Embarcar Conjugation in Spanish

embarcar means «to board, to embark». It is a spelling-changing -ar verb verb, so the tables below show you exactly how it behaves in every tense. On this page you will find the full conjugation of embarcar 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: «Yo embarco todos los días» — I board every day.

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: embarcar
  • English: to board, to embark
  • Verb type: spelling-changing -ar verb
  • Ending: -ar
  • Gerund: embarcando
  • Past participle: embarcado
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + embarcado)
  • Spelling change: in the preterite the yo form is embarqué, not embarcé, so the stem-final letter changes before e and i.
  • Spelling change: in the present subjunctive the yo form is embarque, not embarce, so the stem-final letter changes before e and i.

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for embarcar, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

Full conjugation tables

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for embarcar. The imperfect subjunctive is shown in its -ra forms; the -se forms use the same stem.

Gerund: embarcando · Past participle: embarcado

Present Indicative

Person Form
yo embarco
tú embarcas
él/ella/Ud. embarca
nosotros/as embarcamos
vosotros/as embarcáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. embarcan

The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For embarcar, the yo form is embarco, as in the examples below. Use the present for routines («todos los días») and for general truths, and remember that Spanish often uses the present where English would use a progressive or a near future.

Preterite

Person Form
yo embarqué
tú embarcaste
él/ella/Ud. embarcó
nosotros/as embarcamos
vosotros/as embarcasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. embarcaron

The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. «Ayer yo embarqué» is the classic use. Do not confuse it with the imperfect: the preterite moves the story forward, one finished event at a time.

Imperfect

Person Form
yo embarcaba
tú embarcabas
él/ella/Ud. embarcaba
nosotros/as embarcábamos
vosotros/as embarcabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. embarcaban

The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. «De pequeño, yo embarcaba» shows the habitual use. It sets the scene while the preterite reports what happened inside it.

Future

Person Form
yo embarcaré
tú embarcarás
él/ella/Ud. embarcará
nosotros/as embarcaremos
vosotros/as embarcaréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. embarcarán

The future tense states what will happen. For embarcar the future is built on the infinitive: «Mañana yo embarcaré». It is also used for predictions and promises, and in spoken Spanish it often alternates with ir a + infinitive.

Conditional

Person Form
yo embarcaría
tú embarcarías
él/ella/Ud. embarcaría
nosotros/as embarcaríamos
vosotros/as embarcaríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. embarcarían

The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. «Si tuviera más tiempo, yo embarcaría» is the typical pattern. It shares its stem with the future and changes only the endings.

Present Perfect

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

The present perfect connects the past with the present: something that has happened, often today or recently. It is haber in the present plus the past participle: «Hoy yo he embarcado». In Spain it is used for anything that happened today; in Latin America the preterite is often preferred.

Pluperfect

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

The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event: «Cuando llegué, ya había embarcado». It is haber in the imperfect plus the past participle, and it is the tense for explaining what had already happened when something else took place.

Future Perfect

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

The future perfect looks back from a future point: by then, something will already have happened. «Para mañana, yo habré embarcado» is the pattern — haber in the future plus the past participle. It is less common in speech but regular in formal writing.

Conditional Perfect

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

The conditional perfect expresses what would have happened: «Yo habría embarcado si hubiera podido». It is haber in the conditional plus the past participle, and it is the tense for regrets and missed chances.

Present Subjunctive

Person Form
yo embarque
tú embarques
él/ella/Ud. embarque
nosotros/as embarquemos
vosotros/as embarquéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. embarquen

The present subjunctive appears after wishes, doubts, emotions and impersonal expressions: «Espero que él embarque». The trigger is in the main clause; the subjunctive is the mood of uncertainty, desire and influence. Learn the yo form first — most of the table follows from it.

Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra forms)

Person Form
yo embarcara
tú embarcaras
él/ella/Ud. embarcara
nosotros/as embarcáramos
vosotros/as embarcarais
ellos/ellas/Uds. embarcaran

The imperfect subjunctive is the past partner of the present subjunctive, used after past-tense triggers and in si-clauses: «Si él embarcara, todo sería distinto». The table above shows the -ra forms, the ones you will hear most often. There is also a less common -se set built on the same stem.

Imperative — Affirmative

Person Form
tú embarca
él/ella/Ud. embarque
nosotros/as embarquemos
vosotros/as embarcad
ellos/ellas/Uds. embarquen

There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.

The affirmative imperative gives direct commands and instructions: «¡embarca!». There is no yo form — you cannot command yourself. The tú form is the one you will use with friends and family, and the usted form with people you address formally.

Imperative — Negative

Person Form
tú embarques
él/ella/Ud. embarque
nosotros/as embarquemos
vosotros/as embarquéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. embarquen

There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.

The negative imperative tells someone not to do something: «¡No embarques!». Unlike the affirmative imperative, the negative forms come from the present subjunctive, which is why they look different. Never use the affirmative form after no.

Example sentences

  1. Yo embarco todos los días. — I board every day.
  2. Ayer yo embarqué por la tarde. — Yesterday I boarded in the afternoon.
  3. Antes, yo embarcaba todos los días. — In the past, I used to board every day.
  4. Mañana yo embarcaré sin falta. — Tomorrow I will board without fail.
  5. Si tuviera más tiempo, yo embarcaría ahora mismo. — If I had more time, I would board right now.
  6. Hoy yo he embarcado dos veces. — Today I have boarded twice.
  7. Espero que tú embarques pronto. — I hope You board soon.
  8. Si yo embarcara, todo sería distinto. — If I boarded, everything would be different.
  9. Ahora mismo yo estoy embarcando. — Right now I am boarding.
  10. ¡embarca, por favor! — Board, please!

