Arrancar Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb arrancar means to start (a vehicle), to pull out, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. Arrancar means to start a vehicle or to pull something out, and it covers starting a car, pulling out a tooth and tearing a plant out of the ground. It is a spelling-change verb: the c becomes qu before e, so the preterite is arranqué and the subjunctive is arranque. Like every Spanish verb, arrancar 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 arranco el coche por la mañana, and in the preterite you say arranqué la planta del jardín. 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: arrancar
  • English: to start (a vehicle), to pull out
  • Verb type: irregular verb
  • Ending: -ar
  • Gerund: arrancando
  • Past participle: arrancado
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + arrancado)

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for arrancar, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one. Arrancar is a spelling-change verb: c becomes qu before e, so the preterite is arranqué and the subjunctive is arranque.

Full conjugation tables

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for arrancar. 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 arranco
tú arrancas
él/ella/Ud. arranca
nosotros/as arrancamos
vosotros/as arrancáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. arrancan

Preterite

Person Form
yo arranqué
tú arrancaste
él/ella/Ud. arrancó
nosotros/as arrancamos
vosotros/as arrancasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. arrancaron

Imperfect

Person Form
yo arrancaba
tú arrancabas
él/ella/Ud. arrancaba
nosotros/as arrancábamos
vosotros/as arrancabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. arrancaban

Future

Person Form
yo arrancaré
tú arrancarás
él/ella/Ud. arrancará
nosotros/as arrancaremos
vosotros/as arrancaréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. arrancarán

Conditional

Person Form
yo arrancaría
tú arrancarías
él/ella/Ud. arrancaría
nosotros/as arrancaríamos
vosotros/as arrancaríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. arrancarían

Present perfect

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

Pluperfect

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

Future perfect

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

Conditional perfect

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

Present subjunctive

Person Form
yo arranque
tú arranques
él/ella/Ud. arranque
nosotros/as arranquemos
vosotros/as arranquéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. arranquen

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

Person Form
yo arrancara
tú arrancaras
él/ella/Ud. arrancara
nosotros/as arrancáramos
vosotros/as arrancarais
ellos/ellas/Uds. arrancaran

Imperative (affirmative)

Person Form
tú arranca
él/ella/Ud. arranque
nosotros/as arranquemos
vosotros/as arrancad
ellos/ellas/Uds. arranquen

Imperative (negative)

Person Form
tú arranques
él/ella/Ud. arranque
nosotros/as arranquemos
vosotros/as arranquéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. arranquen

Gerund and past participle

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

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 arrancar, the present looks like this in a real sentence: Arranco el coche por la mañana. 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 arrancar, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Ayer, arranqué la moto con la llave. 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 arrancar, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: De niño, arrancaba la planta del jardín. 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 arrancar, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Mañana, arrancaré de repente sin avisar. 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 arrancar, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Arrancaría el coche por la mañana 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 arrancar, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Hoy, he arrancado la moto con la llave. 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 arrancar, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Había arrancado la planta del jardín 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 arrancar, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Para mañana, habré arrancado de repente sin avisar. 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 arrancar, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Habría arrancado el coche por la mañana 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. Note the spelling change here: the final consonant of the stem changes before e to keep the same sound, so learn these forms from the table rather than copying the infinitive stem. For arrancar, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él arranque la moto con la llave. 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 arrancar, the imperfect subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Si él arrancara la planta del jardín, 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. Note the spelling change here: the final consonant of the stem changes before e to keep the same sound, so learn these forms from the table rather than copying the infinitive stem. For arrancar, the affirmative imperative looks like this in a real sentence: ¡Arranca de repente sin avisar! 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. Note the spelling change here: the final consonant of the stem changes before e to keep the same sound, so learn these forms from the table rather than copying the infinitive stem. For arrancar, the negative imperative looks like this in a real sentence: No arranques el coche por la mañana. 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 arrancar, covering different tenses and persons. Each one uses a form from the tables above.

