How to conjugate Buscar in Spanish
Buscar in Spanish means to search, to search for, to look for
Buscar is an irregular verb. That means this verb doesn’t follow the traditional conjugation patterns in all verb tenses. It’s important to pay attention to the irregular tenses.
Let’s learn how to conjugate the verb buscar so you can use it comfortably in all tenses.
Buscar in the Present Tense
The present tense is used to talk about actions or events happening now.
The verb buscar is regular in the present tense.
The verb buscar is what we call an -ar verb. -ar verbs are verbs that end in -ar. Regular -ar verbs are conjugated by following 2 major rules.
- Take off the -ar
- Replace with a new ending depending on who performs the action.
To review -ar verbs watch my -ar verbs video:
Just in case you need to review conjugation of -er and -ir verbs, Click for Page:
Below you will find the conjugations of the verb buscar in the indicative present tense:
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
| Yo | busco | I search /look for |
| Tú | buscas | you search /look for |
| Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.) | busca | he/she searches /looks for, you (formal) search /look for |
| Nosotros (as) | buscamos | we search /look for |
| Vosotros (as) | buscáis | you (plural) Spain search /look for |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.) | buscan | they search /look for, you (plural) search /look for |
Examples:
| Yo busco a mis amigas en el colegio | I look for my friends at school |
| Ella busca que universidad le queda más cerca a su casa | She searches which university is closer to her house |
| Ellos buscan con quien ir al cine | They look for someone to go to the movies with |
Buscar in the Preterite Tense
The preterite is used to talk about actions that have already been completed. These actions have a clear beginning or ending. The preterite tense is often used with phrases that give a specific time frame. More on the Preterite Tense Here
Things to remember:
- The preterite is NOT used to describe actions or events that are repeated or continuous in the past. That means that those actions do not have a clear beginning or end.
- The preterite is NOT used to describe people in the past.
The verb buscar is irregular in the preterite. That means it doesn’t follow the pattern of regular –ar verbs in the preterite. Instead we must follow a different set of rules. Buscar is part of what we call -car, -gar, -zar verbs. Verbs that end in -car, -gar, -zar have a spelling change in the YO form in the preterite.
-car verbs. Verbs that end in -car like buscar will have a change in the yo form and only in the yo form. The c changes to qu in the yo form only. The rest of the forms follow normal preterite conjugations and endings.
Buscar ends in -car.
To review how to conjugate -car, -gar, -zar verbs watch my -car, -gar, -zar video: Click for Video
Below you will find the conjugations of the verb buscar in the preterite tense:
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
| Yo | busqué | I searched /looked for |
| Tú | buscaste | you searched /looked for |
| Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.) | buscó | he/she searched /looked for, you (formal) searched /looked for |
| Nosotros (as) | buscamos | we searched /looked for |
| Vosotros (as) | buscasteis | you (plural) Spain searched /looked for |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.) | buscaron | they searched /looked for , you (plural) searched /looked for |
Below are some expressions that are often used when using the preterite:
| la semana pasada | last week |
| el mes pasado | last month |
| el fin de semana pasado | last weekend |
| el año pasado | last year |
| ayer | yesterday |
| anteayer | the day before yesterday |
| anoche | last night |
Examples:
| Ayer busqué mis cosas en tu casa pero no las encontre | Yesterday I searched my stuff at your house and I didnt find them |
| Anoche tú buscaste en la agenda el numero de telefono de tu mamá | Last night you searched in the agenda your moms phone number |
| Ellas buscaron un carro que cumpla con sus requisitos | They looked for a car that meets their requirements |
Buscar in the Imperfect Tense
The imperfect is a form of past tense. It is primarily used to talk about continuous, repeated, usual or habitual actions in the past. It can also be used to talk about what someone or something was like in the past, what someone used to be or used to do. The imperfect is used when actions don’t have a specific beginning or end.
The verb buscar is regular in the imperfect tense.
The verb buscar is what we call an -ar verb. -ar verbs are verbs that end in -ar. Regular -ar verbs are conjugated by following 2 major rules.
- Take off the -ar
- Replace with a new ending depending on who performs the action.
