Present
Presente · now, habits and facts
- yo I win
- tú you win
- usted, él, ella he/she wins
- nosotros we win
- vosotros Spain you all win
- ustedes, ellos, ellas they win
SPANISH VERB
ganar
to win, to earn
- #64 most used
- Regular -ar verb
- Gerund: ganando
- Past participle: ganado
Conjugation
Tap any form to hear it. The part that changes is in colour.
Past
Pretérito indefinido · finished actions
- yo I won
- tú you won
- usted, él, ella he/she won
- nosotros we won
- vosotros Spain you all won
- ustedes, ellos, ellas they won
Imperfect
Pretérito imperfecto · “used to” and “was …ing”
- yo I used to win
- tú you used to win
- usted, él, ella he/she used to win
- nosotros we used to win
- vosotros Spain you all used to win
- ustedes, ellos, ellas they used to win
Future
Futuro · plans and promises; in speech, “voy a hablar” is just as common
- yo I will win
- tú you will win
- usted, él, ella he/she will win
- nosotros we will win
- vosotros Spain you all will win
- ustedes, ellos, ellas they will win
Conditional
Condicional · “would”
- yo I would win
- tú you would win
- usted, él, ella he/she would win
- nosotros we would win
- vosotros Spain you all would win
- ustedes, ellos, ellas they would win
Present subjunctive
Presente de subjuntivo · wishes, doubts, “que …”
- yo (that) I win
- tú (that) you win
- usted, él, ella (that) he/she win
- nosotros (that) we win
- vosotros Spain (that) you all win
- ustedes, ellos, ellas (that) they win
Past subjunctive
Imperfecto de subjuntivo · “if I were”, “si …”
- yo (if) I won
- tú (if) you won
- usted, él, ella (if) he/she won
- nosotros (if) we won
- vosotros Spain (if) you all won
- ustedes, ellos, ellas (if) they won
Imperative
Imperativo · requests and orders; a negative one uses the subjunctive (no hables)
- tú win!
- usted win! (formal)
- nosotros win! (let’s)
- vosotros Spain win! (all of you)
- ustedes win! (all of you)
How to use ganar
One sentence for each tense, the way people say it.
-
Present
Mi hermana gana más que yo, y trabaja menos.
My sister earns more than me, and works less.
-
Past
Ganamos el partido en el último minuto.
We won the game in the last minute.
-
Imperfect
Mi papá ganaba poco, pero nunca nos faltó nada.
My dad earned little, but we never lacked anything.
-
Future
¿Quién ganará la final este domingo?
Who will win the final this Sunday?
-
Conditional
Con ese premio ganaría lo de un año de trabajo.
With that prize I'd earn a year's salary.
-
Present subjunctive
Ojalá que ganes la beca para estudiar en Canadá.
I hope you win the scholarship to study in Canada.
-
Past subjunctive
Si ganara la lotería, compraría una casa en la playa.
If I won the lottery, I'd buy a house on the beach.
-
Imperative
¡Gana este partido y te invito a cenar!
Win this game and I'll take you to dinner!
Good to know
- "Ganarse la vida" is to earn a living.
Where you hear ganar
The lessons that teach a form of it, and how they say it.
Spanish · Beginner Level 3
- Mi equipo casi siempre gana. My team almost always wins.
- Anoche Sara me ganó a las cartas. Last night Sarah beat me at cards.
- La próxima vez, vas a ganar tú. Next time, you're going to win.
Spanish · Intermediate Level 1
- Gano más cuando trabajo más horas. I earn more when I work more hours.
- El mes pasado gané más. Last month I earned more.
- Si trabajo más horas, ganaré más dinero. If I work more hours, I'll earn more money.
13
The Pyramid
Needs a subscription
18
Beginner Level 3 · ganaba
Camila's Story
Needs a subscription
25
Beginner Level 3 · ganaba · gano
An Email from Boston
Needs a subscription
7
Intermediate Level 1 · ganaría · ganarías
The More I Think About It
Needs a subscription
Advanced Level 3 · y yo qué gano
Verbs like this one
The same pattern, on other verbs: regular -ar verb.