Doctorarse Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb doctorarse means to get a doctorate, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. Doctorarse is a regular -ar, reflexive verb, so the tables below show you exactly how it behaves in every tense. Doctorarse is reflexive, so it always takes a reflexive pronoun that matches the person: me, te, se, nos, os or se. For example, me doctoro en historia means "I get a doctorate in history". Without the pronoun, the verb changes meaning or stops making sense. On this page you will find the full conjugation of doctorarse 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. For example, in the present tense you say Yo me doctoro en historia — "I get a doctorate in history" — and in the preterite you say El año pasado, yo me doctoré — "Last year, I got a doctorate". Work through the tables below, read the notes for each tense, and then test yourself with the examples, the common mistakes and the quiz at the end of the page.

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: doctorarse
  • English: to get a doctorate
  • Verb type: regular -ar, reflexive verb
  • Ending: -ar
  • Gerund: doctorando
  • Past participle: doctorado
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + doctorado)
  • Reflexive pronouns: me, te, se, nos, os, se — one before every conjugated form, matching the person.

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for doctorarse, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one. Doctorarse is reflexive: me doctoro, te doctoras. Without the pronoun, doctorar means something else — it acts on someone or something else, not on yourself.

Full conjugation tables

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for doctorarse. The imperfect subjunctive is shown in its -ra forms; the -se forms use the same stem. For reflexive verbs, the pronoun column shows the reflexive pronoun that goes before each form.

Gerund: doctorando · Past participle: doctorado

Present indicative

Person Pronoun Form
yo me doctoro
tú te doctoras
él/ella/Ud. se doctora
nosotros/as nos doctoramos
vosotros/as os doctoráis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se doctoran

Preterite

Person Pronoun Form
yo me doctoré
tú te doctoraste
él/ella/Ud. se doctoró
nosotros/as nos doctoramos
vosotros/as os doctorasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se doctoraron

Imperfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me doctoraba
tú te doctorabas
él/ella/Ud. se doctoraba
nosotros/as nos doctorábamos
vosotros/as os doctorabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. se doctoraban

Future

Person Pronoun Form
yo me doctoraré
tú te doctorarás
él/ella/Ud. se doctorará
nosotros/as nos doctoraremos
vosotros/as os doctoraréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se doctorarán

Conditional

Person Pronoun Form
yo me doctoraría
tú te doctorarías
él/ella/Ud. se doctoraría
nosotros/as nos doctoraríamos
vosotros/as os doctoraríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. se doctorarían

Present perfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me he doctorado
tú te has doctorado
él/ella/Ud. se ha doctorado
nosotros/as nos hemos doctorado
vosotros/as os habéis doctorado
ellos/ellas/Uds. se han doctorado

Pluperfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me había doctorado
tú te habías doctorado
él/ella/Ud. se había doctorado
nosotros/as nos habíamos doctorado
vosotros/as os habíais doctorado
ellos/ellas/Uds. se habían doctorado

Future perfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me habré doctorado
tú te habrás doctorado
él/ella/Ud. se habrá doctorado
nosotros/as nos habremos doctorado
vosotros/as os habréis doctorado
ellos/ellas/Uds. se habrán doctorado

Conditional perfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me habría doctorado
tú te habrías doctorado
él/ella/Ud. se habría doctorado
nosotros/as nos habríamos doctorado
vosotros/as os habríais doctorado
ellos/ellas/Uds. se habrían doctorado

Present subjunctive

Person Pronoun Form
yo me doctore
tú te doctores
él/ella/Ud. se doctore
nosotros/as nos doctoremos
vosotros/as os doctoréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se doctoren

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

Person Pronoun Form
yo me doctorara
tú te doctoraras
él/ella/Ud. se doctorara
nosotros/as nos doctoráramos
vosotros/as os doctorarais
ellos/ellas/Uds. se doctoraran

Imperative (affirmative)

Person Pronoun Form
tú te doctora
él/ella/Ud. se doctore
nosotros/as nos doctoremos
vosotros/as os doctorad
ellos/ellas/Uds. se doctoren

Imperative (negative)

Person Pronoun Form
tú te doctores
él/ella/Ud. se doctore
nosotros/as nos doctoremos
vosotros/as os doctoréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se doctoren

