Trocear Conjugation in Spanish
The Spanish verb trocear means to cut into pieces, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. Trocear is a regular -ar verb, so the tables below show you exactly how it behaves in every tense. On this page you will find the full conjugation of trocear 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 troceo la carne — "I cut into pieces the meat" — and in the preterite you say Yo troceé las verduras — "I cut into pieces the vegetables". 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: trocear
- English: to cut into pieces
- Verb type: regular -ar verb
- Ending: -ar
- Gerund: troceando
- Past participle: troceado
- Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + troceado)
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for trocear, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for trocear. 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: troceando · Past participle: troceado
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | troceo |
| tú | troceas |
| él/ella/Ud. | trocea |
| nosotros/as | troceamos |
| vosotros/as | troceáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | trocean |
Preterite
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | troceé |
| tú | troceaste |
| él/ella/Ud. | troceó |
| nosotros/as | troceamos |
| vosotros/as | troceasteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | trocearon |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | troceaba |
| tú | troceabas |
| él/ella/Ud. | troceaba |
| nosotros/as | troceábamos |
| vosotros/as | troceabais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | troceaban |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | trocearé |
| tú | trocearás |
| él/ella/Ud. | troceará |
| nosotros/as | trocearemos |
| vosotros/as | trocearéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | trocearán |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | trocearía |
| tú | trocearías |
| él/ella/Ud. | trocearía |
| nosotros/as | trocearíamos |
| vosotros/as | trocearíais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | trocearían |
Present perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he troceado |
| tú | has troceado |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha troceado |
| nosotros/as | hemos troceado |
| vosotros/as | habéis troceado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han troceado |
Pluperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había troceado |
| tú | habías troceado |
| él/ella/Ud. | había troceado |
| nosotros/as | habíamos troceado |
| vosotros/as | habíais troceado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían troceado |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré troceado |
| tú | habrás troceado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá troceado |
| nosotros/as | habremos troceado |
| vosotros/as | habréis troceado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán troceado |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría troceado |
| tú | habrías troceado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría troceado |
| nosotros/as | habríamos troceado |
| vosotros/as | habríais troceado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían troceado |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | trocee |
| tú | trocees |
| él/ella/Ud. | trocee |
| nosotros/as | troceemos |
| vosotros/as | troceéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | troceen |
Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | troceara |
| tú | trocearas |
| él/ella/Ud. | troceara |
| nosotros/as | troceáramos |
| vosotros/as | trocearais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | trocearan |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | trocea |
| él/ella/Ud. | trocee |
| nosotros/as | troceemos |
| vosotros/as | trocead |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | troceen |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | trocees |
| él/ella/Ud. | trocee |
| nosotros/as | troceemos |
| vosotros/as | troceéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | troceen |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | Spanish | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Gerund | troceando | with estar for the progressive: estoy troceando |
| Past participle | troceado | with haber for the perfect tenses: he troceado |
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 trocear, the present indicative looks like this in a real sentence: Yo troceo las verduras — "I cut into pieces the vegetables". 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 trocear, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Yo troceé el pollo en trozos — "I cut into pieces the chicken into pieces". 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.
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 trocear, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo troceaba la carne — "I used to cut into pieces the meat". 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 trocear, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Yo trocearé las verduras — "I will cut into pieces the vegetables". 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 trocear, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Yo trocearía el pollo en trozos — "I would cut into pieces the chicken into pieces". 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 trocear, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo he troceado la carne — "I have cut into pieces the meat". 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 trocear, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo había troceado las verduras — "I had cut into pieces the vegetables". 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 trocear, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo habré troceado el pollo en trozos — "I will have cut into pieces the chicken into pieces". 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 trocear, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo habría troceado la carne — "I would have cut into pieces the meat". 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 trocear, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él trocee las verduras — "I hope he cuts into pieces the vegetables". 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.
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 trocear, the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) looks like this in a real sentence: Si yo troceara el pollo en trozos, todo cambiaría — "If I cut into pieces the chicken into pieces, 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 trocear, the imperative (affirmative) looks like this in a real sentence: Trocee la carne — "Let him cut into pieces the meat". 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 trocear, the imperative (negative) looks like this in a real sentence: No trocees las verduras — "Don't cut into pieces the vegetables". 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 trocear, covering different tenses and persons. Each one uses a form from the tables above.
