Tratar Conjugation in Spanish
tratar means “try” in English, and it is one of the first verbs Spanish learners meet — it sits at number 34 in VerbFlow’s frequency list. You use it for trying to do something (tratar de + infinitive), for treating people well, and for dealing with a topic. Because it comes up in everyday conversation so often, learning its forms properly pays off from the very first week. This page gives you the complete conjugation of tratar — every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz. Here is the verb in a natural sentence: “Yo trato de aprender español todos los días.” — “I try to learn Spanish every day.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: tratar
- English: to try
- Verb type: Regular -ar verb
- Irregular in: no tense — fully regular
- Gerund: tratando
- Past participle: tratado
- Auxiliary: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + the past participle)
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for tratar. Learn the present tense first, then the preterite and the imperfect, and add the remaining tenses one at a time.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | trato |
| tú | tratas |
| él/ella/Ud. | trata |
| nosotros/as | tratamos |
| vosotros/as | tratáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | tratan |
Preterite
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | traté |
| tú | trataste |
| él/ella/Ud. | trató |
| nosotros/as | tratamos |
| vosotros/as | tratasteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | trataron |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | trataba |
| tú | tratabas |
| él/ella/Ud. | trataba |
| nosotros/as | tratábamos |
| vosotros/as | tratabais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | trataban |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | trataré |
| tú | tratarás |
| él/ella/Ud. | tratará |
| nosotros/as | trataremos |
| vosotros/as | trataréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | tratarán |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | trataría |
| tú | tratarías |
| él/ella/Ud. | trataría |
| nosotros/as | trataríamos |
| vosotros/as | trataríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | tratarían |
Present perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he tratado |
| tú | has tratado |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha tratado |
| nosotros/as | hemos tratado |
| vosotros/as | habéis tratado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han tratado |
Pluperfect (past perfect)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había tratado |
| tú | habías tratado |
| él/ella/Ud. | había tratado |
| nosotros/as | habíamos tratado |
| vosotros/as | habíais tratado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían tratado |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré tratado |
| tú | habrás tratado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá tratado |
| nosotros/as | habremos tratado |
| vosotros/as | habréis tratado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán tratado |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría tratado |
| tú | habrías tratado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría tratado |
| nosotros/as | habríamos tratado |
| vosotros/as | habríais tratado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían tratado |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | trate |
| tú | trates |
| él/ella/Ud. | trate |
| nosotros/as | tratemos |
| vosotros/as | tratéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | traten |
Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | tratara |
| tú | trataras |
| él/ella/Ud. | tratara |
| nosotros/as | tratáramos |
| vosotros/as | tratarais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | trataran |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | trata |
| él/ella/Ud. | trate |
| nosotros/as | tratemos |
| vosotros/as | tratad |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | traten |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | trates |
| él/ella/Ud. | trate |
| nosotros/as | tratemos |
| vosotros/as | tratéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | traten |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | Spanish |
|---|---|
| Gerund | tratando |
| Past participle | tratado |
When to use each tense
Present indicative
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Yo trato de aprender español todos los días.” — “I try to learn Spanish every day.”
Preterite
The preterite is used for completed actions in the past. For example: “Tú trataste bien a los clientes ayer.” — “You tried the customers well yesterday.”
Imperfect
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and background description. For example: “Él trataba el tema con calma antes.” — “He used to try the topic calmly before.”
Future
The future is used for what will happen, predictions and probability. For example: “Yo trataré de aprender español mañana.” — “I will try to learn Spanish tomorrow.”
Conditional
The conditional is used for what would happen, polite requests and hypothetical situations. For example: “Tú tratarías bien a los clientes algún día.” — “You would try the customers well someday.”
Present perfect
The present perfect is used for recent past actions and life experience, formed with haber + the past participle. For example: “Él ha tratado el tema con calma esta semana.” — “He has tried the topic calmly this week.”
Pluperfect (past perfect)
The pluperfect (past perfect) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Yo había tratado de aprender español antes de la fiesta.” — “I had tried to learn Spanish before the party.”
Future perfect
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Tú habrás tratado bien a los clientes para mañana.” — “You will have tried the customers well by tomorrow.”
Conditional perfect
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Él habría tratado el tema con calma ayer.” — “He would have tried the topic calmly yesterday.”
Present subjunctive
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. For example: “Es importante que yo trate de aprender español.” — “It is important that i try to learn Spanish.”
Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)
The imperfect subjunctive (-ra) is used for the past subjunctive: wishes and hypotheticals about the past, and clauses after a past-tense trigger. For example: “Ojalá tú trataras bien a los clientes.” — “I wish you tried the customers well.”
Imperative (affirmative)
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. The imperative of tratar gives a direct order; the negative forms use the present subjunctive pattern. For example: “¡Trata el tema con calma!” — “Try the topic calmly!”
Imperative (negative)
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. The imperative of tratar gives a direct order; the negative forms use the present subjunctive pattern. For example: “No trates de aprender español.” — “Do not try to learn Spanish.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with tratar, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the Spanish and try to produce it from the English.
- “Yo trato de aprender español todos los días.” — “I try to learn Spanish every day.”
- “Tú trataste bien a los clientes ayer.” — “You tried the customers well yesterday.”
- “Él trataba el tema con calma antes.” — “He used to try the topic calmly before.”
- “Yo trataré bien a los clientes mañana.” — “I will try the customers well tomorrow.”
- “Tú tratarías de aprender español algún día.” — “You would try to learn Spanish someday.”
