Agregar Examples, Sentences and Quiz in Spanish

agregar means to add, and it is a verb you will meet in everyday Spanish again and again. Agregar means to add, and it covers adding salt to soup, sugar to coffee, names to a list and milk to a milkshake. It is a close synonym of añadir, and it is a spelling-change verb: the g becomes gu before e. This page puts agregar to work: twelve example sentences in different tenses and persons, grouped by use, then two short dialogues where the verb appears naturally, then the common mistakes to avoid, and finally a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Every Spanish form on this page comes from the verified conjugation tables for agregar, and the full tables are on the agregar conjugation page if you need to check a form.

Example sentences

Everyday uses

  1. Yo agrego sal a la sopa. — I add salt to the soup.
  2. Él agrega un poco de azúcar al café. — He/she adds a little sugar to the coffee.
  3. Ayer, yo agregué los nombres a la lista. — Yesterday, I added the names to the list.
  4. Antes, nosotros agregábamos leche al batido. — Before, we used to add milk to the milkshake.

In other tenses

  1. Mañana, tú agregarás sal a la sopa. — Tomorrow, you will add salt to the soup.
  2. Yo agregaría un poco de azúcar al café. — I would add a little sugar to the coffee.
  3. Él ha agregado los nombres a la lista. — He/she has added the names to the list.
  4. Espero que él agregue leche al batido. — I hope he/she adds milk to the milkshake.

With other people

  1. Nosotros agregamos sal a la sopa. — We add salt to the soup.
  2. Vosotros agregáis un poco de azúcar al café. — You all add a little sugar to the coffee.
  3. Antes, ellos agregaban los nombres a la lista. — Before, they used to add the names to the list.
  4. Mañana, él agregará leche al batido. — Tomorrow, he/she will add milk to the milkshake.

Agregar in context

Two short dialogues that use agregar the way people really use it. Read them aloud — the verb forms will stick much faster in a conversation than in a table.

Dialogue 1: today and yesterday

  • Ana: "Hola, ¿qué tal?" — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Luis: "Hoy agrego sal a la sopa." — "Today I add salt to the soup."
  • Ana: "¿Y ayer?" — "And yesterday?"
  • Luis: "Ayer, agregué los nombres a la lista." — "Yesterday I added the names to the list."
  • Ana: "¿Y mañana, tú agregarás un poco de azúcar al café?" — "And tomorrow, will you will add a little sugar to the coffee?"
  • Luis: "Sí, claro. Y tú también." — "Yes, of course. And you too."

Dialogue 2: making plans

  • Marta: "Mañana, nosotros agregamos leche al batido." — "Tomorrow we add milk to the milkshake."
  • Carlos: "Perfecto. Yo agregaría un poco de azúcar al café si tuviera más tiempo." — "Perfect. I would would add a little sugar to the coffee if I had more time."
  • Marta: "Espero que él agregue sal a la sopa." — "I hope he adds salt to the soup."
  • Carlos: "Seguro que sí. Él ya ha agregado los nombres a la lista." — "Surely. He has already has added the names to the list."
  • Marta: "Vale, nos vemos mañana." — "OK, see you tomorrow."

Notice how the same verb changes with the tense: the present for the plan, the conditional for the wish, the subjunctive after espero que, and the present perfect for what has already happened. That is the whole point of learning a verb across its tenses, not just in one form.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo agrega sal a la sopa. — Right: Yo agrego sal a la sopa. — The person matters: agrega is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is agrego. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
  2. Wrong: Yo agregé un poco de azúcar al café. — Right: Yo agregué un poco de azúcar al café. — In the preterite, the correct first-person form is agregué, not agregé. agregar is a spelling-change verb: g becomes gu before e, so the written form changes to keep the same sound. The regular-looking form is wrong.
  3. Wrong: Treating agregar and añadir as identical in every context. — Right: Agregar means to add, while añadir means to add, the close synonym. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: agregar fits sentences such as Agrego sal a la sopa, while añadir belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy agregado un poco de azúcar al café. — Right: Yo he agregado un poco de azúcar al café. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he agregado, has agregado, ha agregado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  5. Wrong: De niño, yo agregué los nombres a la lista todos los días. — Right: De niño, yo agregaba los nombres a la lista todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (agregaba), not the preterite. The preterite (agregué) is for one finished action.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on agregar: four on the forms, three on the meaning, and three on spotting the correct sentence. Check the answer key below.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ sal a la sopa. (present tense) A. agrego B. agregas C. agrega D. agregamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Él ___ un poco de azúcar al café. (preterite tense) A. agregué B. agregaste C. agregamos D. agregó