- Yo troceo el pollo en trozos — "I cut into pieces the chicken into pieces"
- Él trocea la carne — "He cuts into pieces the meat"
- Yo troceé las verduras — "I cut into pieces the vegetables"
- Yo troceaba el pollo en trozos — "I used to cut into pieces the chicken into pieces"
- Tú trocearás la carne — "You will cut into pieces the meat"
- Yo trocearía las verduras — "I would cut into pieces the vegetables"
- Él ha troceado el pollo en trozos — "He has cut into pieces the chicken into pieces"
- Espero que él trocee la carne — "I hope he cuts into pieces the meat"
- Yo había troceado las verduras — "I had cut into pieces the vegetables"
- Ellos troceaban el pollo en trozos — "They used to cut into pieces the chicken into pieces"
Common mistakes
- Wrong: Ellos trocea la carne — Right: Ellos trocean la carne — Ellos needs the ellos form trocean. The singular trocea belongs with él, ella or a singular noun.
- Wrong: Ayer, yo troceo — Right: Ayer, yo troceé — The present tense cannot describe a finished action yesterday. Ayer forces the preterite, so the form must change to troceé.
- Wrong: De niño, yo troceé todos los días. — Right: Todos los días, yo troceaba — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (troceaba), not the preterite. The preterite (troceé) is for one finished action.
- Wrong: Yo soy troceado las verduras. — Right: Yo he troceado las verduras. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he troceado, has troceado, ha troceado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
- Wrong: Treating trocear and triturar as identical in every context. — Right: Trocear means to cut into pieces, while triturar means to crush, to grind. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: trocear fits sentences such as Yo troceo la carne, while triturar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on trocear. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
Complete the sentence: Yo ___ la carne. (present tense) A. troceéis B. troceé C. troceo D. trocearé
Complete the sentence: Él ___ la carne. (preterite) A. habrías troceado B. troceamos C. trocees D. troceó
Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ la carne. (imperfect) A. han troceado B. troceábamos C. troceemos D. trocearais
Complete the sentence: Tú ___ la carne. (future) A. troceé B. trocearais C. trocearemos D. trocearás
Complete the sentence: Yo ___ la carne. (conditional) A. habríamos troceado B. troceasteis C. troceábamos D. trocearía
Complete the sentence: Espero que él ___ la carne. (present subjunctive) A. habéis troceado B. habrán troceado C. troceamos D. trocee
Complete the sentence: Si yo ___ la carne, todo cambiaría. (imperfect subjunctive, -ra form) A. hemos troceado B. troceéis C. troceas D. troceara
Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ la carne. (present perfect) A. hemos troceado B. troceabas C. troceáis D. habrá troceado
Complete the command: No ___ la carne. (negative imperative, tú) A. trocees B. troceen C. troceemos D. troceéis
Which is the gerund of trocear, used with estar for the progressive? A. troceaba B. troceando C. troceé D. troceo
Answer key
- troceo — The yo present tense of trocear is troceo.
- troceó — The él/ella/Ud. preterite of trocear is troceó.
- troceábamos — The nosotros/as imperfect of trocear is troceábamos.
- trocearás — The tú future of trocear is trocearás.
- trocearía — The yo conditional of trocear is trocearía.
- trocee — The él/ella/Ud. present subjunctive of trocear is trocee.
- troceara — The yo imperfect subjunctive, -ra form of trocear is troceara.
- hemos troceado — The nosotros/as present perfect of trocear is hemos troceado.
- trocees — The negative tú imperative uses the present subjunctive form with no before it: trocees.
- troceando — The gerund of trocear is troceando: estoy troceando. The participle troceado is used with haber instead.
Frequently asked questions
What does trocear mean in English?
Trocear means to cut into pieces. It is used in everyday situations such as Yo troceo la carne. The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.
Is trocear regular?
Yes. Trocear is a regular -ar verb: troceo, troceas, trocea. The only thing to learn is the pattern of endings, which is the same for every regular -ar verb.
What is the difference between trocear and triturar?
Trocear means to cut into pieces, while triturar means to crush, to grind. They are easy to confuse because they appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use trocear when you mean to cut into pieces, as in Yo troceo la carne, and use triturar for to crush, to grind. When in doubt, check the object of the sentence — it usually shows which verb fits.
How do I say “I cut into pieces” in the past?
It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: Yo troceé las verduras. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Yo troceaba el pollo en trozos. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Yo he troceado la carne.
How do I practise trocear?
Start with the present tense table, then drill the preterite and the imperfect, since those two past tenses cause the most mistakes. Try the trocear examples and quiz page for more sentences, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure.
Related links
- Trocear in the present tense — the full present-tense table for trocear.
- Trocear examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice for trocear.
- Spanish verbs — the Spanish hub, with every verb and tense guide.
- Desmenuzar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with trocear.
- Triturar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with trocear.
- Colar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with trocear.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — test yourself on real conjugated forms.
- Verb Conjugator — conjugate any Spanish verb in every tense.