To review how to conjugate -ar verbs in the imperfect watch my video: Click for Video
To review how to conjugate -er and -ir verbs in the imperfect watch my video: Click for Video
Below you will find the conjugations of the verb buscar in the imperfect tense:
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
| Yo | buscaba | I used to search/ look for |
| Tú | buscabas | you used to search/ look for |
| Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.) | buscaba | he/she used to search/ look for, you (formal) used to search/ look for |
| Nosotros (as) | buscábamos | we used to search/ look for |
| Vosotros (as) | buscabaís | you (plural) Spain used to to search/ look for |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.) | buscaban | they used to search/ look for, you (plural) used to search/ look for |
Below are some expressions that are often used when using the Imperfect:
| a menudo | often |
| usualmente | usually |
| todos los días | every day |
| todos los meses | every month |
| todos los años | every year |
| casi siempre | almost always |
| a veces | sometimes |
| de niño/niña | as a child … |
| siempre | always |
| normalmente | normally |
Examples:
| Yo buscaba el amor de mi vida | I used to look for the love of my life |
| Todos los meses nosotros buscábamos fondos para inaugurar nuestra empresa | Every month we used to looked for fund to start our company |
| Ellas siempre buscaban ropa en un almacén más económico | They always used to looked for clothes in a cheaper place |
Buscar in the Future Tense
The future is used to talk about an action or event that will happen in the future.
The verb buscar is regular in the future tense.
To form the future tense of regular -ar, -er and -ir verbs add the following endings to the verb in the infinitive (verbs that have not been conjugated and end in -ar, -er, -ir). The verb buscar is in its purest form (it has not been conjugated) it’s in the infinitive.
The verb buscar is what we call an -ar verb. -ar verbs are verbs that end in -ar. To conjugate buscar in the future, follow these two rules:
- Find the infinitive of the verb (verbs that have not been conjugated and end in -ar, -er, -ir). In this case buscar.
- Then attach the ending to the end of the infinitive. The ending depends on who is performing the action.
| Yo | é |
| Tú | ás |
| Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.) | á |
| Nosotros (as) | emos |
| Vosotros (as) | éis |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.) | án |
Below you will find the conjugations of the verb buscar using the future tense:
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
| Yo | buscaré | I will search/ look for |
| Tú | buscarás | you will search/ look for |
| Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.) | buscará | he/she will search/ look for, you (formal) will search/ look for |
| Nosotros (as) | buscaremos | we will search/ look for |
| Vosotros (as) | buscaréis | you (plural) Spain will search/ look for |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.) | buscarán | they will search/ look for, you (plural) will search/ look for |
Examples:
| Yo buscaré a alguien que me ayude | I will look for someone that will help me |
| Nosotros buscaremos un reemplazo para tu puesto | We will look for a replacement for your position |
| Ella buscará la manera de obtener apoyo financiero | She will look for a way to have financial support |
Buscar in the Informal Future Tense
The informal future is used to talk about an action or event that is going to take place in the near future. To form the informal future, you must use the correct form of the verb ir (to go) + a + the verb in the infinitive.
The verb buscar is regular in the informal future tense.
Follow this rule:
- Ir (conjugated) + a + infinitive (verb that ends in -ar, -er, -ir and has not been conjugated). Example : Yo voy a buscar
The conjugation of the verb ir (to go) in the present tense are:
| Yo | voy |
| Tú | vas |
| Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.) | va |
| Nosotros (as) | vamos |
| Vosotros (as) | vais |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.) | van |
To review how to conjugate the informal future watch my video: Click for Video
Below you will find the conjugations of the verb buscar using the informal future:
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
| Yo | voy a buscar | I will search/ look for |
| Tú | vas a buscar | you will search/ look for |
| Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.) | va a buscar | he/she will search/ look for, you (formal) will search/ look for |
| Nosotros (as) | vamos a buscar | we will search/ look for |
| Vosotros (as) | vais a buscar | you (plural) Spain will search/ look for |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.) | van a buscar | they will search/ look for, you (plural) will search/ look for |
Examples:
| Yo voy a buscar la palabra en el diccionario | I will search the word in the dictionary |
| Nosotros vamos a buscar ropa en el centro comercial | We will look for clothes at the mall |
| Ellas van a buscar opciones de patrocinio | They will look for sponsors options |
Buscar in the Present Progressive Tense.
