Maquillar Conjugation in Spanish

maquillar means «to apply makeup to». It is a regular -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 maquillar 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 maquillo todos los días» — I apply makeup to every day.

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: maquillar
  • English: to apply makeup to
  • Verb type: regular -ar verb
  • Ending: -ar
  • Gerund: maquillando
  • Past participle: maquillado
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + maquillado)

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

Full conjugation tables

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

Gerund: maquillando · Past participle: maquillado

Present Indicative

Person Form
yo maquillo
tú maquillas
él/ella/Ud. maquilla
nosotros/as maquillamos
vosotros/as maquilláis
ellos/ellas/Uds. maquillan

The present is the tense you will use most with maquillar. It covers daily routines, permanent facts and actions in progress. Learn the yo form maquillo first, then the tú and él forms, which are the ones that change the stem in stem-changing verbs.

Preterite

Person Form
yo maquillé
tú maquillaste
él/ella/Ud. maquilló
nosotros/as maquillamos
vosotros/as maquillasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. maquillaron

The preterite of maquillar reports what happened. «Ayer yo maquillé por la tarde» places the action firmly in finished time. It is the tense of stories and reports, not of background description.

Imperfect

Person Form
yo maquillaba
tú maquillabas
él/ella/Ud. maquillaba
nosotros/as maquillábamos
vosotros/as maquillabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. maquillaban

The imperfect of maquillar paints the background of a past scene: repeated actions, states and descriptions. «Antes, yo maquillaba todos los días» is the pattern. Pair it with the preterite when one event interrupts another.

Future

Person Form
yo maquillaré
tú maquillarás
él/ella/Ud. maquillará
nosotros/as maquillaremos
vosotros/as maquillaréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. maquillarán

The future of maquillar looks forward: what will happen tomorrow, next week or next year. «Mañana yo maquillaré sin falta» is the pattern. Remember that the future can also express probability about the present in Spanish.

Conditional

Person Form
yo maquillaría
tú maquillarías
él/ella/Ud. maquillaría
nosotros/as maquillaríamos
vosotros/as maquillaríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. maquillarían

The conditional of maquillar is the tense of «would»: what you would do, what would happen, what you would like. «Si pudiera, yo maquillaría sin dudarlo» shows the pattern. It is built on the infinitive, just like the future.

Present Perfect

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

The present perfect of maquillar says «have done»: the action is finished but its result still matters now. «Hoy yo he maquillado dos veces» is the pattern. Learn the participle maquillado well — every perfect tense depends on it.

Pluperfect

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

The pluperfect of maquillar steps one event further back than the preterite. «Antes de salir, yo había maquillado» is the pattern: first this happened, then the story moved on. It is haber in the imperfect plus maquillado.

Future Perfect

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

The future perfect of maquillar combines the future of haber with maquillado. «Para el viernes, yo habré maquillado ya» is the pattern. Use it when the completion matters more than the action itself.

Conditional Perfect

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

The conditional perfect of maquillar is the tense of «would have done». «Yo habría maquillado si hubiera podido» is the pattern. It is built from haber in the conditional plus maquillado.

Present Subjunctive

Person Form
yo maquille
tú maquilles
él/ella/Ud. maquille
nosotros/as maquillemos
vosotros/as maquilléis
ellos/ellas/Uds. maquillen

The present subjunctive of maquillar is the mood of what is wished, doubted or demanded rather than stated as fact. «Espero que tú maquilles» is the pattern. If the trigger is in the past, switch to the imperfect subjunctive instead.

Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra forms)

Person Form
yo maquillara
tú maquillaras
él/ella/Ud. maquillara
nosotros/as maquilláramos
vosotros/as maquillarais
ellos/ellas/Uds. maquillaran

The imperfect subjunctive of maquillar handles the hypothetical past and the polite conditional. «Ojalá yo maquillara más a menudo» is the pattern. The -ra forms in the table are the standard ones; the -se forms use the same stem with -se endings.

Imperative — Affirmative

Person Form
tú maquilla
él/ella/Ud. maquille
nosotros/as maquillemos
vosotros/as maquillad
ellos/ellas/Uds. maquillen

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

The affirmative imperative of maquillar is for orders and instructions. «¡maquilla, por favor!» is the pattern. Remember there is no yo form in the imperative, and the nosotros form doubles as a suggestion: «¡maquillemos!» means «let's do it».

