Turbar Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb turbar means to disturb, to upset, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. Turbar means to disturb or to upset, and it is used when something breaks a calm state — a noise disturbs the silence, bad news disturbs a family, doubt disturbs a person's peace of mind. It is a formal, literary verb, more common in writing and in serious speech than in everyday chat, where molestar or preocupar are more frequent. Like every Spanish verb, turbar changes its ending for each person and tense, and this page gives you the complete picture: every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle, all from the verified conjugation tables. For example, in the present tense you say turbo la tranquilidad de la casa, and in the preterite you say turbé la paz del barrio. 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: turbar
  • English: to disturb, to upset
  • Verb type: regular -ar verb
  • Ending: -ar
  • Gerund: turbando
  • Past participle: turbado
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + turbado)

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for turbar, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one. Turbar is formal: in everyday speech, use molestar for disturbing someone and preocupar for worrying them.

Full conjugation tables

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for turbar. 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.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo turbo
tú turbas
él/ella/Ud. turba
nosotros/as turbamos
vosotros/as turbáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. turban

Preterite

Person Form
yo turbé
tú turbaste
él/ella/Ud. turbó
nosotros/as turbamos
vosotros/as turbasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. turbaron

Imperfect

Person Form
yo turbaba
tú turbabas
él/ella/Ud. turbaba
nosotros/as turbábamos
vosotros/as turbabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. turbaban

Future

Person Form
yo turbaré
tú turbarás
él/ella/Ud. turbará
nosotros/as turbaremos
vosotros/as turbaréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. turbarán

Conditional

Person Form
yo turbaría
tú turbarías
él/ella/Ud. turbaría
nosotros/as turbaríamos
vosotros/as turbaríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. turbarían

Present perfect

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

Pluperfect

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

Future perfect

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

Conditional perfect

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

Present subjunctive

Person Form
yo turbe
tú turbes
él/ella/Ud. turbe
nosotros/as turbemos
vosotros/as turbéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. turben

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

Person Form
yo turbara
tú turbaras
él/ella/Ud. turbara
nosotros/as turbáramos
vosotros/as turbarais
ellos/ellas/Uds. turbaran

Imperative (affirmative)

Person Form
tú turba
él/ella/Ud. turbe
nosotros/as turbemos
vosotros/as turbad
ellos/ellas/Uds. turben

Imperative (negative)

Person Form
tú turbes
él/ella/Ud. turbe
nosotros/as turbemos
vosotros/as turbéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. turben

Gerund and past participle

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

How to use each tense

Present indicative

Use the present for routines, general facts and what is happening right now. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For turbar, the present looks like this in a real sentence: Turbo la tranquilidad de la casa. Learn the present 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 with a clear end, often with ayer, el año pasado or anoche. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For turbar, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Ayer, turbé el silencio de la noche. 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 de niño, antes or mientras. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For turbar, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: De niño, turbaba la paz del barrio. 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. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For turbar, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Mañana, turbaré el sueño de los niños. 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 with si clauses. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For turbar, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Turbaría la tranquilidad de la casa si pudiera. 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. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For turbar, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Hoy, he turbado el silencio de la noche. 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. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For turbar, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Había turbado la paz del barrio antes de salir. 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. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For turbar, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Para mañana, habré turbado el sueño de los niños. 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. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For turbar, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Habría turbado la tranquilidad de la casa con más tiempo. 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. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For turbar, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él turbe el silencio de la noche. 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 this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For turbar, the imperfect subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Si él turbara la paz del barrio, todo cambiaría. Learn the imperfect subjunctive 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. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For turbar, the affirmative imperative looks like this in a real sentence: ¡turba el sueño de los niños! Learn the affirmative imperative 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. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For turbar, the negative imperative looks like this in a real sentence: No turbes la tranquilidad de la casa. Learn the negative imperative 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 turbar, covering different tenses and persons. Each one uses a form from the tables above.

