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The Essential List: How to Learn 116 Common Spanish AR Verbs

Verbs are like pizzas—you can never have too many.

On today’s menu, we have –ar verbs.

Sure, you need to learn the most common Spanish verbs. Those essential Spanish verbs will help you survive real-life conversations.

But for any Spanish learner, –ar verbs, in particular, are an essential part of the Spanish-learning diet.

Contents

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Why Learn Spanish -ar Verbs?

It’s easier to learn words in groups of similar words. -Ar verbs share the same construction, so you can easily link them in your mind. This will make all of the words easier to remember.

Learning a lot of –ar verbs at once will reinforce your learning of conjugations. Since verbs with the same ending share the same sets of conjugations, you’ll know how to conjugate all of these verbs. For instance, as you work on mastering the Spanish present tense, you’ll always know that the –ar ending is replaced as follows:

yo                                  -o
tú                                   -as
él/ella/usted                 -a
nosotros                       -amos
vosotros                       -áis
ellos/ellas/ustedes      -an

Precise verbs make you sound more advanced. You can get by with simpler verbs, but when you know very specific verbs, it epically upgrades your language skills and fluency.

Since learning –ar verbs as a group will help improve your learning, let’s jump in with this set of 116 verbs.

The Top 116 Spanish AR Verbs All Learners Must Know

Learning is one thing; knowing is another thing altogether. You can try memorizing this list of verbs but we recommend learning them in context to make them easier to remember and actually use in conversation. At the end of this post we’ll look at some resources you can use to practice these verbs.

1. Abrazar

To hug, to hold, to embrace

Usage note: When referring to hugging someone, we use the reflexive abrazarse.

2. Acabar

To end, to finish

3. Aceptar

To accept, to agree to

4. Acercar

To move closer, to bring closer, to give a ride

Conjugation note: In the past tense, the first person (yo form) conjugation changes the second c to a q and becomes acerqué.

5. Acompañar

To accompany, to go with

6. Acordar

To agree, to remind, to award (in Latin America)

Conjugation note: In the present tense, the root changes from o to ue (acuerd–) for the yo, tú, él/ella/usted and ellos/ellas/ustedes conjugations—every conjugation not including nosotros and vosotros.

7. Admirar

To admire, to amaze

8. Adoptar

To adopt, to take

9. Adorar

To adore

10. Agravar

To aggravate, to worsen

11. Almorzar

To have lunch

Conjugation note: In the present tense, the root changes from o to ue (almuerz–) for the yo, tú, él/ella/usted and ellos/ellas/ustedes conjugations.

In the preterite, the z changes to a c for the yo form—almorcé.

12. Amar

To love

13. Andar

To go, to walk, to take, to work, to feel, to be about

Andar most often means “to walk,” but it can also mean “to take” (as in a mode of transportation), “to work” (as in a machine functioning), “to feel” or “to be about” (for approximating things).

Conjugation note: In the preterite, the root changes to anduv– for all conjugations.

14. Arreglar

To fix, to arrange, to tidy up, to solve, to sort out

15. Atacar

To attack, to tackle

Conjugation note: In the preterite, the yo form is ataqué.

16. Avanzar

To advance

Conjugation note: In the preterite, the z changes to a c for the yo form.

17. Ayudar

To help

18. Bailar

To dance

19. Bajar

To descend, to diminish

20. Buscar

To search, to look for

Conjugation note: In the preterite, the yo form is busqué.

21. Cambiar

To change, to exchange

22. Caminar

To walk

Usage note: Caminar usually means “to walk,” but in Latin America, it can also mean “to work” (as in a machine working).

23. Cantar

To sing

24. Celebrar

To celebrate

25. Cenar

To have dinner

26. Cerrar

To close, to conclude, to turn off

Conjugation note: In the present tense, the root changes to cierr– for the yo, tú, él/ella/usted and ellos/ellas/ustedes conjugations.