Gerund and past participle

Form Spanish Use
Gerund doctorando with estar for the progressive: estoy doctorando (or me estoy doctorando for this reflexive verb)
Past participle doctorado with haber for the perfect tenses: he doctorado

How to use each tense

Present indicative

Use the present for routines, general facts and what is happening right now. It is the tense you will use most often in everyday conversation, for habits with words like todos los días and for statements that are true in general. For doctorarse, the present indicative looks like this in a real sentence: El año pasado, yo me doctoro — "Last year, I get a doctorate". Learn the present indicative forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Preterite

Use the preterite for finished actions in the past — things that started and ended, often with time words like ayer, anoche or la semana pasada. The preterite moves a story forward, one completed event at a time. For doctorarse, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Yo me doctoré con una tesis — "I got a doctorate with a thesis". Learn the preterite forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Imperfect

Use the imperfect for background, habits and actions in progress in the past, often with words like antes, de niño or mientras. It describes how things used to be, not one finished event. For doctorarse, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo me doctoraba en historia — "I used to get a doctorate in history". Learn the imperfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Future

Use the future for plans, predictions and promises, often with mañana, el año que viene or pronto. It talks about what will happen, not what is happening now. For doctorarse, the future looks like this in a real sentence: El año pasado, yo me doctoraré — "Last year, I will get a doctorate". Learn the future forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Conditional

Use the conditional for polite requests, hypotheticals and what would happen, often in si clauses. It softens a request and describes imagined situations. For doctorarse, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Yo me doctoraría con una tesis — "I would get a doctorate with a thesis". Learn the conditional forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Present perfect

Use the present perfect for recent actions and experiences, often with hoy, esta semana or ya. It connects the past with the present moment. For doctorarse, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo me he doctorado en historia — "I have got a doctorate in history". Learn the present perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Pluperfect

Use the pluperfect when one past action happened before another past action. It is the past of the past, and it usually appears with antes de or ya. For doctorarse, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: El año pasado, yo me había doctorado — "Last year, I had got a doctorate". Learn the pluperfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Future perfect

Use the future perfect for something that will already be finished by a future time, often with para mañana or para el viernes. For doctorarse, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo me habré doctorado con una tesis — "I will have got a doctorate with a thesis". Learn the future perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Conditional perfect

Use the conditional perfect for what would have happened under different conditions. It looks back at a past that never happened. For doctorarse, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo me habría doctorado en historia — "I would have got a doctorate in history". Learn the conditional perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Present subjunctive

Use the present subjunctive after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and hope, such as espero que or quiero que. The subjunctive does not state a fact; it states an attitude towards the action. For doctorarse, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él se doctore el año pasado — "I hope he gets a doctorate last year". Learn the present subjunctive forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

Use the imperfect subjunctive after past wishes and in si clauses about the past, and note the -ra forms shown here; the -se forms use the same stem. For doctorarse, the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) looks like this in a real sentence: Si yo me doctorara con una tesis, todo cambiaría — "If I got a doctorate with a thesis, everything would change". Learn the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Imperative (affirmative)

Use the affirmative imperative for direct commands, instructions and invitations. It tells someone to do something, and it has no yo form. For doctorarse, the imperative (affirmative) looks like this in a real sentence: Que se doctore en historia — "Let him get a doctorate in history". Learn the imperative (affirmative) forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Imperative (negative)

Use the negative imperative, always with no, to tell someone not to do something. It uses the subjunctive forms, so it looks different from the affirmative commands. For doctorarse, the imperative (negative) looks like this in a real sentence: No te doctores el año pasado — "Don't get a doctorate last year". Learn the imperative (negative) forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Example sentences

Ten natural sentences with doctorarse, covering different tenses and persons. Each one uses a form from the tables above.

  1. Yo me doctoro con una tesis — "I get a doctorate with a thesis"
  2. Él se doctora en historia — "He gets a doctorate in history"
  3. El año pasado, yo me doctoré — "Last year, I got a doctorate"
  4. Yo me doctoraba con una tesis — "I used to get a doctorate with a thesis"
  5. Tú te doctorarás en historia — "You will get a doctorate in history"
  6. El año pasado, yo me doctoraría — "Last year, I would get a doctorate"
  7. Él se ha doctorado con una tesis — "He has got a doctorate with a thesis"
  8. Espero que él se doctore en historia — "I hope he gets a doctorate in history"
  9. El año pasado, yo me había doctorado — "Last year, I had got a doctorate"
  10. Ellos se doctoraban con una tesis — "They used to get a doctorate with a thesis"