  1. Turbo la tranquilidad de la casa. — I disturb the peace of the house.
  2. Turba el silencio de la noche. — He/she disturbs the silence of the night.
  3. Ayer, turbé la paz del barrio. — Yesterday, I disturbed the peace of the neighbourhood.
  4. Antes, nosotros turbábamos el sueño de los niños. — Before, we used to disturb the children's sleep.
  5. Mañana, tú turbarás la tranquilidad de la casa. — Tomorrow, you will disturb the peace of the house.
  6. Yo turbaría el silencio de la noche si tuviera más tiempo. — I would disturb the silence of the night if I had more time.
  7. Él ha turbado la paz del barrio. — He has disturbed the peace of the neighbourhood.
  8. Espero que él turbe el sueño de los niños. — I hope he disturbs the children's sleep.
  9. Yo ya había turbado la tranquilidad de la casa antes de salir. — I had already disturbed the peace of the house before leaving.
  10. Ellos turbaban el silencio de la noche cuando eran jóvenes. — They used to disturb the silence of the night when they were young.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo turba la tranquilidad de la casa. — Right: Yo turbo la tranquilidad de la casa. — The person matters: turba is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is turbo. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
  2. Wrong: Treating turbar and perturbar as identical in every context. — Right: Turbar means to disturb, to upset, while perturbar means to perturb, to disturb someone's mind. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: turbar fits sentences such as Turbo la tranquilidad de la casa, while perturbar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
  3. Wrong: Yo soy turbado el silencio de la noche. — Right: Yo he turbado el silencio de la noche. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he turbado, has turbado, ha turbado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  4. Wrong: De niño, yo turbé la paz del barrio todos los días. — Right: De niño, yo turbaba la paz del barrio todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (turbaba), not the preterite. The preterite (turbé) is for one finished action.

Quiz: test yourself

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

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ la tranquilidad de la casa. (present tense) A. turbo B. turbas C. turba D. turbamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Ayer, él ___ el silencio de la noche. (preterite) A. turbé B. turbaste C. turbaron D. turbó

  3. Complete the sentence: Antes, nosotros ___ la paz del barrio. (imperfect) A. turbabas B. turbaban C. turbábamos D. turbaba

  4. Complete the sentence: Mañana, tú ___ el sueño de los niños. (future) A. turbaremos B. turbarás C. turbaré D. turbará

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ la tranquilidad de la casa si pudiera. (conditional) A. turbaría B. turbarías C. turbarían D. turbo

  6. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ___ el silencio de la noche. (present subjunctive) A. turbes B. turbemos C. turbo D. turbe

  7. Complete the sentence: Si yo ___ la paz del barrio, todo cambiaría. (imperfect subjunctive, -ra form) A. turbáramos B. turbo C. turbara D. turbaras

  8. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ el sueño de los niños. (present perfect) A. han turbado B. hemos turbado C. he turbado D. has turbado

  9. Complete the command: ¡___ la tranquilidad de la casa! (affirmative imperative, tú) A. turba B. turbe C. turbemos D. turbad

  10. Which is the gerund of turbar, used with estar for the progressive? A. turbado B. turbo C. turbé D. turbando

Answer key

  1. turbo — The first-person present of turbar is turbo. The other options are the tú, él/ella and nosotros forms.
  2. turbó — The third-person preterite of turbar is turbó, the form for a single finished action in the past.
  3. turbábamos — The nosotros imperfect of turbar is turbábamos, used here for a repeated past habit.
  4. turbarás — The second-person future of turbar is turbarás.
  5. turbaría — The first-person conditional of turbar is turbaría, the form for what would happen.
  6. turbe — After espero que, the subjunctive is required: the third-person present subjunctive of turbar is turbe.
  7. turbara — The first-person imperfect subjunctive (-ra) of turbar is turbara.
  8. hemos turbado — The nosotros present perfect of turbar is hemos turbado: hemos + turbado.
  9. turba — The affirmative tú imperative of turbar is turba.
  10. turbando — The gerund of turbar is turbando: estoy turbando. The participle turbado is used with haber instead.

Frequently asked questions

What does turbar mean in English?

Turbar means to disturb, to upset. It is used in everyday situations such as Turbo la tranquilidad de la casa. The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

Is turbar regular or irregular?

Turbar is a fully regular -ar verb, so every tense follows the standard endings for its class. Once you know the regular pattern, you can produce every form on this page, including turbo in the present and turbé in the preterite.

What is the difference between turbar and perturbar?

Turbar means to disturb, to upset, while perturbar means to perturb, to disturb someone's mind. They are easy to confuse because they appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use turbar when you mean to disturb, to upset, as in Turbo la tranquilidad de la casa, and use perturbar for to perturb, to disturb someone's mind. When in doubt, check the object of the sentence — it usually shows which verb fits.

How do I say “I disturb” in the past?

It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: yo turbé el silencio de la noche. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: yo turbaba la paz del barrio. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: yo he turbado el silencio de la noche.

How do I practise turbar?

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

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