Acercar Conjugation | How to Conjugate Acercar in Spanish

Acercar means “to bring closer,” “to move nearer,” or figuratively “to bring together.” You will learn its regular -AR framework, c → qu spelling change before e, and core object patterns.

Acercar conjugation at a glance

Verb type: Irregular. Linguistically, acercar keeps regular -AR endings but changes c → qu before e to preserve the /k/ sound, as in acerqué — “I brought closer” — and present subjunctive acerque....

Acercar gerund, past participle, and infinitive

The infinitive names the verb, the gerund supports progressive constructions, and the past participle combines with haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — in compound forms. The participle acercado remains invariant in those compounds.

Form	Spanish	Natural English guide
Infinitive	acercar	to bring closer / move closer
Gerund	acercando	bringing closer / moving closer
Past participle	acercado	brought closer / moved closer

Acercar meaning and essential uses

Acercar is transitive in its core sense: placing something nearer in space or time. RAE illustrates this with moving a radio closer; a natural learner example is Acerca la silla a la mesa. — “Move the chair closer to the table.”

It also has figurative uses for reducing distance between people, groups, positions, or ideas: El proyecto acercó a los dos equipos. — “The project brought the two teams closer.”

Acercar irregular conjugation patterns

Most forms use the stable stem acerc-. Before an ending beginning with e, Spanish writes qu: acerqué — “I brought closer” — and acerque — “that I bring closer.”

The present-subjunctive family therefore uses acerqu-: acerque, acerques, acerquemos, acerquéis, acerquen. Other major tense families retain acerc-.

Acercar indicative and periphrastic conjugations

Acercar present tense conjugation

Present indicative (el presente de indicativo) — Use it for current situations, habits, facts, and contextually near-future reference. The table uses the verified paradigm.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	acerco	I bring closer / move closer
Tú — you, singular informal	acercas	you bring closer / move closer
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	acerca	he / she brings closer / moves closer; you bring closer / move closer (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	acercamos	we bring closer / move closer
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	acercáis	you bring closer / move closer (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	acercan	they bring closer / move closer; you bring closer / move closer (plural)

• Acerco la silla a la mesa. — I move the chair closer to the table.

Acercar preterite conjugation

Preterite (el pretérito perfecto simple / pretérito indefinido) — Use it for completed or bounded past events. The first-person singular is acerqué, with c → qu before e.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	acerqué	I brought closer / moved closer
Tú — you, singular informal	acercaste	you brought closer / moved closer
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	acercó	he / she brought closer / moved closer; you brought closer / moved closer (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	acercamos	we brought closer / moved closer
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	acercasteis	you brought closer / moved closer (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	acercaron	they brought closer / moved closer; you brought closer / moved closer (plural)

• Ayer acerqué el micrófono al altavoz. — Yesterday I moved the microphone closer to the speaker.

Acercar imperfect conjugation

Imperfect (el pretérito imperfecto) — Use it for habitual, descriptive, background, or ongoing past situations. Form it with the appropriate form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus invariant acercado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	acercaba	I used to bring closer / move closer / was bringing closer / moving closer
Tú — you, singular informal	acercabas	you used to bring closer / move closer / were bringing closer / moving closer
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	acercaba	he / she used to bring closer / move closer / was bringing closer / moving closer; you used to bring closer / move closer / were bringing closer / moving closer (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	acercábamos	we used to bring closer / move closer / were bringing closer / moving closer
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	acercabais	you used to bring closer / move closer / were bringing closer / moving closer (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	acercaban	they used to bring closer / move closer / were bringing closer / moving closer; you used to bring closer / move closer / were bringing closer / moving closer (plural)

• Antes acercábamos las mesas para trabajar juntos. — We used to move the tables closer together to work.

Acercar present progressive

Present progressive — This verbal periphrasis focuses on an action or process in progress. Form it with present estar — “to be” — plus acercando — “bringing closer / moving closer.”