27. Charlar

To chat

28. Chistar

To start to speak

29. Cocinar

To cook

30. Comprar

To buy

31. Contar

To count, to tell

Conjugation note: In the present tense, the root changes to cuent– for the yo, tú, él/ella/usted and ellos/ellas/ustedes conjugations.

32. Continuar

To continue

Conjugation note: In the present tense, there’s an accent over the u for the yo, tú, él/ella/usted and ellos/ellas/ustedes conjugations.

33. Cortar

To cut

34. Dar

To give

Conjugation note: In the present tense, the yo form is doy and the vosotros form is dais. The preterite is:

yo di
tú diste
él/ella/usted dio
nosotros dimos
vosotros disteis
ellos/ellas/ustedes dieron

35. Declarar

To declare

36. Dejar

To allow, to let, to leave, to lend.

37. Demostrar

To demonstrate, to prove

Conjugation note: In the present tense, the root changes to demuestr– for the yo, tú, él/ella/usted and ellos/ellas/ustedes conjugations.

38. Descansar

To rest, to sleep

39. Desear

To desire

40. Dibujar

To draw

41. Dispensar

To give, to grant, to excuse, to forgive

42. Empezar

To begin

Conjugation note: In the present tense, the root changes to empiez– for the yo, tú, él/ella/usted and ellos/ellas/ustedes conjugations.

In the preterite, the yo form is empecé.

43. Emplear

To use, to spend, to employ

44. Enseñar

To teach, to show

45. Encontrar

To find, to encounter

Conjugation note: In the present tense, the root changes to encuentr– for the yo, tú, él/ella/usted and ellos/ellas/ustedes conjugations.

46. Entrar

To enter, to fit, to pierce, to join, to start, to feel, to understand, to participate

Entrar usually means “to enter.”

47. Entregar

To submit, to turn in

Conjugation note: In the preterite, the yo form is entregué.

48. Enviar

To send, to mail

Conjugation note: In the present tense, there’s an accent over the i for the yo, tú, él/ella/usted and ellos/ellas/ustedes conjugations.

49. Escuchar

To listen

50. Esperar

To wait, to hope or to expect

51. Estar

To be

Conjugation note: In the present tense, the yo form is estoy and the tú, él/ella/usted, vosotros and ellos/ellas/ustedes conjugations have an accent over the a. 

The preterite is:

yo estuve
tú estuviste
él/ella/usted estuvo
nosotros estuvimos
vosotros estuvisteis
ellos/ellas/ustedes estuvieron

52. Estudiar

To study

53. Explicar

To explain

Conjugation note: In the preterite, the yo form is expliqué.

54. Expresar

To express

55. Faltar

To lack, to miss

56. Felicitar

To congratulate

57. Formar

To form, to comprise, to instruct

58. Fumar

To smoke

59. Funcionar

To function

60. Ganar

To win, to earn

61. Gobernar

To govern, to steer

Conjugation note: In the present tense, the root changes to gobiern– for the yo, tú, él/ella/usted and ellos/ellas/ustedes conjugations.

62. Gritar

To yell

63. Gustar

To like

Conjugation note: This verb is most often conjugated with indirect object pronouns me, te, le, nos, os and les.

64. Habitar

To dwell, live, to inhabit, to occupy

65. Hablar

To talk

66. Importar

To matter, to import

67. Indicar

To indicate, to gesture, to prescribe

Conjugation note: In the preterite, the yo form is indiqué.

68. Invitar

To invite, to treat someone to something (when offering to pay for a meal, activity, outing, etc.)

69. Jugar

To play

Conjugation note: In the present tense, the root changes to jueg– for the yo, tú, él/ella/usted and ellos/ellas/ustedes conjugations.

In the preterite, the yo form is jugué.

70. Juntar

To collect, to put together

71. Lavar

To wash

72. Limpiar 

To clean

73. Llamar

To call

74. Llegar

To arrive, to come, to reach

Conjugation note: In the preterite, the yo form is llegué.

