Irregular verb pattern
Spelling-change verbs: -car
Verbs ending in -car change c to qu before the letter e — preserving the hard /k/ sound in the preterite yo form and present subjunctive.
The pattern rule
In Spanish, the letter c before e or i produces an /s/ sound (in Latin America) or /θ/ sound (in Spain). To preserve the hard /k/ sound from the infinitive, c must change to qu whenever it precedes e. This affects the preterite yo form (-qué instead of -cé) and all present subjunctive forms.
Example: buscar (to look for / to search) — Preterite
Irregular forms are highlighted in red. Regular forms for comparison are shown in grey where they differ.
| Pronoun | Actual form | Regular would be |
|---|---|---|
| yo | busqué* | buscé |
| tú | buscaste | ✓ |
| él/ella | buscó | ✓ |
| nosotros | buscamos | ✓ |
| vosotros | buscasteis | ✓ |
| ellos/ellas | buscaron | ✓ |
Frequently asked questions
What are -car spelling-change verbs in Spanish?
Verbs ending in -car change c to qu before e to preserve the hard /k/ sound. This affects the preterite yo form (buscar → busqué) and all present subjunctive forms (busque, busques...). The rest of the conjugation is regular.
Why does -car change to -qué in the preterite?
In Spanish, c before e produces an s/θ sound. To keep the same hard /k/ pronunciation as the infinitive, the spelling c must change to qu before the preterite -é ending. Without the change, buscé would be pronounced incorrectly.
Is tocar a -car spelling-change verb?
Yes — tocar (to play/touch) is a -car verb. Its preterite yo form is toqué, and its subjunctive forms use qu: toque, toques, toque, toquemos, toquéis, toquen.
All 34 -car verbs verbs — ordered by frequency
Sorted by how commonly each verb appears in everyday Spanish. Start with rank #1 and work down.
Other irregular verb patterns
Practise these verbs with spaced repetition to actually remember them.