The present progressive is used to talk about actions or events happening now. In other words, we use the present progressive to talk about actions that are in the process of happening at the current moment.
The verb buscar is regular in the present progressive tense.
The present progressive is formed by using the correct form of the verb estar (to be) plus the present participle (-ing form of a verb).
To form the present participle of a verb:
- Find the verb in the infinitive (verb that ends in -ar, -er, -ir)
- Remove the ending (-ar, -er, -ir).
- Add -ando for -ar verbs
- Add -iendo for -er and –ir verbs
Let’s apply it to buscar:
- Find the verb in the infinitive (verb that ends in -ar, -er, -ir) = (buscar)
- Remove the ending (-ar, -er, -ir) = (busc)
- Add -ando for -ar verbs = (buscando)
The present participle of buscar is buscando.
The conjugations of the verb estar in the present tense are:
| Yo | estoy |
| Tú | estás |
| Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.) | está |
| Nosotros (as) | estamos |
| Vosotros (as) | estáis |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.) | están |
The present participle of the verb buscar is: buscando
To review the present progressive and present participles in Spanish, watch my Present Progressive Video:Click for Video
Just in case you need to review the verb estar, watch my Estar video: Click for Video
Below you will find the conjugations of the verb buscar using the present progressive:
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
| Yo | estoy buscando | I am searching/ looking for |
| Tú | estás buscando | you are searching/ looking for |
| Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.) | está buscando | he/she is searching/ looking for, you (formal) are searching/ looking for |
| Nosotros (as) | estamos buscando | we are searching/ looking for |
| Vosotros (as) | estáis buscando | you (plural) Spain are searching/ looking for |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.) | están buscando | they are searching/ looking for, you (plural) are searching/ looking for |
Examples:
| Yo estoy buscando vuelos a Roma | I am looking for flight to Rome |
| Tu estás buscando música en el lugar incorrecto | You are looking for music in the wrong place |
| ¿Está buscando a tu hermana? | Are you looking for your sister? |
Buscar in the Conditional Tense
The conditional tense is used to talk about actions or events that may happen in the future. Think of it as a possibility, a hypothesis, a probability.
The verb buscar is regular in the conditional tense.
The verb buscar is what we call an -ar verb. -ar verbs are verbs that end in -ar. To conjugate bsucar in the conditional tense follow these two rules:
- Find the infinitive of the verb (verbs that have not been conjugated and end in -ar, -er, -ir). In this case buscar.
- Then attach the ending to the end of the infinitive. The ending depends on who is performing the action.
To form the conditional of a verb add the following endings to the infinitive of the verb:
| Yo | ía |
| Tú | ías |
| Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.) | ía |
| Nosotros (as) | íamos |
| Vosotros (as) | íais |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.) | ían |
The infinitive of the verb buscar is buscar.
Below you will find the conjugations of the verb busca using the conditional tense:
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
| Yo | buscaría | I would search/ look for |
| Tú | buscarías | you would search/ look for |
| Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.) | buscaría | he/she would search/ look for, you (formal) would search/ look for |
| Nosotros (as) | buscaríamos | we would search/ look for |
| Vosotros (as) | buscaríais | you (plural) Spain would search/ look for |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.) | buscarían | they would search/ look for, you (plural) would search/ look for |
Examples:
| Yo buscaría la definición en el diccionario | I would search for the definition in the dictionary |
| Nosotros buscaríamos una ruta diferente para tener más opciones | We would look for a different route to have more options |
| Ellas buscarían en diferentes plataformas de trabajo nuevas opciones | They would search in different work platforms new options |
Buscar in the Present Perfect Tense
The present perfect is used to talk about actions or events that have started recently (in the past) and are still happening. It can also be used to talk about things that have been done recently or to describe experiences a person has had in their lives.
The verb buscar is regular in the present perfect tense.
To form the present perfect, you must use the helping verb “haber” in the present tense. This will let us know who has performed the action. Then, we add the past participle of the verb.
The conjugations of haber in the present tense are:
| Yo | he |
| Tú | has |
| Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.) | ha |
| Nosotros (as) | hemos |
| Vosotros (as) | habéis |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.) | han |
To form the past participle of a verb:
- Find the verb in the infinitive (verb that ends in -ar, -er, -ir)
- Remove the ending (-ar, -er, -ir).
