Palpar Conjugation in Spanish
palpar is the Spanish verb for «to feel, to touch». As a regular -ar verb verb it follows the -ar endings, and the tables on this page list every form so you never have to guess. You will find the present, the past tenses, the future, the conditional, the perfect tenses, the subjunctive and the imperative, each with a short note on when to use it. Start with the present tense: «Yo palpo todos los días» — I feel every day. Then work down the page tense by tense, and finish with the quiz.
Quick facts
- Infinitive: palpar
- English: to feel, to touch
- Verb type: regular -ar verb
- Ending: -ar
- Gerund: palpando
- Past participle: palpado
- Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + palpado)
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for palpar, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for palpar. The imperfect subjunctive is shown in its -ra forms; the -se forms use the same stem.
Gerund: palpando · Past participle: palpado
Present Indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | palpo |
| tú | palpas |
| él/ella/Ud. | palpa |
| nosotros/as | palpamos |
| vosotros/as | palpáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | palpan |
The present is the tense you will use most with palpar. It covers daily routines, permanent facts and actions in progress. Learn the yo form palpo first, then the tú and él forms, which are the ones that change the stem in stem-changing verbs.
Preterite
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | palpé |
| tú | palpaste |
| él/ella/Ud. | palpó |
| nosotros/as | palpamos |
| vosotros/as | palpasteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | palparon |
The preterite of palpar reports what happened. «Ayer yo palpé 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 | palpaba |
| tú | palpabas |
| él/ella/Ud. | palpaba |
| nosotros/as | palpábamos |
| vosotros/as | palpabais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | palpaban |
The imperfect of palpar paints the background of a past scene: repeated actions, states and descriptions. «Antes, yo palpaba todos los días» is the pattern. Pair it with the preterite when one event interrupts another.
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | palparé |
| tú | palparás |
| él/ella/Ud. | palpará |
| nosotros/as | palparemos |
| vosotros/as | palparéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | palparán |
The future of palpar looks forward: what will happen tomorrow, next week or next year. «Mañana yo palparé sin falta» is the pattern. Remember that the future can also express probability about the present in Spanish.
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | palparía |
| tú | palparías |
| él/ella/Ud. | palparía |
| nosotros/as | palparíamos |
| vosotros/as | palparíais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | palparían |
The conditional of palpar is the tense of «would»: what you would do, what would happen, what you would like. «Si pudiera, yo palparía sin dudarlo» shows the pattern. It is built on the infinitive, just like the future.
Present Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he palpado |
| tú | has palpado |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha palpado |
| nosotros/as | hemos palpado |
| vosotros/as | habéis palpado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han palpado |
The present perfect of palpar says «have done»: the action is finished but its result still matters now. «Hoy yo he palpado dos veces» is the pattern. Learn the participle palpado well — every perfect tense depends on it.
Pluperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había palpado |
| tú | habías palpado |
| él/ella/Ud. | había palpado |
| nosotros/as | habíamos palpado |
| vosotros/as | habíais palpado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían palpado |
The pluperfect of palpar steps one event further back than the preterite. «Antes de salir, yo había palpado» is the pattern: first this happened, then the story moved on. It is haber in the imperfect plus palpado.
Future Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré palpado |
| tú | habrás palpado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá palpado |
| nosotros/as | habremos palpado |
| vosotros/as | habréis palpado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán palpado |
The future perfect of palpar combines the future of haber with palpado. «Para el viernes, yo habré palpado ya» is the pattern. Use it when the completion matters more than the action itself.
Conditional Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría palpado |
| tú | habrías palpado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría palpado |
| nosotros/as | habríamos palpado |
| vosotros/as | habríais palpado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían palpado |
The conditional perfect of palpar is the tense of «would have done». «Yo habría palpado si hubiera podido» is the pattern. It is built from haber in the conditional plus palpado.
Present Subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | palpe |
| tú | palpes |
| él/ella/Ud. | palpe |
| nosotros/as | palpemos |
| vosotros/as | palpéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | palpen |
The present subjunctive of palpar is the mood of what is wished, doubted or demanded rather than stated as fact. «Espero que tú palpes» is the pattern. If the trigger is in the past, switch to the imperfect subjunctive instead.
Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra forms)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | palpara |
| tú | palparas |
| él/ella/Ud. | palpara |
| nosotros/as | palpáramos |
| vosotros/as | palparais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | palparan |
The imperfect subjunctive of palpar handles the hypothetical past and the polite conditional. «Ojalá yo palpara 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 | palpa |
| él/ella/Ud. | palpe |
| nosotros/as | palpemos |
| vosotros/as | palpad |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | palpen |
There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.
The affirmative imperative of palpar is for orders and instructions. «¡palpa, por favor!» is the pattern. Remember there is no yo form in the imperative, and the nosotros form doubles as a suggestion: «¡palpemos!» means «let's do it».
Imperative — Negative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | palpes |
| él/ella/Ud. | palpe |
| nosotros/as | palpemos |
| vosotros/as | palpéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | palpen |
There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.
The negative imperative of palpar is built on the present subjunctive: «¡No palpes!». Learn it as a set with the subjunctive table above, and never follow no with the affirmative command form.
Example sentences
- Yo palpo todos los días. — I feel every day.
