Win, earn or gain
One verb, three English words: ganar un partido (win a match), ganar dinero (earn money), ganar peso (gain weight). To beat someone: ganar a alguien — España le ganó a Italia. And ¿Cuánto ganas? asks how much someone earns.
Indicative tenses of ganar
Facts and things that happen: the tenses you'll use most.
Present indicative
| yo | ganoI win |
|---|---|
| tú | ganasyou win |
| él/ella/usted | ganahe/she wins |
| nosotros/as | ganamoswe win |
| vosotros/as | ganáisyou all win |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | gananthey win |
Fully regular. Ganamos is both "we win" and "we won".
Preterite indicative
| yo | ganéI won |
|---|---|
| tú | ganasteyou won |
| él/ella/usted | ganóhe/she won |
| nosotros/as | ganamoswe won |
| vosotros/as | ganasteisyou all won |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | ganaronthey won |
Imperfect indicative
| yo | ganabaI used to win |
|---|---|
| tú | ganabasyou used to win |
| él/ella/usted | ganabahe/she used to win |
| nosotros/as | ganábamoswe used to win |
| vosotros/as | ganabaisyou all used to win |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | ganabanthey used to win |
Present continuous indicative
| yo | estoy ganandoI am winning |
|---|---|
| tú | estás ganandoyou are winning |
| él/ella/usted | está ganandohe/she is winning |
| nosotros/as | estamos ganandowe are winning |
| vosotros/as | estáis ganandoyou all are winning |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | están ganandothey are winning |
estar + gerund
Informal future indicative
| yo | voy a ganarI am going to win |
|---|---|
| tú | vas a ganaryou are going to win |
| él/ella/usted | va a ganarhe/she is going to win |
| nosotros/as | vamos a ganarwe are going to win |
| vosotros/as | vais a ganaryou all are going to win |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | van a ganarthey are going to win |
ir a + infinitive
Future indicative
| yo | ganaréI will win |
|---|---|
| tú | ganarásyou will win |
| él/ella/usted | ganaráhe/she will win |
| nosotros/as | ganaremoswe will win |
| vosotros/as | ganaréisyou all will win |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | ganaránthey will win |
Conditional indicative
| yo | ganaríaI would win |
|---|---|
| tú | ganaríasyou would win |
| él/ella/usted | ganaríahe/she would win |
| nosotros/as | ganaríamoswe would win |
| vosotros/as | ganaríaisyou all would win |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | ganaríanthey would win |
Present perfect indicative
| yo | he ganadoI have won |
|---|---|
| tú | has ganadoyou have won |
| él/ella/usted | ha ganadohe/she has won |
| nosotros/as | hemos ganadowe have won |
| vosotros/as | habéis ganadoyou all have won |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | han ganadothey have won |
haber (present) + past participle
Past perfect indicative
| yo | había ganadoI had won |
|---|---|
| tú | habías ganadoyou had won |
| él/ella/usted | había ganadohe/she had won |
| nosotros/as | habíamos ganadowe had won |
| vosotros/as | habíais ganadoyou all had won |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | habían ganadothey had won |
haber (imperfect) + past participle
Future perfect indicative
| yo | habré ganadoI will have won |
|---|---|
| tú | habrás ganadoyou will have won |
| él/ella/usted | habrá ganadohe/she will have won |
| nosotros/as | habremos ganadowe will have won |
| vosotros/as | habréis ganadoyou all will have won |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | habrán ganadothey will have won |
haber (future) + past participle
Conditional perfect indicative
| yo | habría ganadoI would have won |
|---|---|
| tú | habrías ganadoyou would have won |
| él/ella/usted | habría ganadohe/she would have won |
| nosotros/as | habríamos ganadowe would have won |
| vosotros/as | habríais ganadoyou all would have won |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | habrían ganadothey would have won |
haber (conditional) + past participle
Subjunctive tenses of ganar
Wishes, doubts, emotions and "if" sentences.
