Llegar a + place
Use llegar a for arriving somewhere: llegamos a Madrid (we arrived in Madrid), llego a casa a las seis (I get home at six). For "to arrive in" a country or city, Spanish still uses a, never en. And llegar tarde = to be late.
Indicative tenses of llegar
Facts and things that happen: the tenses you'll use most.
Present indicative
| yo | llegoI arrive |
|---|---|
| tú | llegasyou arrive |
| él/ella/usted | llegahe/she arrives |
| nosotros/as | llegamoswe arrive |
| vosotros/as | llegáisyou all arrive |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | lleganthey arrive |
Preterite indicative
| yo | lleguéI arrived |
|---|---|
| tú | llegasteyou arrived |
| él/ella/usted | llegóhe/she arrived |
| nosotros/as | llegamoswe arrived |
| vosotros/as | llegasteisyou all arrived |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | llegaronthey arrived |
Spelling change only in the yo form: g → gu before e (llegué), to keep the hard g sound.
Imperfect indicative
| yo | llegabaI used to arrive |
|---|---|
| tú | llegabasyou used to arrive |
| él/ella/usted | llegabahe/she used to arrive |
| nosotros/as | llegábamoswe used to arrive |
| vosotros/as | llegabaisyou all used to arrive |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | llegabanthey used to arrive |
Present continuous indicative
| yo | estoy llegandoI am arriving |
|---|---|
| tú | estás llegandoyou are arriving |
| él/ella/usted | está llegandohe/she is arriving |
| nosotros/as | estamos llegandowe are arriving |
| vosotros/as | estáis llegandoyou all are arriving |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | están llegandothey are arriving |
estar + gerund
Informal future indicative
| yo | voy a llegarI am going to arrive |
|---|---|
| tú | vas a llegaryou are going to arrive |
| él/ella/usted | va a llegarhe/she is going to arrive |
| nosotros/as | vamos a llegarwe are going to arrive |
| vosotros/as | vais a llegaryou all are going to arrive |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | van a llegarthey are going to arrive |
ir a + infinitive
Future indicative
| yo | llegaréI will arrive |
|---|---|
| tú | llegarásyou will arrive |
| él/ella/usted | llegaráhe/she will arrive |
| nosotros/as | llegaremoswe will arrive |
| vosotros/as | llegaréisyou all will arrive |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | llegaránthey will arrive |
Conditional indicative
| yo | llegaríaI would arrive |
|---|---|
| tú | llegaríasyou would arrive |
| él/ella/usted | llegaríahe/she would arrive |
| nosotros/as | llegaríamoswe would arrive |
| vosotros/as | llegaríaisyou all would arrive |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | llegaríanthey would arrive |
Present perfect indicative
| yo | he llegadoI have arrived |
|---|---|
| tú | has llegadoyou have arrived |
| él/ella/usted | ha llegadohe/she has arrived |
| nosotros/as | hemos llegadowe have arrived |
| vosotros/as | habéis llegadoyou all have arrived |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | han llegadothey have arrived |
haber (present) + past participle
Past perfect indicative
| yo | había llegadoI had arrived |
|---|---|
| tú | habías llegadoyou had arrived |
| él/ella/usted | había llegadohe/she had arrived |
| nosotros/as | habíamos llegadowe had arrived |
| vosotros/as | habíais llegadoyou all had arrived |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | habían llegadothey had arrived |
haber (imperfect) + past participle
Future perfect indicative
| yo | habré llegadoI will have arrived |
|---|---|
| tú | habrás llegadoyou will have arrived |
| él/ella/usted | habrá llegadohe/she will have arrived |
| nosotros/as | habremos llegadowe will have arrived |
| vosotros/as | habréis llegadoyou all will have arrived |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | habrán llegadothey will have arrived |
haber (future) + past participle
Conditional perfect indicative
| yo | habría llegadoI would have arrived |
|---|---|
| tú | habrías llegadoyou would have arrived |
| él/ella/usted | habría llegadohe/she would have arrived |
| nosotros/as | habríamos llegadowe would have arrived |
| vosotros/as | habríais llegadoyou all would have arrived |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | habrían llegadothey would have arrived |
haber (conditional) + past participle
Subjunctive tenses of llegar
Wishes, doubts, emotions and "if" sentences.
