Ocultar Conjugation in Spanish

ocultar means «to hide». 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 ocultar 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 oculto todos los días» — I hide every day.

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: ocultar
  • English: to hide
  • Verb type: regular -ar verb
  • Ending: -ar
  • Gerund: ocultando
  • Past participle: ocultado
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + ocultado)

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

Full conjugation tables

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

Gerund: ocultando · Past participle: ocultado

Present Indicative

Person Form
yo oculto
tú ocultas
él/ella/Ud. oculta
nosotros/as ocultamos
vosotros/as ocultáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. ocultan

The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For ocultar, the yo form is oculto, 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 oculté
tú ocultaste
él/ella/Ud. ocultó
nosotros/as ocultamos
vosotros/as ocultasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. ocultaron

The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. «Ayer yo oculté» 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 ocultaba
tú ocultabas
él/ella/Ud. ocultaba
nosotros/as ocultábamos
vosotros/as ocultabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. ocultaban

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

Future

Person Form
yo ocultaré
tú ocultarás
él/ella/Ud. ocultará
nosotros/as ocultaremos
vosotros/as ocultaréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. ocultarán

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

Conditional

Person Form
yo ocultaría
tú ocultarías
él/ella/Ud. ocultaría
nosotros/as ocultaríamos
vosotros/as ocultaríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. ocultarían

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

Present Perfect

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

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 ocultado». In Spain it is used for anything that happened today; in Latin America the preterite is often preferred.

Pluperfect

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

The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event: «Cuando llegué, ya había ocultado». 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 ocultado
tú habrás ocultado
él/ella/Ud. habrá ocultado
nosotros/as habremos ocultado
vosotros/as habréis ocultado
ellos/ellas/Uds. habrán ocultado

The future perfect looks back from a future point: by then, something will already have happened. «Para mañana, yo habré ocultado» 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 ocultado
tú habrías ocultado
él/ella/Ud. habría ocultado
nosotros/as habríamos ocultado
vosotros/as habríais ocultado
ellos/ellas/Uds. habrían ocultado

The conditional perfect expresses what would have happened: «Yo habría ocultado 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 oculte
tú ocultes
él/ella/Ud. oculte
nosotros/as ocultemos
vosotros/as ocultéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. oculten

The present subjunctive appears after wishes, doubts, emotions and impersonal expressions: «Espero que él oculte». 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 ocultara
tú ocultaras
él/ella/Ud. ocultara
nosotros/as ocultáramos
vosotros/as ocultarais
ellos/ellas/Uds. ocultaran

The imperfect subjunctive is the past partner of the present subjunctive, used after past-tense triggers and in si-clauses: «Si él ocultara, 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 oculta
él/ella/Ud. oculte
nosotros/as ocultemos
vosotros/as ocultad
ellos/ellas/Uds. oculten

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

The affirmative imperative gives direct commands and instructions: «¡oculta!». 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 ocultes
él/ella/Ud. oculte
nosotros/as ocultemos
vosotros/as ocultéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. oculten

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

The negative imperative tells someone not to do something: «¡No ocultes!». 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 oculto todos los días. — I hide every day.
  2. Ayer yo oculté por la tarde. — Yesterday I hid in the afternoon.
  3. Antes, yo ocultaba todos los días. — In the past, I used to hide every day.
  4. Mañana yo ocultaré sin falta. — Tomorrow I will hide without fail.
  5. Si tuviera más tiempo, yo ocultaría ahora mismo. — If I had more time, I would hide right now.
  6. Hoy yo he ocultado dos veces. — Today I have hid twice.
  7. Espero que tú ocultes pronto. — I hope You hide soon.
  8. Si yo ocultara, todo sería distinto. — If I hid, everything would be different.
  9. Ahora mismo yo estoy ocultando. — Right now I am hiding.
  10. ¡oculta, por favor! — Hide, please!

Common mistakes

1. Using the imperfect for a finished event

Wrong: Ayer yo ocultaba.

Right: Ayer yo oculté.

Yesterday's finished action needs the preterite, oculté. The imperfect ocultaba 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 ocultas.

Right: Espero que tú ocultes.

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

3. Using the affirmative imperative after no

Wrong: No oculta.

Right: No ocultes.

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

4. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

Wrong: Yo ocultar todos los días.

Right: Yo oculto todos los días.

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

5. Confusing the gerund with the past participle

Wrong: He ocultando.

Right: He ocultado.

The perfect tenses use haber plus the past participle: he ocultado. The gerund ocultando goes with estar for actions in progress («Estoy ocultando»), 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 ocultar in the present indicative?

- (a) oculta
- (b) oculto
- (c) ocultamos
- (d) ocultas

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

- (a) oculté
- (b) ocultaste
- (c) ocultó
- (d) ocultamos

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

- (a) ocultaba
- (b) ocultaba
- (c) ocultábamos
- (d) ocultabas

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

- (a) ocultaré
- (b) ocultarás
- (c) ocultaremos
- (d) ocultará

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

- (a) ocultaría
- (b) ocultaríais
- (c) ocultaría
- (d) ocultarías

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

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

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

- (a) ocultemos
- (b) ocultes
- (c) oculte
- (d) oculte

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

- (a) ocultara
- (b) ocultara
- (c) ocultaras
- (d) ocultáramos

9. What is the gerund of ocultar?

- (a) ocultado
- (b) oculto
- (c) ocultando
- (d) ocultar

10. What is the past participle of ocultar?

- (a) oculté
- (b) ocultar
- (c) ocultando
- (d) ocultado

Answer key

1. (b) — In the present indicative, the yo form of ocultar is oculto. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 2. (b) — In the preterite, the tú form of ocultar is ocultaste. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 3. (a) — In the imperfect, the él/ella/Ud. form of ocultar is ocultaba. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 4. (c) — In the future, the nosotros/as form of ocultar is ocultaremos. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 5. (b) — In the conditional, the vosotros/as form of ocultar is ocultaríais. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 6. (d) — In the present perfect, the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of ocultar is han ocultado. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 7. (c) — In the present subjunctive, the yo form of ocultar is oculte. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 8. (c) — In the imperfect subjunctive (-ra forms), the tú form of ocultar is ocultaras. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 9. (c) — The gerund of ocultar is ocultando. It is used with estar for the progressive: «Estoy ocultando». 10. (d) — The past participle of ocultar is ocultado. It follows haber in all the perfect tenses: «he ocultado».

Frequently asked questions

Is ocultar regular or irregular?

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

What are the gerund and past participle of ocultar?

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

How do I say «I hide» in Spanish?

Say «Yo oculto 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 ocultar?

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

When do I use the subjunctive with ocultar?

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

How do I use ocultar in the present perfect?

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

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