Present subjunctive
| yo | gane(that) I win |
|---|---|
| tú | ganes(that) you win |
| él/ella/usted | gane(that) he/she wins |
| nosotros/as | ganemos(that) we win |
| vosotros/as | ganéis(that) you all win |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | ganen(that) they win |
Imperfect subjunctive
| yo | ganara(if) I won |
|---|---|
| tú | ganaras(if) you won |
| él/ella/usted | ganara(if) he/she won |
| nosotros/as | ganáramos(if) we won |
| vosotros/as | ganarais(if) you all won |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | ganaran(if) they won |
Future subjunctive
| yo | ganare(if) I win |
|---|---|
| tú | ganares(if) you win |
| él/ella/usted | ganare(if) he/she wins |
| nosotros/as | ganáremos(if) we win |
| vosotros/as | ganareis(if) you all win |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | ganaren(if) they win |
rarely used: legal & formal texts
Present perfect subjunctive
| yo | haya ganado(that) I have won |
|---|---|
| tú | hayas ganado(that) you have won |
| él/ella/usted | haya ganado(that) he/she has won |
| nosotros/as | hayamos ganado(that) we have won |
| vosotros/as | hayáis ganado(that) you all have won |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | hayan ganado(that) they have won |
haber (present subj.) + past participle
Past perfect subjunctive
| yo | hubiera ganado(if) I had won |
|---|---|
| tú | hubieras ganado(if) you had won |
| él/ella/usted | hubiera ganado(if) he/she had won |
| nosotros/as | hubiéramos ganado(if) we had won |
| vosotros/as | hubierais ganado(if) you all had won |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | hubieran ganado(if) they had won |
haber (imperfect subj.) + past participle
Future perfect subjunctive
| yo | hubiere ganado(if) I will have won |
|---|---|
| tú | hubieres ganado(if) you will have won |
| él/ella/usted | hubiere ganado(if) he/she will have won |
| nosotros/as | hubiéremos ganado(if) we will have won |
| vosotros/as | hubiereis ganado(if) you all will have won |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | hubieren ganado(if) they will have won |
rarely used: legal & formal texts
Imperative tenses of ganar
Commands and instructions.
Affirmative imperative
| tú | ganawin! |
|---|---|
| usted | ganewin! (formal) |
| nosotros/as | ganemoslet's win! |
| vosotros/as | ganadwin! (you all) |
| ustedes | ganenwin! (you all, formal) |
Negative imperative
| tú | no ganesdon't win! |
|---|---|
| usted | no ganedon't win! (formal) |
| nosotros/as | no ganemoslet's not win! |
| vosotros/as | no ganéisdon't win! (you all) |
| ustedes | no ganendon't win! (you all, formal) |
Practice ganar
Two quick exercises. No sign-up, no app: just you and ganar.
How to use ganar
Ganamos el partido 2 a 1.
We won the match 2–1.
Gana mucho dinero.
She earns a lot of money.
Siempre me ganas al ajedrez.
You always beat me at chess.
Se gana la vida como músico.
He earns a living as a musician.
He ganado dos kilos.
I've gained two kilos.
Example sentences with ganar
- ¿Quién ganó la carrera?Who won the race?
- Gano poco, pero me gusta mi trabajo.I don't earn much, but I like my job.
- Antes ganaba más.I used to earn more.
- Vamos a ganar este año.We're going to win this year.
- Si ganara la lotería, viajaría.If I won the lottery, I would travel.
- ¡Que gane el mejor!May the best one win!
- Ganarás experiencia.You'll gain experience.
- Han ganado tres partidos seguidos.They've won three games in a row.
Verbs like ganar
Ganar follows the regular -ar pattern. Its opposite, perder (to lose), is a stem-changing -er verb.
Frequently asked questions about ganar
Is ganar regular or irregular?
Ganar is completely regular in every tense.
How do you conjugate ganar in the present tense?
gano, ganas, gana, ganamos, ganáis, ganan.
How do you conjugate ganar in the preterite?
gané, ganaste, ganó, ganamos, ganasteis, ganaron.
Does ganar mean win or earn?
Both! Ganar un premio = win a prize; ganar dinero = earn money.
How do you say "to beat someone"?
Ganar a alguien: te gané (I beat you).
What is the past participle of ganar?
The past participle is ganado and the gerund is ganando.
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