Fregar Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish

fregar means "to scrub, to wash (dishes)" in English, and this page shows you how it actually sounds in everyday Spanish — not just the conjugation table, but the verb in real sentences, in short dialogues, and in the mistakes learners make with it. Fregar means to wash up or to scrub: fregar los platos, fregar el suelo. In Spain it is the standard verb for washing the dishes; in Latin America lavar los platos is more common. Below you will find twelve example sentences grouped by use, two short dialogues, the most common mistakes with corrections, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. If you want the full tables first, start with the full conjugation of fregar; if you want to study one tense in depth, see the fregar present tense page.

fregar in everyday use: examples with translations

Everyday present uses

How the verb sounds in the present, the future and in hypotheticals — the forms you will use most often.

  1. Yo friego los platos después de cenar — "I wash the dishes after dinner"
  2. Mi amigo friega el suelo de la cocina — "My friend washes the kitchen floor"
  3. Mañana, tú fregarás la sartén con estropajo — "Tomorrow, you will wash the pan with a scourer"
  4. Yo fregaría los vasos antes de la fiesta si pudiera — "I would wash the glasses before the party if I could"

Talking about the past

The same verb in the past: one finished action, a habit, something that has just happened, and something that had already happened.

  1. Ayer, yo fregué los platos después de cenar — "Yesterday, I washed the dishes after dinner"
  2. Antes, nosotros fregábamos el suelo de la cocina — "Before, we used to wash the kitchen floor"
  3. Él ha fregado la sartén con estropajo — "He has washed the pan with a scourer"
  4. Yo ya había fregado los vasos antes de la fiesta antes de salir — "I already had washed the glasses before the party before leaving"

Wishes, conditions and commands

The verb after espero que, in si clauses, as a command — and in the conditional perfect, for what would have happened.

  1. Espero que él friegue los platos después de cenar — "I hope he washes the dishes after dinner"
  2. Si yo fregara el suelo de la cocina, todo cambiaría — "If I washed the kitchen floor, everything would change"
  3. Friega la sartén con estropajo. — "Wash the pan with a scourer."
  4. Yo habría fregado los vasos antes de la fiesta con más tiempo — "I would have washed the glasses before the party with more time"

fregar in conversation

Two short dialogues that use fregar the way people really speak it. Notice how the verb changes with the person, and how the same verb fits different situations.

Two friends talk about it.

  • Lucía: Hola, ¿qué tal? — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Lucía: Yo friego los platos después de cenar — "I wash the dishes after dinner"
  • Marcos: Él friega el suelo de la cocina — "He washes the kitchen floor"
  • Lucía: Ayer, yo fregué la sartén con estropajo — "Yesterday, I washed the pan with a scourer"
  • Marcos: Mañana, tú fregarás los vasos antes de la fiesta — "Tomorrow, you will wash the glasses before the party"

A practical exchange.

  • Marcos: Hola, ¿qué tal? — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Marcos: Friega el baño cada sábado. — "Wash the bathroom every Saturday."
  • Lucía: Él ha fregado los platos después de cenar — "He has washed the dishes after dinner"
  • Marcos: Espero que él friegue el suelo de la cocina — "I hope he washes the kitchen floor"
  • Lucía: Antes, yo fregaba la sartén con estropajo — "Before, I used to wash the pan with a scourer"

Common mistakes with fregar

The errors learners actually make with fregar, each with the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.

✗ *Yo frego los vasos antes de la fiesta.

✓ Correct: Yo friego los vasos antes de la fiesta.

fregar is a stem-changing verb (e → ie): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is friego, not frego.

✗ *Espero que él friega los vasos antes de la fiesta

✓ Correct: Espero que él friegue los vasos antes de la fiesta

After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: Espero que él friegue los vasos antes de la fiesta — not the indicative Espero que él friega los vasos antes de la fiesta.

✗ *Ayer, yo friego el baño cada sábado

✓ Correct: Ayer, yo fregué el baño cada sábado

Ayer points to a finished action in the past, so it needs the preterite: Ayer, yo fregué el baño cada sábado.

✗ *De niño, yo fregué los platos después de cenar todos los días

✓ Correct: De niño, yo fregaba los platos después de cenar todos los días

For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect, not the preterite: De niño, yo fregaba los platos después de cenar todos los días.

✗ *Yo friego en la sartén con estropajo.

✓ Correct: Yo friego la sartén con estropajo.

fregar takes this complement directly, with no preposition: Yo friego la sartén con estropajo.

Quiz: fregar in use

Ten questions on fregar — its forms, its tenses and its everyday use. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below, where every answer is explained.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ los platos después de cenar — "I wash the dishes after dinner" (present) A. friego B. friegas C. friega D. fregamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Ayer, yo ______ el suelo de la cocina — "Yesterday, I washed the kitchen floor" (preterite) A. fregaste B. fregó C. fregamos D. fregué

  3. Complete the sentence: Antes, nosotros ______ la sartén con estropajo — "Before, we used to wash the pan with a scourer" (imperfect) A. fregábamos B. fregaba C. fregabas D. fregabais

  4. Complete the sentence: Mañana, tú ______ los vasos antes de la fiesta — "Tomorrow, you will wash the glasses before the party" (future) A. fregaremos B. fregarás C. fregaré D. fregará

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ el baño cada sábado — "I would wash the bathroom every Saturday" (conditional) A. fregaríais B. fregaría C. fregarías D. fregaríamos

  6. Complete the sentence: Él ______ los platos después de cenar — "He has washed the dishes after dinner" (present perfect) A. hemos fregado B. ha fregado C. he fregado D. has fregado

  7. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ______ el suelo de la cocina — "I hope he washes the kitchen floor" (present subjunctive) A. freguéis B. friegue C. friegues D. freguemos

  8. Complete the sentence: ______ la sartén con estropajo. — "Wash the pan with a scourer." (affirmative imperative) A. friega B. friegue C. freguemos D. fregad

  9. Which is the gerund of fregar, used with estar for the progressive? A. fregado B. friego C. fregué D. fregando

  10. What does fregar mean in English? A. to cross B. to scrub C. to wash D. to enjoy

Answer key

  1. friego — The present form for yo is friego.
  2. fregué — The preterite form for yo is fregué.
  3. fregábamos — The imperfect form for nosotros/as is fregábamos.
  4. fregarás — The future form for tú is fregarás.
  5. fregaría — The conditional form for yo is fregaría.
  6. ha fregado — The present perfect form for él/ella/Ud. is ha fregado.
  7. friegue — The present subjunctive form for él/ella/Ud. is friegue.
  8. friega — The affirmative imperative form is friega.
  9. fregando — The gerund of fregar is fregando: estoy fregando. The participle fregado is used with haber instead.
  10. to scrub — fregar means to scrub.

Frequently asked questions

What does fregar mean in English?

fregar means to scrub, to wash (dishes). For example: Yo friego los platos después de cenar — "I wash the dishes after dinner". The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

What preposition goes with fregar?

fregar takes its complement directly, with no preposition, as in the examples above. Adding an extra preposition is a common learner error.

Is fregar regular?

No. fregar is a stem-changing -ar verb (e → ie). The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: friego, friegas, friega and friegan — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: fregamos, fregáis.

How do I practise fregar?

Start with the present tense table on the full conjugation page, then drill the preterite and the imperfect, since those two past tenses cause the most mistakes. Try the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure, and come back to the sentences above until you can say them without looking.

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