colocamos

Colocamos is a form of the Spanish verb colocar, meaning to place or to put. It is the first-person plural form of the verb in the present indicative (nosotros colocamos) and it also serves as the first-person plural form in the preterite (simple past) in many Spanish varieties, where context determines the tense. Colocar is a transitive verb, requiring a direct object: we colocamos las cajas en la esquina, we placed the boxes in the corner.

Etymology and meaning: colocar comes from Latin collocare, meaning to place in a position or to set in order. The sense extended in Romance languages to the action of arranging objects, positions, or items in a given place. In modern Spanish, colocamos is used for arranging physical items as well as organizing non-physical things, such as schedules or spaces, depending on the object.

Usage and examples: Colocamos objetos, muebles o documentos; for example, “Colocamos las sillas alrededor de la mesa” (We placed the chairs around the table). The form also appears in idiomatic uses that convey arranging or assigning positions, such as “colocar a alguien en un puesto” (to place someone in a position). In everyday speech, colocamos often serves to describe completed actions in the past (colocamos las fotos ayer) or ongoing actions in the present (ahora, colocamos las piezas en su sitio).

Relation to related forms: Colocar’ s other conjugations include coloco, colocas, coloca, colocáis, colocan, with colocamos sharing the stem in several tenses. The verb is typically used transitively, with a clear object that receives the action. Reflexive forms like colocarse have a different meaning (to position oneself).