Agitar Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb agitar means to shake, to stir, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. Agitar means to shake or to stir, and it covers shaking a bottle before opening it, stirring a soup, shaking a rug and shaking someone to wake them. It also means to stir up a crowd or a debate, as in agitar a la gente, and it is a regular -ar verb. Like every Spanish verb, agitar changes its ending for each person and tense, and this page gives you the complete picture: every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle, all from the verified conjugation tables. For example, in the present tense you say agito la botella antes de abrirla, and in the preterite you say agité la alfombra en el balcón. Work through the tables below, read the notes for each tense, and then test yourself with the examples, the common mistakes and the quiz at the end of the page.

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: agitar
  • English: to shake, to stir
  • Verb type: regular -ar verb
  • Ending: -ar
  • Gerund: agitando
  • Past participle: agitado
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + agitado)

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for agitar, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one. Agitar is fully regular: agité, agitaba, agitaré. Note the g before i is soft, like the s in measure.

Full conjugation tables

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for agitar. The imperfect subjunctive is shown in its -ra forms; the -se forms use the same stem. For reflexive verbs, the pronoun column shows the reflexive pronoun that goes before each form.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo agito
tú agitas
él/ella/Ud. agita
nosotros/as agitamos
vosotros/as agitáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. agitan

Preterite

Person Form
yo agité
tú agitaste
él/ella/Ud. agitó
nosotros/as agitamos
vosotros/as agitasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. agitaron

Imperfect

Person Form
yo agitaba
tú agitabas
él/ella/Ud. agitaba
nosotros/as agitábamos
vosotros/as agitabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. agitaban

Future

Person Form
yo agitaré
tú agitarás
él/ella/Ud. agitará
nosotros/as agitaremos
vosotros/as agitaréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. agitarán

Conditional

Person Form
yo agitaría
tú agitarías
él/ella/Ud. agitaría
nosotros/as agitaríamos
vosotros/as agitaríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. agitarían

Present perfect

Person Form
yo he agitado
tú has agitado
él/ella/Ud. ha agitado
nosotros/as hemos agitado
vosotros/as habéis agitado
ellos/ellas/Uds. han agitado

Pluperfect

Person Form
yo había agitado
tú habías agitado
él/ella/Ud. había agitado
nosotros/as habíamos agitado
vosotros/as habíais agitado
ellos/ellas/Uds. habían agitado

Future perfect

Person Form
yo habré agitado
tú habrás agitado
él/ella/Ud. habrá agitado
nosotros/as habremos agitado
vosotros/as habréis agitado
ellos/ellas/Uds. habrán agitado

Conditional perfect

Person Form
yo habría agitado
tú habrías agitado
él/ella/Ud. habría agitado
nosotros/as habríamos agitado
vosotros/as habríais agitado
ellos/ellas/Uds. habrían agitado

Present subjunctive

Person Form
yo agite
tú agites
él/ella/Ud. agite
nosotros/as agitemos
vosotros/as agitéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. agiten

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

Person Form
yo agitara
tú agitaras
él/ella/Ud. agitara
nosotros/as agitáramos
vosotros/as agitarais
ellos/ellas/Uds. agitaran

Imperative (affirmative)

Person Form
tú agita
él/ella/Ud. agite
nosotros/as agitemos
vosotros/as agitad
ellos/ellas/Uds. agiten

Imperative (negative)

Person Form
tú agites
él/ella/Ud. agite
nosotros/as agitemos
vosotros/as agitéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. agiten

Gerund and past participle

Form Spanish Use
Gerund agitando with estar for the progressive: estoy agitando
Past participle agitado with haber for the perfect tenses: he agitado

How to use each tense

Present indicative

Use the present for routines, general facts and what is happening right now. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For agitar, the present looks like this in a real sentence: Agito la botella antes de abrirla. Learn the present forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Preterite

Use the preterite for finished actions with a clear end, often with ayer, el año pasado or anoche. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For agitar, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Ayer, agité la sopa con una cuchara. Learn the preterite forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Imperfect

Use the imperfect for background, habits and actions in progress in the past, often with de niño, antes or mientras. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For agitar, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: De niño, agitaba la alfombra en el balcón. Learn the imperfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Future

Use the future for plans, predictions and promises, often with mañana, el año que viene or pronto. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For agitar, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Mañana, agitaré a mi hermano para despertarlo. Learn the future forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Conditional

Use the conditional for polite requests, hypotheticals and what would happen, often with si clauses. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For agitar, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Agitaría la botella antes de abrirla si pudiera. Learn the conditional forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Present perfect

Use the present perfect for recent actions and experiences, often with hoy, esta semana or ya. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For agitar, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Hoy, he agitado la sopa con una cuchara. Learn the present perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Pluperfect

Use the pluperfect when one past action happened before another past action. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For agitar, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Había agitado la alfombra en el balcón antes de salir. Learn the pluperfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Future perfect

Use the future perfect for something that will already be finished by a future time. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For agitar, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Para mañana, habré agitado a mi hermano para despertarlo. Learn the future perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Conditional perfect

Use the conditional perfect for what would have happened under different conditions. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For agitar, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Habría agitado la botella antes de abrirla con más tiempo. Learn the conditional perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Present subjunctive

Use the present subjunctive after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and hope, such as espero que or quiero que. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For agitar, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él agite la sopa con una cuchara. Learn the present subjunctive forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

Use the imperfect subjunctive after past wishes and in si clauses about the past, and note the -ra forms shown here; the -se forms use the same stem. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For agitar, the imperfect subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Si él agitara la alfombra en el balcón, todo cambiaría. Learn the imperfect subjunctive forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Imperative (affirmative)

Use the affirmative imperative for direct commands, instructions and invitations. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For agitar, the affirmative imperative looks like this in a real sentence: ¡agita a mi hermano para despertarlo! Learn the affirmative imperative forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Imperative (negative)

Use the negative imperative, always with no, to tell someone not to do something. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For agitar, the negative imperative looks like this in a real sentence: No agites la botella antes de abrirla. Learn the negative imperative forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Example sentences

Ten natural sentences with agitar, covering different tenses and persons. Each one uses a form from the tables above.

