Operar Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb operar means to operate on, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. Operar 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 operar 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, in the present tense you say Yo opero a mi abuela — "I operate on my grandmother" — and in the preterite you say El lunes, yo operé — "On monday, I operated on". 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: operar
  • English: to operate on
  • Verb type: regular -ar verb
  • Ending: -ar
  • Gerund: operando
  • Past participle: operado
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + operado)

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

Full conjugation tables

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for operar. 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: operando · Past participle: operado

Present indicative

Person Form
yo opero
tú operas
él/ella/Ud. opera
nosotros/as operamos
vosotros/as operáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. operan

Preterite

Person Form
yo operé
tú operaste
él/ella/Ud. operó
nosotros/as operamos
vosotros/as operasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. operaron

Imperfect

Person Form
yo operaba
tú operabas
él/ella/Ud. operaba
nosotros/as operábamos
vosotros/as operabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. operaban

Future

Person Form
yo operaré
tú operarás
él/ella/Ud. operará
nosotros/as operaremos
vosotros/as operaréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. operarán

Conditional

Person Form
yo operaría
tú operarías
él/ella/Ud. operaría
nosotros/as operaríamos
vosotros/as operaríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. operarían

Present perfect

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

Pluperfect

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

Future perfect

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

Conditional perfect

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

Present subjunctive

Person Form
yo opere
tú operes
él/ella/Ud. opere
nosotros/as operemos
vosotros/as operéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. operen

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

Person Form
yo operara
tú operaras
él/ella/Ud. operara
nosotros/as operáramos
vosotros/as operarais
ellos/ellas/Uds. operaran

Imperative (affirmative)

Person Form
tú opera
él/ella/Ud. opere
nosotros/as operemos
vosotros/as operad
ellos/ellas/Uds. operen

Imperative (negative)

Person Form
tú operes
él/ella/Ud. opere
nosotros/as operemos
vosotros/as operéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. operen

Gerund and past participle

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

How to use each tense

Present indicative

Use the present for routines, general facts and what is happening right now. It is the tense you will use most often in everyday conversation, for habits with words like todos los días and for statements that are true in general. For operar, the present indicative looks like this in a real sentence: El lunes, yo opero — "On monday, I operate on". Learn the present indicative 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 in the past — things that started and ended, often with time words like ayer, anoche or la semana pasada. The preterite moves a story forward, one completed event at a time. For operar, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Yo operé en el hospital — "I operated on in the hospital". 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 words like antes, de niño or mientras. It describes how things used to be, not one finished event. For operar, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo operaba a mi abuela — "I used to operate on my grandmother". 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. It talks about what will happen, not what is happening now. For operar, the future looks like this in a real sentence: El lunes, yo operaré — "On monday, I will operate on". 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 in si clauses. It softens a request and describes imagined situations. For operar, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Yo operaría en el hospital — "I would operate on in the hospital". 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. It connects the past with the present moment. For operar, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo he operado a mi abuela — "I have operated on my grandmother". 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. It is the past of the past, and it usually appears with antes de or ya. For operar, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: El lunes, yo había operado — "On monday, I had operated on". 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, often with para mañana or para el viernes. For operar, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo habré operado en el hospital — "I will have operated on in the hospital". 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. It looks back at a past that never happened. For operar, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo habría operado a mi abuela — "I would have operated on my grandmother". 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. The subjunctive does not state a fact; it states an attitude towards the action. For operar, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él opere el lunes — "I hope he operates on on Monday". 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 operar, the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) looks like this in a real sentence: Si yo operara en el hospital, todo cambiaría — "If I operated on in the hospital, everything would change". Learn the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) 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. It tells someone to do something, and it has no yo form. For operar, the imperative (affirmative) looks like this in a real sentence: Opere a mi abuela — "Let him operate on my grandmother". Learn the imperative (affirmative) 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. It uses the subjunctive forms, so it looks different from the affirmative commands. For operar, the imperative (negative) looks like this in a real sentence: No operes el lunes — "Don't operate on on Monday". Learn the imperative (negative) 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 operar, covering different tenses and persons. Each one uses a form from the tables above.

