Introduction

reclamar means “to claim, to demand”. It belongs to the group of Spanish verbs that express “to claim, to demand”, and once you can conjugate it you can say a surprising amount with a single verb. This page is the complete reference for reclamar: every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle, with notes on usage, real example sentences, common mistakes, a quiz and frequently asked questions. reclamar is a regular -ar verb. If it is irregular in a tense, the note under that table says so plainly, and the forms in the table are the correct ones — copy them, do not guess them from the infinitive. A first example to fix the verb in your mind: “Yo reclamo el dinero todos los días.” — “I claim the money.”

Quick facts
Infinitive reclamar
English to claim, to demand
Verb type Regular -ar verb
Gerund reclamando
Past participle reclamado
Auxiliary verb haber

Full conjugation tables

Gerund: reclamando · Past participle: reclamado

Present Indicative

Person Form
yo reclamo
tú reclamas
él/ella/Ud. reclama
nosotros/as reclamamos
vosotros/as reclamáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. reclaman

The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For reclamar, the yo form is reclamo, as in “Yo reclamo el dinero.” — “I claim the money.”

Preterite

Person Form
yo reclamé
tú reclamaste
él/ella/Ud. reclamó
nosotros/as reclamamos
vosotros/as reclamasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. reclamaron

The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. For reclamar, the yo form is reclamé, as in “Yo reclamé el dinero.” — “I claimed the money.”

Imperfect

Person Form
yo reclamaba
tú reclamabas
él/ella/Ud. reclamaba
nosotros/as reclamábamos
vosotros/as reclamabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. reclamaban

The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. For reclamar, the yo form is reclamaba, as in “Yo reclamaba el dinero.” — “I used to claim the money.”

Future

Person Form
yo reclamaré
tú reclamarás
él/ella/Ud. reclamará
nosotros/as reclamaremos
vosotros/as reclamaréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. reclamarán

The future tense states what will happen. It is also used for predictions and promises. For reclamar, the yo form is reclamaré, as in “Yo reclamaré el dinero.” — “I will claim the money.”

Conditional

Person Form
yo reclamaría
tú reclamarías
él/ella/Ud. reclamaría
nosotros/as reclamaríamos
vosotros/as reclamaríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. reclamarían

The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. For reclamar, the yo form is reclamaría, as in “Yo reclamaría el dinero.” — “I would claim the money.”

Present Perfect

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

The present perfect connects the past with the present: something that has happened, often today or recently. For reclamar, the yo form is he reclamado, as in “Yo he reclamado el dinero.” — “I have claimed the money.”

Pluperfect

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

The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event. For reclamar, the yo form is había reclamado, as in “Yo había reclamado el dinero.” — “I had claimed the money.”

Future Perfect

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

The future perfect describes something that will already be finished by a future moment. For reclamar, the yo form is habré reclamado, as in “Yo habré reclamado el dinero.” — “I will have claimed the money.”

Conditional Perfect

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

The conditional perfect describes what would have happened under different conditions. For reclamar, the yo form is habría reclamado, as in “Yo habría reclamado el dinero.” — “I would have claimed the money.”

Present Subjunctive

Person Form
yo reclame
tú reclames
él/ella/Ud. reclame
nosotros/as reclamemos
vosotros/as reclaméis
ellos/ellas/Uds. reclamen

The present subjunctive is used after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and influence. For reclamar, the yo form is reclame, as in “Espero que yo reclame el dinero.” — “I hope that I claim the money.”

Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra)

Person Form
yo reclamara
tú reclamaras
él/ella/Ud. reclamara
nosotros/as reclamáramos
vosotros/as reclamarais
ellos/ellas/Uds. reclamaran

The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past versions of subjunctive clauses, and after "si" in hypothetical sentences. For reclamar, the yo form is reclamara, as in “Si yo reclamara el dinero, ...” — “If I claimed the money, ...”

The -se variant of this tense follows the same pattern with -se instead of -ra: reclamara becomes reclamase, and the same change applies to every person. Both variants mean the same thing; -ra is more common in everyday speech.

Imperative (affirmative)

Person Form
tú reclama
Ud. reclame
nosotros/as reclamemos
vosotros/as reclamad
Uds. reclamen

Imperative (negative)

Person Form
tú reclames
Ud. reclame
nosotros/as reclamemos
vosotros/as reclaméis
Uds. reclamen

The imperative is for orders, requests and advice. The affirmative tú form is reclama, as in “¡Reclama el dinero” — “Claim the money” For the negative imperative, Spanish uses the subjunctive forms: no reclames. Note that the affirmative and negative forms differ, so check the table above before you give an order with reclamar.

Example sentences

Here are ten sentences with reclamar, covering different tenses and persons. Read each one out loud, then read the translation, and notice how the verb form changes while the meaning stays the same.

  1. “Yo reclamo el dinero cada día.” — “I claim the money.”
  2. “Él reclama el dinero todos los días.” — “He claims the money.”
  3. “Yo reclamé el dinero ayer.” — “I claimed the money.”
  4. “Él reclamó el dinero ayer.” — “He claimed the money.”
  5. “Yo reclamaba el dinero cuando era joven.” — “I used to claim the money.”
  6. “Nosotros reclamaremos el dinero mañana.” — “We will claim the money.”
  7. “Si pudiera, yo reclamaría el dinero.” — “If I could, i would claim the money.”
  8. “Yo he reclamado el dinero hoy.” — “I have claimed the money.”
  9. “Espero que yo reclame el dinero.” — “I hope that I claim the money.”
  10. “estoy reclamando el dinero ahora mismo.” — “I am claiming the money.”

