Marchar Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb marchar means to work, to go, to march, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. Marchar means to go, to work or to march, and it covers a machine working well, a plan going well and people marching in a parade. Its most common everyday use is for things working, as in la moto marcha bien, and it is fully regular. Like every Spanish verb, marchar changes its ending for each person and tense, and 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 marcho bien desde la reparación, and in the preterite you say marché sin parar hasta el pueblo. 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: marchar
  • English: to work, to go, to march
  • Verb type: regular -ar verb
  • Ending: -ar
  • Gerund: marchando
  • Past participle: marchado
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + marchado)

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for marchar, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one. Marchar is fully regular: marché, marchaba, marcharé. La moto marcha bien means the motorbike is working well.

Full conjugation tables

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for marchar. 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.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo marcho
tú marchas
él/ella/Ud. marcha
nosotros/as marchamos
vosotros/as marcháis
ellos/ellas/Uds. marchan

Preterite

Person Form
yo marché
tú marchaste
él/ella/Ud. marchó
nosotros/as marchamos
vosotros/as marchasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. marcharon

Imperfect

Person Form
yo marchaba
tú marchabas
él/ella/Ud. marchaba
nosotros/as marchábamos
vosotros/as marchabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. marchaban

Future

Person Form
yo marcharé
tú marcharás
él/ella/Ud. marchará
nosotros/as marcharemos
vosotros/as marcharéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. marcharán

Conditional

Person Form
yo marcharía
tú marcharías
él/ella/Ud. marcharía
nosotros/as marcharíamos
vosotros/as marcharíais
ellos/ellas/Uds. marcharían

Present perfect

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

Pluperfect

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

Future perfect

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

Conditional perfect

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

Present subjunctive

Person Form
yo marche
tú marches
él/ella/Ud. marche
nosotros/as marchemos
vosotros/as marchéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. marchen

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

Person Form
yo marchara
tú marcharas
él/ella/Ud. marchara
nosotros/as marcháramos
vosotros/as marcharais
ellos/ellas/Uds. marcharan

Imperative (affirmative)

Person Form
tú marcha
él/ella/Ud. marche
nosotros/as marchemos
vosotros/as marchad
ellos/ellas/Uds. marchen

Imperative (negative)

Person Form
tú marches
él/ella/Ud. marche
nosotros/as marchemos
vosotros/as marchéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. marchen

Gerund and past participle

Form Spanish Use
Gerund marchando with estar for the progressive: estoy marchando
Past participle marchado with haber for the perfect tenses: he marchado

How to use each tense

Present indicative

Use the present for routines, general facts and what is happening right now. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For marchar, the present looks like this in a real sentence: Marcho bien desde la reparación. Learn the present 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 with a clear end, often with ayer, el año pasado or anoche. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For marchar, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Ayer, marché a buen ritmo por el camino. 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 de niño, antes or mientras. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For marchar, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: De niño, marchaba sin parar hasta el pueblo. 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. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For marchar, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Mañana, marcharé con el grupo al amanecer. 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 with si clauses. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For marchar, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Marcharía bien desde la reparación si pudiera. 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. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For marchar, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Hoy, he marchado a buen ritmo por el camino. 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. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For marchar, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Había marchado sin parar hasta el pueblo antes de salir. 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. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For marchar, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Para mañana, habré marchado con el grupo al amanecer. 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. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For marchar, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Habría marchado bien desde la reparación con más tiempo. 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. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For marchar, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él marche a buen ritmo por el camino. 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 this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For marchar, the imperfect subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Si él marchara sin parar hasta el pueblo, todo cambiaría. Learn the imperfect subjunctive 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. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For marchar, the affirmative imperative looks like this in a real sentence: ¡Marcha con el grupo al amanecer! Learn the affirmative imperative 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. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For marchar, the negative imperative looks like this in a real sentence: No marches bien desde la reparación. Learn the negative imperative 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 marchar, covering different tenses and persons. Each one uses a form from the tables above.

