Tomar in a bar
In bars and restaurants, tomar is the go-to verb: ¿qué vas a tomar? (what are you having?), voy a tomar una cerveza, ¿tomamos algo? (shall we get a drink?). For transport: tomar el autobús (in Spain also coger). And tomar el sol = to sunbathe.
Indicative tenses of tomar
Facts and things that happen: the tenses you'll use most.
Present indicative
| yo | tomoI take |
|---|---|
| tú | tomasyou take |
| él/ella/usted | tomahe/she takes |
| nosotros/as | tomamoswe take |
| vosotros/as | tomáisyou all take |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | tomanthey take |
¿Qué vas a tomar? (what are you having?) is what you'll hear in every bar.
Preterite indicative
| yo | toméI took |
|---|---|
| tú | tomasteyou took |
| él/ella/usted | tomóhe/she took |
| nosotros/as | tomamoswe took |
| vosotros/as | tomasteisyou all took |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | tomaronthey took |
Imperfect indicative
| yo | tomabaI used to take |
|---|---|
| tú | tomabasyou used to take |
| él/ella/usted | tomabahe/she used to take |
| nosotros/as | tomábamoswe used to take |
| vosotros/as | tomabaisyou all used to take |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | tomabanthey used to take |
Present continuous indicative
| yo | estoy tomandoI am taking |
|---|---|
| tú | estás tomandoyou are taking |
| él/ella/usted | está tomandohe/she is taking |
| nosotros/as | estamos tomandowe are taking |
| vosotros/as | estáis tomandoyou all are taking |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | están tomandothey are taking |
estar + gerund
Informal future indicative
| yo | voy a tomarI am going to take |
|---|---|
| tú | vas a tomaryou are going to take |
| él/ella/usted | va a tomarhe/she is going to take |
| nosotros/as | vamos a tomarwe are going to take |
| vosotros/as | vais a tomaryou all are going to take |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | van a tomarthey are going to take |
ir a + infinitive
Future indicative
| yo | tomaréI will take |
|---|---|
| tú | tomarásyou will take |
| él/ella/usted | tomaráhe/she will take |
| nosotros/as | tomaremoswe will take |
| vosotros/as | tomaréisyou all will take |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | tomaránthey will take |
Conditional indicative
| yo | tomaríaI would take |
|---|---|
| tú | tomaríasyou would take |
| él/ella/usted | tomaríahe/she would take |
| nosotros/as | tomaríamoswe would take |
| vosotros/as | tomaríaisyou all would take |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | tomaríanthey would take |
Present perfect indicative
| yo | he tomadoI have taken |
|---|---|
| tú | has tomadoyou have taken |
| él/ella/usted | ha tomadohe/she has taken |
| nosotros/as | hemos tomadowe have taken |
| vosotros/as | habéis tomadoyou all have taken |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | han tomadothey have taken |
haber (present) + past participle
Past perfect indicative
| yo | había tomadoI had taken |
|---|---|
| tú | habías tomadoyou had taken |
| él/ella/usted | había tomadohe/she had taken |
| nosotros/as | habíamos tomadowe had taken |
| vosotros/as | habíais tomadoyou all had taken |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | habían tomadothey had taken |
haber (imperfect) + past participle
Future perfect indicative
| yo | habré tomadoI will have taken |
|---|---|
| tú | habrás tomadoyou will have taken |
| él/ella/usted | habrá tomadohe/she will have taken |
| nosotros/as | habremos tomadowe will have taken |
| vosotros/as | habréis tomadoyou all will have taken |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | habrán tomadothey will have taken |
haber (future) + past participle
Conditional perfect indicative
| yo | habría tomadoI would have taken |
|---|---|
| tú | habrías tomadoyou would have taken |
| él/ella/usted | habría tomadohe/she would have taken |
| nosotros/as | habríamos tomadowe would have taken |
| vosotros/as | habríais tomadoyou all would have taken |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | habrían tomadothey would have taken |
haber (conditional) + past participle
Subjunctive tenses of tomar
Wishes, doubts, emotions and "if" sentences.
