Introduction
Limpiar means «to clean». Limpiar means to clean: the kitchen, the house, a window, a room. It is a regular -ar verb, and it is essential for housework, hotels, cleaning jobs and any description of keeping a place tidy. It is a regular -ar verb, so the tables below show you exactly how it behaves in every tense. On this page you will find the full conjugation of limpiar 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 limpio la cocina todos los días.» — I clean the kitchen every day.
Quick facts
| Infinitive | limpiar |
| English | to clean |
| Verb type | Regular -ar verb |
| Gerund | limpiando |
| Past participle | limpiado |
| Auxiliary verb | haber |
Full conjugation tables
Gerund: limpiando · Past participle: limpiado
Present Indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | limpio |
| tú | limpias |
| él/ella/Ud. | limpia |
| nosotros/as | limpiamos |
| vosotros/as | limpiáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | limpian |
The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For limpiar, the yo form is limpio, as in «Yo limpio» in the examples below. Use the present for routines («todos los días») and for general truths.
Preterite
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | limpié |
| tú | limpiaste |
| él/ella/Ud. | limpió |
| nosotros/as | limpiamos |
| vosotros/as | limpiasteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | limpiaron |
The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. «Ayer yo limpié» 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 | limpiaba |
| tú | limpiabas |
| él/ella/Ud. | limpiaba |
| nosotros/as | limpiábamos |
| vosotros/as | limpiabais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | limpiaban |
The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. «De pequeño, yo limpiaba» shows the habitual use. It sets the scene while the preterite reports what happened inside it.
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | limpiaré |
| tú | limpiarás |
| él/ella/Ud. | limpiará |
| nosotros/as | limpiaremos |
| vosotros/as | limpiaréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | limpiarán |
The future tense states what will happen. For limpiar the future is built on the infinitive: «Mañana yo limpiaré». It is also used for predictions and promises, and in spoken Spanish it often alternates with ir a + infinitive.
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | limpiaría |
| tú | limpiarías |
| él/ella/Ud. | limpiaría |
| nosotros/as | limpiaríamos |
| vosotros/as | limpiaríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | limpiarían |
The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. «Si tuviera más tiempo, yo limpiaría» is the typical pattern. It shares its stem with the future and changes only the endings.
Present Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he limpiado |
| tú | has limpiado |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha limpiado |
| nosotros/as | hemos limpiado |
| vosotros/as | habéis limpiado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han limpiado |
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 limpiado». In Spain it is used for anything that happened today; in Latin America the preterite is often preferred.
Pluperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había limpiado |
| tú | habías limpiado |
| él/ella/Ud. | había limpiado |
| nosotros/as | habíamos limpiado |
| vosotros/as | habíais limpiado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían limpiado |
The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event: «Cuando llegué, ya había limpiado». 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 limpiado |
| tú | habrás limpiado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá limpiado |
| nosotros/as | habremos limpiado |
| vosotros/as | habréis limpiado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán limpiado |
The future perfect looks back from a future point: by then, something will already have happened. «Para mañana, yo habré limpiado» 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 limpiado |
| tú | habrías limpiado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría limpiado |
| nosotros/as | habríamos limpiado |
| vosotros/as | habríais limpiado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían limpiado |
The conditional perfect expresses what would have happened: «Yo habría limpiado 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 | limpie |
| tú | limpies |
| él/ella/Ud. | limpie |
| nosotros/as | limpiemos |
| vosotros/as | limpiéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | limpien |
The present subjunctive appears after wishes, doubts, emotions and impersonal expressions: «Espero que él limpie». 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 | limpiara |
| tú | limpiaras |
| él/ella/Ud. | limpiara |
| nosotros/as | limpiáramos |
| vosotros/as | limpiarais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | limpiaran |
The imperfect subjunctive is the past partner of the present subjunctive, used after past-tense triggers and in si-clauses: «Si él limpiara, 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 | limpia |
| él/ella/Ud. | limpie |
| nosotros/as | limpiemos |
| vosotros/as | limpiad |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | limpien |
There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.
The affirmative imperative gives direct commands and instructions: «¡Limpia!». 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 | limpies |
| él/ella/Ud. | limpie |
| nosotros/as | limpiemos |
| vosotros/as | limpiéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | limpien |
There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.
The negative imperative tells someone not to do something: «¡No limpies!». 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
- Yo limpio la cocina todos los días. — I clean the kitchen every day.
- Mi hermana limpia la cocina mucho. — My sister cleans the kitchen a lot.
- Ayer yo limpié la cocina por la tarde. — Yesterday I cleaned the kitchen in the afternoon.
- De pequeño, yo limpiaba la cocina muchas veces. — As a child, I used to clean the kitchen often.
- Mañana yo limpiaré la cocina sin falta. — Tomorrow I will clean the kitchen without fail.
- Si tuviera más tiempo, yo limpiaría la cocina ahora mismo. — If I had more time, I would clean the kitchen right now.
- Hoy yo he limpiado la casa dos veces. — Today I have cleaned the house twice.
