Te toca = your turn
Tocar works like gustar when it means "to be someone's turn": Me toca a mí (It's my turn), ¿A quién le toca? (Whose turn is it?). And for winning: Le tocó la lotería (He won the lottery). For instruments, use tocar, never jugar: toco la guitarra.
Indicative tenses of tocar
Facts and things that happen: the tenses you'll use most.
Present indicative
| yo | tocoI touch |
|---|---|
| tú | tocasyou touch |
| él/ella/usted | tocahe/she touches |
| nosotros/as | tocamoswe touch |
| vosotros/as | tocáisyou all touch |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | tocanthey touch |
Preterite indicative
| yo | toquéI touched |
|---|---|
| tú | tocasteyou touched |
| él/ella/usted | tocóhe/she touched |
| nosotros/as | tocamoswe touched |
| vosotros/as | tocasteisyou all touched |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | tocaronthey touched |
Spelling change only in the yo form: c → qu before e (toqué).
Imperfect indicative
| yo | tocabaI used to touch |
|---|---|
| tú | tocabasyou used to touch |
| él/ella/usted | tocabahe/she used to touch |
| nosotros/as | tocábamoswe used to touch |
| vosotros/as | tocabaisyou all used to touch |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | tocabanthey used to touch |
Present continuous indicative
| yo | estoy tocandoI am touching |
|---|---|
| tú | estás tocandoyou are touching |
| él/ella/usted | está tocandohe/she is touching |
| nosotros/as | estamos tocandowe are touching |
| vosotros/as | estáis tocandoyou all are touching |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | están tocandothey are touching |
estar + gerund
Informal future indicative
| yo | voy a tocarI am going to touch |
|---|---|
| tú | vas a tocaryou are going to touch |
| él/ella/usted | va a tocarhe/she is going to touch |
| nosotros/as | vamos a tocarwe are going to touch |
| vosotros/as | vais a tocaryou all are going to touch |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | van a tocarthey are going to touch |
ir a + infinitive
Future indicative
| yo | tocaréI will touch |
|---|---|
| tú | tocarásyou will touch |
| él/ella/usted | tocaráhe/she will touch |
| nosotros/as | tocaremoswe will touch |
| vosotros/as | tocaréisyou all will touch |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | tocaránthey will touch |
Conditional indicative
| yo | tocaríaI would touch |
|---|---|
| tú | tocaríasyou would touch |
| él/ella/usted | tocaríahe/she would touch |
| nosotros/as | tocaríamoswe would touch |
| vosotros/as | tocaríaisyou all would touch |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | tocaríanthey would touch |
Present perfect indicative
| yo | he tocadoI have touched |
|---|---|
| tú | has tocadoyou have touched |
| él/ella/usted | ha tocadohe/she has touched |
| nosotros/as | hemos tocadowe have touched |
| vosotros/as | habéis tocadoyou all have touched |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | han tocadothey have touched |
haber (present) + past participle
Past perfect indicative
| yo | había tocadoI had touched |
|---|---|
| tú | habías tocadoyou had touched |
| él/ella/usted | había tocadohe/she had touched |
| nosotros/as | habíamos tocadowe had touched |
| vosotros/as | habíais tocadoyou all had touched |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | habían tocadothey had touched |
haber (imperfect) + past participle
Future perfect indicative
| yo | habré tocadoI will have touched |
|---|---|
| tú | habrás tocadoyou will have touched |
| él/ella/usted | habrá tocadohe/she will have touched |
| nosotros/as | habremos tocadowe will have touched |
| vosotros/as | habréis tocadoyou all will have touched |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | habrán tocadothey will have touched |
haber (future) + past participle
Conditional perfect indicative
| yo | habría tocadoI would have touched |
|---|---|
| tú | habrías tocadoyou would have touched |
| él/ella/usted | habría tocadohe/she would have touched |
| nosotros/as | habríamos tocadowe would have touched |
| vosotros/as | habríais tocadoyou all would have touched |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | habrían tocadothey would have touched |
haber (conditional) + past participle
Subjunctive tenses of tocar
Wishes, doubts, emotions and "if" sentences.
