Buscar conjugation

Buscar means "to look for". Here it is in every main tense, with real example sentences and a free checker for your own.

Meaningto look for

Type-ar verb

Gerundbuscando

Past participlebuscado

Buscar changes form (an irregular, stem-changing or spelling-changing form) in the preterite and present subjunctive. Juntos teaches Latin American Spanish, where ustedes replaces vosotros; the vosotros forms are shown for completeness.

Quick answer. Present: busco, buscas, busca, buscamos, buscan. Preterite: busqué, buscaste, buscó, buscamos, buscaron. All tenses below.

Buscar conjugation tables

Jump to: present · preterite · imperfect · future · conditional · present subjunctive · present perfect · commands (imperative)

Buscar in the present

what happens now or usually

yo	busco
tú	buscas
él / ella / usted	busca
nosotros	buscamos
vosotros (Spain)	buscáis
ellos / ustedes	buscan

Buscar in the preterite

a finished action at a specific time

yo	busqué
tú	buscaste
él / ella / usted	buscó
nosotros	buscamos
vosotros (Spain)	buscasteis
ellos / ustedes	buscaron

Buscar in the imperfect

habits, descriptions and background in the past

yo	buscaba
tú	buscabas
él / ella / usted	buscaba
nosotros	buscábamos
vosotros (Spain)	buscabais
ellos / ustedes	buscaban

Buscar in the future

what will happen

yo	buscaré
tú	buscarás
él / ella / usted	buscará
nosotros	buscaremos
vosotros (Spain)	buscaréis
ellos / ustedes	buscarán

Buscar in the conditional

what would happen

yo	buscaría
tú	buscarías
él / ella / usted	buscaría
nosotros	buscaríamos
vosotros (Spain)	buscaríais
ellos / ustedes	buscarían

Buscar in the present subjunctive

after wishes, doubts and requests (quiero que…)

yo	busque
tú	busques
él / ella / usted	busque
nosotros	busquemos
vosotros (Spain)	busquéis
ellos / ustedes	busquen

Buscar in the present perfect

what has happened, up to now (he comido)

yo	he buscado
tú	has buscado
él / ella / usted	ha buscado
nosotros	hemos buscado
vosotros (Spain)	habéis buscado
ellos / ustedes	han buscado

Buscar in the commands (imperative)

telling someone to do something (habla, no hables)

tú	busca
tú (no)	no busques
usted	busque
nosotros	busquemos
vosotros (Spain)	buscad
ustedes	busquen

Buscar in real sentences

Example sentences from the Juntos exercise bank, each checked before learners see it.

Present

Busco un departamento cerca del trabajo.
I'm looking for an apartment near work.
¿Qué buscas?
What are you looking for?

Preterite

Busqué mis llaves por toda la casa.
I looked for my keys all over the house.
Buscamos un restaurante abierto, pero todo estaba cerrado.
We looked for an open restaurant, but everything was closed.

Imperfect

Cuando era niño, buscaba conchas en la playa.
When I was a kid, I used to look for shells on the beach.
Buscábamos un taxi cuando empezó a llover.
We were looking for a taxi when it started to rain.

Mistakes learners make with buscar

Buscar already includes "for": busco mis llaves, not busco para mis llaves.
The yo preterite is busqué: c changes to qu before e. The subjunctive is busque.
Looking for a person takes the personal a: busco a mi hermano.

Write your own sentence with buscar

Not sure which past tense to use? The Spanish past tense course explains preterite vs imperfect with practice. Conjugate any other verb with the free Spanish conjugator, browse all 72 verb pages, or check any text with the free Spanish grammar checker.

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Use buscar in real conversation

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Questions people ask

Is buscar irregular in Spanish?

Partly. Buscar changes form in the preterite and present subjunctive, through an irregular stem, a stem change or a spelling change. The other tenses follow the regular -ar pattern.

What is the preterite of buscar?

Yo busqué, tú buscaste, él/ella buscó, nosotros buscamos, ellos/ustedes buscaron.

How do you conjugate buscar in the present?

Yo busco, tú buscas, él/ella busca, nosotros buscamos, ellos/ustedes buscan.

What is the future of buscar?

Yo buscaré, tú buscarás, él/ella buscará, nosotros buscaremos, ellos/ustedes buscarán.

What is the present subjunctive of buscar?

Que yo busque, que tú busques, que él/ella busque, que nosotros busquemos, que ellos/ustedes busquen.