  1. Marcho bien desde la reparación. — I work well since the repair.
  2. Marcha a buen ritmo por el camino. — He/she works at a good pace along the road.
  3. Ayer, marché sin parar hasta el pueblo. — Yesterday, I worked non-stop to the village.
  4. Antes, nosotros marchábamos con el grupo al amanecer. — Before, we used to work with the group at dawn.
  5. Mañana, tú marcharás bien desde la reparación. — Tomorrow, you will work well since the repair.
  6. Yo marcharía a buen ritmo por el camino si tuviera más tiempo. — I would work at a good pace along the road if I had more time.
  7. Él ha marchado sin parar hasta el pueblo. — He has worked non-stop to the village.
  8. Espero que él marche con el grupo al amanecer. — I hope he works with the group at dawn.
  9. Yo ya había marchado bien desde la reparación antes de salir. — I had already worked well since the repair before leaving.
  10. Ellos marchaban a buen ritmo por el camino cuando eran jóvenes. — They used to work at a good pace along the road when they were young.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo marcha bien desde la reparación. — Right: Yo marcho bien desde la reparación. — The person matters: marcha is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is marcho. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
  2. Wrong: Ayer yo marcho a buen ritmo por el camino. — Right: Ayer yo marché a buen ritmo por el camino. — The present and the preterite are different tenses: marcho is happening now, while marché is a finished action in the past. Use the preterite with ayer.
  3. Wrong: Treating marchar and funcionar as identical in every context. — Right: Marchar means to work, to go, to march, while funcionar means to work. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: marchar fits sentences such as Marcho bien desde la reparación, while funcionar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy marchado a buen ritmo por el camino. — Right: Yo he marchado a buen ritmo por el camino. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he marchado, has marchado, ha marchado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  5. Wrong: De niño, yo marché sin parar hasta el pueblo todos los días. — Right: De niño, yo marchaba sin parar hasta el pueblo todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (marchaba), not the preterite. The preterite (marché) is for one finished action.

Quiz: test yourself

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

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ bien desde la reparación. (present tense) A. marcho B. marchas C. marcha D. marchamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Ayer, él ___ a buen ritmo por el camino. (preterite) A. marché B. marchaste C. marcharon D. marchó

  3. Complete the sentence: Antes, nosotros ___ sin parar hasta el pueblo. (imperfect) A. marchabas B. marchaban C. marchábamos D. marchaba

  4. Complete the sentence: Mañana, tú ___ con el grupo al amanecer. (future) A. marcharemos B. marcharás C. marcharé D. marchará

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ bien desde la reparación si pudiera. (conditional) A. marcharía B. marcharías C. marcharían D. marcho

  6. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ___ a buen ritmo por el camino. (present subjunctive) A. marches B. marchemos C. marcho D. marche

  7. Complete the sentence: Si yo ___ sin parar hasta el pueblo, todo cambiaría. (imperfect subjunctive, -ra form) A. marcháramos B. marcho C. marchara D. marcharas

  8. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ con el grupo al amanecer. (present perfect) A. han marchado B. hemos marchado C. he marchado D. has marchado

  9. Complete the command: ¡___ bien desde la reparación! (affirmative imperative, tú) A. marcha B. marche C. marchemos D. marchad

  10. Which is the gerund of marchar, used with estar for the progressive? A. marchado B. marcho C. marché D. marchando

Answer key

  1. marcho — The first-person present of marchar is marcho. The other options are the tú, él/ella and nosotros forms.
  2. marchó — The third-person preterite of marchar is marchó, the form for a single finished action in the past.
  3. marchábamos — The nosotros imperfect of marchar is marchábamos, used here for a repeated past habit.
  4. marcharás — The second-person future of marchar is marcharás.
  5. marcharía — The first-person conditional of marchar is marcharía, the form for what would happen.
  6. marche — After espero que, the subjunctive is required: the third-person present subjunctive of marchar is marche.
  7. marchara — The first-person imperfect subjunctive (-ra) of marchar is marchara.
  8. hemos marchado — The nosotros present perfect of marchar is hemos marchado: hemos + marchado.
  9. marcha — The affirmative tú imperative of marchar is marcha.
  10. marchando — The gerund of marchar is marchando: estoy marchando. The participle marchado is used with haber instead.

Frequently asked questions

What does marchar mean in English?

Marchar means to work, to go, to march. It is used in everyday situations such as Marcho bien desde la reparación. The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

Is marchar regular or irregular?

Marchar is a fully regular -ar verb, so every tense follows the standard endings for its class. Once you know the regular pattern, you can produce every form on this page, including marcho in the present and marché in the preterite.

What is the difference between marchar and funcionar?

Marchar means to work, to go, to march, while funcionar means to work. They are easy to confuse because they appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use marchar when you mean to work, to go, to march, as in Marcho bien desde la reparación, and use funcionar for to work. When in doubt, check the object of the sentence — it usually shows which verb fits.

How do I say “I work” in the past?

It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: yo marché a buen ritmo por el camino. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: yo marchaba sin parar hasta el pueblo. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: yo he marchado a buen ritmo por el camino.

How do I practise marchar?

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

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