Spanish Verb Participar Conjugation

The Spanish verb participar is a cognate of the English verb to participate, which means that both words are derived from the same root word and have similar meanings.

Participar is a regular -ar verb, like tratar and ayudar. This article includes participar conjugations in the indicative mood (present, past, conditional, and future), the subjunctive mood (present and past), the imperative mood, and other verb forms.

Using the Verb Participar

Since participar is a cognate of the English participate, it has the same meaning in both languages. Therefore, you can use participar in most contexts when you would use the English verb participate. For example, you can say Quiero participar en la competencia (I want to participate in the competition). However, in Spanish participar can be used in a few ways that do not translate to English. For example, it can be used to mean to share information or inform, as in Ella me participó de la fecha de la reunión (She shared with me the date of the meeting); or to share or get a share of something, as in Todos participamos de los beneficios de la compañía (We all share in the company's benefits).

Participar Present Indicative

Participar Preterite Indicative

The preterite tense is usually translated to English as the simple past. It is used to describe completed actions in the past.

Participar Imperfect Indicative

The imperfect tense is also a past tense, but it is used to talk about ongoing or repeated actions in the past. It is usually translated to English as "was participating" or "used to participate."

Participar Future Indicative

Participar Periphrastic Future Indicative 

The periphrastic future has three different components: the present indicative conjugation of the verb ir (to go), the preposition a, and the infinitive participar.

Participar Present Progressive/Gerund Form

The present participle or gerund is a verb form that is often used as an adverb or to form progressive verb forms like the present progressive.

Participar Past Participle

The past participle can be used as an adjective or to form perfect tenses like the present perfect.

Participar Conditional Indicative

The conditional tense is usually translated to English as "would + verb," and it is used to talk about possibilities.

Participar Present Subjunctive

Participar Imperfect Subjunctive

The imperfect subjunctive can be conjugated in two different ways, shown in the tables below.

Option 1

Option 2

Participar Imperative

The imperative mood consists of commands, both positive and negative.

Positive Commands

Negative Commands