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	estoy acercando	I am bringing closer / moving closer
Tú — you, singular informal	estás acercando	you are bringing closer / moving closer
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	está acercando	he / she is bringing closer / moving closer; you are bringing closer / moving closer (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	estamos acercando	we are bringing closer / moving closer
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	estáis acercando	you are bringing closer / moving closer (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	están acercando	they are bringing closer / moving closer; you are bringing closer / moving closer (plural)

• Estoy acercando la cámara al objeto. — I am moving the camera closer to the object.

Acercar near future conjugation

Near future — This verbal periphrasis expresses an intention, plan, or expected event. Form it with present ir — “to go” — plus a — “to” — and acercar.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	voy a acercar	I am going to bring closer / move closer
Tú — you, singular informal	vas a acercar	you are going to bring closer / move closer
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	va a acercar	he / she is going to bring closer / move closer; you are going to bring closer / move closer (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	vamos a acercar	we are going to bring closer / move closer
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	vais a acercar	you are going to bring closer / move closer (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	van a acercar	they are going to bring closer / move closer; you are going to bring closer / move closer (plural)

• Voy a acercar el coche a la entrada. — I am going to move the car closer to the entrance.

Acercar future tense conjugation

Simple future (el futuro simple) — Use it for future reference and, where useful, probability. The table uses the verified paradigm.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	acercaré	I will bring closer / move closer
Tú — you, singular informal	acercarás	you will bring closer / move closer
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	acercará	he / she will bring closer / move closer; you will bring closer / move closer (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	acercaremos	we will bring closer / move closer
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	acercaréis	you will bring closer / move closer (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	acercarán	they will bring closer / move closer; you will bring closer / move closer (plural)

• Acercaremos las sillas a la ventana. — We will move the chairs closer to the window.

Acercar conditional conjugation

Conditional (el condicional simple) — Use it for hypothetical outcomes, softened statements, or related conditional meanings. The table uses the verified paradigm.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	acercaría	I would bring closer / move closer
Tú — you, singular informal	acercarías	you would bring closer / move closer
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	acercaría	he / she would bring closer / move closer; you would bring closer / move closer (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	acercaríamos	we would bring closer / move closer
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	acercaríais	you would bring closer / move closer (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	acercarían	they would bring closer / move closer; you would bring closer / move closer (plural)

• Acercaría la lámpara un poco más. — I would move the lamp a little closer.

Acercar present perfect conjugation

Present perfect (el pretérito perfecto compuesto) — Use it for completed events connected to a present reference frame; regional distribution varies. Form it with the appropriate form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus invariant acercado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	he acercado	I have brought closer / moved closer
Tú — you, singular informal	has acercado	you have brought closer / moved closer
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	ha acercado	he / she has brought closer / moved closer; you have brought closer / moved closer (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	hemos acercado	we have brought closer / moved closer
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	habéis acercado	you have brought closer / moved closer (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	han acercado	they have brought closer / moved closer; you have brought closer / moved closer (plural)

• He acercado la mesa a la pared. — I have moved the table closer to the wall.

Acercar past perfect conjugation

Past perfect (el pretérito pluscuamperfecto) — Use it for an event completed before another past reference point. Form it with the appropriate form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus invariant acercado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	había acercado	I had brought closer / moved closer
Tú — you, singular informal	habías acercado	you had brought closer / moved closer
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	había acercado	he / she had brought closer / moved closer; you had brought closer / moved closer (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	habíamos acercado	we had brought closer / moved closer
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	habíais acercado	you had brought closer / moved closer (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	habían acercado	they had brought closer / moved closer; you had brought closer / moved closer (plural)

• Ya habíamos acercado los equipos. — We had already brought the teams closer.

Acercar future perfect conjugation

Future perfect (el futuro perfecto) — Use it for an event expected to be completed before a future reference point. Form it with the appropriate form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus invariant acercado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	habré acercado	I will have brought closer / moved closer
Tú — you, singular informal	habrás acercado	you will have brought closer / moved closer
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	habrá acercado	he / she will have brought closer / moved closer; you will have brought closer / moved closer (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	habremos acercado	we will have brought closer / moved closer
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	habréis acercado	you will have brought closer / moved closer (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	habrán acercado	they will have brought closer / moved closer; you will have brought closer / moved closer (plural)

• Para entonces habrán acercado las cajas a la salida. — By then they will have moved the boxes closer to the exit.

