Skip to content
fluentbyear

SPANISH VERB

obtener

to get, to obtain

  • #132 most used
  • Irregular -er verb
  • Gerund: obteniendo
  • Past participle: obtenido

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

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

Imperfect

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

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Past subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use obtener

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

  1. Present

    Con esta tarjeta obtienes puntos en cada compra.

    With this card you get points on every purchase.

  2. Past

    Obtuve la visa después de tres meses de espera.

    I got the visa after three months of waiting.

  3. Imperfect

    Antes obteníamos descuentos por ser estudiantes.

    We used to get discounts for being students.

  4. Future

    Obtendrás los resultados en una semana.

    You'll get the results in a week.

  5. Conditional

    Con mejores notas obtendría la beca.

    With better grades she'd get the scholarship.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Cuando obtengas el permiso, avísame.

    When you get the permit, let me know.

  7. Past subjunctive

    Era difícil que obtuviéramos una mesa sin reservar.

    It was hard for us to get a table without a reservation.

  8. Imperative

    ¡Obtén tu boleto en línea y evita la fila!

    Get your ticket online and skip the line!

Good to know

  • "Obtener" is more formal than "conseguir": you obtain a visa or a degree; you get ("consigues") a table.

Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: irregular -er verb.