Present subjunctive
| yo | tome(that) I take |
|---|---|
| tú | tomes(that) you take |
| él/ella/usted | tome(that) he/she takes |
| nosotros/as | tomemos(that) we take |
| vosotros/as | toméis(that) you all take |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | tomen(that) they take |
Imperfect subjunctive
| yo | tomara(if) I took |
|---|---|
| tú | tomaras(if) you took |
| él/ella/usted | tomara(if) he/she took |
| nosotros/as | tomáramos(if) we took |
| vosotros/as | tomarais(if) you all took |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | tomaran(if) they took |
Future subjunctive
| yo | tomare(if) I take |
|---|---|
| tú | tomares(if) you take |
| él/ella/usted | tomare(if) he/she takes |
| nosotros/as | tomáremos(if) we take |
| vosotros/as | tomareis(if) you all take |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | tomaren(if) they take |
rarely used: legal & formal texts
Present perfect subjunctive
| yo | haya tomado(that) I have taken |
|---|---|
| tú | hayas tomado(that) you have taken |
| él/ella/usted | haya tomado(that) he/she has taken |
| nosotros/as | hayamos tomado(that) we have taken |
| vosotros/as | hayáis tomado(that) you all have taken |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | hayan tomado(that) they have taken |
haber (present subj.) + past participle
Past perfect subjunctive
| yo | hubiera tomado(if) I had taken |
|---|---|
| tú | hubieras tomado(if) you had taken |
| él/ella/usted | hubiera tomado(if) he/she had taken |
| nosotros/as | hubiéramos tomado(if) we had taken |
| vosotros/as | hubierais tomado(if) you all had taken |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | hubieran tomado(if) they had taken |
haber (imperfect subj.) + past participle
Future perfect subjunctive
| yo | hubiere tomado(if) I will have taken |
|---|---|
| tú | hubieres tomado(if) you will have taken |
| él/ella/usted | hubiere tomado(if) he/she will have taken |
| nosotros/as | hubiéremos tomado(if) we will have taken |
| vosotros/as | hubiereis tomado(if) you all will have taken |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | hubieren tomado(if) they will have taken |
rarely used: legal & formal texts
Imperative tenses of tomar
Commands and instructions.
Affirmative imperative
| tú | tomatake! |
|---|---|
| usted | tometake! (formal) |
| nosotros/as | tomemoslet's take! |
| vosotros/as | tomadtake! (you all) |
| ustedes | tomentake! (you all, formal) |
Negative imperative
| tú | no tomesdon't take! |
|---|---|
| usted | no tomedon't take! (formal) |
| nosotros/as | no tomemoslet's not take! |
| vosotros/as | no toméisdon't take! (you all) |
| ustedes | no tomendon't take! (you all, formal) |
Practice tomar
Two quick exercises. No sign-up, no app: just you and tomar.
How to use tomar
Tomo un café con leche.
I'll have a café con leche.
Tomamos el tren a Sevilla.
We took the train to Seville.
Toma, es para ti.
Here, this is for you.
Tómate esta pastilla.
Take this pill.
Tomé una decisión.
I made a decision.
Example sentences with tomar
- ¿Tomamos algo?Shall we get a drink?
- ¿Qué vas a tomar?What are you having?
- Ayer tomé el sol en la playa.Yesterday I sunbathed at the beach.
- De pequeño tomaba leche cada mañana.As a kid I drank milk every morning.
- Tomaremos un taxi.We'll take a taxi.
- ¿Tomarías otro café?Would you have another coffee?
- Toma, para ti.Here, for you.
- ¿Has tomado una decisión?Have you made a decision?
Verbs like tomar
Tomar follows the regular -ar pattern. For drinks, beber (to drink) is also common: bebo agua.
Frequently asked questions about tomar
Is tomar regular or irregular?
Tomar is completely regular. It follows the normal -ar pattern in every tense.
How do you conjugate tomar in the present tense?
tomo, tomas, toma, tomamos, tomáis, toman.
What is the difference between tomar and beber?
Beber only means "to drink". Tomar is "to have" any food or drink (tomar un café, tomar tapas) and is more common when ordering.
Tomar or coger for transport?
In Spain both are used (coger el autobús is very common). In much of Latin America, use tomar, because coger can be vulgar there.
What does "¡toma!" mean?
"Here you go!" when handing something over. It can also mean "take that!" or "wow!".
What is the past participle of tomar?
The past participle is tomado and the gerund is tomando.
Free cheat sheet
All 18 tenses of tomar, on one page.
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