- Espero que él limpie la cocina pronto. — I hope he cleans the kitchen soon.
- ¡Limpia la cocina antes de salir! — Clean the kitchen before you go out!
- Ahora mismo estoy limpiando la cocina. — Right now I am cleaning the kitchen.
Common mistakes
1. Forgetting the accent in the preterite
Wrong: limpie
Right: limpié
The yo preterite of limpiar carries a written accent: limpié. Without it, limpie is the present subjunctive yo form, a completely different tense.
2. Using the imperfect for a finished event
Wrong: Ayer yo limpiaba la cocina.
Right: Ayer yo limpié la cocina.
Yesterday's finished action needs the preterite, limpié. The imperfect limpiaba describes what used to happen or what was going on, not a single completed event.
3. Confusing it with a similar verb
Wrong: *Limpio a la cocina.
Right: Limpio la cocina.
Limpiar takes a direct object with no preposition: limpiar la cocina, limpiar la casa.
4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
Wrong: Espero que tú limpias la cocina.
Right: Espero que tú limpies la cocina.
After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: limpies, not the indicative limpias. Wishes, hopes and doubts all trigger this change.
5. Using the affirmative imperative after no
Wrong: No limpia la cocina.
Right: No limpies la cocina.
Negative commands use the subjunctive-based forms: no limpies. The affirmative limpia can never follow no.
Quiz
Test yourself on the forms above. Choose the correct answer, then check the key below.
1. What is the yo form of limpiar in the present tense?
- (a) limpia
- (b) limpiamos
- (c) limpias
- (d) limpio
2. What is the él/ella form of limpiar in the preterite?
- (a) limpiamos
- (b) limpiaste
- (c) limpié
- (d) limpió
3. What is the nosotros form of limpiar in the imperfect?
- (a) limpiaba
- (b) limpiabas
- (c) limpiábamos
4. What is the tú form of limpiar in the future tense?
- (a) limpiaremos
- (b) limpiará
- (c) limpiarás
- (d) limpiaré
5. What is the ellos form of limpiar in the conditional?
- (a) limpiaría
- (b) limpiarían
- (c) limpiarías
6. What is the yo form of limpiar in the present perfect?
- (a) ha limpiado
- (b) has limpiado
- (c) he limpiado
- (d) hemos limpiado
7. After «Espero que…», what is the tú form of limpiar?
- (a) limpie
- (b) limpiemos
- (c) limpies
8. What is the nosotros form of limpiar in the imperfect subjunctive (-ra)?
- (a) limpiara
- (b) limpiáramos
- (c) limpiaras
9. What is the gerund of limpiar?
- (a) limpiado
- (b) limpiando
- (c) limpiar
- (d) limpio
10. What is the past participle of limpiar?
- (a) limpiado
- (b) limpiando
- (c) limpiar
- (d) limpié
Answer key
1. (d) limpio — In the present, the yo form of limpiar is limpio. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
2. (d) limpió — In the preterite, the el form of limpiar is limpió. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
3. (c) limpiábamos — In the imperfect, the nosotros form of limpiar is limpiábamos. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
4. (c) limpiarás — In the future, the tu form of limpiar is limpiarás. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
5. (b) limpiarían — In the conditional, the ellos form of limpiar is limpiarían. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
6. (c) he limpiado — In the present perfect, the yo form of limpiar is he limpiado. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
7. (c) limpies — In the present subjunctive, the tu form of limpiar is limpies. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
8. (b) limpiáramos — In the imperfect subjunctive, the nosotros form of limpiar is limpiáramos. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
9. (b) limpiando — The gerund of limpiar is limpiando. It is used with estar for the progressive: «Estoy limpiando».
10. (a) limpiado — The past participle of limpiar is limpiado. It follows haber in all the perfect tenses: «he limpiado».
Frequently asked questions
Is limpiar regular or irregular?
Yes, limpiar is a regular -ar verb. Every tense follows the standard -ar endings, so once you know the pattern you can generate the whole table. The only thing to watch is choosing the right tense, not the forms themselves.
What are the gerund and past participle of limpiar?
The gerund is limpiando and the past participle is limpiado. Use the gerund with estar for actions in progress («Estoy limpiando») and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses («he limpiado»).
What is the difference between limpiar and lavar?
Limpiar and lavar are often confused. Lavar is to wash (clothes, dishes, your hands); limpiar is to clean in general.
How do I say «I clean» in Spanish?
Say «Yo limpio». That is the yo form of the present tense, the form you need for talking about yourself right now.
Which tense do learners find hardest with limpiar?
Most learners struggle with choosing between the preterite and the imperfect, not with the forms themselves. Use the preterite (limpié) for a single finished event and the imperfect (limpiaba) for habits and background. After that, the subjunctive is the next step.
Related links
- Practise this verb in one tense: limpiar-present-tense
- More examples and a quiz: limpiar-examples-and-quiz
- Browse all Spanish verbs: /spanish/
- Related verb: cocinar
- Related verb: comer
- Related verb: usar
- Conjugate any verb: verb-conjugator
- Test yourself: verb-quiz