Suplicar Examples, Sentences and Quiz in Spanish

suplicar means to beg, and it is a verb you will meet in everyday Spanish again and again. Suplicar means to beg, and it is used for begging forgiveness, begging for help and begging a judge for mercy. It is stronger and more emotional than pedir, and it is a spelling-change verb: the c becomes qu before e, so the preterite is supliqué. This page puts suplicar to work: twelve example sentences in different tenses and persons, grouped by use, then two short dialogues where the verb appears naturally, then the common mistakes to avoid, and finally a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Every Spanish form on this page comes from the verified conjugation tables for suplicar, and the full tables are on the suplicar conjugation page if you need to check a form.

Example sentences

Everyday uses

  1. Yo suplico perdón de rodillas. — I beg forgiveness on his knees.
  2. Él suplica ayuda a sus vecinos. — He/she begs help from her neighbours.
  3. Ayer, yo supliqué al juez por clemencia. — Yesterday, I begged the judge for mercy.
  4. Antes, nosotros suplicábamos con lágrimas en los ojos. — Before, we used to beg with tears in his eyes.

In other tenses

  1. Mañana, tú suplicarás perdón de rodillas. — Tomorrow, you will beg forgiveness on his knees.
  2. Yo suplicaría ayuda a sus vecinos. — I would beg help from her neighbours.
  3. Él ha suplicado al juez por clemencia. — He/she has begged the judge for mercy.
  4. Espero que él suplique con lágrimas en los ojos. — I hope he/she begs with tears in his eyes.

With other people

  1. Nosotros suplicamos perdón de rodillas. — We beg forgiveness on his knees.
  2. Vosotros suplicáis ayuda a sus vecinos. — You all beg help from her neighbours.
  3. Antes, ellos suplicaban al juez por clemencia. — Before, they used to beg the judge for mercy.
  4. Mañana, él suplicará con lágrimas en los ojos. — Tomorrow, he/she will beg with tears in his eyes.

Suplicar in context

Two short dialogues that use suplicar the way people really use it. Read them aloud — the verb forms will stick much faster in a conversation than in a table.

Dialogue 1: today and yesterday

  • Ana: "Hola, ¿qué tal?" — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Luis: "Hoy suplico perdón de rodillas." — "Today I beg forgiveness on his knees."
  • Ana: "¿Y ayer?" — "And yesterday?"
  • Luis: "Ayer, supliqué al juez por clemencia." — "Yesterday I begged the judge for mercy."
  • Ana: "¿Y mañana, tú suplicarás ayuda a sus vecinos?" — "And tomorrow, will you will beg help from her neighbours?"
  • Luis: "Sí, claro. Y tú también." — "Yes, of course. And you too."

Dialogue 2: making plans

  • Marta: "Mañana, nosotros suplicamos con lágrimas en los ojos." — "Tomorrow we beg with tears in his eyes."
  • Carlos: "Perfecto. Yo suplicaría ayuda a sus vecinos si tuviera más tiempo." — "Perfect. I would would beg help from her neighbours if I had more time."
  • Marta: "Espero que él suplique perdón de rodillas." — "I hope he begs forgiveness on his knees."
  • Carlos: "Seguro que sí. Él ya ha suplicado al juez por clemencia." — "Surely. He has already has begged the judge for mercy."
  • Marta: "Vale, nos vemos mañana." — "OK, see you tomorrow."

Notice how the same verb changes with the tense: the present for the plan, the conditional for the wish, the subjunctive after espero que, and the present perfect for what has already happened. That is the whole point of learning a verb across its tenses, not just in one form.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo suplica perdón de rodillas. — Right: Yo suplico perdón de rodillas. — The person matters: suplica is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is suplico. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
  2. Wrong: Yo suplicé ayuda a sus vecinos. — Right: Yo supliqué ayuda a sus vecinos. — In the preterite, the correct first-person form is supliqué, not suplicé. suplicar is a spelling-change verb: c becomes qu before e, so the written form changes to keep the same sound. The regular-looking form is wrong.
  3. Wrong: Treating suplicar and pedir as identical in every context. — Right: Suplicar means to beg, while pedir means to ask for, the plain verb. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: suplicar fits sentences such as Suplico perdón de rodillas, while pedir belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy suplicado ayuda a sus vecinos. — Right: Yo he suplicado ayuda a sus vecinos. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he suplicado, has suplicado, ha suplicado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  5. Wrong: De niño, yo supliqué al juez por clemencia todos los días. — Right: De niño, yo suplicaba al juez por clemencia todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (suplicaba), not the preterite. The preterite (supliqué) is for one finished action.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on suplicar: four on the forms, three on the meaning, and three on spotting the correct sentence. Check the answer key below.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ perdón de rodillas. (present tense) A. suplico B. suplicas C. suplica D. suplicamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Él ___ ayuda a sus vecinos. (preterite tense) A. supliqué B. suplicaste C. suplicamos D. suplicó