Acercar conditional perfect conjugation

Conditional perfect (el condicional compuesto) — Use it for a hypothetical completed outcome. Form it with the appropriate form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus invariant acercado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	habría acercado	I would have brought closer / moved closer
Tú — you, singular informal	habrías acercado	you would have brought closer / moved closer
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	habría acercado	he / she would have brought closer / moved closer; you would have brought closer / moved closer (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	habríamos acercado	we would have brought closer / moved closer
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	habríais acercado	you would have brought closer / moved closer (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	habrían acercado	they would have brought closer / moved closer; you would have brought closer / moved closer (plural)

• Habría acercado el micrófono con más cuidado. — I would have moved the microphone closer more carefully.

Acercar subjunctive conjugations

Acercar present subjunctive conjugation

Present subjunctive (el presente de subjuntivo) — Use it in subordinate environments involving wishes, influence, emotion, doubt or denial, evaluation, necessity, possibility, or non-specific reference. The entire present-subjunctive family uses acerqu- before the e-based endings.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	acerque	that I bring closer / move closer
Tú — you, singular informal	acerques	that you bring closer / move closer
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	acerque	that he / she bring closer / move closer; that you bring closer / move closer (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	acerquemos	that we bring closer / move closer
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	acerquéis	that you bring closer / move closer (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	acerquen	that they bring closer / move closer; that you bring closer / move closer (plural)

• Quiero que acerques la silla. — I want you to move the chair closer.

Acercar imperfect subjunctive conjugation

Imperfect subjunctive (el imperfecto de subjuntivo) — The main table uses the -ra series. The accepted -se series is also valid in many contexts and is demonstrated after the table. Form it with the appropriate form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus invariant acercado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	acercara	that I brought closer / moved closer
Tú — you, singular informal	acercaras	that you brought closer / moved closer
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	acercara	that he / she brought closer / moved closer; that you brought closer / moved closer (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	acercáramos	that we brought closer / moved closer
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	acercarais	that you brought closer / moved closer (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	acercaran	that they brought closer / moved closer; that you brought closer / moved closer (plural)

• Preferían que acercáramos las mesas. — They preferred that we move the tables closer.
• Era mejor que acercases el coche a la entrada. — It was better for you to move the car closer to the entrance.

Acercar future subjunctive conjugation

Future subjunctive (el futuro de subjuntivo) — Rare in modern everyday Spanish. It survives mainly in formal, legal, proverbial, literary, or historical contexts. These rare reference forms belong mainly to formal, legal, proverbial, literary, or historical registers.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	acercare	if / when I should bring closer / move closer
Tú — you, singular informal	acercares	if / when you should bring closer / move closer
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	acercare	if / when he / she should bring closer / move closer; if / when you should bring closer / move closer (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	acercáremos	if / when we should bring closer / move closer
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	acercareis	if / when you should bring closer / move closer (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	acercaren	if / when they should bring closer / move closer; if / when you should bring closer / move closer (plural)

• Quien acercare material a la zona restringida deberá registrarlo. — Whoever should bring material closer to the restricted area must register it.

Acercar present perfect subjunctive conjugation

Present perfect subjunctive (el pretérito perfecto de subjuntivo) — Use it when a completed event appears inside a present- or future-oriented subjunctive environment. Form it with the appropriate form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus invariant acercado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	haya acercado	that I have brought closer / moved closer
Tú — you, singular informal	hayas acercado	that you have brought closer / moved closer
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	haya acercado	that he / she has brought closer / moved closer; that you have brought closer / moved closer (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	hayamos acercado	that we have brought closer / moved closer
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	hayáis acercado	that you have brought closer / moved closer (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	hayan acercado	that they have brought closer / moved closer; that you have brought closer / moved closer (plural)

• Me alegra que hayas acercado las sillas. — I am glad that you moved the chairs closer.

