Arar Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb arar means to plough, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. Arar is a regular -ar verb, so the tables below show you exactly how it behaves in every tense. On this page you will find the full conjugation of arar in all thirteen tenses, notes on when to use each one, example sentences, the mistakes learners make most often, a ten-question quiz and answers to the questions students ask about this verb. For example, in the present tense you say Yo aro el campo — "I plough the field" — and in the preterite you say Yo aré la tierra — "I ploughed the land". 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: arar
  • English: to plough
  • Verb type: regular -ar verb
  • Ending: -ar
  • Gerund: arando
  • Past participle: arado
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + arado)

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for arar, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

Full conjugation tables

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for arar. 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.

Gerund: arando · Past participle: arado

Present indicative

Person Form
yo aro
tú aras
él/ella/Ud. ara
nosotros/as aramos
vosotros/as aráis
ellos/ellas/Uds. aran

Preterite

Person Form
yo aré
tú araste
él/ella/Ud. aró
nosotros/as aramos
vosotros/as arasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. araron

Imperfect

Person Form
yo araba
tú arabas
él/ella/Ud. araba
nosotros/as arábamos
vosotros/as arabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. araban

Future

Person Form
yo araré
tú ararás
él/ella/Ud. arará
nosotros/as araremos
vosotros/as araréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. ararán

Conditional

Person Form
yo araría
tú ararías
él/ella/Ud. araría
nosotros/as araríamos
vosotros/as araríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. ararían

Present perfect

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

Pluperfect

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

Future perfect

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

Conditional perfect

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

Present subjunctive

Person Form
yo are
tú ares
él/ella/Ud. are
nosotros/as aremos
vosotros/as aréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. aren

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

Person Form
yo arara
tú araras
él/ella/Ud. arara
nosotros/as aráramos
vosotros/as ararais
ellos/ellas/Uds. araran

Imperative (affirmative)

Person Form
tú ara
él/ella/Ud. are
nosotros/as aremos
vosotros/as arad
ellos/ellas/Uds. aren

Imperative (negative)

Person Form
tú ares
él/ella/Ud. are
nosotros/as aremos
vosotros/as aréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. aren

Gerund and past participle

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

How to use each tense

Present indicative

Use the present for routines, general facts and what is happening right now. It is the tense you will use most often in everyday conversation, for habits with words like todos los días and for statements that are true in general. For arar, the present indicative looks like this in a real sentence: Yo aro la tierra — "I plough the land". Learn the present indicative 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 in the past — things that started and ended, often with time words like ayer, anoche or la semana pasada. The preterite moves a story forward, one completed event at a time. For arar, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: En primavera, yo aré — "In spring, I ploughed". 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 words like antes, de niño or mientras. It describes how things used to be, not one finished event. For arar, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo araba el campo — "I used to plough the field". 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. It talks about what will happen, not what is happening now. For arar, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Yo araré la tierra — "I will plough the land". 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 in si clauses. It softens a request and describes imagined situations. For arar, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: En primavera, yo araría — "In spring, I would plough". 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. It connects the past with the present moment. For arar, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo he arado el campo — "I have ploughed the field". 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. It is the past of the past, and it usually appears with antes de or ya. For arar, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo había arado la tierra — "I had ploughed the land". 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, often with para mañana or para el viernes. For arar, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: En primavera, yo habré arado — "In spring, I will have ploughed". 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. It looks back at a past that never happened. For arar, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo habría arado el campo — "I would have ploughed the field". 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. The subjunctive does not state a fact; it states an attitude towards the action. For arar, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él are la tierra — "I hope he ploughs the land". 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 arar, the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) looks like this in a real sentence: Si yo arara en primavera, todo cambiaría — "If I ploughed in spring, everything would change". Learn the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) 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. It tells someone to do something, and it has no yo form. For arar, the imperative (affirmative) looks like this in a real sentence: Are el campo — "Let him plough the field". Learn the imperative (affirmative) 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. It uses the subjunctive forms, so it looks different from the affirmative commands. For arar, the imperative (negative) looks like this in a real sentence: No ares la tierra — "Don't plough the land". Learn the imperative (negative) 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 arar, covering different tenses and persons. Each one uses a form from the tables above.

