Quick answer
explicar · explico, explicas, explica, explicamos, explicáis, explican
to explain. Fully regular, so the endings carry over to every other -ar verb.
Conjugation
| Person | Present | Preterite | Imperfect | Future |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| yo | explico | expliqué | explicaba | explicaré |
| tú | explicas | explicaste | explicabas | explicarás |
| él / ella / usted | explica | explicó | explicaba | explicará |
| nosotros | explicamos | explicamos | explicábamos | explicaremos |
| vosotros | explicáis | explicasteis | explicabais | explicaréis |
| ellos / ustedes | explican | explicaron | explicaban | explicarán |
Orange marks a form you cannot guess from the rules.
| Non-finite | Form |
|---|---|
| gerund | explicando |
| past participle | explicado |
| imperative (tú) | explica |
| subjunctive (yo) | explique |
Which form to learn first
¿me lo explicas? The sentence that gets you a second, slower version.
Where you will actually use it
¿Me lo explicas otra vez?Can you explain it to me again?
Te lo explico.Let me explain.
Expliqué el problema al jefe.I explained the problem to the boss.
No sé explicarlo.I don’t know how to explain it.
Explícamelo despacio.Explain it to me slowly.
Eso lo explica todo.That explains everything.
Typical mistakes
Ayer explicé la situación.
Ayer expliqué la situación.
c becomes qu before e: expliqué, busqué, saqué.
Me explicó sobre el problema.
Me explicó el problema.
explicar takes the thing directly; sobre belongs with hablar.
Explico a ti el plan.
Te explico el plan.
The person becomes a pronoun in front of the verb: me, te, le explico.
Check yourself
Ayer le ___ el problema.