- Add -ado for -ar verbs
- Add -ido for -er and –ir verbs
Let’s apply it to buscar:
- Find the verb in the infinitive (verb that ends in -ar, -er, -ir) = (buscar)
- Remove the ending (-ar, -er, -ir) = (busc)
- Add -ado for -ar verbs = (buscado)
The past participle of the verb buscar is buscado.
To summarize. Correct form of haber in the present + past participle = present perfect.
Below you will find the conjugations of the verb buscar in the present perfect:
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
| Yo | he buscado | I have searched/ looked for |
| Tú | has buscado | you have searched/ looked for |
| Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.) | ha buscado | he/she has searched/ looked for, you (formal) have searched/ looked for |
| Nosotros (as) | hemos buscado | we have searched/ looked for |
| Vosotros (as) | habéis buscado | you (plural) Spain have searched/ looked for |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.) | han buscado | they have searched/ looked for, you (plural) have searched/ looked for |
Examples:
| Yo he buscado recetas de pasta pero no me llaman la atención | I have searched pasta recipes but they are not that attractive |
| Ellos han buscado un planeador de su boda por mucho tiempo | They have looked for a wedding planner for quite some time |
Buscar in the Past Perfect Tense (Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto)
The past perfect is used to talk about actions or events that happened before. It is widely used to describe a series of events and it comes in handy to tell stories.
The verb buscar is regular in the past perfect tense.
To form the past perfect you must use the verb haber in the imperfect. This will let us know who has performed the action.
The conjugations of haber in the imperfect tense are:
| Yo | había |
| Tú | habías |
| Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.) | había |
| Nosotros (as) | habíamos |
| Vosotros (as) | habíais |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.) | habían |
Then, we add the past participle of the verb. In this case buscar.
To form the past participle of a verb:
- Find the verb in the infinitive (verb that ends in -ar, -er, -ir)
- Remove the ending (-ar, -er, -ir).
- Add -ado for -ar verbs
- Add -ido for -er and –ir verbs
Let’s apply it to buscar:
- Find the verb in the infinitive (verb that ends in -ar, -er, -ir) = (buscar)
- Remove the ending (-ar, -er, -ir) = (busc)
- Add -ado for -ar verbs = (buscado)
The past participle of buscar is buscado.
To summarize. Use the correct form of haber in the imperfect + past participle = past perfect.
Below you will find the conjugations of the verb buscar in the past perfect:
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
| Yo | había buscado | I had searched/ looked for |
| Tú | habías buscado | you had searched/ looked for |
| Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.) | había buscado | he/she had searched/ looked for, you (formal) had searched/ looked for |
| Nosotros (as) | habíamos buscado | we had searched/ looked for |
| Vosotros (as) | habíais buscado | you (plural) Spain had searched/ looked for |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.) | habían buscado | they had searched/ looked for, you (plural) had searched/ looked for |
Examples:
| Yo había buscado mi celular aquí y no lo había visto | I had looked for my phone here but I hadn’t seen it |
| ¿Habías buscado tu libro aquí? | Had you searched for your book here? |
| Él había buscado en internet la respuesta a su pregunta | He had searched on internet the answer to his question |
Buscar in the Future Perfect Tense
The future perfect is used to talk about something that hasn’t happened yet but is predicted to take place. It is used to describe what will have happened in the future.
The verb buscar is regular in the future perfect tense.
To form the future perfect you must use the verb haber in the simple future tense. This will let us know who has performed the action.
The conjugations of haber in the future tense are:
| Yo | habré |
| Tú | habrás |
| Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.) | habrá |
| Nosotros (as) | habremos |
| Vosotros (as) | habréis |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.) | habrán |
Then, we add the past participle of the verb. In this case buscar. To form the past participle, you simply add the appropriate ending to the stem of the verb.
To form the past participle of a verb:
- Find the verb in the infinitive (verb that ends in -ar, -er, -ir)
- Remove the ending (-ar, -er, -ir).
- Add -ado for -ar verbs
- Add -ido for -er and –ir verbs
Let’s apply it to buscar:
- Find the verb in the infinitive (verb that ends in -ar, -er, -ir) = (buscar)
- Remove the ending (-ar, -er, -ir) = (busc)
- Add -ado for -ar verbs = (buscado)
The past participle of buscar is buscado.