Acercar past perfect subjunctive conjugation

Past perfect subjunctive (el pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo) — The main table uses hubiera; hubiese is an accepted auxiliary alternative in many contexts and is demonstrated after the table. Form it with the appropriate form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus invariant acercado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	hubiera acercado	that I had brought closer / moved closer
Tú — you, singular informal	hubieras acercado	that you had brought closer / moved closer
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	hubiera acercado	that he / she had brought closer / moved closer; that you had brought closer / moved closer (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	hubiéramos acercado	that we had brought closer / moved closer
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	hubierais acercado	that you had brought closer / moved closer (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	hubieran acercado	that they had brought closer / moved closer; that you had brought closer / moved closer (plural)

• Si hubiera acercado la cámara, habría visto más detalles. — If I had moved the camera closer, I would have seen more detail.
• Si hubieses acercado la mesa, habría habido más espacio. — If you had moved the table closer, there would have been more space.

Acercar future perfect subjunctive conjugation

Future perfect subjunctive (el futuro perfecto de subjuntivo) — Rare in modern everyday Spanish. Treat it as a formal or historical reference form, not an everyday conversational target. Form it with the appropriate form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus invariant acercado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	hubiere acercado	if / when I should have brought closer / moved closer
Tú — you, singular informal	hubieres acercado	if / when you should have brought closer / moved closer
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	hubiere acercado	if / when he / she should have brought closer / moved closer; if / when you should have brought closer / moved closer (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	hubiéremos acercado	if / when we should have brought closer / moved closer
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	hubiereis acercado	if / when you should have brought closer / moved closer (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	hubieren acercado	if / when they should have brought closer / moved closer; if / when you should have brought closer / moved closer (plural)

• Si hubieren acercado equipos adicionales, deberán indicarlo. — If they should have brought additional equipment closer, they must state it.

Acercar imperative and commands

Commands address another person directly. The nosotros/nosotras row is a present-subjunctive form used with exhortative “let’s…” value.

Acercar affirmative commands

Use the verified affirmative command forms for direct instructions when the target meaning supports them naturally.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Tú — you, singular informal	acerca	bring closer
Usted — you, singular formal	acerque	bring closer (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	acerquemos	let’s bring closer
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	acercad	bring closer (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	acerquen	bring closer (plural)

• Acerca la silla un poco. — Move the chair closer a little.

Acercar negative commands

Negative commands use subjunctive-based forms, with no — “not / do not” — before the verb.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Tú — you, singular informal	no acerques	do not bring closer
Usted — you, singular formal	no acerque	do not bring closer (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	no acerquemos	let’s not bring closer
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	no acerquéis	do not bring closer (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	no acerquen	do not bring closer (plural)

• No acerques el dispositivo al agua. — Do not bring the device close to water.

Common constructions with Acercar

These patterns show sentence frames that materially affect how the target verb is used.

• acercar algo a + place / object. — to bring or move something closer to a place or object.
• acercar a dos personas / grupos. — to bring two people or groups closer.
• acercar una fecha / plazo. — to bring a date or deadline closer in suitable contexts.

Example sentences with Acercar

These examples reinforce the target verb across useful forms and contexts already taught in the lesson.

• Acerca el teléfono al lector. — Bring the phone closer to the reader.
• El proyecto acercó a las dos comunidades. — The project brought the two communities closer.
• Voy a acercar la mesa a la pared. — I am going to move the table closer to the wall.
• Espero que acerques el micrófono. — I hope you move the microphone closer.
• Han acercado las sillas al escenario. — They have moved the chairs closer to the stage.
• Acerca primero el objeto a la cámara. — Move the object closer to the camera first.

Regional and usage notes for Acercar

The core tables retain tú, usted, vosotros/vosotras, and ustedes for project comparability. Voseo changes some second-person singular forms in regions where vos — “you, singular informal” — is used.

• Vos acercás la silla a la mesa. — You move the chair closer to the table. (voseo)
• Acercá el coche a la entrada. — Move the car closer to the entrance. (affirmative vos command)

For acercar, the conjugation is regular except for spelling before e. Use qu in acerqué, the present subjunctive, and related command forms; otherwise keep acerc-.