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SPANISH VERB

alcanzar

to reach, to be enough

  • #118 most used
  • Regular -ar verb
  • Gerund: alcanzando
  • Past participle: alcanzado

Conjugation

Tap any form to hear it. The part that changes is in colour.

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

  1. yo I reach
  2. tú you reach
  3. usted, él, ella he/she reaches
  4. nosotros we reach
  5. vosotros Spain you all reach
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they reach

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

  1. yo I reached
  2. tú you reached
  3. usted, él, ella he/she reached
  4. nosotros we reached
  5. vosotros Spain you all reached
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they reached

Imperfect

Pretérito imperfecto · “used to” and “was …ing”

  1. yo I used to reach
  2. tú you used to reach
  3. usted, él, ella he/she used to reach
  4. nosotros we used to reach
  5. vosotros Spain you all used to reach
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they used to reach

Future

Futuro · plans and promises; in speech, “voy a hablar” is just as common

  1. yo I will reach
  2. tú you will reach
  3. usted, él, ella he/she will reach
  4. nosotros we will reach
  5. vosotros Spain you all will reach
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they will reach

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

  1. yo I would reach
  2. tú you would reach
  3. usted, él, ella he/she would reach
  4. nosotros we would reach
  5. vosotros Spain you all would reach
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they would reach

Present subjunctive

Presente de subjuntivo · wishes, doubts, “que …”

  1. yo (that) I reach
  2. tú (that) you reach
  3. usted, él, ella (that) he/she reach
  4. nosotros (that) we reach
  5. vosotros Spain (that) you all reach
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas (that) they reach

Past subjunctive

Imperfecto de subjuntivo · “if I were”, “si …”

  1. yo (if) I reached
  2. tú (if) you reached
  3. usted, él, ella (if) he/she reached
  4. nosotros (if) we reached
  5. vosotros Spain (if) you all reached
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas (if) they reached

Imperative

Imperativo · requests and orders; a negative one uses the subjunctive (no hables)

  1. tú reach!
  2. usted reach! (formal)
  3. nosotros reach! (let’s)
  4. vosotros Spain reach! (all of you)
  5. ustedes reach! (all of you)

How to use alcanzar

One sentence for each tense, the way people say it.

  1. Present

    No alcanzo el estante de arriba, ¿me ayudas?

    I can't reach the top shelf, can you help me?

  2. Past

    Corrimos y alcanzamos el tren por un segundo.

    We ran and caught the train by a second.

  3. Imperfect

    El sueldo no nos alcanzaba para el alquiler.

    The salary wasn't enough for us for the rent.

  4. Future

    Con esta comida alcanzará para todos.

    With this food there will be enough for everyone.

  5. Conditional

    Con un poco más, nos alcanzaría para el taxi.

    With a bit more, we'd have enough for the taxi.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Compra más pan para que alcance para la cena.

    Buy more bread so there's enough for dinner.

  7. Past subjunctive

    Ahorramos para que el dinero alcanzara hasta diciembre.

    We saved so the money would last until December.

  8. Imperative

    ¡Alcánzame la sal, por favor!

    Pass me the salt, please!

Good to know

  • "No me alcanza" is "I can't afford it": the money doesn't reach. "Alcanzar a alguien" is to catch up with someone.

Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: regular -ar verb.