  1. Arranco el coche por la mañana. — I start the car in the morning.
  2. Arranca la moto con la llave. — He/she starts the motorbike with the key.
  3. Ayer, arranqué la planta del jardín. — Yesterday, I started the plant from the garden.
  4. Antes, nosotros arrancábamos de repente sin avisar. — Before, we used to start suddenly without warning.
  5. Mañana, tú arrancarás el coche por la mañana. — Tomorrow, you will start the car in the morning.
  6. Yo arrancaría la moto con la llave si tuviera más tiempo. — I would start the motorbike with the key if I had more time.
  7. Él ha arrancado la planta del jardín. — He has started the plant from the garden.
  8. Espero que él arranque de repente sin avisar. — I hope he starts suddenly without warning.
  9. Yo ya había arrancado el coche por la mañana antes de salir. — I had already started the car in the morning before leaving.
  10. Ellos arrancaban la moto con la llave cuando eran jóvenes. — They used to start the motorbike with the key when they were young.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo arranca el coche por la mañana. — Right: Yo arranco el coche por la mañana. — The person matters: arranca is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is arranco. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
  2. Wrong: Ayer yo arrancé la moto con la llave. — Right: Ayer yo arranqué la moto con la llave. — Arrancar has an irregular preterite: the correct first-person form is arranqué, not the regular arrancé. Learn the preterite forms in the table as a set.
  3. Wrong: Treating arrancar and parar as identical in every context. — Right: Arrancar means to start (a vehicle), to pull out, while parar means to stop. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: arrancar fits sentences such as Arranco el coche por la mañana, while parar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy arrancado la moto con la llave. — Right: Yo he arrancado la moto con la llave. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he arrancado, has arrancado, ha arrancado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  5. Wrong: De niño, yo arranqué la planta del jardín todos los días. — Right: De niño, yo arrancaba la planta del jardín todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (arrancaba), not the preterite. The preterite (arranqué) is for one finished action.

Quiz: test yourself

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

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ el coche por la mañana. (present tense) A. arranco B. arrancas C. arranca D. arrancamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Ayer, él ___ la moto con la llave. (preterite) A. arranqué B. arrancaste C. arrancaron D. arrancó

  3. Complete the sentence: Antes, nosotros ___ la planta del jardín. (imperfect) A. arrancabas B. arrancaban C. arrancábamos D. arrancaba

  4. Complete the sentence: Mañana, tú ___ de repente sin avisar. (future) A. arrancaremos B. arrancarás C. arrancaré D. arrancará

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ el coche por la mañana si pudiera. (conditional) A. arrancaría B. arrancarías C. arrancarían D. arranco

  6. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ___ la moto con la llave. (present subjunctive) A. arranques B. arranquemos C. arranco D. arranque

  7. Complete the sentence: Si yo ___ la planta del jardín, todo cambiaría. (imperfect subjunctive, -ra form) A. arrancáramos B. arranco C. arrancara D. arrancaras

  8. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ de repente sin avisar. (present perfect) A. han arrancado B. hemos arrancado C. he arrancado D. has arrancado

  9. Complete the command: ¡___ el coche por la mañana! (affirmative imperative, tú) A. arranca B. arranque C. arranquemos D. arrancad

  10. Which is the gerund of arrancar, used with estar for the progressive? A. arrancado B. arranco C. arranqué D. arrancando

Answer key

  1. arranco — The first-person present of arrancar is arranco. The other options are the tú, él/ella and nosotros forms.
  2. arrancó — The third-person preterite of arrancar is arrancó, the form for a single finished action in the past.
  3. arrancábamos — The nosotros imperfect of arrancar is arrancábamos, used here for a repeated past habit.
  4. arrancarás — The second-person future of arrancar is arrancarás.
  5. arrancaría — The first-person conditional of arrancar is arrancaría, the form for what would happen.
  6. arranque — After espero que, the subjunctive is required: the third-person present subjunctive of arrancar is arranque.
  7. arrancara — The first-person imperfect subjunctive (-ra) of arrancar is arrancara.
  8. hemos arrancado — The nosotros present perfect of arrancar is hemos arrancado: hemos + arrancado.
  9. arranca — The affirmative tú imperative of arrancar is arranca.
  10. arrancando — The gerund of arrancar is arrancando: estoy arrancando. The participle arrancado is used with haber instead.

Frequently asked questions

What does arrancar mean in English?

Arrancar means to start (a vehicle), to pull out. It is used in everyday situations such as Arranco el coche por la mañana. The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

Is arrancar regular or irregular?

Arrancar is a spelling-change verb: its stem changes spelling before e to keep the same consonant sound, for example in the preterite first person (arranqué) and the present subjunctive (arranque). The rest of the verb follows the regular -ar pattern.

What is the difference between arrancar and parar?

Arrancar means to start (a vehicle), to pull out, while parar means to stop. They are easy to confuse because they appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use arrancar when you mean to start (a vehicle), to pull out, as in Arranco el coche por la mañana, and use parar for to stop. When in doubt, check the object of the sentence — it usually shows which verb fits.

How do I say “I start (a vehicle)” in the past?

It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: yo arranqué la moto con la llave. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: yo arrancaba la planta del jardín. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: yo he arrancado la moto con la llave.

How do I practise arrancar?

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

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