gastar Present Conjugation
gastar — to spend
Gastar is regular in the present tense: gasto, gastas, gasta, gastamos, gastáis, gastan.
gastar Present Forms
When to Use the Present
Use the present tense for actions happening right now, habitual actions, or general truths. For example, 'Ahora gasto mucho en comida' (Right now I spend a lot on food) or 'Ella gasta dinero todos los días' (She spends money every day).
Notes on gastar in the Present
Gastar is regular in the present indicative tense. It follows the standard conjugation pattern for -ar verbs.
Example Sentences
Yo gasto veinte euros en el almuerzo.
I spend twenty euros on lunch.
yo
¿Tú gastas mucho en ropa?
Do you spend a lot on clothes?
tú
Mi padre gasta dinero en herramientas.
My father spends money on tools.
él/ella/usted
Nosotros gastamos lo justo.
We spend just enough.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using 'estar gastando' for habitual actions.
Correct: For habitual actions, use the simple present: 'Ella gasta dinero'. 'Estar gastando' is for actions happening right now.
Why: Confusing the simple present with the present progressive is common.
Mistake: Incorrectly conjugating the vosotros form: 'gastáis' vs. 'gastais'.
Correct: The correct form is 'gastáis' with the accent on the 'a'.
Why: The accent indicates the stressed syllable and is required for the vosotros present indicative.
Master Spanish verbs in context
Memorizing tables only gets you so far. Read 200+ illustrated and narrated Spanish stories to see verbs like 'gastar' used naturally — in the tenses you're learning.
Related Tenses
Preterite
yo: gasté
The preterite of gastar is regular: gasté, gastaste, gastó, gastamos, gastasteis, gastaron.
Imperfect
yo: gastaba
The imperfect of gastar is regular: gastaba, gastabas, gastaba, gastábamos, gastabais, gastaban.
Future
yo: gastaré
The future tense of gastar is regular: gastaré, gastarás, gastará, gastaremos, gastaréis, gastarán.
Conditional
yo: gastaría
The conditional of gastar is regular: gastaría, gastarías, gastaría, gastaríamos, gastaríais, gastarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: gaste
The present subjunctive of gastar: 'gaste', 'gastes', 'gastemos', 'gastéis', 'gasten'.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: gastara
The imperfect subjunctive of gastar has two forms: gastara/gastase and gastáramos/gastásemos.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: gasta
The imperative of gastar is mostly regular, with specific commands like 'gasta' (tú) and 'gastad' (vosotros).
Negative Imperative
yo: no gastes
Negative commands for gastar use the present subjunctive: 'no gastes', 'no gaste', 'no gastemos', 'no gastéis', 'no gasten'.