Roncar Conjugation in Spanish
The Spanish verb roncar means to snore, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. Roncar is a spelling-changing -ar (c → qu before e) verb, so the tables below show you exactly how it behaves in every tense. It has a spelling change (c → qu before e), which keeps the pronunciation of the stem the same when the ending changes. On this page you will find the full conjugation of roncar 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 ronco toda la noche — "I snore all night" — and in the preterite you say Yo ronqué muy fuerte — "I snored very loudly". 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: roncar
- English: to snore
- Verb type: spelling-changing -ar (c → qu before e) verb
- Ending: -ar
- Gerund: roncando
- Past participle: roncado
- Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + roncado)
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for roncar, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for roncar. 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: roncando · Past participle: roncado
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | ronco |
| tú | roncas |
| él/ella/Ud. | ronca |
| nosotros/as | roncamos |
| vosotros/as | roncáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | roncan |
Preterite
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | ronqué |
| tú | roncaste |
| él/ella/Ud. | roncó |
| nosotros/as | roncamos |
| vosotros/as | roncasteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | roncaron |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | roncaba |
| tú | roncabas |
| él/ella/Ud. | roncaba |
| nosotros/as | roncábamos |
| vosotros/as | roncabais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | roncaban |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | roncaré |
| tú | roncarás |
| él/ella/Ud. | roncará |
| nosotros/as | roncaremos |
| vosotros/as | roncaréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | roncarán |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | roncaría |
| tú | roncarías |
| él/ella/Ud. | roncaría |
| nosotros/as | roncaríamos |
| vosotros/as | roncaríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | roncarían |
Present perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he roncado |
| tú | has roncado |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha roncado |
| nosotros/as | hemos roncado |
| vosotros/as | habéis roncado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han roncado |
Pluperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había roncado |
| tú | habías roncado |
| él/ella/Ud. | había roncado |
| nosotros/as | habíamos roncado |
| vosotros/as | habíais roncado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían roncado |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré roncado |
| tú | habrás roncado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá roncado |
| nosotros/as | habremos roncado |
| vosotros/as | habréis roncado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán roncado |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría roncado |
| tú | habrías roncado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría roncado |
| nosotros/as | habríamos roncado |
| vosotros/as | habríais roncado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían roncado |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | ronque |
| tú | ronques |
| él/ella/Ud. | ronque |
| nosotros/as | ronquemos |
| vosotros/as | ronquéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | ronquen |
Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | roncara |
| tú | roncaras |
| él/ella/Ud. | roncara |
| nosotros/as | roncáramos |
| vosotros/as | roncarais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | roncaran |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | ronca |
| él/ella/Ud. | ronque |
| nosotros/as | ronquemos |
| vosotros/as | roncad |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | ronquen |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | ronques |
| él/ella/Ud. | ronque |
| nosotros/as | ronquemos |
| vosotros/as | ronquéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | ronquen |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | Spanish | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Gerund | roncando | with estar for the progressive: estoy roncando |
| Past participle | roncado | with haber for the perfect tenses: he roncado |
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 roncar, the present indicative looks like this in a real sentence: Yo ronco muy fuerte — "I snore very loudly". 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 roncar, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Yo ronqué en el sofá — "I snored on the sofa". 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. Spelling change in the preterite: the yo form is ronqué (c → qu before e), so the sound of the stem stays the same.
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 roncar, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo roncaba toda la noche — "I used to snore all night". 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 roncar, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Yo roncaré muy fuerte — "I will snore very loudly". 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 roncar, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Yo roncaría en el sofá — "I would snore on the sofa". 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 roncar, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo he roncado toda la noche — "I have snored all night". 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 roncar, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo había roncado muy fuerte — "I had snored very loudly". 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 roncar, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo habré roncado en el sofá — "I will have snored on the sofa". 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 roncar, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo habría roncado toda la noche — "I would have snored all night". 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 roncar, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él ronque muy fuerte — "I hope he snores very loudly". 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. The subjunctive keeps the spelling change: ronque, ronques, ronque all show c → qu before e, just like the preterite yo form.
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 roncar, the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) looks like this in a real sentence: Si yo roncara en el sofá, todo cambiaría — "If I snored on the sofa, 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 roncar, the imperative (affirmative) looks like this in a real sentence: Ronque toda la noche — "Let him snore all night". 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 roncar, the imperative (negative) looks like this in a real sentence: No ronques muy fuerte — "Don't snore very loudly". 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 roncar, covering different tenses and persons. Each one uses a form from the tables above.
