¿Qué te parece?
Like gustar, parecer works with me, te, le, nos, os, les to give opinions: ¿qué te parece? (what do you think?), me parece bien (that's fine with me), me parece que… (I think that…). And parecerse a = to look like someone: te pareces a tu madre.
Indicative tenses of parecer
Facts and things that happen: the tenses you'll use most.
Present indicative
| yo | parezcoI seem |
|---|---|
| tú | parecesyou seem |
| él/ella/usted | parecehe/she seems |
| nosotros/as | parecemoswe seem |
| vosotros/as | parecéisyou all seem |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | parecenthey seem |
Only the yo form is irregular: c → zc (parezco).
Preterite indicative
| yo | parecíI seemed |
|---|---|
| tú | parecisteyou seemed |
| él/ella/usted | parecióhe/she seemed |
| nosotros/as | parecimoswe seemed |
| vosotros/as | parecisteisyou all seemed |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | parecieronthey seemed |
Imperfect indicative
| yo | parecíaI used to seem |
|---|---|
| tú | parecíasyou used to seem |
| él/ella/usted | parecíahe/she used to seem |
| nosotros/as | parecíamoswe used to seem |
| vosotros/as | parecíaisyou all used to seem |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | parecíanthey used to seem |
Present continuous indicative
| yo | estoy pareciendoI am seeming |
|---|---|
| tú | estás pareciendoyou are seeming |
| él/ella/usted | está pareciendohe/she is seeming |
| nosotros/as | estamos pareciendowe are seeming |
| vosotros/as | estáis pareciendoyou all are seeming |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | están pareciendothey are seeming |
estar + gerund
Informal future indicative
| yo | voy a parecerI am going to seem |
|---|---|
| tú | vas a pareceryou are going to seem |
| él/ella/usted | va a parecerhe/she is going to seem |
| nosotros/as | vamos a parecerwe are going to seem |
| vosotros/as | vais a pareceryou all are going to seem |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | van a parecerthey are going to seem |
ir a + infinitive
Future indicative
| yo | pareceréI will seem |
|---|---|
| tú | parecerásyou will seem |
| él/ella/usted | pareceráhe/she will seem |
| nosotros/as | pareceremoswe will seem |
| vosotros/as | pareceréisyou all will seem |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | pareceránthey will seem |
Conditional indicative
| yo | pareceríaI would seem |
|---|---|
| tú | pareceríasyou would seem |
| él/ella/usted | pareceríahe/she would seem |
| nosotros/as | pareceríamoswe would seem |
| vosotros/as | pareceríaisyou all would seem |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | pareceríanthey would seem |
Present perfect indicative
| yo | he parecidoI have seemed |
|---|---|
| tú | has parecidoyou have seemed |
| él/ella/usted | ha parecidohe/she has seemed |
| nosotros/as | hemos parecidowe have seemed |
| vosotros/as | habéis parecidoyou all have seemed |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | han parecidothey have seemed |
haber (present) + past participle
Past perfect indicative
| yo | había parecidoI had seemed |
|---|---|
| tú | habías parecidoyou had seemed |
| él/ella/usted | había parecidohe/she had seemed |
| nosotros/as | habíamos parecidowe had seemed |
| vosotros/as | habíais parecidoyou all had seemed |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | habían parecidothey had seemed |
haber (imperfect) + past participle
Future perfect indicative
| yo | habré parecidoI will have seemed |
|---|---|
| tú | habrás parecidoyou will have seemed |
| él/ella/usted | habrá parecidohe/she will have seemed |
| nosotros/as | habremos parecidowe will have seemed |
| vosotros/as | habréis parecidoyou all will have seemed |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | habrán parecidothey will have seemed |
haber (future) + past participle
Conditional perfect indicative
| yo | habría parecidoI would have seemed |
|---|---|
| tú | habrías parecidoyou would have seemed |
| él/ella/usted | habría parecidohe/she would have seemed |
| nosotros/as | habríamos parecidowe would have seemed |
| vosotros/as | habríais parecidoyou all would have seemed |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | habrían parecidothey would have seemed |
haber (conditional) + past participle
Subjunctive tenses of parecer
Wishes, doubts, emotions and "if" sentences.
Present subjunctive
| yo | parezca(that) I seem |
|---|---|
| tú | parezcas(that) you seem |
| él/ella/usted | parezca(that) he/she seems |
| nosotros/as | parezcamos(that) we seem |
| vosotros/as | parezcáis(that) you all seem |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | parezcan(that) they seem |
The zc carries over into the whole subjunctive: parezca.