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo doctoro en historia — Right: Yo me doctoro en historia — Doctorarse is reflexive, so the pronoun me is required: without it the verb means something else, or nothing at all.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo me doctoro — Right: Ayer, yo me doctoré — The present tense cannot describe a finished action yesterday. Ayer forces the preterite, so the form must change to doctoré.
  3. Wrong: De niño, yo me doctoré todos los días. — Right: Todos los días, yo me doctoraba — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (doctoraba), not the preterite. The preterite (doctoré) is for one finished action.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy doctorado el año pasado. — Right: Yo me he doctorado el año pasado. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he doctorado, has doctorado, ha doctorado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  5. Wrong: Espero que él doctora en historia. — Right: Espero que él se doctore en historia. — After espero que, Spanish needs the subjunctive: doctore. The indicative doctora is wrong here.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on doctorarse. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo me ___ en historia. (present tense) A. doctoro B. habían doctorado C. doctorarais D. habré doctorado

  2. Complete the sentence: Él se ___ en historia. (preterite) A. doctoraba B. doctoró C. habrás doctorado D. habrías doctorado

  3. Complete the sentence: Nosotros nos ___ en historia. (imperfect) A. doctorábamos B. doctoraste C. doctoraré D. doctorara

  4. Complete the sentence: Tú te ___ en historia. (future) A. doctorarás B. habrían doctorado C. doctoraran D. doctorad

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo me ___ en historia. (conditional) A. ha doctorado B. doctoraría C. doctoraremos D. doctoro

  6. Complete the sentence: Espero que él se ___ en historia. (present subjunctive) A. habrá doctorado B. doctore C. doctoró D. doctoraba

  7. Complete the sentence: Si yo me ___ en historia, todo cambiaría. (imperfect subjunctive, -ra form) A. habría doctorado B. doctorara C. doctorarais D. habrá doctorado

  8. Complete the sentence: Nosotros nos ___ en historia. (present perfect) A. doctoraríais B. doctoráis C. hemos doctorado D. había doctorado

  9. Complete the command: No te ___ en historia. (negative imperative, tú) A. doctoréis B. doctore C. doctoren D. doctores

  10. Which is the gerund of doctorarse, used with estar for the progressive? A. doctoro B. doctoraba C. doctorando D. doctoré

Answer key

  1. me doctoro — The yo present tense of doctorarse is me doctoro.
  2. se doctoró — The él/ella/Ud. preterite of doctorarse is se doctoró.
  3. nos doctorábamos — The nosotros/as imperfect of doctorarse is nos doctorábamos.
  4. te doctorarás — The tú future of doctorarse is te doctorarás.
  5. me doctoraría — The yo conditional of doctorarse is me doctoraría.
  6. se doctore — The él/ella/Ud. present subjunctive of doctorarse is se doctore.
  7. me doctorara — The yo imperfect subjunctive, -ra form of doctorarse is me doctorara.
  8. nos hemos doctorado — The nosotros/as present perfect of doctorarse is nos hemos doctorado.
  9. te doctores — The negative tú imperative uses the present subjunctive form with no before it: te doctores.
  10. doctorando — The gerund of doctorarse is doctorando: estoy doctorando. The participle doctorado is used with haber instead.

Frequently asked questions

What does doctorarse mean in English?

Doctorarse means to get a doctorate. It is used in everyday situations such as Yo me doctoro en historia. The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

Is doctorarse a reflexive verb?

Yes. Doctorarse is reflexive, so it always takes a reflexive pronoun that matches the person: me, te, se, nos, os or se. For example, Yo me doctoro en historia and El año pasado, él se doctora. If you leave the pronoun out, the verb changes meaning or stops making sense.

What is the gerund and the past participle of doctorarse?

The gerund is doctorando, used with estar for the progressive: estoy doctorando. The past participle is doctorado, used with haber in the perfect tenses: he doctorado.

How do I say “I get a doctorate” in the past?

It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: El año pasado, yo me doctoré. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Yo me doctoraba con una tesis. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Yo me he doctorado en historia.

How do I practise doctorarse?

Start with the present tense table, then drill the preterite and the imperfect, since those two past tenses cause the most mistakes. Try the doctorarse examples and quiz page for more sentences, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure.

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