To summarize. Correct form of haber in the simple future tense + past participle = future perfect.
Below you will find the conjugations of the verb buscar in the future perfect:
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
| Yo | habré buscado | I will have searched/ looked for |
| Tú | habrás buscado | you will have searched/ looked for |
| Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.) | habrá buscado | he/she will have searched/ looked for, you (formal) will have searched/ looked for |
| Nosotros (as) | habremos buscado | we will have searched/ looked for |
| Vosotros (as) | habréis buscado | you (plural) Spain will have searched/ looked for |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.) | habrán buscado | they will have searched/ looked for, you (plural) will have searched/ looked for |
Examples:
| Mañana a esta hora ya habré buscado mis cosas | Tomorrow at this time, I will have already searched for my things |
| Tal vez él habrá buscado a alguien con quien ir al hospital | Perhaps, he will have looked for someone to go to the hospital with |
Buscar in the Conditional Perfect Tense
The conditional perfect is used to talk about an action or event that would have happened in the past but didn’t take place due to another action happening. It is used to express possibility in the past. Basically think of it as actions that could or would have taken place if …
The verb buscar is regular in the conditional perfect tense.
To form the conditional perfect you must use the verb haber in the conditional. This will let us know who has performed the action.
The conjugations of haber in the conditional tense are:
| Yo | habría |
| Tú | habrías |
| Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.) | habría |
| Nosotros (as) | habríamos |
| Vosotros (as) | habríais |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.) | habrían |
Then, we add the past participle of the verb. In this case buscar. To form the past participle, you simply add the appropriate ending to the stem of the verb.
To form the past participle of a verb:
- Find the verb in the infinitive (verb that ends in -ar, -er, -ir)
- Remove the ending (-ar, -er, -ir).
- Add -ado for -ar verbs
- Add -ido for -er and –ir verbs
Let’s apply it to buscar:
- Find the verb in the infinitive (verb that ends in -ar, -er, -ir) = (buscar)
- Remove the ending (-ar, -er, -ir) = (busc)
- Add -ado for -ar verbs = (buscado)
The past participle of buscar is buscado.
Below you will find the conjugations of the verb buscar in the future perfect:
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
| Yo | habría buscado | I would have searched/ looked for |
| Tú | habrías buscado | you would have searched/ looked for |
| Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.) | habría buscado | he/she would have searched/ looked for, you (formal) would have searched/ looked for |
| Nosotros (as) | habríamos buscado | we would have searched/ looked for |
| Vosotros (as) | habríais buscado | you (plural) Spain will would have searched/ looked for |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.) | habrían buscado | they would have searched/ looked for, you (plural) would have searched/ looked for |
Examples:
| Yo habría buscado el celular inicialmente en el último lugar que lo vi | I would have looked for the cellphone initially at the last place I saw it |
| Ellos habrían buscado una universidad cerca a su casa | They would have looked for an university near to their place |
Buscar in the Subjunctive Present Tense
The Subjunctive present is used to talk about situations of uncertainty. For example emotions such as wishes, desires and hopes. The main difference between the subjunctive and the indicative mode is that the subjunctive is uncertain, hypothetical or not real.
The verb buscar is irregular in the subjunctive present form. That means it doesn’t follow the pattern of regular –ar verbs in the preterite. Instead we must follow a different set of rules. Buscar is part of what we call -car, -gar, -zar verbs. Verbs that end in -car, -gar, -zar have a spelling change in the YO form in the preterite.
-car verbs. Verbs that end in -car like buscar will have a change in the yo form and only in the yo form. The c changes to qu in the yo form only. The rest of the forms follow normal preterite conjugations and endings.
Buscar ends in -car.
To review how to conjugate -car, -gar, -zar verbs watch my -car, -gar, -zar video: Click for Video
To form the subjunctive present of most verbs, you must take off the -o endings of the yo form of the present simple and then add a new ending based on who is performing the action.
Subjunctive present endings for -ar verbs:
| Yo | e |
| Tú | es |
| Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.) | e |
| Nosotros (as) | emos |
| Vosotros (as) | éis |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.) | en |
Subjunctive present endings for -er and -ir verbs:
| Yo | a |
| Tú | as |
| Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.) | as |
| Nosotros (as) | amos |
| Vosotros (as) | áis |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.) | an |
Keep in mind that the verb buscar is irregular in the subjunctive present. The -c in the stem changes to a -qu.
