Explicar (To Explain) — Full Conjugation

Explicar means to explain. It is a regular first-conjugation (-ar) verb, but it belongs to a class of verbs whose stem ends in -c-, which triggers a small but crucial spelling adjustment: whenever the ending begins with e or i, the c switches to qu so that the hard /k/ sound is preserved. Without this change, the combination ce would be pronounced as a soft /s/, and the word would no longer sound like explicar. This is a spelling rule, not a sound rule — the verb itself is phonetically regular. The same pattern shows up in ficar → fique, fiquei, tocar → toque, toquei, brincar → brinque, brinquei, and many others.

Beyond the spelling, explicar is a useful verb to master because of how it takes its complements: you explain something to someone using the preposition a, not para or any direct pronoun.

Header

Present indicative — presente do indicativo

No spelling change here — all endings begin with o, a, or a-initial forms.

Imperfect indicative — pretérito imperfeito

Preterite indicative — pretérito perfeito simples

Here is the first place the spelling change appears: the 1sg form would regularly be explicei, but ce pronounces as /s/, so we write expliquei to keep the /k/ sound.

European Portuguese keeps the acute accent on the nós preterite form explicámos — this distinguishes it from the present explicamos in writing. (Brazilian Portuguese dropped this accent.)

Pluperfect indicative, simple — pretérito mais-que-perfeito simples

Pluperfect indicative, compound — pretérito mais-que-perfeito composto

Present perfect — pretérito perfeito composto

Simple future — futuro do indicativo simples

Future perfect — futuro perfeito

Conditional — condicional

Conditional perfect — condicional composto

Present subjunctive — presente do conjuntivo

This is the second and most extensive place the c→qu change appears. Because present subjunctive endings for -ar verbs begin with e, every form gets the qu spelling.

Imperfect subjunctive — imperfeito do conjuntivo

Endings for -ar verbs in this tense start with a, so the c stays.

Future subjunctive — futuro do conjuntivo

Endings begin with a (from -ar) — no spelling change.

Present perfect subjunctive — pretérito perfeito do conjuntivo

Pluperfect subjunctive — pretérito mais-que-perfeito do conjuntivo

Future perfect subjunctive — futuro perfeito do conjuntivo

Imperative — imperativo

The affirmative tu form uses the present stem (no c→qu). All other imperative forms draw from the present subjunctive, so the qu spelling appears.

Affirmative:

Negative:

Personal infinitive — infinitivo pessoal

Compound personal infinitive — infinitivo pessoal composto

Usage: explicar algo a alguém

Explicar takes a direct object (the thing being explained) and an indirect object (the person receiving the explanation) introduced by the preposition a.

When the indirect object is a pronoun, it attaches to the verb: explicar-me, explicar-te, explicar-lhe, explicar-nos, explicar-lhes.

Usage: explicar que + indicative

When you're explaining a fact (asserting that something is the case), use explicar que + indicative.

Explicar does not take the subjunctive, because explaining is assertive: you are claiming something is true, not wishing or doubting.

Usage: explicar-se — "to make oneself clear"

The reflexive explicar-se means to make oneself understood / to justify oneself.

Example sentences in context

Common mistakes

Key takeaways

• Explicar is a regular -ar verb, but the stem-final c switches to qu before e or i to preserve the hard /k/ sound.
• Affected forms: 1sg preterite (expliquei), all of the present subjunctive (explique, etc.), and the imperative forms derived from the subjunctive.
• The same pattern applies to other -car verbs: ficar, tocar, brincar, atacar, buscar, pescar, secar — if you learn it once, you learn it for dozens of verbs.
• Explicar takes a for the recipient (explicar algo a alguém), not para.
• Explicar que
  • indicative. Never subjunctive — explaining is assertive.
• The reflexive explicar-se means to make oneself clear or to justify oneself.
• EP preserves the acute accent on the 1pl preterite: explicámos (preterite) vs. explicamos (present).