Embarcarse Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb embarcarse means to board, to get involved, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. It is a spelling-changing -ar verb, reflexive verb: the stem is embarc and the endings follow the -ar pattern, with the exceptions noted in the tables below. This page gives you the complete picture — every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle, all from the verified conjugation tables. For example, in the present tense you say «Me embarco todos los días», which means «I board every day». 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: embarcarse
  • English: to board, to get involved
  • Verb type: spelling-changing -ar verb, reflexive
  • Ending: -ar
  • Gerund: embarcando
  • Past participle: embarcado
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + embarcado)
  • Reflexive pronouns: me, te, se, nos, os, se — one before every conjugated form, matching the person.
  • 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 embarcarse, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

embarcarse is reflexive: Me embarco todos los días; te embarcas todos los días. Without the pronoun, the verb means doing the action to someone else rather than to yourself, so keep the pronoun with the form.

Full conjugation tables

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for embarcarse. 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: embarcando · Past participle: embarcado

Present Indicative

Person Pronoun Form
yo me embarco
tú te embarcas
él/ella/Ud. se embarca
nosotros/as nos embarcamos
vosotros/as os embarcáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se embarcan

Use the present of embarcarse for things that happen regularly and for things that are true in general. The yo form embarco is the anchor of the table: the other persons follow the regular -ar endings from it. When you talk about yourself right now, this is the form you need.

Preterite

Person Pronoun Form
yo me embarqué
tú te embarcaste
él/ella/Ud. se embarcó
nosotros/as nos embarcamos
vosotros/as os embarcasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se embarcaron

Use the preterite of embarcarse for a single finished event: something that happened once and is over. The yo form is embarqué. If you can put a finished time expression with it — ayer, la semana pasada, anoche — the preterite is usually right.

Imperfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me embarcaba
tú te embarcabas
él/ella/Ud. se embarcaba
nosotros/as nos embarcábamos
vosotros/as os embarcabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. se embarcaban

Use the imperfect of embarcarse for what used to happen and for what was going on when something else happened. The yo form is embarcaba. If the action has no clear beginning or end in the story, the imperfect is the right choice.

Future

Person Pronoun Form
yo me embarcaré
tú te embarcarás
él/ella/Ud. se embarcará
nosotros/as nos embarcaremos
vosotros/as os embarcaréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se embarcarán

Use the future of embarcarse for plans, promises and predictions. The yo form is embarcaré, built on the infinitive plus the future endings. For a firm plan, the future sounds more formal than ir a + infinitive; for a casual plan, either works.

Conditional

Person Pronoun Form
yo me embarcaría
tú te embarcarías
él/ella/Ud. se embarcaría
nosotros/as nos embarcaríamos
vosotros/as os embarcaríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. se embarcarían

Use the conditional of embarcarse for hypothetical situations and for softening requests. The yo form is embarcaría. It appears after si-clauses with the imperfect subjunctive and on its own for polite suggestions.

Present Perfect

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

Use the present perfect of embarcarse for recent events with present relevance. The yo form is he embarcado — haber in the present plus embarcado. Time expressions like hoy, esta semana and últimamente are its natural partners.

Pluperfect

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

Use the pluperfect of embarcarse when you need two layers of past: one event already finished before another past event began. The yo form is había embarcado. It is the tense of «had already done».

Future Perfect

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

Use the future perfect of embarcarse to say that something will be finished by a future moment. The yo form is habré embarcado. It pairs naturally with deadlines: para mañana, para el viernes, para entonces.

Conditional Perfect

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

Use the conditional perfect of embarcarse for the past that did not happen: what would have been done with more time or a different choice. The yo form is habría embarcado. It follows si-clauses with the pluperfect subjunctive.

Present Subjunctive

Person Pronoun Form
yo me embarque
tú te embarques
él/ella/Ud. se embarque
nosotros/as nos embarquemos
vosotros/as os embarquéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se embarquen

Use the present subjunctive of embarcarse when the main clause expresses a wish, a doubt, an emotion or an impersonal judgement. The yo form is embarque. After espero que, ojalá que and no creo que, the subjunctive is required, not optional.

Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra forms)

Person Pronoun Form
yo me embarcara
tú te embarcaras
él/ella/Ud. se embarcara
nosotros/as nos embarcáramos
vosotros/as os embarcarais
ellos/ellas/Uds. se embarcaran

Use the imperfect subjunctive of embarcarse after past-tense wishes and doubts, and in si-clauses that set up a hypothetical present. The yo form is embarcara. It is built on the third-person plural preterite stem, which is why it looks different from the present subjunctive.

Imperative — Affirmative

Person Pronoun Form
tú te embarca
él/ella/Ud. se embarque
nosotros/as nos embarquemos
vosotros/as os embarcad
ellos/ellas/Uds. se embarquen

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

In real speech the reflexive pronoun attaches to the end of an affirmative command; the table shows the pronoun and the form separately so you can see both parts.

Use the affirmative imperative of embarcarse to tell someone to do something: instructions, invitations and requests. The tú form is embarca. For a polite command, use the usted form embarque instead of the tú form.

Imperative — Negative

Person Pronoun Form
tú te embarques
él/ella/Ud. se embarque
nosotros/as nos embarquemos
vosotros/as os embarquéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se embarquen

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

In real speech the reflexive pronoun attaches to the end of an affirmative command; the table shows the pronoun and the form separately so you can see both parts.

Use the negative imperative of embarcarse to forbid or to warn: «¡No embarques!». The tú form is embarques, taken from the present subjunctive. The word no always comes first, and the form never changes for emphasis.

Example sentences

  1. Me embarco todos los días. — I board every day.
  2. Ayer me embarqué por la tarde. — Yesterday I boarded in the afternoon.
  3. Antes, me embarcaba todos los días. — In the past, I used to board every day.
  4. Mañana me embarcaré sin falta. — Tomorrow I will board without fail.
  5. Si tuviera más tiempo, me embarcaría ahora mismo. — If I had more time, I would board right now.
  6. Hoy me he embarcado dos veces. — Today I have boarded twice.
  7. Espero que te embarques pronto. — I hope You board soon.
  8. Si me embarcara, todo sería distinto. — If I boarded, everything would be different.
  9. Ahora mismo me estoy embarcando. — Right now I am boarding.
  10. ¡No te embarques! — Don't board!

Common mistakes

1. Forgetting the reflexive pronoun

Wrong: yo embarco todos los días.

Right: me embarco todos los días.

embarcarse is reflexive: the pronoun me belongs before every conjugated form. Without it, you are using the non-reflexive verb, which means something different — doing the action to someone else instead of to yourself.

2. 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.

3. Using the imperfect for a finished event

Wrong: Ayer me embarcaba.

Right: Ayer me 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.

4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

Wrong: Espero que te embarcas.

Right: Espero que te embarques.

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

5. Using the affirmative imperative after no

Wrong: No te embarca.

Right: No te embarques.

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

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 tú form of embarcarse in the present indicative?

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

2. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of embarcarse in the preterite?

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

3. What is the nosotros/as form of embarcarse in the imperfect?

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

4. What is the vosotros/as form of embarcarse in the future?

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

5. What is the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of embarcarse in the conditional?

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

6. What is the yo form of embarcarse in the present perfect?

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

7. What is the tú form of embarcarse in the present subjunctive?

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

8. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of embarcarse in the imperfect subjunctive (-ra forms)?

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

9. What is the gerund of embarcarse?

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

10. What is the past participle of embarcarse?

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

Answer key

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

Frequently asked questions

Is embarcarse regular or irregular?

Mostly yes — embarcarse 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 embarcarse?

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 «Me 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 embarcarse?

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 embarcarse?

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.

What does the -se in embarcarse mean?

The -se marks embarcarse as reflexive: the action comes back to the subject. You always pair the form with its pronoun — me, te, se, nos, os, se — placed before the conjugated verb. Dropping the pronoun changes the meaning, so treat the pronoun as part of the verb.

Related links