Below you will find the conjugations of the verb buscar in the subjunctive present:
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
| Yo | busque | I may search/ look for |
| Tú | busques | you may search/ look for |
| Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.) | busque | he/she may search/ look for, you (formal) may search/ look for |
| Nosotros (as) | busquemos | we may search/ look for |
| Vosotros (as) | busquéis | you (plural) Spain may search/ look for |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.) | busquen | they may search/ look for , you (plural) may search/ look for |
Examples:
| Quizás yo busque un mejor trabajo | Perhaps, I may look for a better job |
| Es posible que ellos busquen en nuestras cosas sin que nosotros nos enteremos | It’s possible they may search in our things without us knowing |
Buscar in the Subjunctive Imperfect Tense
The subjunctive imperfect is used to talk about situations of uncertainty in the past. For example emotions such as wishes, desires and hopes in the past. It is also used to express politeness or deference, primarily when making a request.
The verb buscar is regular in the subjunctive imperfect tense.
To form the subjunctive imperfect find the ellos/ellas form of the verb in the preterite, take off -aron or -ieron and add a new ending.
Subjunctive Imperfect endings for -ar verbs like buscar the endings are:
| Yo | ara |
| Tú | aras |
| Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.) | ara |
| Nosotros (as) | áramos |
| Vosotros (as) | arais |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.) | aran |
You can also use the endings below as alternative endings and the meaning doesn’t change. Keep in mind the ones above are more common
| Yo | ase |
| Tú | ases |
| Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.) | ase |
| Nosotros (as) | ásemos |
| Vosotros (as) | aseis |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.) | asen |
Subjunctive Imperfect endings for -er & -ir verbs like he endings are:
| Yo | iera |
| Tú | ieras |
| Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.) | iera |
| Nosotros (as) | iéramos |
| Vosotros (as) | ierais |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.) | ieran |
You can also use the endings below as alternative endings and the meaning doesn’t change. Keep in mind the ones above are more common:
| Yo | iese |
| Tú | ieses |
| Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.) | iese |
| Nosotros (as) | iésemos |
| Vosotros (as) | ieseis |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.) | iesen |
Here are the steps in action:
- Buscar
- The third person of the preterite (ellos/ellas) would be: buscar – buscaron
- Now remove -aron and you are left with busc
- Then, add a new ending.
Below you will find the conjugations of the verb buscar in the subjunctive imperfect:
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
| Yo | buscara | I might search/ look for |
| Tú | buscaras | you might search/ look for |
| Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.) | buscara | he/she might search/ look for, you (formal) might search/ look for |
| Nosotros (as) | buscáramos | We might search/ look for |
| Vosotros (as) | buscarais | you (plural) Spain might search/ look for |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.) | buscaran | they might search/ look for, you (plural) might search/ look for |
OR
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
| Yo | buscase | I might search/ look for |
| Tú | buscases | you might search/ look for |
| Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.) | buscase | he/she might search/ look for, you (formal) might search/ look for |
| Nosotros (as) | buscásemos | we might search/ look for |
| Vosotros (as) | buscaseis | you (plural) Spain might search/ look for |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.) | buscasen | they might search/ look for, you (plural) might search/ look for |
Examples:
| Si el buscase a alguien con una personalidad como la de él sería bueno | If he might look for someone with a personality similar to him would be good |
| Estaría mal si buscásemos en los cajones de mamá? | Would it be bad if we might search our mothers drawers? |
Buscar in the Subjunctive Future Tense
The subjunctive future is used to describe an event or action or a possible or hypothetical situation. It can also be used to describe something you wished or hoped would happen in the future. This tense is rarely used in Spanish but it doesn’t hurt to learn it.
The verb buscar is regular in the subjunctive future tense.
To form the future subjunctive simply add the following endings to the verb in the infinitive (the most pure form of the verb. Verbs in the infinitive have not been conjugated (they end in -ar, -er & -ir)).
