Participar Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb participar means to participate, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. It is a regular -ar verb verb: the stem is particip and the endings follow the -ar pattern, with the exceptions noted in the tables below. 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 «Yo participo todos los días», which means «I participate every day». 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: participar
  • English: to participate
  • Verb type: regular -ar verb
  • Ending: -ar
  • Gerund: participando
  • Past participle: participado
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + participado)

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

Full conjugation tables

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

Gerund: participando · Past participle: participado

Present Indicative

Person Form
yo participo
tú participas
él/ella/Ud. participa
nosotros/as participamos
vosotros/as participáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. participan

Use the present of participar for things that happen regularly and for things that are true in general. The yo form participo is the anchor of the table: the other persons follow the regular -ar endings from it. When you talk about yourself right now, this is the form you need.

Preterite

Person Form
yo participé
tú participaste
él/ella/Ud. participó
nosotros/as participamos
vosotros/as participasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. participaron

Use the preterite of participar for a single finished event: something that happened once and is over. The yo form is participé. If you can put a finished time expression with it — ayer, la semana pasada, anoche — the preterite is usually right.

Imperfect

Person Form
yo participaba
tú participabas
él/ella/Ud. participaba
nosotros/as participábamos
vosotros/as participabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. participaban

Use the imperfect of participar for what used to happen and for what was going on when something else happened. The yo form is participaba. If the action has no clear beginning or end in the story, the imperfect is the right choice.

Future

Person Form
yo participaré
tú participarás
él/ella/Ud. participará
nosotros/as participaremos
vosotros/as participaréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. participarán

Use the future of participar for plans, promises and predictions. The yo form is participaré, built on the infinitive plus the future endings. For a firm plan, the future sounds more formal than ir a + infinitive; for a casual plan, either works.

Conditional

Person Form
yo participaría
tú participarías
él/ella/Ud. participaría
nosotros/as participaríamos
vosotros/as participaríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. participarían

Use the conditional of participar for hypothetical situations and for softening requests. The yo form is participaría. It appears after si-clauses with the imperfect subjunctive and on its own for polite suggestions.

Present Perfect

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

Use the present perfect of participar for recent events with present relevance. The yo form is he participado — haber in the present plus participado. Time expressions like hoy, esta semana and últimamente are its natural partners.

Pluperfect

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

Use the pluperfect of participar when you need two layers of past: one event already finished before another past event began. The yo form is había participado. It is the tense of «had already done».

Future Perfect

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

Use the future perfect of participar to say that something will be finished by a future moment. The yo form is habré participado. It pairs naturally with deadlines: para mañana, para el viernes, para entonces.

Conditional Perfect

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

Use the conditional perfect of participar for the past that did not happen: what would have been done with more time or a different choice. The yo form is habría participado. It follows si-clauses with the pluperfect subjunctive.

Present Subjunctive

Person Form
yo participe
tú participes
él/ella/Ud. participe
nosotros/as participemos
vosotros/as participéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. participen

Use the present subjunctive of participar when the main clause expresses a wish, a doubt, an emotion or an impersonal judgement. The yo form is participe. After espero que, ojalá que and no creo que, the subjunctive is required, not optional.

Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra forms)

Person Form
yo participara
tú participaras
él/ella/Ud. participara
nosotros/as participáramos
vosotros/as participarais
ellos/ellas/Uds. participaran

Use the imperfect subjunctive of participar after past-tense wishes and doubts, and in si-clauses that set up a hypothetical present. The yo form is participara. It is built on the third-person plural preterite stem, which is why it looks different from the present subjunctive.

Imperative — Affirmative

Person Form
tú participa
él/ella/Ud. participe
nosotros/as participemos
vosotros/as participad
ellos/ellas/Uds. participen

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

Use the affirmative imperative of participar to tell someone to do something: instructions, invitations and requests. The tú form is participa. For a polite command, use the usted form participe instead of the tú form.