  3. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ al juez por clemencia. (future tense) A. suplicará B. suplicaremos C. suplicarás D. suplicaré

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ con lágrimas en los ojos. (imperfect tense) A. suplicabais B. suplicábamos C. suplicaba D. suplicabas

  5. What does "Yo suplico perdón de rodillas." mean in English? A. I beg forgiveness on his knees. B. I beg help from her neighbours. C. I beg the judge for mercy. D. I beg with tears in his eyes.

  6. What does "Él suplicó ayuda a sus vecinos." mean in English? A. He/she begged forgiveness on his knees. B. He/she begged the judge for mercy. C. He/she begged with tears in his eyes. D. He/she begged help from her neighbours.

  7. What does "Nosotros suplicaremos al juez por clemencia." mean in English? A. We will beg help from her neighbours. B. We will beg with tears in his eyes. C. We will beg the judge for mercy. D. We will beg forgiveness on his knees.

  8. Which sentence is correct? A. Yo suplican ayuda a sus vecinos. B. Yo suplica ayuda a sus vecinos. C. Yo suplico ayuda a sus vecinos.

  9. Which sentence is correct? A. Él supliqué al juez por clemencia. B. Él suplicó al juez por clemencia. C. Él suplicaron al juez por clemencia.

  10. Which sentence is correct? A. Espero que yo suplique con lágrimas en los ojos. B. Yo suplice con lágrimas en los ojos. C. Yo suplique con lágrimas en los ojos.

Answer key

  1. suplico — The yo present form of suplicar is suplico.
  2. suplicó — The el preterite form of suplicar is suplicó.
  3. suplicarás — The tu future form of suplicar is suplicarás.
  4. suplicábamos — The nosotros imperfect form of suplicar is suplicábamos.
  5. I beg forgiveness on his knees. — The Spanish sentence uses the present form suplico, so the English is "I beg forgiveness on his knees." The other options use a different object or situation.
  6. He/she begged help from her neighbours. — The Spanish sentence uses the preterite form suplicó, so the English is "He/she begged help from her neighbours." The other options use a different object or situation.
  7. We will beg the judge for mercy. — The Spanish sentence uses the future form suplicaremos, so the English is "We will beg the judge for mercy." The other options use a different object or situation.
  8. Yo suplico ayuda a sus vecinos. — The correct sentence is "Yo suplico ayuda a sus vecinos." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  9. Él suplicó al juez por clemencia. — The correct sentence is "Él suplicó al juez por clemencia." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  10. Espero que yo suplique con lágrimas en los ojos. — The correct sentence is "Espero que yo suplique con lágrimas en los ojos." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.

Frequently asked questions

What does suplicar mean, and when do I use it?

Suplicar means to beg. Suplicar means to beg, and it is used for begging forgiveness, begging for help and begging a judge for mercy. It is stronger and more emotional than pedir, and it is a spelling-change verb: the c becomes qu before e, so the preterite is supliqué. A good first sentence to remember is Yo suplico perdón de rodillas. — "I beg forgiveness on his knees."

What is the difference between suplicar and pedir?

Suplicar means to beg, while pedir means to ask for, the plain verb. They appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use suplicar when you mean to beg, as in Yo suplico ayuda a sus vecinos., and use pedir for to ask for, the plain verb.

How do I say "I beg" in the past?

For one finished action, use the preterite: Yo supliqué ayuda a sus vecinos.. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Yo suplicaba al juez por clemencia.. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Yo he suplicado ayuda a sus vecinos..

How do I practise suplicar?

Start with the suplicar conjugation page for the full tables, then the suplicar in the present tense page for the tense in focus, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure. Spelling change: c becomes qu before e, so the preterite is supliqué and the subjunctive is suplique, never suplicé or suplice.

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