Subjunctive Future endings for -ar verbs like buscar the endings are:
| Yo | e |
| Tú | es |
| Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.) | e |
| Nosotros (as) | emos (accent on á of the stem) |
| Vosotros (as) | eis |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.) | en |
Subjunctive Future endings for -er verbs the endings are:
| Yo | iere |
| Tú | ieres |
| Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.) | iere |
| Nosotros (as) | iéremos |
| Vosotros (as) | iereis |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.) | ieran |
Subjunctive Future endings for -ir verbs the endings are:
| Yo | iere |
| Tú | ieres |
| Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.) | iere |
| Nosotros (as) | iéremos |
| Vosotros (as) | iereis |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.) | ieren |
Below you will find the conjugations of the verb buscar in the subjunctive future:
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
| Yo | buscare | I will search/ look for |
| Tú | buscares | you will search/ look for |
| Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.) | buscare | he/she will search/ look for, you (formal) will search/ look for |
| Nosotros (as) | buscáremos | we will search/ look for |
| Vosotros (as) | buscareis | you (plural) Spain will search/ look for |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.) | buscaren | they will search/ look for, you (plural) will search/ look for |
Example:
| El día que yo buscare un tesoro y lo encuentre seré feliz | The day I will look for a treasure and I find it I will be very happy |
Buscar in the Subjunctive Present Perfect Tense
The subjunctive present perfect is used to describe actions that are connected to the present. It is also used to talk about actions that will have happened by a certain time in the future.
The verb buscar is regular in the subjunctive present perfect tense.
To form the subjunctive present perfect you must use the present subjunctive of the verb haber + the past participle of the verb.
Here are the conjugations of the verb haber in the present subjunctive:
| Yo | haya |
| Tú | hayas |
| Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.) | haya |
| Nosotros (as) | hayamos |
| Vosotros (as) | hayáis |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.) | hayan |
The past participle of the verb buscar is: buscado
Now, let’s put it together . Here are the conjugations of the verb buscar in the subjunctive present perfect.
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
| Yo | haya buscado | I may have searched/ looked for |
| Tú | hayas buscado | you may have searched/ looked for |
| Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.) | haya buscado | he/she may have searched/ looked for, you (formal) may have searched/ looked for |
| Nosotros (as) | hayamos buscado | we may have searched/ looked for |
| Vosotros (as) | hayáis buscado | you (plural) Spain may have searched/ looked for |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.) | hayan buscado | they may have searched/ looked for, you (plural) may have searched/ looked for |
Example:
| Dudo que alguna vez ella haya buscado información sobre su pasado | I doubt that any time she may have searched information about her past |
| Es posible que nosotros hayamos buscado en el lugar incorrecto | It’s possible we may searched in the wrong place |
Buscar in the Subjunctive Past Perfect Tense (Pluscuamperfecto del Subjuntivo)
The subjunctive past perfect is used to talk about hypothetical situations or actions in the past. It can also be used to talk about past actions that preceded other past actions.
To form the subjunctive past perfect you must use the imperfect subjunctive of the verb haber + the past participle of the verb.
The imperfect subjunctive of haber can be conjugated in two different ways. Having said that, the first conjugations are more commonly used.
Here are the conjugations of the verb haber in the imperfect subjunctive of the verb haber:
| Yo | hubiera |
| Tú | hubieras |
| Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.) | hubiera |
| Nosotros (as) | hubiéramos |
| Vosotros (as) | hubierais |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.) | hubieran |
The other conjugations of haber in the imperfect subjunctive are:
| Yo | hubiese |
| Tú | hubieses |
| Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.) | hubiese |
| Nosotros (as) | hubiésemos |
| Vosotros (as) | hubieseis |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.) | hubiesen |
To form the past participle of a verb:
- Find the verb in the infinitive (verb that ends in -ar, -er, -ir)
- Remove the ending (-ar, -er, -ir).
- Add -ado for -ar verbs
- Add -ido for -er and –ir verbs
Let’s apply it to buscar:
- Find the verb in the infinitive (verb that ends in -ar, -er, -ir) = (buscar)
- Remove the ending (-ar, -er, -ir) = (busc)
- Add -ado for -ar verbs = (buscado)
The past participle of the verb buscar is buscado.
Now, let’s put it together . Here are the conjugations of the verb buscar in the subjunctive past perfect.