Imperative — Negative

Person Form
tú participes
él/ella/Ud. participe
nosotros/as participemos
vosotros/as participéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. participen

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

Use the negative imperative of participar to forbid or to warn: «¡No participes!». The tú form is participes, taken from the present subjunctive. The word no always comes first, and the form never changes for emphasis.

Example sentences

  1. Yo participo todos los días. — I participate every day.
  2. Ayer yo participé por la tarde. — Yesterday I participated in the afternoon.
  3. Antes, yo participaba todos los días. — In the past, I used to participate every day.
  4. Mañana yo participaré sin falta. — Tomorrow I will participate without fail.
  5. Si tuviera más tiempo, yo participaría ahora mismo. — If I had more time, I would participate right now.
  6. Hoy yo he participado dos veces. — Today I have participated twice.
  7. Espero que tú participes pronto. — I hope You participate soon.
  8. Si yo participara, todo sería distinto. — If I participated, everything would be different.
  9. Ahora mismo yo estoy participando. — Right now I am participating.
  10. ¡participa, por favor! — Participate, please!

Common mistakes

1. Using the imperfect for a finished event

Wrong: Ayer yo participaba.

Right: Ayer yo participé.

Yesterday's finished action needs the preterite, participé. The imperfect participaba 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 participas.

Right: Espero que tú participes.

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

3. Using the affirmative imperative after no

Wrong: No participa.

Right: No participes.

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

4. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

Wrong: Yo participar todos los días.

Right: Yo participo todos los días.

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

5. Confusing the gerund with the past participle

Wrong: He participando.

Right: He participado.

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

Quiz

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

1. What is the tú form of participar in the present indicative?

- (a) participas
- (b) participamos
- (c) participo
- (d) participa

2. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of participar in the preterite?

- (a) participé
- (b) participaste
- (c) participamos
- (d) participó

3. What is the nosotros/as form of participar in the imperfect?

- (a) participábamos
- (b) participabas
- (c) participaba
- (d) participaba

4. What is the vosotros/as form of participar in the future?

- (a) participaré
- (b) participaréis
- (c) participará
- (d) participarás

5. What is the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of participar in the conditional?

- (a) participaría
- (b) participaría
- (c) participarían
- (d) participarías

6. What is the yo form of participar in the present perfect?

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

7. What is the tú form of participar in the present subjunctive?

- (a) participe
- (b) participemos
- (c) participes
- (d) participe

8. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of participar in the imperfect subjunctive (-ra forms)?

- (a) participáramos
- (b) participaras
- (c) participara
- (d) participara

9. What is the gerund of participar?

- (a) participo
- (b) participado
- (c) participando
- (d) participar

10. What is the past participle of participar?

- (a) participé
- (b) participar
- (c) participando
- (d) participado

Answer key

1. (a) — In the present indicative, the tú form of participar is participas. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 2. (d) — In the preterite, the él/ella/Ud. form of participar is participó. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 3. (a) — In the imperfect, the nosotros/as form of participar is participábamos. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 4. (b) — In the future, the vosotros/as form of participar is participaréis. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 5. (c) — In the conditional, the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of participar is participarían. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 6. (d) — In the present perfect, the yo form of participar is he participado. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 7. (c) — In the present subjunctive, the tú form of participar is participes. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 8. (c) — In the imperfect subjunctive (-ra forms), the él/ella/Ud. form of participar is participara. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 9. (c) — The gerund of participar is participando. It is used with estar for the progressive: «Estoy participando». 10. (d) — The past participle of participar is participado. It follows haber in all the perfect tenses: «he participado».

Frequently asked questions

Is participar regular or irregular?

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

What are the gerund and past participle of participar?

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

How do I say «I participate» in Spanish?

Say «Yo participo 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 participar?

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

When do I use the subjunctive with participar?

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

How do I use participar in the present perfect?

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

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