Rozar Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb rozar means to brush against — it also means to touch lightly, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. Rozar is a spelling-changing -ar (z → c before e) verb, so the tables below show you exactly how it behaves in every tense. It has a spelling change (z → c 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 rozar 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 rozo la pared — "I brush against the wall" — and in the preterite you say Yo rocé su mano — "I brushed against his hand". 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: rozar
  • English: to brush against, to touch lightly
  • Verb type: spelling-changing -ar (z → c before e) verb
  • Ending: -ar
  • Gerund: rozando
  • Past participle: rozado
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + rozado)

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

Full conjugation tables

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for rozar. 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: rozando · Past participle: rozado

Present indicative

Person Form
yo rozo
tú rozas
él/ella/Ud. roza
nosotros/as rozamos
vosotros/as rozáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. rozan

Preterite

Person Form
yo rocé
tú rozaste
él/ella/Ud. rozó
nosotros/as rozamos
vosotros/as rozasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. rozaron

Imperfect

Person Form
yo rozaba
tú rozabas
él/ella/Ud. rozaba
nosotros/as rozábamos
vosotros/as rozabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. rozaban

Future

Person Form
yo rozaré
tú rozarás
él/ella/Ud. rozará
nosotros/as rozaremos
vosotros/as rozaréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. rozarán

Conditional

Person Form
yo rozaría
tú rozarías
él/ella/Ud. rozaría
nosotros/as rozaríamos
vosotros/as rozaríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. rozarían

Present perfect

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

Pluperfect

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

Future perfect

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

Conditional perfect

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

Present subjunctive

Person Form
yo roce
tú roces
él/ella/Ud. roce
nosotros/as rocemos
vosotros/as rocéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. rocen

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

Person Form
yo rozara
tú rozaras
él/ella/Ud. rozara
nosotros/as rozáramos
vosotros/as rozarais
ellos/ellas/Uds. rozaran

Imperative (affirmative)

Person Form
tú roza
él/ella/Ud. roce
nosotros/as rocemos
vosotros/as rozad
ellos/ellas/Uds. rocen

Imperative (negative)

Person Form
tú roces
él/ella/Ud. roce
nosotros/as rocemos
vosotros/as rocéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. rocen

Gerund and past participle

Form Spanish Use
Gerund rozando with estar for the progressive: estoy rozando
Past participle rozado with haber for the perfect tenses: he rozado

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 rozar, the present indicative looks like this in a real sentence: Yo rozo su mano — "I brush against his hand". 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 rozar, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Yo rocé apenas — "I brushed against barely". 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 rocé (z → c 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 rozar, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo rozaba la pared — "I used to brush against the wall". 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 rozar, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Yo rozaré su mano — "I will brush against his hand". 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 rozar, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Yo rozaría apenas — "I would brush against barely". 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 rozar, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo he rozado la pared — "I have brushed against the wall". 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 rozar, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo había rozado su mano — "I had brushed against his hand". 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 rozar, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo habré rozado apenas — "I will have brushed against barely". 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 rozar, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo habría rozado la pared — "I would have brushed against the wall". 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 rozar, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él roce su mano — "I hope he brushes against his hand". 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: roce, roces, roce all show z → c 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 rozar, the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) looks like this in a real sentence: Si yo rozara apenas, todo cambiaría — "If I brushed against barely, 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 rozar, the imperative (affirmative) looks like this in a real sentence: Roce la pared — "Let him brush against the wall". 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 rozar, the imperative (negative) looks like this in a real sentence: No roces su mano — "Don't brush against his hand". 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 rozar, covering different tenses and persons. Each one uses a form from the tables above.

  1. Yo rozo apenas — "I brush against barely"
  2. Él roza la pared — "He brushes against the wall"
  3. Yo rocé su mano — "I brushed against his hand"
  4. Yo rozaba apenas — "I used to brush against barely"
  5. Tú rozarás la pared — "You will brush against the wall"
  6. Yo rozaría su mano — "I would brush against his hand"
  7. Él ha rozado apenas — "He has brushed against barely"
  8. Espero que él roce la pared — "I hope he brushes against the wall"
  9. Yo había rozado su mano — "I had brushed against his hand"
  10. Ellos rozaban apenas — "They used to brush against barely"

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Ellos roza la pared — Right: Ellos rozan la pared — Ellos needs the ellos form rozan. The singular roza belongs with él, ella or a singular noun.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo rozo — Right: Ayer, yo rocé — The present tense cannot describe a finished action yesterday. Ayer forces the preterite, so the form must change to rocé, with the spelling change z → c before e.
  3. Wrong: De niño, yo rocé todos los días. — Right: Todos los días, yo rozaba — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (rozaba), not the preterite. The preterite (rocé) is for one finished action.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy rozado su mano. — Right: Yo he rozado su mano. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he rozado, has rozado, ha rozado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  5. Wrong: Espero que él roza la pared. — Right: Espero que él roce la pared. — After espero que, Spanish needs the subjunctive: roce. The indicative roza is wrong here.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on rozar. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ la pared. (present tense) A. rozara B. rozo C. habían rozado D. he rozado

  2. Complete the sentence: Él ___ la pared. (preterite) A. he rozado B. rozó C. habíais rozado D. hemos rozado

  3. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ la pared. (imperfect) A. rocéis B. habíamos rozado C. rozábamos D. rozara

  4. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ la pared. (future) A. rozarás B. habéis rozado C. rozara D. rozaran

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ la pared. (conditional) A. habré rozado B. rozaría C. rozaré D. rozabais

  6. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ___ la pared. (present subjunctive) A. habían rozado B. rocemos C. rozo D. roce

  7. Complete the sentence: Si yo ___ la pared, todo cambiaría. (imperfect subjunctive, -ra form) A. rozara B. rozabas C. rozarais D. rozaríamos

  8. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ la pared. (present perfect) A. hemos rozado B. rozaban C. habías rozado D. habrás rozado

  9. Complete the command: No ___ la pared. (negative imperative, tú) A. rocen B. rocéis C. rocemos D. roces

  10. Which is the gerund of rozar, used with estar for the progressive? A. rozado B. rozaba C. rocé D. rozando

Answer key

  1. rozo — The yo present tense of rozar is rozo.
  2. rozó — The él/ella/Ud. preterite of rozar is rozó.
  3. rozábamos — The nosotros/as imperfect of rozar is rozábamos.
  4. rozarás — The tú future of rozar is rozarás.
  5. rozaría — The yo conditional of rozar is rozaría.
  6. roce — The él/ella/Ud. present subjunctive of rozar is roce.
  7. rozara — The yo imperfect subjunctive, -ra form of rozar is rozara.
  8. hemos rozado — The nosotros/as present perfect of rozar is hemos rozado.
  9. roces — The negative tú imperative uses the present subjunctive form with no before it: roces.
  10. rozando — The gerund of rozar is rozando: estoy rozando. The participle rozado is used with haber instead.

Frequently asked questions

What does rozar mean in English?

Rozar means to brush against, to touch lightly. It is used in everyday situations such as Yo rozo la pared. The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

Is rozar regular?

Mostly. Rozar follows the regular -ar endings, but it has a spelling change (z → c 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 rozar?

The gerund is rozando, used with estar for the progressive: estoy rozando. The past participle is rozado, used with haber in the perfect tenses: he rozado.

How do I say “I brush against” in the past?

It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: Yo rocé su mano. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Yo rozaba apenas. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Yo he rozado la pared.

How do I practise rozar?

Start with the present tense table, then drill the preterite and the imperfect, since those two past tenses cause the most mistakes. Try the rozar examples and quiz page for more sentences, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure.

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