Tratar Conjugation | How to Conjugate Tratar in Spanish

Tratar means “to treat,” “to deal with,” or “to try.” You will learn its fully regular -AR conjugation and the essential patterns tratar de + infinitive, tratar de/sobre, and tratar a alguien.

Tratar conjugation at a glance

Verb type: Regular AR. Tratar keeps the stable stem trat- and takes ordinary -AR endings. Its gerund tratando — “treating / trying” — and participle tratado — “treated / tried” — are regular.

Tratar 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 tratado remains invariant in those compounds.

Form	Spanish	Natural English guide
Infinitive	tratar	to treat / try
Gerund	tratando	treating / trying
Past participle	tratado	treated / tried

Tratar meaning and essential uses

Tratar is transitive when dealing with, handling, managing, or treating a person, matter, disease, or material. A common interpersonal pattern is tratar a alguien bien / mal — “to treat someone well / badly.”

RAE explicitly records tratar de + infinitive for trying to achieve something: Trato de vivir bien. — “I try to live well.” With a topic, tratar de / sobre / acerca de means discussing or dealing with that subject.

Tratar regular conjugation pattern

The stem trat- remains unchanged throughout the core paradigm. Forms such as trato — “I treat / try,” traté — “I treated / tried,” and trate — “that I treat / try” — use ordinary -AR endings.

There is no stem change, spelling alternation, irregular preterite stem, irregular future stem, irregular gerund, or irregular participle.

Tratar indicative and periphrastic conjugations

Tratar 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	trato	I treat / try
Tú — you, singular informal	tratas	you treat / try
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	trata	he / she treats / tries; you treat / try (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	tratamos	we treat / try
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	tratáis	you treat / try (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	tratan	they treat / try; you treat / try (plural)

• Trato a todos con respeto. — I treat everyone with respect.

Tratar preterite conjugation

Preterite (el pretérito perfecto simple / pretérito indefinido) — Use it for completed or bounded past events. The table uses the verified paradigm.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	traté	I treated / tried
Tú — you, singular informal	trataste	you treated / tried
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	trató	he / she treated / tried; you treated / tried (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	tratamos	we treated / tried
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	tratasteis	you treated / tried (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	trataron	they treated / tried; you treated / tried (plural)

• Ayer traté de llamarte. — Yesterday I tried to call you.

Tratar 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 tratado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	trataba	I used to treat / try / was treating / trying
Tú — you, singular informal	tratabas	you used to treat / try / were treating / trying
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	trataba	he / she used to treat / try / was treating / trying; you used to treat / try / were treating / trying (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	tratábamos	we used to treat / try / were treating / trying
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	tratabais	you used to treat / try / were treating / trying (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	trataban	they used to treat / try / were treating / trying; you used to treat / try / were treating / trying (plural)

• Antes trataba ese tema con frecuencia. — I used to discuss that topic frequently.

Tratar present progressive

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

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

• Estoy tratando de resolver el problema. — I am trying to solve the problem.

Tratar 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 tratar.

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

• Voy a tratar de terminar hoy. — I am going to try to finish today.

Tratar 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	trataré	I will treat / try
Tú — you, singular informal	tratarás	you will treat / try
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	tratará	he / she will treat / try; you will treat / try (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	trataremos	we will treat / try
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	trataréis	you will treat / try (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	tratarán	they will treat / try; you will treat / try (plural)

• Trataremos el tema mañana. — We will discuss the topic tomorrow.

Tratar 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	trataría	I would treat / try
Tú — you, singular informal	tratarías	you would treat / try
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	trataría	he / she would treat / try; you would treat / try (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	trataríamos	we would treat / try
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	trataríais	you would treat / try (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	tratarían	they would treat / try; you would treat / try (plural)

• Trataría al cliente con más paciencia. — I would treat the client with more patience.

Tratar 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 tratado.

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

• He tratado de comunicarme contigo. — I have tried to contact you.