- Yo ronco en el sofá — "I snore on the sofa"
- Él ronca toda la noche — "He snores all night"
- Yo ronqué muy fuerte — "I snored very loudly"
- Yo roncaba en el sofá — "I used to snore on the sofa"
- Tú roncarás toda la noche — "You will snore all night"
- Yo roncaría muy fuerte — "I would snore very loudly"
- Él ha roncado en el sofá — "He has snored on the sofa"
- Espero que él ronque toda la noche — "I hope he snores all night"
- Yo había roncado muy fuerte — "I had snored very loudly"
- Ellos roncaban en el sofá — "They used to snore on the sofa"
Common mistakes
- Wrong: Ellos ronca toda la noche — Right: Ellos roncan toda la noche — Ellos needs the ellos form roncan. The singular ronca belongs with él, ella or a singular noun.
- Wrong: Ayer, yo ronco — Right: Ayer, yo ronqué — The present tense cannot describe a finished action yesterday. Ayer forces the preterite, so the form must change to ronqué, with the spelling change c → qu before e.
- Wrong: De niño, yo ronqué todos los días. — Right: Todos los días, yo roncaba — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (roncaba), not the preterite. The preterite (ronqué) is for one finished action.
- Wrong: Yo soy roncado muy fuerte. — Right: Yo he roncado muy fuerte. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he roncado, has roncado, ha roncado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
- Wrong: Espero que él ronca toda la noche. — Right: Espero que él ronque toda la noche. — After espero que, Spanish needs the subjunctive: ronque. The indicative ronca is wrong here.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on roncar. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
Complete the sentence: Yo ___ toda la noche. (present tense) A. habrán roncado B. habréis roncado C. ronques D. ronco
Complete the sentence: Él ___ toda la noche. (preterite) A. roncan B. roncaban C. roncó D. roncaremos
Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ toda la noche. (imperfect) A. roncara B. roncábamos C. roncaréis D. roncó
Complete the sentence: Tú ___ toda la noche. (future) A. roncarás B. roncaré C. roncan D. ronques
Complete the sentence: Yo ___ toda la noche. (conditional) A. habíamos roncado B. habremos roncado C. roncaría D. ronquen
Complete the sentence: Espero que él ___ toda la noche. (present subjunctive) A. roncad B. ronque C. roncabais D. habré roncado
Complete the sentence: Si yo ___ toda la noche, todo cambiaría. (imperfect subjunctive, -ra form) A. roncara B. habríais roncado C. ronquen D. ronquéis
Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ toda la noche. (present perfect) A. hemos roncado B. han roncado C. habría roncado D. roncaban
Complete the command: No ___ toda la noche. (negative imperative, tú) A. ronques B. ronquen C. ronquemos D. ronque
Which is the gerund of roncar, used with estar for the progressive? A. roncado B. ronqué C. roncando D. ronco
Answer key
- ronco — The yo present tense of roncar is ronco.
- roncó — The él/ella/Ud. preterite of roncar is roncó.
- roncábamos — The nosotros/as imperfect of roncar is roncábamos.
- roncarás — The tú future of roncar is roncarás.
- roncaría — The yo conditional of roncar is roncaría.
- ronque — The él/ella/Ud. present subjunctive of roncar is ronque.
- roncara — The yo imperfect subjunctive, -ra form of roncar is roncara.
- hemos roncado — The nosotros/as present perfect of roncar is hemos roncado.
- ronques — The negative tú imperative uses the present subjunctive form with no before it: ronques.
- roncando — The gerund of roncar is roncando: estoy roncando. The participle roncado is used with haber instead.
Frequently asked questions
What does roncar mean in English?
Roncar means to snore. It is used in everyday situations such as Yo ronco toda la noche. The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.
Is roncar regular?
Mostly. Roncar follows the regular -ar endings, but it has a spelling change (c → qu before e). The tables on this page show every form, so you can see exactly where the spelling changes.
What is the gerund and the past participle of roncar?
The gerund is roncando, used with estar for the progressive: estoy roncando. The past participle is roncado, used with haber in the perfect tenses: he roncado.
How do I say “I snore” in the past?
It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: Yo ronqué muy fuerte. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Yo roncaba en el sofá. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Yo he roncado toda la noche.
How do I practise roncar?
Start with the present tense table, then drill the preterite and the imperfect, since those two past tenses cause the most mistakes. Try the roncar examples and quiz page for more sentences, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure.
Related links
- Roncar in the present tense — the full present-tense table for roncar.
- Roncar examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice for roncar.
- Spanish verbs — the Spanish hub, with every verb and tense guide.
- Rozar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with roncar.
- Sacrificar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with roncar.
- Salvar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with roncar.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — test yourself on real conjugated forms.
- Verb Conjugator — conjugate any Spanish verb in every tense.