  1. Yo opero en el hospital — "I operate on in the hospital"
  2. Él opera a mi abuela — "He operates on my grandmother"
  3. El lunes, yo operé — "On monday, I operated on"
  4. Yo operaba en el hospital — "I used to operate on in the hospital"
  5. Tú operarás a mi abuela — "You will operate on my grandmother"
  6. El lunes, yo operaría — "On monday, I would operate on"
  7. Él ha operado en el hospital — "He has operated on in the hospital"
  8. Espero que él opere a mi abuela — "I hope he operates on my grandmother"
  9. El lunes, yo había operado — "On monday, I had operated on"
  10. Ellos operaban en el hospital — "They used to operate on in the hospital"

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Ellos opera a mi abuela — Right: Ellos operan a mi abuela — Ellos needs the ellos form operan. The singular opera belongs with él, ella or a singular noun.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo opero — Right: Ayer, yo operé — The present tense cannot describe a finished action yesterday. Ayer forces the preterite, so the form must change to operé.
  3. Wrong: De niño, yo operé todos los días. — Right: Todos los días, yo operaba — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (operaba), not the preterite. The preterite (operé) is for one finished action.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy operado el lunes. — Right: Yo he operado el lunes. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he operado, has operado, ha operado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  5. Wrong: Espero que él opera a mi abuela. — Right: Espero que él opere a mi abuela. — After espero que, Spanish needs the subjunctive: opere. The indicative opera is wrong here.

Quiz: test yourself

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

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ a mi abuela. (present tense) A. habrán operado B. habías operado C. opero D. operaban

  2. Complete the sentence: Él ___ a mi abuela. (preterite) A. operábamos B. habrías operado C. operó D. operaremos

  3. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ a mi abuela. (imperfect) A. opere B. operaron C. operábamos D. operara

  4. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ a mi abuela. (future) A. operas B. operarás C. ha operado D. operáramos

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ a mi abuela. (conditional) A. operaría B. hemos operado C. operabais D. operaremos

  6. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ___ a mi abuela. (present subjunctive) A. he operado B. operaría C. operarán D. opere

  7. Complete the sentence: Si yo ___ a mi abuela, todo cambiaría. (imperfect subjunctive, -ra form) A. operara B. operaste C. operarán D. habría operado

  8. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ a mi abuela. (present perfect) A. han operado B. operaréis C. hemos operado D. habríamos operado

  9. Complete the command: No ___ a mi abuela. (negative imperative, tú) A. operes B. operen C. opere D. operéis

  10. Which is the gerund of operar, used with estar for the progressive? A. operando B. operaré C. opero D. operado

Answer key

  1. opero — The yo present tense of operar is opero.
  2. operó — The él/ella/Ud. preterite of operar is operó.
  3. operábamos — The nosotros/as imperfect of operar is operábamos.
  4. operarás — The tú future of operar is operarás.
  5. operaría — The yo conditional of operar is operaría.
  6. opere — The él/ella/Ud. present subjunctive of operar is opere.
  7. operara — The yo imperfect subjunctive, -ra form of operar is operara.
  8. hemos operado — The nosotros/as present perfect of operar is hemos operado.
  9. operes — The negative tú imperative uses the present subjunctive form with no before it: operes.
  10. operando — The gerund of operar is operando: estoy operando. The participle operado is used with haber instead.

Frequently asked questions

What does operar mean in English?

Operar means to operate on. It is used in everyday situations such as Yo opero a mi abuela. The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

Is operar regular?

Yes. Operar is a regular -ar verb: opero, operas, opera. The only thing to learn is the pattern of endings, which is the same for every regular -ar verb.

What is the gerund and the past participle of operar?

The gerund is operando, used with estar for the progressive: estoy operando. The past participle is operado, used with haber in the perfect tenses: he operado.

How do I say “I operate on” in the past?

It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: El lunes, yo operé. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Yo operaba en el hospital. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Yo he operado a mi abuela.

How do I practise operar?

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

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