Imperfect subjunctive
| yo | pareciera(if) I seemed |
|---|---|
| tú | parecieras(if) you seemed |
| él/ella/usted | pareciera(if) he/she seemed |
| nosotros/as | pareciéramos(if) we seemed |
| vosotros/as | parecierais(if) you all seemed |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | parecieran(if) they seemed |
Future subjunctive
| yo | pareciere(if) I seem |
|---|---|
| tú | parecieres(if) you seem |
| él/ella/usted | pareciere(if) he/she seems |
| nosotros/as | pareciéremos(if) we seem |
| vosotros/as | pareciereis(if) you all seem |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | parecieren(if) they seem |
rarely used: legal & formal texts
Present perfect subjunctive
| yo | haya parecido(that) I have seemed |
|---|---|
| tú | hayas parecido(that) you have seemed |
| él/ella/usted | haya parecido(that) he/she has seemed |
| nosotros/as | hayamos parecido(that) we have seemed |
| vosotros/as | hayáis parecido(that) you all have seemed |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | hayan parecido(that) they have seemed |
haber (present subj.) + past participle
Past perfect subjunctive
| yo | hubiera parecido(if) I had seemed |
|---|---|
| tú | hubieras parecido(if) you had seemed |
| él/ella/usted | hubiera parecido(if) he/she had seemed |
| nosotros/as | hubiéramos parecido(if) we had seemed |
| vosotros/as | hubierais parecido(if) you all had seemed |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | hubieran parecido(if) they had seemed |
haber (imperfect subj.) + past participle
Future perfect subjunctive
| yo | hubiere parecido(if) I will have seemed |
|---|---|
| tú | hubieres parecido(if) you will have seemed |
| él/ella/usted | hubiere parecido(if) he/she will have seemed |
| nosotros/as | hubiéremos parecido(if) we will have seemed |
| vosotros/as | hubiereis parecido(if) you all will have seemed |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | hubieren parecido(if) they will have seemed |
rarely used: legal & formal texts
Imperative tenses of parecer
Commands and instructions.
Affirmative imperative
| tú | pareceseem! |
|---|---|
| usted | parezcaseem! (formal) |
| nosotros/as | parezcamoslet's seem! |
| vosotros/as | parecedseem! (you all) |
| ustedes | parezcanseem! (you all, formal) |
Rare, apart from ¡no te parezcas a él!
Negative imperative
| tú | no parezcasdon't seem! |
|---|---|
| usted | no parezcadon't seem! (formal) |
| nosotros/as | no parezcamoslet's not seem! |
| vosotros/as | no parezcáisdon't seem! (you all) |
| ustedes | no parezcandon't seem! (you all, formal) |
Practice parecer
Two quick exercises. No sign-up, no app: just you and parecer.
How to use parecer
Parece cansado.
He seems tired.
¿Qué te parece la idea?
What do you think of the idea?
Me parece genial.
I think it's great.
Te pareces mucho a tu padre.
You look a lot like your dad.
Parece que va a llover.
It looks like it's going to rain.
Example sentences with parecer
- ¿Qué te parece?What do you think?
- Me parece bien.Sounds good to me.
- Parece que no hay nadie.It looks like nobody's here.
- No me pareció justo.It didn't seem fair to me.
- Parecía muy simpático.He seemed very nice.
- Te parecerá raro, pero me encanta.It'll seem strange to you, but I love it.
- No me parezco nada a mi hermano.I don't look like my brother at all.
- Haz lo que te parezca.Do whatever you think is best.
Verbs like parecer
Almost all verbs ending in -cer or -cir after a vowel get the same zc in the yo form: conozco, ofrezco, conduzco.
Frequently asked questions about parecer
Is parecer regular or irregular?
Parecer is irregular only in the yo form of the present (parezco) and in the present subjunctive (parezca). All other tenses are regular.
How do you conjugate parecer in the present tense?
parezco, pareces, parece, parecemos, parecéis, parecen.
What does "¿qué te parece?" mean?
"What do you think?" or "how does that sound to you?". Answer with me parece bien (sounds good) or me parece genial (sounds great).
What is the difference between parecer and parecerse?
Parecer = to seem (parece fácil, it seems easy). Parecerse a = to look like someone (me parezco a mi madre).
How do you say "it looks like" in Spanish?
Parece que…: parece que va a llover (it looks like it's going to rain).
What is the past participle of parecer?
The past participle is parecido and the gerund is pareciendo. Parecido also means "similar".
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