- Ayer yo palpé por la tarde. — Yesterday I felt in the afternoon.
- Antes, yo palpaba todos los días. — In the past, I used to feel every day.
- Mañana yo palparé sin falta. — Tomorrow I will feel without fail.
- Si tuviera más tiempo, yo palparía ahora mismo. — If I had more time, I would feel right now.
- Hoy yo he palpado dos veces. — Today I have felt twice.
- Espero que tú palpes pronto. — I hope You feel soon.
- Si yo palpara, todo sería distinto. — If I felt, everything would be different.
- Ahora mismo yo estoy palpando. — Right now I am feeling.
- ¡palpa, por favor! — Feel, please!
Common mistakes
1. Using the imperfect for a finished event
Wrong: Ayer yo palpaba.
Right: Ayer yo palpé.
Yesterday's finished action needs the preterite, palpé. The imperfect palpaba 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 palpas.
Right: Espero que tú palpes.
After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: palpes, not the indicative palpas. Wishes, hopes and doubts all trigger this change.
3. Using the affirmative imperative after no
Wrong: No palpa.
Right: No palpes.
Negative commands use the subjunctive-based forms: no palpes. The affirmative palpa can never follow no.
4. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
Wrong: Yo palpar todos los días.
Right: Yo palpo todos los días.
The infinitive palpar names the action; it never works as the main verb of a sentence. Conjugate it for the person: yo palpo.
5. Confusing the gerund with the past participle
Wrong: He palpando.
Right: He palpado.
The perfect tenses use haber plus the past participle: he palpado. The gerund palpando goes with estar for actions in progress («Estoy palpando»), never with haber.
Quiz
Test yourself on the forms above. Choose the correct answer, then check the key below.
1. What is the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of palpar in the present indicative?
- (a) palpan
- (b) palpo
- (c) palpa
- (d) palpas
2. What is the yo form of palpar in the preterite?
- (a) palpé
- (b) palpó
- (c) palpamos
- (d) palpaste
3. What is the tú form of palpar in the imperfect?
- (a) palpaba
- (b) palpaba
- (c) palpábamos
- (d) palpabas
4. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of palpar in the future?
- (a) palparás
- (b) palparé
- (c) palparemos
- (d) palpará
5. What is the nosotros/as form of palpar in the conditional?
- (a) palparía
- (b) palparía
- (c) palparías
- (d) palparíamos
6. What is the vosotros/as form of palpar in the present perfect?
- (a) he palpado
- (b) habéis palpado
- (c) ha palpado
- (d) has palpado
7. What is the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of palpar in the present subjunctive?
- (a) palpes
- (b) palpe
- (c) palpen
- (d) palpe
8. What is the yo form of palpar in the imperfect subjunctive (-ra forms)?
- (a) palpara
- (b) palparas
- (c) palpáramos
- (d) palpara
9. What is the gerund of palpar?
- (a) palpado
- (b) palpar
- (c) palpando
- (d) palpo
10. What is the past participle of palpar?
- (a) palpado
- (b) palpar
- (c) palpé
- (d) palpando
Answer key
1. (a) — In the present indicative, the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of palpar is palpan. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 2. (a) — In the preterite, the yo form of palpar is palpé. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 3. (d) — In the imperfect, the tú form of palpar is palpabas. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 4. (d) — In the future, the él/ella/Ud. form of palpar is palpará. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 5. (d) — In the conditional, the nosotros/as form of palpar is palparíamos. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 6. (b) — In the present perfect, the vosotros/as form of palpar is habéis palpado. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 7. (c) — In the present subjunctive, the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of palpar is palpen. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 8. (a) — In the imperfect subjunctive (-ra forms), the yo form of palpar is palpara. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 9. (c) — The gerund of palpar is palpando. It is used with estar for the progressive: «Estoy palpando». 10. (a) — The past participle of palpar is palpado. It follows haber in all the perfect tenses: «he palpado».
Frequently asked questions
Is palpar regular or irregular?
Yes — palpar is a regular -ar verb. Learn the endings once and they work in every tense, with the stem palp unchanged throughout.
What are the gerund and past participle of palpar?
The gerund is palpando and the past participle is palpado. Use the gerund with estar for actions in progress («Estoy palpando») and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses («he palpado»).
How do I say «I feel» in Spanish?
Say «Yo palpo 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 palpar?
Use the preterite (palpé) for a single finished event and the imperfect (palpaba) for habits and background. «Ayer yo palpé» reports something that happened and ended; «Antes, yo palpaba» describes what used to happen.
When do I use the subjunctive with palpar?
Use the subjunctive after wishes, doubts, emotions and impersonal expressions — for example «Espero que tú palpes». The trigger sits in the main clause; once it is there, the subjunctive form is required, not a stylistic choice.
How do I use palpar in the present perfect?
Put haber in the present before the past participle: «Hoy yo he palpado». The participle palpado never changes for person — only haber changes — so once you know the participle, the whole perfect tense follows.
Related links
- Practise this verb in one tense: palpar-present-tense
- More examples and a quiz: palpar-examples-and-quiz
- Browse all Spanish verbs: /spanish/
- Related verb: pactar
- Related verb: participar
- Related verb: originar
- Conjugate any verb: verb-conjugator
- Test yourself: verb-quiz