Agarrar Examples, Sentences and Quiz
Agarrar means “to grab, to hold”, and it is one of the verbs you will use every day in Spanish. Agarrar means to grab or to hold, and it is used for grabbing a bag, holding on to a rail and catching something quickly. It is fully regular in standard Spanish, though in some regions it is also used for catching a cold or a bus. This page shows agarrar in real sentences, in short dialogues, and in the mistakes learners make most often, and it finishes with a ten-question quiz so you can test yourself. Every sentence below comes with its English translation, and every form is the correct present-tense form unless the sentence is clearly marked as past or future. For a first taste: “Yo agarro la bolsa antes de salir.” — I grab the bag before going out.
Agarrar in real example sentences
The twelve sentences below are grouped by how agarrar is used. Read each one out loud, then read the translation. If a sentence feels useful, copy it into your own notebook with one small change — a different time, a different person, a different place — and you have a new sentence of your own.
In the present: everyday use
These sentences use agarrar in the present tense, which is how you will meet it most often: routines, facts, and things happening now.
“Agarro la bolsa antes de salir.” — I grab the bag before going out.
“¿Tú agarras la barandilla al bajar?” — Do you grab the handrail going downstairs?
“Agarra el teléfono con fuerza.” — He/she grabs the phone tightly.
“Agarramos el paraguas por la mañana.” — We grab the umbrella in the morning.
Talking about the past
The present is not the only tense you need. These sentences show agarrar in the past, so you can talk about what already happened.
“Ayer, yo agarré la bolsa antes de salir.” — Yesterday, I grabbed the bag before going out. (preterite)
“Él agarraba la barandilla al bajar todos los días.” — He used to grab the handrail going downstairs every day. (imperfect)
Plans and things already done
These sentences look forward, or look back at something already finished. Notice how the verb form changes while the meaning of agarrar stays the same.
“Nosotros agarraremos el teléfono con fuerza mañana.” — We will grab the phone tightly tomorrow. (future)
“¿Tú has agarrado el paraguas por la mañana?” — Have you grabbed the umbrella in the morning? (present perfect)
More everyday uses
Four more present-tense sentences, covering the remaining persons, so you can see the whole table in action.
“Agarráis la bolsa antes de salir.” — You grab the bag before going out.
“Agarran la barandilla al bajar.” — They grab the handrail going downstairs.
“Agarro el teléfono con fuerza.” — I grab the phone tightly.
“Agarra el paraguas por la mañana.” — He/she grabs the umbrella in the morning.
Agarrar in context
Single sentences teach you the forms. Dialogues teach you when to use them. Read the short conversation below, then the paragraph that follows, and notice how agarrar appears naturally, without anyone stopping to think about conjugation.
A short dialogue
Lucía: “¿Tú agarras la bolsa antes de salir?” — Do you grab the bag before going out?
Carlos: “Sí, yo agarro la bolsa antes de salir.” — Yes, I grab the bag before going out.
Lucía: “Nosotros agarramos la barandilla al bajar.” — We grab the handrail going downstairs.
Carlos: “Y ellos agarran el teléfono con fuerza.” — And they grab the phone tightly.
Lucía: “Vosotros agarráis el paraguas por la mañana.” — You grab the umbrella in the morning.
Carlos: “Sí, y él agarra la barandilla al bajar.” — Yes, and he grabs the handrail going downstairs.
A short paragraph
Lucía agarra la bolsa antes de salir, y Carlos agarra la barandilla al bajar. Nosotros agarramos el teléfono con fuerza, y ellos agarran el paraguas por la mañana. Yo agarro el teléfono con fuerza, y mi padre agarra el paraguas por la mañana. Agarrar is part of everyday life, because to grab, to hold is something Spanish speakers do again and again, in every tense and every situation.
Common mistakes with agarrar
These are the errors learners actually make with agarrar. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.
Wrong: “Yo agarra la bolsa antes de salir.” Right: “Yo agarro la bolsa antes de salir.” Why: The person matters: agarra is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is agarro. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
Wrong: “Ayer yo agarro la barandilla al bajar.” Right: “Ayer yo agarré la barandilla al bajar.” Why: The present and the preterite are different tenses: agarro is happening now, while agarré is a finished action in the past. Use the preterite with ayer.