  1. En primavera, yo aro — "In spring, I plough"
  2. Él ara el campo — "He ploughs the field"
  3. Yo aré la tierra — "I ploughed the land"
  4. En primavera, yo araba — "In spring, I used to plough"
  5. Tú ararás el campo — "You will plough the field"
  6. Yo araría la tierra — "I would plough the land"
  7. En primavera, él ha arado — "In spring, he has ploughed"
  8. Espero que él are el campo — "I hope he ploughs the field"
  9. Yo había arado la tierra — "I had ploughed the land"
  10. En primavera, ellos araban — "In spring, they used to plough"

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Ellos ara el campo — Right: Ellos aran el campo — Ellos needs the ellos form aran. The singular ara belongs with él, ella or a singular noun.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo aro — Right: Ayer, yo aré — The present tense cannot describe a finished action yesterday. Ayer forces the preterite, so the form must change to aré.
  3. Wrong: De niño, yo aré todos los días. — Right: Todos los días, yo araba — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (araba), not the preterite. The preterite (aré) is for one finished action.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy arado la tierra. — Right: Yo he arado la tierra. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he arado, has arado, ha arado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  5. Wrong: Espero que él ara el campo. — Right: Espero que él are el campo. — After espero que, Spanish needs the subjunctive: are. The indicative ara is wrong here.

Quiz: test yourself

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

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ el campo. (present tense) A. habéis arado B. aro C. habías arado D. araron

  2. Complete the sentence: Él ___ el campo. (preterite) A. habrían arado B. habréis arado C. habíais arado D. aró

  3. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ el campo. (imperfect) A. ararás B. habrás arado C. arábamos D. arasteis

  4. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ el campo. (future) A. arabais B. araría C. habrán arado D. ararás

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ el campo. (conditional) A. araría B. habrías arado C. habían arado D. araba

  6. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ___ el campo. (present subjunctive) A. habrían arado B. aró C. habríais arado D. are

  7. Complete the sentence: Si yo ___ el campo, todo cambiaría. (imperfect subjunctive, -ra form) A. araran B. araron C. arara D. aráramos

  8. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ el campo. (present perfect) A. ara B. han arado C. hemos arado D. habíamos arado

  9. Complete the command: No ___ el campo. (negative imperative, tú) A. ares B. are C. aremos D. aréis

  10. Which is the gerund of arar, used with estar for the progressive? A. arado B. arando C. aro D. aré

Answer key

  1. aro — The yo present tense of arar is aro.
  2. aró — The él/ella/Ud. preterite of arar is aró.
  3. arábamos — The nosotros/as imperfect of arar is arábamos.
  4. ararás — The tú future of arar is ararás.
  5. araría — The yo conditional of arar is araría.
  6. are — The él/ella/Ud. present subjunctive of arar is are.
  7. arara — The yo imperfect subjunctive, -ra form of arar is arara.
  8. hemos arado — The nosotros/as present perfect of arar is hemos arado.
  9. ares — The negative tú imperative uses the present subjunctive form with no before it: ares.
  10. arando — The gerund of arar is arando: estoy arando. The participle arado is used with haber instead.

Frequently asked questions

What does arar mean in English?

Arar means to plough. It is used in everyday situations such as Yo aro el campo. The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

Is arar regular?

Yes. Arar is a regular -ar verb: aro, aras, ara. The only thing to learn is the pattern of endings, which is the same for every regular -ar verb.

What is the gerund and the past participle of arar?

The gerund is arando, used with estar for the progressive: estoy arando. The past participle is arado, used with haber in the perfect tenses: he arado.

How do I say “I plough” in the past?

It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: Yo aré la tierra. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: En primavera, yo araba. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Yo he arado el campo.

How do I practise arar?

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

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