Tocar conjugation Spanish verb

How tocar conjugates

Tocar is a regular -ar verb with one spelling change: c becomes qu before e to keep the hard k sound. You will see it in the yo preterite (toqué) and in all of the present subjunctive (toque, toques, toquemos, toquen), and therefore in the usted, nosotros and ustedes commands. In the it's your turn meaning, tocar usually appears in the third person singular with a pronoun: me toca, nos tocó, les tocará.

Tocar in example sentences

• Present

  Esta semana me toca a mí preparar el informe.

  This week it's my turn to prepare the report.

• Preterite

  Toqué la puerta tres veces, pero nadie abrió.

  I knocked on the door three times, but nobody answered.

• Imperfect

  Mi hermano tocaba la guitarra en un grupo de rock.

  My brother used to play guitar in a rock band.

• Future

  Mañana te tocará atender a los clientes nuevos.

  Tomorrow it will be your turn to look after the new clients.

• Present perfect

  Nos ha tocado el turno de noche otra vez.

  We've been given the night shift again.

• Present subjunctive

  Por favor, no toques los cables mientras el electricista trabaja.

  Please don't touch the cables while the electrician is working.

• Conditional

  Si hubiera reunión hoy, le tocaría presentar a Daniel.

  If there were a meeting today, it would be Daniel's turn to present.

• Affirmative commands

  Toque el timbre al llegar y alguien le abrirá.

  Ring the bell when you arrive and someone will let you in.

Common phrases with tocar

tocarle a alguien (hacer algo)

to be someone's turn (to do something)

tocar un instrumento

to play an instrument

tocar la puerta / el timbre

to knock on the door / ring the bell

tocar un tema

to bring up / touch on a topic

tocar la lotería

to win the lottery (literally, the lottery falls to you)

tocar madera

to knock on wood

Mistakes to avoid

• Using jugar for instruments. You play the piano is Tocas el piano; jugar is only for games and sports.
• Treating the turn meaning like a normal verb: say Me toca a mí, not *Yo toco*.
• Writing *tocé* in the preterite. The yo form needs qu: toqué.

Tocar tense by tense

• Tocar present
• Tocar preterite
• Tocar imperfect
• Tocar future
• Tocar conditional
• Tocar present subjunctive
• Tocar affirmative commands

Related verbs

• explicar to explain
• sacar to take out; to get; to take (a photo)
• buscar to look for; to search; to pick up
• jugar to play (a game or sport)

Most common Spanish verbs

• ser
• estar
• tener
• haber
• hacer
• ir
• poder
• decir
• dar
• ver
• saber
• querer

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