Conjugate-car verbs in the preterite tense in Spanish (El Pretérito Indefinido)

Take the fastest path to fluent Spanish

Some Spanish verbs end in -car. These verbs undergo a consonant change when they are conjugated in the preterite tense.

Learn about -CAR verbs in El Pretérito Indefinido in Spanish

Verbs ending in -car in Spanish,  like acercar (to move something closer), embarcar (to board), equivocar[se] (to make a mistake)tocar (to touch, to play), explicar (to explain), are irregular in El Pretérito Indefinido in Spanish because the spelling changes for pronunciation reasons in the first person singular (yo).

Conjugation of "explicar" in El Pretérito Indefinido in Spanish 

yo expliqué
explicaste
él / ella / Ud. explicó
nosotros / nosotras  explicamos
vosotros / vosotras  explicasteis
ellos / ellas / Uds. explicaron

Conjugation of "tocar" in El Pretérito Indefinido in Spanish 

yo toqué
tocaste
él / ella / Ud. tocó
nosotros / nosotras  tocamos
vosotros / vosotras  tocasteis
ellos / ellas / Uds. tocaron
Notice that the -c- is replaced with -qu-. However, apart from the yo form, all the other endings are the same as those of regular -ar verbs: -aste, -ó, -amos, -asteis, -aron.

Have a look at these examples.

Busqué al perro pero no lo encontré.I looked for the dog but I did not find him.

Embarqué a las 8:00.I boarded at 8:00.

Acerqué la silla a la mesa.I moved the chair closer to the table.

Me equivoqué de número.I got the wrong number.

Toqué la guitarra hasta el amanecer.I played the guitar until dawn.

Te lo expliqué muchas veces.I explained it to you many times.
 

 
For more verbs that follow this pattern see the List of Spanish -car verbs that change c > qu in the yo form in the preterite.

Want to make sure your Spanish sounds confident? We’ll map your knowledge and give you free lessons to focus on your gaps and mistakes. Start your Brainmap today »

Examples and resources

Acerqué la silla a la mesa.I moved the chair closer to the table.
Me equivoqué de número.I got the wrong number.
Toqué la guitarra hasta el amanecer.I played the guitar until dawn.
Te lo expliqué muchas veces.I explained it to you many times.
Embarqué a las 8:00.I boarded at 8:00.
Busqué al perro pero no lo encontré.I looked for the dog but I did not find him.
Thinking...