Present subjunctive
| yo | llegue(that) I arrive |
|---|---|
| tú | llegues(that) you arrive |
| él/ella/usted | llegue(that) he/she arrives |
| nosotros/as | lleguemos(that) we arrive |
| vosotros/as | lleguéis(that) you all arrive |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | lleguen(that) they arrive |
Same spelling change in the whole subjunctive: llegue, llegues…
Imperfect subjunctive
| yo | llegara(if) I arrived |
|---|---|
| tú | llegaras(if) you arrived |
| él/ella/usted | llegara(if) he/she arrived |
| nosotros/as | llegáramos(if) we arrived |
| vosotros/as | llegarais(if) you all arrived |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | llegaran(if) they arrived |
Future subjunctive
| yo | llegare(if) I arrive |
|---|---|
| tú | llegares(if) you arrive |
| él/ella/usted | llegare(if) he/she arrives |
| nosotros/as | llegáremos(if) we arrive |
| vosotros/as | llegareis(if) you all arrive |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | llegaren(if) they arrive |
rarely used: legal & formal texts
Present perfect subjunctive
| yo | haya llegado(that) I have arrived |
|---|---|
| tú | hayas llegado(that) you have arrived |
| él/ella/usted | haya llegado(that) he/she has arrived |
| nosotros/as | hayamos llegado(that) we have arrived |
| vosotros/as | hayáis llegado(that) you all have arrived |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | hayan llegado(that) they have arrived |
haber (present subj.) + past participle
Past perfect subjunctive
| yo | hubiera llegado(if) I had arrived |
|---|---|
| tú | hubieras llegado(if) you had arrived |
| él/ella/usted | hubiera llegado(if) he/she had arrived |
| nosotros/as | hubiéramos llegado(if) we had arrived |
| vosotros/as | hubierais llegado(if) you all had arrived |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | hubieran llegado(if) they had arrived |
haber (imperfect subj.) + past participle
Future perfect subjunctive
| yo | hubiere llegado(if) I will have arrived |
|---|---|
| tú | hubieres llegado(if) you will have arrived |
| él/ella/usted | hubiere llegado(if) he/she will have arrived |
| nosotros/as | hubiéremos llegado(if) we will have arrived |
| vosotros/as | hubiereis llegado(if) you all will have arrived |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | hubieren llegado(if) they will have arrived |
rarely used: legal & formal texts
Imperative tenses of llegar
Commands and instructions.
Affirmative imperative
| tú | llegaarrive! |
|---|---|
| usted | lleguearrive! (formal) |
| nosotros/as | lleguemoslet's arrive! |
| vosotros/as | llegadarrive! (you all) |
| ustedes | lleguenarrive! (you all, formal) |
Negative imperative
| tú | no lleguesdon't arrive! |
|---|---|
| usted | no lleguedon't arrive! (formal) |
| nosotros/as | no lleguemoslet's not arrive! |
| vosotros/as | no lleguéisdon't arrive! (you all) |
| ustedes | no lleguendon't arrive! (you all, formal) |
Practice llegar
Two quick exercises. No sign-up, no app: just you and llegar.
How to use llegar
Llegamos a Barcelona por la noche.
We arrived in Barcelona at night.
¿A qué hora llegas a casa?
What time do you get home?
Siempre llega tarde.
He's always late.
Llegó a ser médico.
He became a doctor.
Ya ha llegado tu paquete.
Your package has arrived.
Example sentences with llegar
- ¿Cuándo llegas?When do you arrive?
- Llegué tarde al trabajo.I was late for work.
- El tren llegó a tiempo.The train arrived on time.
- Siempre llegábamos los primeros.We always used to arrive first.
- Llegaremos sobre las ocho.We'll arrive around eight.
- Llámame cuando llegues.Call me when you arrive.
- ¡No llegues tarde!Don't be late!
- Ya ha llegado el verano.Summer has arrived.
Verbs like llegar
All verbs ending in -gar get the same gu spelling change: pagué, jugué. Verbs in -car and -zar have similar changes: busqué, empecé.
Frequently asked questions about llegar
Is llegar regular or irregular?
Llegar is a regular -ar verb. The only change is in the spelling: g → gu before an e (llegué, llegue), so the pronunciation stays the same.
How do you conjugate llegar in the present tense?
llego, llegas, llega, llegamos, llegáis, llegan.
How do you conjugate llegar in the preterite?
llegué, llegaste, llegó, llegamos, llegasteis, llegaron.
Is it "llegar a" or "llegar en"?
Always llegar a: llegué a España, llegamos a casa. You only use en for the way you travel: llegué en tren (I arrived by train).
What does "llegar a ser" mean?
"To become" (after effort or time): llegó a ser presidente (he became president).
What is the past participle of llegar?
The past participle is llegado (he llegado, I have arrived) and the gerund is llegando.
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