  3. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ los nombres a la lista. (future tense) A. agregará B. agregaremos C. agregarás D. agregaré

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ leche al batido. (imperfect tense) A. agregabais B. agregábamos C. agregaba D. agregabas

  5. What does "Yo agrego sal a la sopa." mean in English? A. I add salt to the soup. B. I add a little sugar to the coffee. C. I add the names to the list. D. I add milk to the milkshake.

  6. What does "Él agregó un poco de azúcar al café." mean in English? A. He/she added salt to the soup. B. He/she added the names to the list. C. He/she added milk to the milkshake. D. He/she added a little sugar to the coffee.

  7. What does "Nosotros agregaremos los nombres a la lista." mean in English? A. We will add a little sugar to the coffee. B. We will add milk to the milkshake. C. We will add the names to the list. D. We will add salt to the soup.

  8. Which sentence is correct? A. Yo agregan un poco de azúcar al café. B. Yo agrega un poco de azúcar al café. C. Yo agrego un poco de azúcar al café.

  9. Which sentence is correct? A. Él agregué los nombres a la lista. B. Él agregó los nombres a la lista. C. Él agregaron los nombres a la lista.

  10. Which sentence is correct? A. Espero que yo agregue leche al batido. B. Yo agrege leche al batido. C. Yo agregue leche al batido.

Answer key

  1. agrego — The yo present form of agregar is agrego.
  2. agregó — The el preterite form of agregar is agregó.
  3. agregarás — The tu future form of agregar is agregarás.
  4. agregábamos — The nosotros imperfect form of agregar is agregábamos.
  5. I add salt to the soup. — The Spanish sentence uses the present form agrego, so the English is "I add salt to the soup." The other options use a different object or situation.
  6. He/she added a little sugar to the coffee. — The Spanish sentence uses the preterite form agregó, so the English is "He/she added a little sugar to the coffee." The other options use a different object or situation.
  7. We will add the names to the list. — The Spanish sentence uses the future form agregaremos, so the English is "We will add the names to the list." The other options use a different object or situation.
  8. Yo agrego un poco de azúcar al café. — The correct sentence is "Yo agrego un poco de azúcar al café." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  9. Él agregó los nombres a la lista. — The correct sentence is "Él agregó los nombres a la lista." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  10. Espero que yo agregue leche al batido. — The correct sentence is "Espero que yo agregue leche al batido." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.

Frequently asked questions

What does agregar mean, and when do I use it?

Agregar means to add. Agregar means to add, and it covers adding salt to soup, sugar to coffee, names to a list and milk to a milkshake. It is a close synonym of añadir, and it is a spelling-change verb: the g becomes gu before e. A good first sentence to remember is Yo agrego sal a la sopa. — "I add salt to the soup."

What is the difference between agregar and añadir?

Agregar means to add, while añadir means to add, the close synonym. They appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use agregar when you mean to add, as in Yo agrego un poco de azúcar al café., and use añadir for to add, the close synonym.

How do I say "I add" in the past?

For one finished action, use the preterite: Yo agregué un poco de azúcar al café.. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Yo agregaba los nombres a la lista.. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Yo he agregado un poco de azúcar al café..

How do I practise agregar?

Start with the agregar conjugation page for the full tables, then the agregar in the present tense page for the tense in focus, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure. Spelling change: g becomes gu before e, so the preterite is agregué and the subjunctive is agregue.

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