progress, as in estoy curando, and after verbs such as seguir and ir. Keep it distinct from the past participle curado, which belongs with haber, not with estar.
What is the yo form of curar in the present?
The yo form is curo — “Yo curo la herida.” means “I cure the wound.” That is the form you will use most often when you talk about yourself. For other persons, use the present table above: tú curas, él cura, nosotros curamos, ellos curan.
What is the difference between curar and cursar?
curar means “to cure, to heal”, while cursar means “to take (a course)”. They share letters and sometimes a root, but they are different verbs. If your sentence means “to cure, to heal”, use curar; if it is about the meaning of cursar, use cursar instead. Checking the English meaning first prevents most mix-ups.
Related links
- curar in the present tense — the full present-tense page for this verb.
- curar examples and quiz — more sentences, dialogues and a second quiz.
- Spanish verbs — the Spanish hub with every verb on VerbFlow.
- cursar conjugation — another verb in the same family.
- inclinarse conjugation — another verb in the same family.
- reducir conjugation — another verb in the same family.
- Verb conjugator — conjugate any Spanish verb instantly.
- Verb quiz — practise conjugations with timed questions.