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
| Yo | hubiese buscado | I might have searched/ looked for |
| Tú | hubieses buscado | you might have searched/ looked for |
| Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.) | hubiese buscado | he/she might have searched/ looked for, you (formal) might have searched/ looked for |
| Nosotros (as) | hubiésemos buscado | we might have searched/ looked for |
| Vosotros (as) | hubieseis buscado | you (plural) Spain might have searched/ looked for |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.) | hubiesen buscado | they might have searched/ looked for, you (plural) might have searched/ looked for |
OR
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
| Yo | hubiera buscado | I might have searched/ looked for |
| Tú | hubieras buscado | you might have searched/ looked for |
| Él / Ella / Usted (Ud.) | hubiera buscado | he/she might have searched/ looked for, you (formal) might have searched/ looked for |
| Nosotros (as) | hubiéramos buscado | we might have searched/ looked for |
| Vosotros (as) | hubierais buscado | you (plural) Spain might have searched/ looked for |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes (Uds.) | hubieran buscado | they might have searched/ looked for, you (plural) might have searched/ looked for |
Example:
| Yo hubiera buscado la información pero no tenia internet | I might have looked for the information but I didn’t have internet |
| Desearía que tu no hubieras buscado mi información personal sin decirme | I wish you might not have looked for my personal information without letting me know |
Buscar as an Imperative Affirmative Command
The imperative Affirmative commands are used to tell someone or a group of people what to do. We do not give commands in the 1st or 3rd person which is why yo, él, ella, ellos, and ellas have been removed for this tense.
Buscar is irregular when forming Imperative Affirmative Commands.
Mostly we will give commands or tell someone we treat as (tú) what to do. Let’s learn how to conjugate that part first.
To find the Affirmative Informal tú command of a verb follow these steps:
- Find the tú form of the verb in the present tense.
- Take off the “s”
- That will give you the affirmative informal command of a verb in the tú form.
Reminders: Stem changing verbs should continue to have the change in the stem.
For example, The affirmative informal tú command of the verb buscar would be busca.
Let’s see the process:
- Find the tú form of the verb in the present tense. (buscas)
- Take off the “s”. (busca)
- That will give you the affirmative informal command of a verb in the tú form. (busca)
To review how to use Affirmative informal (tú) commands watch my video: Click for Video
The rest of the conjugations in the Affirmative Commands for the verb buscar are the following but please keep in mind that buscar is an irregular in the imperative affirmative command form. The combination -ce (sounds like when using an s – se). To keep the strong c of buscar, we change the c to qu when combined with an -e.
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Tú | ¡busca! | search/ look for! |
| Usted (Ud.) | ¡busque! | search/ look for! |
| Nosotros (as) | ¡busquemos! | search/ look for! |
| Vosotros (as) | ¡buscad! | search/ look for! |
| Ustedes (Uds.) | ¡busquen! | search/ look for! |
Examples:
| ¡Busca las llaves! | Search the keys! |
| ¡Busquen ayuda! | Look for help! |
Buscar as an Imperative Negative Command
The imperative Negative commands are used to tell someone or a group of people what NOT to do. We do not give commands in the 1st or 3rd person which is why yo, él, ella, ellos, and ellas have been removed for this tense.
Buscar is irregular when forming Imperative Negative Commands.
Mostly we will give commands or tell someone we treat as (tú) what to do. Let’s learn how to conjugate that part first.
To find the Negative Informal tú command of a regular verb follow these steps:
- Start with No
- Find the yo form of the verb in the present tense.
- Take off the “o”
- Add -es if it’s an -ar verb or -as if it’s and -er or -ir verb.
To review how to use Negative informal (tú) commands watch my video: Click for Video
Buscar is an irregular verb when it comes to Imperative Negative Commands. The combination -ce (sounds like when using an s – se). To keep the strong c of buscar, we change the c to qu when combined with an -e.
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Tú | ¡No busques! | Don’t search/ look for! |
| Usted (Ud.) | ¡No busque! | Don’t search/ look for! |
| Nosotros (as) | ¡No busquemos! | Don’t search/ look for! |
| Vosotros (as) | ¡No busquéis! | Don’t search/ look for! |
| Ustedes (Uds.) | ¡No busquen! | Don’t search/ look for! |
Examples
| ¡No busques ahí! | Don’t look there! |