Tocar Conjugation | How to Conjugate Tocar in Spanish

Tocar means “to touch,” “to play an instrument,” or “to knock/ring.” You will learn its regular -AR framework, c → qu spelling change before e, and major everyday uses.

Tocar conjugation at a glance

Verb type: Irregular. Linguistically, tocar keeps regular -AR endings but changes c → qu before e, producing toqué — “I touched / played” — and toque — “that I touch / play.”

Tocar 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 tocado remains invariant in those compounds.

Form	Spanish	Natural English guide
Infinitive	tocar	to touch / play
Gerund	tocando	touching / playing
Past participle	tocado	touched / played

Tocar meaning and essential uses

Tocar is transitive when physically touching something: No toques la pantalla. — “Do not touch the screen.” It also means playing a musical instrument: Toco la guitarra. — “I play the guitar.”

RAE also records touching or sounding a bell, door, or similar object, and many idiomatic uses. A very common impersonal-like pattern is tocar a alguien + infinitive: Me toca cocinar. — “It is my turn to cook / I have to cook this time.”

Tocar irregular conjugation patterns

Most forms use toc- with ordinary -AR endings. Before e, Spanish writes qu to preserve the /k/ sound: toqué — “I touched / played” — and toque — “that I touch / play.”

The present-subjunctive family therefore uses toqu-: toque, toques, toquemos, toquéis, toquen. Other major tense families keep toc-.

Tocar indicative and periphrastic conjugations

Tocar 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	toco	I touch / play
Tú — you, singular informal	tocas	you touch / play
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	toca	he / she touches / plays; you touch / play (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	tocamos	we touch / play
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	tocáis	you touch / play (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	tocan	they touch / play; you touch / play (plural)

• Toco el piano todos los días. — I play the piano every day.

Tocar preterite conjugation

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

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	toqué	I touched / played
Tú — you, singular informal	tocaste	you touched / played
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	tocó	he / she touched / played; you touched / played (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	tocamos	we touched / played
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	tocasteis	you touched / played (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	tocaron	they touched / played; you touched / played (plural)

• Ayer toqué la guitarra en un concierto. — Yesterday I played the guitar at a concert.

Tocar 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 tocado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	tocaba	I used to touch / play / was touching / playing
Tú — you, singular informal	tocabas	you used to touch / play / were touching / playing
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	tocaba	he / she used to touch / play / was touching / playing; you used to touch / play / were touching / playing (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	tocábamos	we used to touch / play / were touching / playing
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	tocabais	you used to touch / play / were touching / playing (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	tocaban	they used to touch / play / were touching / playing; you used to touch / play / were touching / playing (plural)

• De niño tocaba el violín. — As a child, I used to play the violin.

Tocar present progressive

Present progressive — This verbal periphrasis focuses on an action or process in progress. Form it with present estar — “to be” — plus tocando — “touching / playing.”

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

• Estoy tocando una canción nueva. — I am playing a new song.

Tocar 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 tocar.

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

• Voy a tocar el timbre. — I am going to ring the bell.

Tocar 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	tocaré	I will touch / play
Tú — you, singular informal	tocarás	you will touch / play
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	tocará	he / she will touch / play; you will touch / play (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	tocaremos	we will touch / play
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	tocaréis	you will touch / play (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	tocarán	they will touch / play; you will touch / play (plural)

• Tocaremos juntos mañana. — We will play together tomorrow.

Tocar 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	tocaría	I would touch / play
Tú — you, singular informal	tocarías	you would touch / play
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	tocaría	he / she would touch / play; you would touch / play (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	tocaríamos	we would touch / play
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	tocaríais	you would touch / play (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	tocarían	they would touch / play; you would touch / play (plural)

• Tocaría esa pieza más despacio. — I would play that piece more slowly.

Tocar 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 tocado.

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

• He tocado ese instrumento antes. — I have played that instrument before.

Tocar 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 tocado.

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

• Ya habíamos tocado esa canción. — We had already played that song.

Tocar 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 tocado.

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

• Para entonces habrán tocado todas las piezas. — By then they will have played all the pieces.

Tocar 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 tocado.

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

• Habría tocado mejor con más práctica. — I would have played better with more practice.

Tocar subjunctive conjugations

Tocar 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 toqu- before the e-based endings.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	toque	that I touch / play
Tú — you, singular informal	toques	that you touch / play
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	toque	that he / she touch / play; that you touch / play (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	toquemos	that we touch / play
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	toquéis	that you touch / play (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	toquen	that they touch / play; that you touch / play (plural)

• Quiero que toques esta canción. — I want you to play this song.

Tocar 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 tocado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	tocara	that I touched / played
Tú — you, singular informal	tocaras	that you touched / played
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	tocara	that he / she touched / played; that you touched / played (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	tocáramos	that we touched / played
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	tocarais	that you touched / played (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	tocaran	that they touched / played; that you touched / played (plural)

• Preferían que tocáramos después de cenar. — They preferred that we play after dinner.
• Era mejor que tocases la puerta antes de entrar. — It was better for you to knock on the door before entering.

Tocar 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	tocare	if / when I should touch / play
Tú — you, singular informal	tocares	if / when you should touch / play
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	tocare	if / when he / she should touch / play; if / when you should touch / play (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	tocáremos	if / when we should touch / play
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	tocareis	if / when you should touch / play (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	tocaren	if / when they should touch / play; if / when you should touch / play (plural)

• Quien tocare el equipo sin autorización deberá comunicarlo. — Whoever should touch the equipment without authorization must report it.

Tocar 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 tocado.

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

• Me alegra que hayas tocado con nosotros. — I am glad that you played with us.

Tocar 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 tocado.

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

• Si hubiera tocado el timbre, habrían abierto. — If I had rung the bell, they would have opened.
• Si hubieses tocado esa canción, todos la habrían reconocido. — If you had played that song, everyone would have recognized it.

Tocar 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 tocado.

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

• Si hubieren tocado el equipo, deberán dejar constancia. — If they should have touched the equipment, they must make a record.

Tocar imperative and commands

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

Tocar 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	toca	touch
Usted — you, singular formal	toque	touch (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	toquemos	let’s touch
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	tocad	touch (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	toquen	touch (plural)

• Toca esta nota otra vez. — Play this note again.

Tocar 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 toques	do not touch
Usted — you, singular formal	no toque	do not touch (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	no toquemos	let’s not touch
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	no toquéis	do not touch (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	no toquen	do not touch (plural)

• No toques ese cable. — Do not touch that cable.

Common constructions with Tocar

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

• tocar algo. — to touch something.
• tocar un instrumento. — to play an instrument.
• tocar la puerta / el timbre. — to knock on the door / ring the bell.
• tocarle a alguien + infinitive. — to be someone’s turn / responsibility to do something.

Example sentences with Tocar

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

• No toques eso. — Do not touch that.
• Ella toca el piano muy bien. — She plays the piano very well.
• Me toca cocinar esta noche. — It is my turn to cook tonight.
• Espero que toques con nosotros. — I hope you play with us.
• Han tocado el timbre dos veces. — They have rung the bell twice.
• Toca la puerta antes de entrar. — Knock on the door before entering.

Regional and usage notes for Tocar

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 tocás la guitarra. — You play the guitar. (voseo)
• Tocá esta canción otra vez. — Play this song again. (affirmative vos command)

For tocar, the endings are largely regular. The crucial spelling rule is c → qu before e, visible in toqué, the present subjunctive, and related command forms.