Wrong: “Treating agarrar and sujetar as identical in every context.” Right: “Agarrar means to grab, to hold, while sujetar means to hold, to fasten.” Why: They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: agarrar fits sentences such as Agarro la bolsa antes de salir, while sujetar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
Wrong: “Yo soy agarrado la barandilla al bajar.” Right: “Yo he agarrado la barandilla al bajar.” Why: Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he agarrado, has agarrado, ha agarrado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
Wrong: “De niño, yo agarré el teléfono con fuerza todos los días.” Right: “De niño, yo agarraba el teléfono con fuerza todos los días.” Why: For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (agarraba), not the preterite. The preterite (agarré) is for one finished action.
Quiz: agarrar in use
Ten questions on agarrar in real sentences. Choose the correct answer for each one, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained.
1. Complete the sentence: “Vosotros ______ la bolsa antes de salir.” (The bag before going out.)
- (a) agarráis
- (b) agarro
- (c) agarras
Answer: agarráis — The vosotros/as form of agarrar in the present is agarráis.
2. Complete the sentence: “Ellos ______ la barandilla al bajar.” (The handrail going downstairs.)
- (a) agarro
- (b) agarras
- (c) agarran
Answer: agarran — The ellos/ellas/Uds. form of agarrar in the present is agarran.
3. Complete the sentence: “Yo ______ la bolsa antes de salir.” (The bag before going out.)
- (a) agarró
- (b) agarré
- (c) agarraste
Answer: agarré — The yo form of agarrar in the preterite is agarré.
4. Complete the sentence: “Él ______ la barandilla al bajar.” (The handrail going downstairs.)
- (a) agarraba
- (b) agarrabas
- (c) agarrábamos
Answer: agarraba — The él/ella/Ud. form of agarrar in the imperfect is agarraba.
5. Complete the sentence: “Nosotros ______ el teléfono con fuerza.” (The phone tightly.)
- (a) agarraré
- (b) agarrarás
- (c) agarraremos
Answer: agarraremos — The nosotros/as form of agarrar in the future is agarraremos.
6. What does agarrar mean in English?
- (a) to drag
- (b) to grab, to hold
- (c) to hold, to fasten
Answer: to grab, to hold — Agarrar means “to grab, to hold”. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.
7. Which sentence is correct?
- (a) Yo agarro la bolsa antes de salir.
- (b) Ellos agarra la bolsa antes de salir.
- (c) Yo agarro la barandilla al bajar ayer.
Answer: Yo agarro la bolsa antes de salir. — “Yo agarro la bolsa antes de salir.” is correct. The other two sentences contain the mistakes explained in the section above.
8. How do you say “I grab the bag before going out.” in Spanish?
- (a) Yo agarran la bolsa antes de salir.
- (b) Yo agarré la bolsa antes de salir.
- (c) Yo agarro la bolsa antes de salir.
Answer: Yo agarro la bolsa antes de salir. — “Yo agarro la bolsa antes de salir.” is the correct translation. The second option uses the wrong person's form, and the third uses the preterite.
9. What is the nosotros form of agarrar in the present tense?
- (a) agarras
- (b) agarramos
- (c) agarro
Answer: agarramos — The nosotros form is agarramos.
10. Which of these sentences is in the present tense?
- (a) Ayer, yo agarré la bolsa antes de salir.
- (b) Nosotros agarraremos la bolsa antes de salir mañana.
- (c) Yo agarro la bolsa antes de salir.
Answer: Yo agarro la bolsa antes de salir. — “Yo agarro la bolsa antes de salir.” is in the present tense. The other two are in the preterite and the future.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say 'I grab' in Spanish?
Say 'Yo agarro la bolsa antes de salir'. The complement follows directly, as in the examples above. For a routine, add a time expression: 'Yo agarro la bolsa antes de salir todos los días'.
How do you say 'I grab' in the past?
For one finished action, say 'Ayer, yo agarré la barandilla al bajar'. For a repeated habit, say 'Yo agarraba la barandilla al bajar todos los días'. For something already done, say 'Yo he agarrado la barandilla al bajar'.
What is the difference between agarrar and sujetar?
Agarrar means to grab, to hold, while sujetar means to hold, to fasten. They are easy to confuse because they appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use agarrar when you mean to grab, to hold, as in Agarro la bolsa antes de salir.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of agarrar — every tense of agarrar in one place.
- Agarrar in the present tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Spanish verbs — the hub for every Spanish verb on VerbFlow.
- Verb quiz — test yourself on agarrar and other verbs.
- Conjugation practice — drill the forms of agarrar until they are automatic.