- “Él ha tratado el tema con calma esta semana.” — “He has tried the topic calmly this week.”
- “Yo había tratado de aprender español antes de la fiesta.” — “I had tried to learn Spanish before the party.”
- “Tú habrás tratado bien a los clientes para mañana.” — “You will have tried the customers well by tomorrow.”
- “Es importante que él trate el tema con calma.” — “It is important that he try the topic calmly.”
- “¡Trata de aprender español!” — “Try to learn Spanish!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Yo tratar de aprender español.”
✓ Right: “Yo trato de aprender español.”
The infinitive tratar never takes a subject. After yo you need the conjugated present form trato.
2. Confusing tratar with intentar
✗ Wrong: “Yo intento de aprender español.”
✓ Right: “Yo trato de aprender español.”
Tratar de + infinitive means to try, much like intentar.
3. Using the wrong auxiliary in perfect tenses
✗ Wrong: “Yo soy tratado de aprender español.”
✓ Right: “Yo he tratado de aprender español.”
Spanish perfect tenses are always built with haber, never with ser. The correct form is he + the participle tratado.
4. Dropping the written accent
✗ Wrong: “trate”
✓ Right: “traté”
The accent on traté is part of the spelling in the preterite. Without it the form looks like a different word, so always write the accent.
5. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Ojalá tú tratas de aprender español.”
✓ Right: “Ojalá tú trates de aprender español.”
After ojalá Spanish needs the subjunctive, so use trates here, not the indicative tratas.
6. Using the preterite for a habitual past action
✗ Wrong: “Yo traté de aprender español antes.” (said of a repeated habit)
✓ Right: “Yo trataba de aprender español antes.”
The preterite traté describes one finished action. For something you did regularly in the past, use the imperfect trataba.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on tratar. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the yo form of tratar in the Present indicative?
- A) tratas
- B) trata
- C) tratamos
- D) trato
What is the él/ella/Ud. form of tratar in the Preterite?
- A) trataste
- B) tratamos
- C) trató
- D) traté
What is the nosotros/as form of tratar in the Imperfect?
- A) tratabais
- B) tratábamos
- C) trataba
- D) tratabas
What is the tú form of tratar in the Future?
- A) tratarás
- B) trataré
- C) tratará
- D) trataremos
What is the yo form of tratar in the Conditional?
- A) tratarías
- B) trataríamos
- C) trataríais
- D) trataría
What is the él/ella/Ud. form of tratar in the Present subjunctive?
- A) tratemos
- B) tratéis
- C) trate
- D) trates
What is the yo form of tratar in the Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)?
- A) tratarais
- B) tratara
- C) trataras
- D) tratáramos
What is the gerund of tratar?
- A) tratando
- B) sintiendo
- C) mirando
- D) contando
What is the past participle of tratar?
- A) sentido
- B) mirado
- C) contado
- D) tratado
What does tratar mean in English?
- A) to look
- B) to tell
- C) to try
- D) to feel
Answer key
- D) trato — the yo form of tratar in the present indicative is trato. The other options (tratas, trata, tratamos) are the same tense for different persons.
- C) trató — the él/ella/Ud. form of tratar in the preterite is trató. The other options (traté, trataste, tratamos) are the same tense for different persons.
- B) tratábamos — the nosotros/as form of tratar in the imperfect is tratábamos. The other options (trataba, tratabas, trataba) are the same tense for different persons.
- A) tratarás — the tú form of tratar in the future is tratarás. The other options (trataré, tratará, trataremos) are the same tense for different persons.
- D) trataría — the yo form of tratar in the conditional is trataría. The other options (tratarías, trataría, trataríamos) are the same tense for different persons.
- C) trate — the él/ella/Ud. form of tratar in the present subjunctive is trate. The other options (trate, trates, tratemos) are the same tense for different persons.
- B) tratara — the yo form of tratar in the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) is tratara. The other options (trataras, tratara, tratáramos) are the same tense for different persons.
- A) tratando — the gerund of tratar is tratando; it is used with estar for the progressive. The other options are the gerunds of neighbouring verbs.
- D) tratado — the past participle of tratar is tratado; perfect tenses use haber + tratado. The other options are the participles of neighbouring verbs.
- C) to try — tratar means “to try” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.
Frequently asked questions
What does tratar mean in English?
tratar means “to try”. You use it for trying to do something (tratar de + infinitive), for treating people well, and for dealing with a topic. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is tratar regular or irregular?
tratar is regular -ar verb, with no irregular tense — it follows the regular pattern throughout. The gerund is tratando and the past participle is tratado.
What are the gerund and past participle of tratar?
The gerund is tratando — use it with estar for actions in progress. The past participle is tratado — use it with haber for the perfect tenses, as in he tratado (I have tried).
What is the difference between tratar and intentar?
Tratar de + infinitive means to try, much like intentar. If you are unsure, check the full table for intentar and compare the meanings in context.
How do I say “I try” in Spanish?
Say “Yo trato de aprender español.” — “I try to learn Spanish every day.” The yo form of the present is trato, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- tratar in the present tense — the full table and uses for this verb in its most practised tense.
- tratar examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- Sentir conjugation — another everyday Spanish verb.
- Mirar conjugation — another everyday Spanish verb.
- Contar conjugation — another everyday Spanish verb.
- Present tense guide — how the present tense works for regular verbs.
- Preterite tense guide — how the preterite works, and when to choose it over the imperfect.
- Verb Conjugator — practise tratar with the interactive tool.
- Verb Quiz — practise tratar with the interactive tool.