Tratar 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 tratado.

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

• Ya habíamos tratado ese asunto. — We had already discussed that matter.

Tratar 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 tratado.

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

• Para entonces habrán tratado todos los puntos. — By then they will have discussed all the points.

Tratar 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 tratado.

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

• Habría tratado de ayudarte antes. — I would have tried to help you earlier.

Tratar subjunctive conjugations

Tratar 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 table uses the verified paradigm.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	trate	that I treat / try
Tú — you, singular informal	trates	that you treat / try
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	trate	that he / she treat / try; that you treat / try (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	tratemos	that we treat / try
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	tratéis	that you treat / try (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	traten	that they treat / try; that you treat / try (plural)

• Quiero que trates a todos con respeto. — I want you to treat everyone with respect.

Tratar 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 tratado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	tratara	that I treated / tried
Tú — you, singular informal	trataras	that you treated / tried
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	tratara	that he / she treated / tried; that you treated / tried (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	tratáramos	that we treated / tried
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	tratarais	that you treated / tried (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	trataran	that they treated / tried; that you treated / tried (plural)

• Preferían que tratáramos el problema primero. — They preferred that we address the problem first.
• Era mejor que tratases de explicarlo con calma. — It was better for you to try to explain it calmly.

Tratar 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	tratare	if / when I should treat / try
Tú — you, singular informal	tratares	if / when you should treat / try
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	tratare	if / when he / she should treat / try; if / when you should treat / try (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	tratáremos	if / when we should treat / try
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	tratareis	if / when you should treat / try (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	trataren	if / when they should treat / try; if / when you should treat / try (plural)

• Quien tratare datos personales deberá cumplir las normas aplicables. — Whoever should handle personal data must comply with the applicable rules.

Tratar 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 tratado.

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

• Me alegra que hayas tratado de ayudar. — I am glad that you tried to help.

Tratar 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 tratado.

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

• Si hubiera tratado el problema antes, habría sido más fácil. — If I had addressed the problem earlier, it would have been easier.
• Si hubieses tratado de llamarme, habría respondido. — If you had tried to call me, I would have answered.

Tratar 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 tratado.

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

• Si hubieren tratado materiales peligrosos, deberán registrarlo. — If they should have handled hazardous materials, they must record it.

Tratar imperative and commands

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

Tratar 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	trata	treat
Usted — you, singular formal	trate	treat (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	tratemos	let’s treat
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	tratad	treat (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	traten	treat (plural)

• Trata de terminar hoy. — Try to finish today.

Tratar 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 trates	do not treat
Usted — you, singular formal	no trate	do not treat (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	no tratemos	let’s not treat
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	no tratéis	do not treat (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	no traten	do not treat (plural)

• No trates mal a los demás. — Do not treat others badly.

Common constructions with Tratar

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

• tratar a alguien bien / mal. — to treat someone well / badly.
• tratar de + infinitive. — to try to do something.
• tratar de / sobre / acerca de + topic. — to discuss / deal with a topic.
• tratar una enfermedad / material / asunto. — to treat a disease / process a material / handle a matter.

Example sentences with Tratar

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

• Trato de aprender algo nuevo cada día. — I try to learn something new every day.
• El libro trata de historia. — The book deals with history.
• Debemos tratar este asunto con cuidado. — We must handle this matter carefully.
• Espero que trates a todos con respeto. — I hope you treat everyone with respect.
• Han tratado de encontrar una solución. — They have tried to find a solution.
• Trata primero el problema más urgente. — Address the most urgent problem first.

Regional and usage notes for Tratar

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 tratás de llegar temprano. — You try to arrive early. (voseo)
• Tratá de terminar hoy. — Try to finish today. (affirmative vos command)

Tratar is fully regular. The main learner challenge is selecting the construction: tratar de + infinitive for “try,” a topic phrase for “deal with / discuss,” or a direct object for “treat / handle.”