75. Llorar

To cry, to whine

76. Luchar

To fight

77. Matar

To kill

78. Mejorar

To improve

79. Mirar

To look

80. Mostrar

To show

Conjugation note: In the present tense, the root changes to muestr– for the yo, tú, él/ella/usted and ellos/ellas/ustedes conjugations.

81. Nadar

To swim

82. Necesitar

To need

83. Nevar

To snow

Conjugation note: In the present tense, the root changes to niev– for the yo, tú, él/ella/usted and ellos/ellas/ustedes conjugations—although, why you would need to use some of these conjugations remains a mystery.

84. Observar

To observe

85. Ocupar

To occupy

86. Olvidar

To forget

87. Organizar

To organize

Conjugation note: In the preterite, the yo form is organicé.

88. Pagar

To pay

Conjugation note: In the preterite, the yo form is pagué.

89. Parar

To stop

90. Pasar

To pass, to happen

91. Pensar

To think

Conjugation note: In the present tense, the root changes to piens– for the yo, tú, él/ella/usted and ellos/ellas/ustedes conjugations.

92. Pintar

To paint, to draw, to smudge, to describe

93. Practicar

To practice

Conjugation note: In the preterite, the yo form is practiqué.

94. Preguntar

To ask

95. Preparar

To prepare

96. Presentar

To present, to introduce

97. Probar

To test, to taste

Conjugation note: In the present tense, the root changes to prueb– for the yo, tú, él/ella/usted and ellos/ellas/ustedes conjugations.

98. Realizar

To realize, to carry out

Usage note: Realizar means “to realize.” However, it’s important to note that this type of “to realize” means “to carry out” rather than “to become aware of.” Rather, darse cuenta de means “to become aware of.”

Conjugation note: In the preterite, the yo form is realicé.

99. Recomendar

To recommend

Conjugation note: In the present tense, the root changes to recomiend– for the yo, tú, él/ella/usted and ellos/ellas/ustedes conjugations.

100. Recordar

To remember, to remind

Conjugation note: In the present tense, the root changes to recuerd– for the yo, tú, él/ella/usted and ellos/ellas/ustedes conjugations.

101. Regresar

To return

102. Respirar

To breathe

103. Sacar

To take, get, to take out, to remove

Conjugation note: In the preterite, the yo form is saqué.

104. Saltar

To jump

105. Saludar

To greet, to say hello to

106. Separar

To separate

107. Soñar

To dream

Conjugation note: In the present tense, the root changes to sueñ– for the yo, tú, él/ella/usted and ellos/ellas/ustedes conjugations.

108. Sospechar

To suspect

109. Terminar

To end, to finish

110. Tocar

To touch, to play (an instrument)

Conjugation note: In the preterite, the yo form is toqué.

111. Tomar

To take, to drink

112. Trabajar

To work

113. Tratar

To treat, to try

114. Usar

To use

115. Viajar

To travel

116. Visitar

To visit

Practice Makes Perfect

That’s a lot of words! Luckily, you don’t have to just memorize them. There are plenty of resources available to help you remember and retain the information in this post. Here are a few to get you started:

  • The Language Tutor podcast: In this episode, Dr. Danny Evans goes over -ar verbs and how to conjugate them. This podcast will definitely get you off to a good start with these verbs and prepare you to use them yourself when speaking.
  • FluentU: With this program, you can learn -ar verbs in context and see how native speakers use them. FluentU uses authentic Spanish videos with interactive captions to immerse you while you learn. You can also create a flashcard deck specifically for these words.
  • Audiobooks: A great way to learn new words is through stories. You can practice these verbs by listening to and reading new stories! Listen out for -ar verbs and how they’re used to improve your vocabulary and your listening comprehension skills at the same time.

 

So, that’s a wrap!

Grab a slice of these –ar verbs and bite into learning.

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)

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