Present subjunctive
| yo | toque(that) I touch |
|---|---|
| tú | toques(that) you touch |
| él/ella/usted | toque(that) he/she touches |
| nosotros/as | toquemos(that) we touch |
| vosotros/as | toquéis(that) you all touch |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | toquen(that) they touch |
Same spelling change in the whole subjunctive: toque, toques…
Imperfect subjunctive
| yo | tocara(if) I touched |
|---|---|
| tú | tocaras(if) you touched |
| él/ella/usted | tocara(if) he/she touched |
| nosotros/as | tocáramos(if) we touched |
| vosotros/as | tocarais(if) you all touched |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | tocaran(if) they touched |
Future subjunctive
| yo | tocare(if) I touch |
|---|---|
| tú | tocares(if) you touch |
| él/ella/usted | tocare(if) he/she touches |
| nosotros/as | tocáremos(if) we touch |
| vosotros/as | tocareis(if) you all touch |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | tocaren(if) they touch |
rarely used: legal & formal texts
Present perfect subjunctive
| yo | haya tocado(that) I have touched |
|---|---|
| tú | hayas tocado(that) you have touched |
| él/ella/usted | haya tocado(that) he/she has touched |
| nosotros/as | hayamos tocado(that) we have touched |
| vosotros/as | hayáis tocado(that) you all have touched |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | hayan tocado(that) they have touched |
haber (present subj.) + past participle
Past perfect subjunctive
| yo | hubiera tocado(if) I had touched |
|---|---|
| tú | hubieras tocado(if) you had touched |
| él/ella/usted | hubiera tocado(if) he/she had touched |
| nosotros/as | hubiéramos tocado(if) we had touched |
| vosotros/as | hubierais tocado(if) you all had touched |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | hubieran tocado(if) they had touched |
haber (imperfect subj.) + past participle
Future perfect subjunctive
| yo | hubiere tocado(if) I will have touched |
|---|---|
| tú | hubieres tocado(if) you will have touched |
| él/ella/usted | hubiere tocado(if) he/she will have touched |
| nosotros/as | hubiéremos tocado(if) we will have touched |
| vosotros/as | hubiereis tocado(if) you all will have touched |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | hubieren tocado(if) they will have touched |
rarely used: legal & formal texts
Imperative tenses of tocar
Commands and instructions.
Affirmative imperative
| tú | tocatouch! |
|---|---|
| usted | toquetouch! (formal) |
| nosotros/as | toquemoslet's touch! |
| vosotros/as | tocadtouch! (you all) |
| ustedes | toquentouch! (you all, formal) |
Negative imperative
| tú | no toquesdon't touch! |
|---|---|
| usted | no toquedon't touch! (formal) |
| nosotros/as | no toquemoslet's not touch! |
| vosotros/as | no toquéisdon't touch! (you all) |
| ustedes | no toquendon't touch! (you all, formal) |
Practice tocar
Two quick exercises. No sign-up, no app: just you and tocar.
How to use tocar
No toques eso.
Don't touch that.
Toco la guitarra desde niño.
I've played the guitar since I was a kid.
Te toca a ti.
It's your turn.
Le tocó la lotería.
She won the lottery.
Alguien tocó a la puerta.
Someone knocked on the door.
Example sentences with tocar
- ¿Tocas algún instrumento?Do you play an instrument?
- Toqué el piano en el concierto.I played the piano at the concert.
- El grupo tocó hasta medianoche.The band played until midnight.
- De pequeña tocaba el violín.As a girl I used to play the violin.
- Mañana me toca cocinar.Tomorrow it's my turn to cook.
- Toca el timbre.Ring the bell.
- No toquéis nada.Don't touch anything, you all.
- Nunca he tocado una batería.I've never played drums.
Verbs like tocar
All -car verbs have the c → qu change: buscar, sacar, explicar. Don't mix up tocar (play music) and jugar (play a game or sport).
Frequently asked questions about tocar
Is tocar regular or irregular?
Tocar is regular, with a spelling change: c → qu before e (toqué, toque).
How do you conjugate tocar in the present tense?
toco, tocas, toca, tocamos, tocáis, tocan.
How do you conjugate tocar in the preterite?
toqué, tocaste, tocó, tocamos, tocasteis, tocaron.
What is the difference between tocar and jugar?
Tocar = play an instrument. Jugar = play a game or sport.
What does "te toca" mean?
"It's your turn." ¿A quién le toca? = Whose turn is it?
What is the past participle of tocar?
The past participle is tocado and the gerund is tocando.
Free cheat sheet
All 18 tenses of tocar, on one page.
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