Common mistakes

1. Missing the spelling change in the preterite

Wrong: Yo embarcé.

Right: Yo embarqué.

The spelling changes so the pronunciation stays the same: the yo form in the preterite is embarqué, not embarcé. The endings are regular — only the spelling of the stem-final letter adjusts before e and i.

2. Using the imperfect for a finished event

Wrong: Ayer yo embarcaba.

Right: Ayer yo embarqué.

Yesterday's finished action needs the preterite, embarqué. The imperfect embarcaba describes what used to happen or what was going on, not a single completed event.

3. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

Wrong: Espero que tú embarcas.

Right: Espero que tú embarques.

After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: embarques, not the indicative embarcas. Wishes, hopes and doubts all trigger this change.

4. Using the affirmative imperative after no

Wrong: No embarca.

Right: No embarques.

Negative commands use the subjunctive-based forms: no embarques. The affirmative embarca can never follow no.

5. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

Wrong: Yo embarcar todos los días.

Right: Yo embarco todos los días.

The infinitive embarcar names the action; it never works as the main verb of a sentence. Conjugate it for the person: yo embarco.

6. Confusing the gerund with the past participle

Wrong: He embarcando.

Right: He embarcado.

The perfect tenses use haber plus the past participle: he embarcado. The gerund embarcando goes with estar for actions in progress («Estoy embarcando»), never with haber.

Quiz

Test yourself on the forms above. Choose the correct answer, then check the key below.

1. What is the yo form of embarcar in the present indicative?

- (a) embarca
- (b) embarcas
- (c) embarco
- (d) embarcamos

2. What is the tú form of embarcar in the preterite?

- (a) embarcó
- (b) embarqué
- (c) embarcamos
- (d) embarcaste

3. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of embarcar in the imperfect?

- (a) embarcábamos
- (b) embarcabas
- (c) embarcaba
- (d) embarcaba

4. What is the nosotros/as form of embarcar in the future?

- (a) embarcará
- (b) embarcarás
- (c) embarcaré
- (d) embarcaremos

5. What is the vosotros/as form of embarcar in the conditional?

- (a) embarcaría
- (b) embarcaríais
- (c) embarcarías
- (d) embarcaría

6. What is the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of embarcar in the present perfect?

- (a) han embarcado
- (b) has embarcado
- (c) ha embarcado
- (d) he embarcado

7. What is the yo form of embarcar in the present subjunctive?

- (a) embarquemos
- (b) embarques
- (c) embarque
- (d) embarque

8. What is the tú form of embarcar in the imperfect subjunctive (-ra forms)?

- (a) embarcaras
- (b) embarcara
- (c) embarcáramos
- (d) embarcara

9. What is the gerund of embarcar?

- (a) embarcando
- (b) embarcar
- (c) embarco
- (d) embarcado

10. What is the past participle of embarcar?

- (a) embarcar
- (b) embarcado
- (c) embarqué
- (d) embarcando

Answer key

1. (c) — In the present indicative, the yo form of embarcar is embarco. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 2. (d) — In the preterite, the tú form of embarcar is embarcaste. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 3. (c) — In the imperfect, the él/ella/Ud. form of embarcar is embarcaba. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 4. (d) — In the future, the nosotros/as form of embarcar is embarcaremos. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 5. (b) — In the conditional, the vosotros/as form of embarcar is embarcaríais. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 6. (a) — In the present perfect, the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of embarcar is han embarcado. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 7. (c) — In the present subjunctive, the yo form of embarcar is embarque. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 8. (a) — In the imperfect subjunctive (-ra forms), the tú form of embarcar is embarcaras. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 9. (a) — The gerund of embarcar is embarcando. It is used with estar for the progressive: «Estoy embarcando». 10. (b) — The past participle of embarcar is embarcado. It follows haber in all the perfect tenses: «he embarcado».

Frequently asked questions

Is embarcar regular or irregular?

Mostly yes — embarcar takes the regular -ar endings, but the spelling of the stem changes in some forms (for example the yo preterite embarqué). The endings never change; only the stem-final letter adjusts so the pronunciation stays the same.

What are the gerund and past participle of embarcar?

The gerund is embarcando and the past participle is embarcado. Use the gerund with estar for actions in progress («Estoy embarcando») and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses («he embarcado»).

How do I say «I board» in Spanish?

Say «Yo embarco todos los días». That is the yo form of the present tense, the form you need for talking about yourself right now.

What is the difference between the preterite and the imperfect of embarcar?

Use the preterite (embarqué) for a single finished event and the imperfect (embarcaba) for habits and background. «Ayer yo embarqué» reports something that happened and ended; «Antes, yo embarcaba» describes what used to happen.

When do I use the subjunctive with embarcar?

Use the subjunctive after wishes, doubts, emotions and impersonal expressions — for example «Espero que tú embarques». The trigger sits in the main clause; once it is there, the subjunctive form is required, not a stylistic choice.

How do I use embarcar in the present perfect?

Put haber in the present before the past participle: «Hoy yo he embarcado». The participle embarcado never changes for person — only haber changes — so once you know the participle, the whole perfect tense follows.

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