Common mistakes

Forgetting the accent in the preterite

The yo preterite form is reclamé, with an accent on the stressed vowel. Writing it without the accent — reclame — is a spelling error, and in speech the stress lands in the wrong place. Preterite yo forms that end in a vowel carry that accent, so check it every time you write the preterite of reclamar.

Mixing up present and preterite nosotros

For reclamar, the nosotros form is the same in the present and the preterite: reclamamos. Only the context tells you which tense is meant, so pay attention to the time words around it — cada día points to the present, ayer points to the preterite. Do not invent a different form for one of the tenses.

Using ser instead of haber in perfect tenses

Spanish perfect tenses always use haber, never ser: yo he reclamado el dinero. English speakers sometimes reach for soy because English uses to be in some passives, but soy reclamado is not the present perfect of reclamar — it is a passive construction with a different meaning.

Confusing reclamar with recuperar

reclamar and recuperar look similar, and learners mix them up. They are different verbs with different meanings, so check which one the sentence needs before you conjugate. If you can substitute the English meaning of reclamar — claim — the sentence needs reclamar; if it needs the meaning of recuperar, use that verb instead.

Using the indicative after "espero que"

After espero que (I hope that), Spanish needs the subjunctive: Espero que yo reclame el dinero. Using the indicative — Espero que yo reclamo — is one of the most frequent learner errors with reclamar. Whenever the main clause expresses a wish, doubt or emotion, switch to the subjunctive.

Quiz

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

1. What is the yo form of reclamar in the present?

  • A. reclamas
  • B. reclama
  • C. reclamamos
  • D. reclamo

2. What is the tu form of reclamar in the preterite?

  • A. reclamamos
  • B. reclamaste
  • C. reclamé
  • D. reclamó

3. What is the el form of reclamar in the imperfect?

  • A. reclamabas
  • B. reclamábamos
  • C. reclamabais
  • D. reclamaba

4. What is the nosotros form of reclamar in the future?

  • A. reclamará
  • B. reclamaremos
  • C. reclamaré
  • D. reclamarás

5. What is the vosotros form of reclamar in the present perfect?

  • A. he reclamado
  • B. has reclamado
  • C. ha reclamado
  • D. habéis reclamado

6. What is the ellos form of reclamar in the present subjunctive?

  • A. reclame
  • B. reclamen
  • C. reclame
  • D. reclames

7. What is the yo form of reclamar in the preterite?

  • A. reclamaste
  • B. reclamó
  • C. reclamamos
  • D. reclamé

8. What is the tu form of reclamar in the imperfect?

  • A. reclamábamos
  • B. reclamabas
  • C. reclamaba
  • D. reclamaba

9. What is the el form of reclamar in the future?

  • A. reclamaré
  • B. reclamarás
  • C. reclamaremos
  • D. reclamará

10. What is the nosotros form of reclamar in the conditional?

  • A. reclamaría
  • B. reclamaríamos
  • C. reclamaría
  • D. reclamarías

Answer key

  1. reclamo — The present table gives yo = reclamo.
  2. reclamaste — The preterite table gives tu = reclamaste.
  3. reclamaba — The imperfect table gives el = reclamaba.
  4. reclamaremos — The future table gives nosotros = reclamaremos.
  5. habéis reclamado — The present perfect table gives vosotros = habéis reclamado.
  6. reclamen — The present subjunctive table gives ellos = reclamen.
  7. reclamé — The preterite table gives yo = reclamé.
  8. reclamabas — The imperfect table gives tu = reclamabas.
  9. reclamará — The future table gives el = reclamará.
  10. reclamaríamos — The conditional table gives nosotros = reclamaríamos.

Frequently asked questions

Is reclamar regular or irregular?

reclamar is a regular -ar verb. It follows the regular patterns for its ending in every tense. The tables on this page show the correct form for every person, so use them rather than guessing.

What is the past participle of reclamar?

The past participle of reclamar is reclamado. You use it with haber in the perfect tenses — he reclamado, había reclamado, habré reclamado — and after estar in passive-style descriptions. It is the regular participle for its verb class. Learn it together with the gerund reclamando and you have the two non-finite forms covered.

What is the gerund of reclamar?

The gerund of reclamar is reclamando. You use it with estar to describe an action in progress, as in estoy reclamando, and after verbs such as seguir and ir. Keep it distinct from the past participle reclamado, which belongs with haber, not with estar.

What is the yo form of reclamar in the present?

The yo form is reclamo — “Yo reclamo el dinero.” means “I claim the money.” That is the form you will use most often when you talk about yourself. For other persons, use the present table above: tú reclamas, él reclama, nosotros reclamamos, ellos reclaman.

What is the difference between reclamar and recuperar?

reclamar means “to claim, to demand”, while recuperar means “to recover, to get back”. They share letters and sometimes a root, but they are different verbs. If your sentence means “to claim, to demand”, use reclamar; if it is about the meaning of recuperar, use recuperar instead. Checking the English meaning first prevents most mix-ups.

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