  1. Agito la botella antes de abrirla. — I shake the bottle before opening it.
  2. Agita la sopa con una cuchara. — He/she shakes the soup with a spoon.
  3. Ayer, agité la alfombra en el balcón. — Yesterday, I shook the rug on the balcony.
  4. Antes, nosotros agitábamos a mi hermano para despertarlo. — Before, we used to shake my brother to wake him up.
  5. Mañana, tú agitarás la botella antes de abrirla. — Tomorrow, you will shake the bottle before opening it.
  6. Yo agitaría la sopa con una cuchara si tuviera más tiempo. — I would shake the soup with a spoon if I had more time.
  7. Él ha agitado la alfombra en el balcón. — He has shaken the rug on the balcony.
  8. Espero que él agite a mi hermano para despertarlo. — I hope he shakes my brother to wake him up.
  9. Yo ya había agitado la botella antes de abrirla antes de salir. — I had already shaken the bottle before opening it before leaving.
  10. Ellos agitaban la sopa con una cuchara cuando eran jóvenes. — They used to shake the soup with a spoon when they were young.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo agita la botella antes de abrirla. — Right: Yo agito la botella antes de abrirla. — The person matters: agita is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is agito. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
  2. Wrong: Treating agitar and sacudir as identical in every context. — Right: Agitar means to shake, to stir, while sacudir means to shake something violently. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: agitar fits sentences such as Agito la botella antes de abrirla, while sacudir belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
  3. Wrong: Yo soy agitado la sopa con una cuchara. — Right: Yo he agitado la sopa con una cuchara. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he agitado, has agitado, ha agitado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  4. Wrong: De niño, yo agité la alfombra en el balcón todos los días. — Right: De niño, yo agitaba la alfombra en el balcón todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (agitaba), not the preterite. The preterite (agité) is for one finished action.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on agitar. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ la botella antes de abrirla. (present tense) A. agito B. agitas C. agita D. agitamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Ayer, él ___ la sopa con una cuchara. (preterite) A. agité B. agitaste C. agitaron D. agitó

  3. Complete the sentence: Antes, nosotros ___ la alfombra en el balcón. (imperfect) A. agitabas B. agitaban C. agitábamos D. agitaba

  4. Complete the sentence: Mañana, tú ___ a mi hermano para despertarlo. (future) A. agitaremos B. agitarás C. agitaré D. agitará

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ la botella antes de abrirla si pudiera. (conditional) A. agitaría B. agitarías C. agitarían D. agito

  6. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ___ la sopa con una cuchara. (present subjunctive) A. agites B. agitemos C. agito D. agite

  7. Complete the sentence: Si yo ___ la alfombra en el balcón, todo cambiaría. (imperfect subjunctive, -ra form) A. agitáramos B. agito C. agitara D. agitaras

  8. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ a mi hermano para despertarlo. (present perfect) A. han agitado B. hemos agitado C. he agitado D. has agitado

  9. Complete the command: ¡___ la botella antes de abrirla! (affirmative imperative, tú) A. agita B. agite C. agitemos D. agitad

  10. Which is the gerund of agitar, used with estar for the progressive? A. agitado B. agito C. agité D. agitando

Answer key

  1. agito — The first-person present of agitar is agito. The other options are the tú, él/ella and nosotros forms.
  2. agitó — The third-person preterite of agitar is agitó, the form for a single finished action in the past.
  3. agitábamos — The nosotros imperfect of agitar is agitábamos, used here for a repeated past habit.
  4. agitarás — The second-person future of agitar is agitarás.
  5. agitaría — The first-person conditional of agitar is agitaría, the form for what would happen.
  6. agite — After espero que, the subjunctive is required: the third-person present subjunctive of agitar is agite.
  7. agitara — The first-person imperfect subjunctive (-ra) of agitar is agitara.
  8. hemos agitado — The nosotros present perfect of agitar is hemos agitado: hemos + agitado.
  9. agita — The affirmative tú imperative of agitar is agita.
  10. agitando — The gerund of agitar is agitando: estoy agitando. The participle agitado is used with haber instead.

Frequently asked questions

What does agitar mean in English?

Agitar means to shake, to stir. It is used in everyday situations such as Agito la botella antes de abrirla. The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

Is agitar regular or irregular?

Agitar is a fully regular -ar verb, so every tense follows the standard endings for its class. Once you know the regular pattern, you can produce every form on this page, including agito in the present and agité in the preterite.

What is the difference between agitar and sacudir?

Agitar means to shake, to stir, while sacudir means to shake something violently. They are easy to confuse because they appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use agitar when you mean to shake, to stir, as in Agito la botella antes de abrirla, and use sacudir for to shake something violently. When in doubt, check the object of the sentence — it usually shows which verb fits.

How do I say “I shake” in the past?

It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: yo agité la sopa con una cuchara. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: yo agitaba la alfombra en el balcón. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: yo he agitado la sopa con una cuchara.

How do I practise agitar?

Start with the present tense table, then drill the preterite and the imperfect, since those two past tenses cause the most mistakes. Try the agitar examples and quiz page for more sentences, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure.

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