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SPANISH VERB

tomar

to take, to drink

  • #31 most used
  • Regular -ar verb
  • Gerund: tomando
  • Past participle: tomado

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

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

Imperfect

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

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Past subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use tomar

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

  1. Present

    Siempre tomo un jugo en el desayuno.

    I always have a juice at breakfast.

  2. Past

    ¿Tomaste el camión o un taxi?

    Did you take the bus or a taxi?

  3. Imperfect

    Mi papá tomaba café negro, sin azúcar.

    My dad drank black coffee, no sugar.

  4. Future

    Tomaremos una foto todos juntos al final.

    We will take a picture all together at the end.

  5. Conditional

    Yo tomaría el tren, es más cómodo.

    I would take the train, it's more comfortable.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Es mejor que tomes mucha agua hoy.

    You had better drink a lot of water today.

  7. Past subjunctive

    Le dije que tomara la medicina con comida.

    I told him to take the medicine with food.

  8. Imperative

    Tome asiento, señora, ahorita la atienden.

    Have a seat, ma'am, they will be right with you.

Good to know

  • Tomar is the everyday word for drinking: tomar agua, tomar un café.
  • Tomar el camión, tomar una foto, tomar una clase: to take.

Where you hear tomar

The lessons that teach a form of it, and how they say it.

Spanish · Beginner Level 1

  • Tomo el metro todos los días. I take the metro every day.
  • Ayer tomé un taxi. Yesterday I took a taxi.
  • Voy a tomar un café. I'm going to have a coffee.

Spanish · Beginner Level 2

  • ¿Has tomado mezcal? Have you had mezcal?
  • Tomé muchas fotos. I took a lot of photos.
  • Voy a tomar chocolate. I'm going to have chocolate.
7
I'm Hungry

Beginner Level 1 · tomar · para tomar

Needs a subscription 11
By Metro or by Taxi?

Beginner Level 1 · tomo · tomas

Needs a subscription 23
A Table for Three

Beginner Level 1 · a tomar · van a tomar

Needs a subscription 25
What Did You See?

Beginner Level 1 · tomaste · tomé

Needs a subscription 25
Have You Ever Tried Them?

Beginner Level 2 · tomado

Needs a subscription 12
Fill It Up

Beginner Level 3 · tome · tomamos

Needs a subscription 16
The Pink Flamingos

Beginner Level 3 · nos puede tomar · tomó

Needs a subscription 22
Don't Touch Them!

Beginner Level 3 · tómalo · tomé

Needs a subscription 3
The Rules

Intermediate Level 1 · le voy a tomar

Needs a subscription 21
What Would We Do?

Intermediate Level 1 · tomaría

Needs a subscription 28
A Call to Boston

Intermediate Level 1 · tomaríamos

Needs a subscription 7
Peaches, Not Peaches

Advanced Level 1 · Tomad. · tomábamos

Needs a subscription

And 6 more lessons.

Verbs like this one

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