Picar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of picar — "to chop, to sting" in English — is the form you need for what happens now, for habits and for general truths. This page gives you the full present conjugation table for picar with all six persons, explains exactly how the tense is formed for this verb, shows when to use it with real examples, and finishes with a quiz so you can test yourself. Picar means to chop or to sting, and it covers chopping onions into small pieces, a bee stinging, food being spicy and, in Spain, snacking between meals. The chopping sense is the one learners meet first in recipes. To see it in a real sentence: Él pica la cebolla en trozos pequeños. — "He/she chops the onion into small pieces." Work through the table below, then the formation notes, the usage rules and the contrast with the preterite, and test yourself at the end.

Present tense conjugation table: picar

Every person of picar in the present tense. The gerund is picando and the past participle is picado.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo pico
tú picas
él/ella/Ud. pica
nosotros/as picamos
vosotros/as picáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. pican

How the present indicative of picar is formed

The present indicative of picar is built from the stem pic- plus the present endings for -ar verbs. Take the infinitive, drop the -ar ending, and add the ending that matches the person. The table below shows the endings, and the full table above shows them attached to the stem.

Person Ending Form
yo -o pico
tú -as picas
él/ella/Ud. -a pica
nosotros/as -amos picamos
vosotros/as -áis picáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -an pican

picar is a spelling-change verb: c becomes qu before e. That is why the written form changes in some persons — the sound stays the same, and only the spelling adapts. In this tense, watch the first-person form pico in particular.

The gerund of picar is picando and the past participle is picado. Both are regular for this verb, and the participle is the form you need for all the perfect tenses with haber.

When to use the present tense of picar

The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and picar appears in all of them. The five uses below are the ones you will meet most often, each with an example that shows the verb in a natural sentence.

Habits and routines

The present tense describes things you do regularly. If you do it every day, every week or every morning, the present is the tense to use. For picar, this use looks like this: "Yo pico la cebolla en trozos pequeños." — "I chop the onion into small pieces." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

General facts

The present tense states facts that are generally true, not tied to one moment. It is the tense for definitions and permanent situations. For picar, this use looks like this: "Él pica el ajo para la salsa." — "He/she chops the garlic for the sauce." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

What is happening now

The present tense also covers what is happening at this moment, especially with verbs that describe an action in progress. For picar, this use looks like this: "Nosotros picamos los pimientos para la ensalada." — "We chop the peppers for the salad." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

Timetables and schedules

The present tense is used for fixed plans and timetables, such as trains, classes and opening times, even when they refer to the future. For picar, this use looks like this: "Ellos pican un poco de jamón antes de comer." — "They chop a little ham before eating." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

Instructions and requests

The present tense appears in instructions and polite requests, where it sounds softer than a direct command. For picar, this use looks like this: "Tú picas la cebolla en trozos pequeños." — "You chop the onion into small pieces." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

The present tense vs the preterite

Learners often mix up the present and the preterite with picar. The rule is simple: the present is for habits, facts and what is happening now, while the preterite is for one finished action in the past. The three pairs below show the same idea in both tenses, so you can feel the difference.

Pair 1: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Yo pico la cebolla en trozos pequeños." — "I chop the onion into small pieces."
  • Preterite: "Yo piqué la cebolla en trozos pequeños." — "I chopped the onion into small pieces." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Pair 2: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Él pica el ajo para la salsa." — "He/she chops the garlic for the sauce."
  • Preterite: "Él picó el ajo para la salsa." — "He/she chopped the garlic for the sauce." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Pair 3: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Nosotros picamos los pimientos para la ensalada." — "We chop the peppers for the salad."
  • Preterite: "Nosotros picamos los pimientos para la ensalada." — "We chopped the peppers for the salad." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Example sentences in the present tense

Eight natural sentences with picar in the present tense only. Each one uses a form from the table above.

  1. Yo pico la cebolla en trozos pequeños. — I chop the onion into small pieces.
  2. Tú picas el ajo para la salsa. — You chop the garlic for the sauce.
  3. Él pica los pimientos para la ensalada. — He/she chops the peppers for the salad.
  4. Nosotros picamos un poco de jamón antes de comer. — We chop a little ham before eating.
  5. Vosotros picáis la cebolla en trozos pequeños. — You all chop the onion into small pieces.
  6. Ellos pican el ajo para la salsa. — They chop the garlic for the sauce.
  7. Yo pico los pimientos para la ensalada. — I chop the peppers for the salad.
  8. Él pica un poco de jamón antes de comer. — He/she chops a little ham before eating.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Vosotros picais el ajo para la salsa. — Right: Vosotros picáis el ajo para la salsa. — The vosotros present form carries a written accent: picáis, not picais.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo pico los pimientos para la ensalada. — Right: Ayer, yo piqué los pimientos para la ensalada. — Ayer means yesterday, so it needs the preterite (piqué), not the present (pico). The present is for now, not for yesterday.
  3. Wrong: Yo pica la cebolla en trozos pequeños. — Right: Yo pico la cebolla en trozos pequeños. — The person matters: pica is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is pico.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy picado el ajo para la salsa. — Right: Yo he picado el ajo para la salsa. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he picado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.

Quiz: test yourself

Eight questions on the present tense of picar. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ la cebolla en trozos pequeños. (present tense) A. pico B. picas C. pica D. picamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ el ajo para la salsa. (present tense) A. picas B. pico C. pica D. picamos

  3. Complete the sentence: Él ___ los pimientos para la ensalada. (present tense) A. pica B. pico C. picas D. picamos

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ un poco de jamón antes de comer. (present tense) A. picamos B. pico C. picas D. pica

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros ___ la cebolla en trozos pequeños. (present tense) A. picáis B. pico C. picas D. pica

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ___ el ajo para la salsa. (present tense) A. pican B. pico C. picas D. pica

  7. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ los pimientos para la ensalada. (present tense) A. pico B. picas C. pica D. picamos

  8. Complete the sentence: Él ___ un poco de jamón antes de comer. (present tense) A. pica B. pico C. picas D. picamos

Answer key

  1. pico — The yo present form of picar is pico. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  2. picas — The tu present form of picar is picas. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  3. pica — The el present form of picar is pica. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  4. picamos — The nosotros present form of picar is picamos. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  5. picáis — The vosotros present form of picar is picáis. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  6. pican — The ellos present form of picar is pican. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  7. pico — The yo present form of picar is pico. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  8. pica — The el present form of picar is pica. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the present tense of picar?

Use the present tense of picar for habits, facts and what is happening now. For example: Yo pico la cebolla en trozos pequeños. — "I chop the onion into small pieces." The usage rules above give five situations with examples.

How is the present tense of picar formed?

Take the stem pic- and add the present endings for -ar verbs. The full table is at the top of this page. Remember the spelling change: c becomes qu before e.

What is the difference between the present and the preterite of picar?

The present describes a habit or a present fact, while the preterite describes a finished action. Compare Yo pico el ajo para la salsa. with Yo piqué el ajo para la salsa. — the verb is the same, but the time meaning changes.

How do I practise the present tense of picar?

Drill the six forms in the table above until you can say them without looking, then use the picar examples and quiz page for more sentences, and test yourself with the Picar conjugation page for the full picture across all tenses.

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