How to Say Clean in Spanish
Learn the infinitive form., Say limpiar in the present tense., Use limpiar in the past tense., Understand how to say limpiar in the future tense., Use the transitive verb form.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Learn the infinitive form.
The verb in Spanish that means "to clean" is limpiar.
It is a regular verb, conjugated the same as all other
-ar verbs in Spanish.
Use the infinitive if you have two verbs, or a verb phrase.For example, if you wanted to say "we have to clean the house" in Spanish, you would say "tenemos que limpiar la casa." To conjugate regular
-ar verbs, simply remove the
-ar ending from the verb stem and replace it with a different ending appropriate to the subject of your sentence and verb tense you want to use.
For example, to create the first-person present-tense form of the verb limpiar, you would remove the
-ar to create the verb stem limpi-, then add an
-o to arrive at limpio – "I clean." -
Step 2: Say limpiar in the present tense.
Present tense may be the one you use the most in Spanish.
Unlike English, in Spanish the same verb form is also used for progressive actions. "Clean" in the present tense also means "am/is/are cleaning."If you want to say "I am cleaning my house," you would say "yo limpio mi casa" (or simply "limpio mi casa" – the pronoun isn't necessary.) To say "you are cleaning my house," you would say "limpias mi casa" (familiar) or "limpia mi casa" (formal).
The "formal you" form is also used to say "he or she is cleaning my house." To say "we are cleaning my house," you would say "limpiamos mi casa." To say "they are cleaning my house" or "you all are cleaning my house," you would say "limpian mi casa."
In Spanish, the past (or "preterite") tense of limpiar is used to mean you cleaned something, just as in English.
The past tense should not be used to refer to actions that are ongoing, but rather things that took place completely in the past.To say "I cleaned my house," you would say "limpié mi casa." To say "you cleaned my house," you would say "limpiaste mi casa" (familiar) or "limpió mi casa" (formal).
The formal you form is also used to say "he or she cleaned my house." To say "we cleaned my house," you would say "limpiamos mi casa." To say "they cleaned my house" or "you all cleaned my house," you would say "limpiaron mi casa."
In Spanish, the future tense of the verb "limpiar" simply means "will clean." However, there is no helper verb in Spanish as there is in English.To say "I will clean my house," you would say "limpiaré mi casa." To say "you will clean my house, you would say "limpiarás mi casa" (familiar) or "limpiará mi casa" (formal).
The same form used for the formal "you" pronoun is also used to say "he or she will clean my house." To say "we will clean my house," you would say "limpiaremos mi casa." To say "they will clean my house" or "you all will clean my house," you would say "limpiarán mi casa."
If you want to speak in Spanish about cleaning up or tidying up a place, you use the transitive verb form, which is the same as the infinitive limpiar.
This word is used to talk about cleaning up something messy, or to clean up a neighborhood or area by getting rid of corruption.In English, you also might say someone "cleaned up" to mean that they won something, or made a huge profit.
However, in Spanish the phrase for this is "barrer con todo." For example, you would say "Juan barrió con todo en el concurso" ("John cleaned up in the contest.") -
Step 3: Use limpiar in the past tense.
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Step 4: Understand how to say limpiar in the future tense.
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Step 5: Use the transitive verb form.
Detailed Guide
The verb in Spanish that means "to clean" is limpiar.
It is a regular verb, conjugated the same as all other
-ar verbs in Spanish.
Use the infinitive if you have two verbs, or a verb phrase.For example, if you wanted to say "we have to clean the house" in Spanish, you would say "tenemos que limpiar la casa." To conjugate regular
-ar verbs, simply remove the
-ar ending from the verb stem and replace it with a different ending appropriate to the subject of your sentence and verb tense you want to use.
For example, to create the first-person present-tense form of the verb limpiar, you would remove the
-ar to create the verb stem limpi-, then add an
-o to arrive at limpio – "I clean."
Present tense may be the one you use the most in Spanish.
Unlike English, in Spanish the same verb form is also used for progressive actions. "Clean" in the present tense also means "am/is/are cleaning."If you want to say "I am cleaning my house," you would say "yo limpio mi casa" (or simply "limpio mi casa" – the pronoun isn't necessary.) To say "you are cleaning my house," you would say "limpias mi casa" (familiar) or "limpia mi casa" (formal).
The "formal you" form is also used to say "he or she is cleaning my house." To say "we are cleaning my house," you would say "limpiamos mi casa." To say "they are cleaning my house" or "you all are cleaning my house," you would say "limpian mi casa."
In Spanish, the past (or "preterite") tense of limpiar is used to mean you cleaned something, just as in English.
The past tense should not be used to refer to actions that are ongoing, but rather things that took place completely in the past.To say "I cleaned my house," you would say "limpié mi casa." To say "you cleaned my house," you would say "limpiaste mi casa" (familiar) or "limpió mi casa" (formal).
The formal you form is also used to say "he or she cleaned my house." To say "we cleaned my house," you would say "limpiamos mi casa." To say "they cleaned my house" or "you all cleaned my house," you would say "limpiaron mi casa."
In Spanish, the future tense of the verb "limpiar" simply means "will clean." However, there is no helper verb in Spanish as there is in English.To say "I will clean my house," you would say "limpiaré mi casa." To say "you will clean my house, you would say "limpiarás mi casa" (familiar) or "limpiará mi casa" (formal).
The same form used for the formal "you" pronoun is also used to say "he or she will clean my house." To say "we will clean my house," you would say "limpiaremos mi casa." To say "they will clean my house" or "you all will clean my house," you would say "limpiarán mi casa."
If you want to speak in Spanish about cleaning up or tidying up a place, you use the transitive verb form, which is the same as the infinitive limpiar.
This word is used to talk about cleaning up something messy, or to clean up a neighborhood or area by getting rid of corruption.In English, you also might say someone "cleaned up" to mean that they won something, or made a huge profit.
However, in Spanish the phrase for this is "barrer con todo." For example, you would say "Juan barrió con todo en el concurso" ("John cleaned up in the contest.")
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Kyle Young
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