Imperative — Negative

Person Form
tú maquilles
él/ella/Ud. maquille
nosotros/as maquillemos
vosotros/as maquilléis
ellos/ellas/Uds. maquillen

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

The negative imperative of maquillar is built on the present subjunctive: «¡No maquilles!». Learn it as a set with the subjunctive table above, and never follow no with the affirmative command form.

Example sentences

  1. Yo maquillo todos los días. — I apply makeup to every day.
  2. Ayer yo maquillé por la tarde. — Yesterday I applied makeup to in the afternoon.
  3. Antes, yo maquillaba todos los días. — In the past, I used to apply makeup to every day.
  4. Mañana yo maquillaré sin falta. — Tomorrow I will apply makeup to without fail.
  5. Si tuviera más tiempo, yo maquillaría ahora mismo. — If I had more time, I would apply makeup to right now.
  6. Hoy yo he maquillado dos veces. — Today I have applied makeup to twice.
  7. Espero que tú maquilles pronto. — I hope You apply makeup to soon.
  8. Si yo maquillara, todo sería distinto. — If I applied makeup to, everything would be different.
  9. Ahora mismo yo estoy maquillando. — Right now I am applying makeup to.
  10. ¡maquilla, por favor! — Apply makeup to, please!

Common mistakes

1. Using the imperfect for a finished event

Wrong: Ayer yo maquillaba.

Right: Ayer yo maquillé.

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

2. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

Wrong: Espero que tú maquillas.

Right: Espero que tú maquilles.

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

3. Using the affirmative imperative after no

Wrong: No maquilla.

Right: No maquilles.

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

4. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

Wrong: Yo maquillar todos los días.

Right: Yo maquillo todos los días.

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

5. Confusing the gerund with the past participle

Wrong: He maquillando.

Right: He maquillado.

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

Quiz

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

1. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of maquillar in the present indicative?

- (a) maquillo
- (b) maquillas
- (c) maquilla
- (d) maquillamos

2. What is the nosotros/as form of maquillar in the preterite?

- (a) maquilló
- (b) maquillaste
- (c) maquillamos
- (d) maquillé

3. What is the vosotros/as form of maquillar in the imperfect?

- (a) maquillabas
- (b) maquillabais
- (c) maquillaba
- (d) maquillaba

4. What is the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of maquillar in the future?

- (a) maquillará
- (b) maquillaré
- (c) maquillarás
- (d) maquillarán

5. What is the yo form of maquillar in the conditional?

- (a) maquillarías
- (b) maquillaría
- (c) maquillaríamos
- (d) maquillaría

6. What is the tú form of maquillar in the present perfect?

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

7. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of maquillar in the present subjunctive?

- (a) maquillemos
- (b) maquille
- (c) maquilles
- (d) maquille

8. What is the nosotros/as form of maquillar in the imperfect subjunctive (-ra forms)?

- (a) maquillara
- (b) maquillara
- (c) maquillaras
- (d) maquilláramos

9. What is the gerund of maquillar?

- (a) maquillando
- (b) maquillado
- (c) maquillo
- (d) maquillar

10. What is the past participle of maquillar?

- (a) maquillado
- (b) maquillé
- (c) maquillar
- (d) maquillando

Answer key

1. (c) — In the present indicative, the él/ella/Ud. form of maquillar is maquilla. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 2. (c) — In the preterite, the nosotros/as form of maquillar is maquillamos. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 3. (b) — In the imperfect, the vosotros/as form of maquillar is maquillabais. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 4. (d) — In the future, the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of maquillar is maquillarán. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 5. (b) — In the conditional, the yo form of maquillar is maquillaría. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 6. (a) — In the present perfect, the tú form of maquillar is has maquillado. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 7. (b) — In the present subjunctive, the él/ella/Ud. form of maquillar is maquille. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 8. (d) — In the imperfect subjunctive (-ra forms), the nosotros/as form of maquillar is maquilláramos. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 9. (a) — The gerund of maquillar is maquillando. It is used with estar for the progressive: «Estoy maquillando». 10. (a) — The past participle of maquillar is maquillado. It follows haber in all the perfect tenses: «he maquillado».

Frequently asked questions

Is maquillar regular or irregular?

Yes — maquillar is a regular -ar verb. Learn the endings once and they work in every tense, with the stem maquill unchanged throughout.

What are the gerund and past participle of maquillar?

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

How do I say «I apply makeup to» in Spanish?

Say «Yo maquillo 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 maquillar?

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

When do I use the subjunctive with maquillar?

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

How do I use maquillar in the present perfect?

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

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