Fregar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of fregar — "to scrub, to wash (dishes)" in English — is the form you need for what happens now, for habits and for general truths. This page gives you the full present conjugation table for fregar with all six persons, explains exactly how the tense is formed for this verb, shows when to use it with real examples, and finishes with a quiz so you can test yourself. 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. To see it in a real sentence: Yo friego los platos después de cenar — "I wash the dishes after dinner".
Present tense conjugation table: fregar
Every person of fregar in the present tense. The gerund is fregando and the past participle is fregado.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | friego |
| tú | friegas |
| él/ella/Ud. | friega |
| nosotros/as | fregamos |
| vosotros/as | fregáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | friegan |
How the present of fregar is formed
The present of fregar is built from the stem freg- plus the present endings for -ar verbs. Take the infinitive, drop the -ar ending, and add the ending that matches the person. The table below shows the endings, and the full table above shows them attached to the stem.
| Person | Ending | Form |
|---|---|---|
| yo | -o | friego |
| tú | -as | friegas |
| él/ella/Ud. | -a | friega |
| nosotros/as | -amos | fregamos |
| vosotros/as | -áis | fregáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -an | friegan |
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.
The gerund of fregar is fregando and the past participle is fregado. Both are the forms you need with estar and haber respectively.
When to use the present tense of fregar
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and fregar appears in all of them. The five uses below are the ones you will meet most often, each with an example that shows the verb in a natural sentence.
Habits and routines
The present describes things that happen regularly, as a habit or routine.
"Cada día, yo friego los platos después de cenar" — "Every day, I wash the dishes after dinner"
General truths
The present states facts that are always true, not just true today.
"Mi amigo friega el suelo de la cocina" — "My friend washes the kitchen floor"
What is happening now
The present describes an action in progress right now.
"Ahora, yo friego la sartén con estropajo" — "Right now, I wash the pan with a scourer"
Near-future plans
Spanish often uses the present for a plan that is already fixed.
"Mañana, nosotros fregamos los vasos antes de la fiesta" — "Tomorrow, we wash the glasses before the party"
Timetables and scheduled events
The present is the tense for timetables, programmes and things that happen on a schedule.
"Ellos friegan el baño cada sábado" — "They wash the bathroom every Saturday"
The present tense vs the closest tenses
Present — habit or general fact vs Preterite — one finished occasion
The present describes a habit, a routine or a general fact — something that happens again and again or that is true in general. The preterite reports one finished occasion in the past. Use the present when the action repeats or is still true, and the preterite when you are telling what happened once, on a specific day.
- Present — habit or general fact: {'pre_es': 'Cada día, ', 'pre_en': 'Every day, '}yo friego los platos después de cenar — "I wash the dishes after dinner"
- Preterite — one finished occasion: {'pre_es': 'Ayer, ', 'pre_en': 'Yesterday, '}yo fregué los platos después de cenar — "I washed the dishes after dinner"
Present — now vs Imperfect — a past habit or background
The present talks about now. The imperfect talks about the past as a background — a repeated habit, an ongoing situation, something that used to happen. If you can add "used to" in English, the imperfect is usually the right choice; if it is happening now or always, use the present.
- Present — now: {}tú friegas el suelo de la cocina — "You wash the kitchen floor"
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: {}tú fregabas el suelo de la cocina — "You used to wash the kitchen floor"
Present — now or a fixed plan vs Future — what will happen
The present describes what happens now, what you do regularly, or a plan that is already fixed. The future describes what will happen later — a promise, a prediction, a plan that is not yet under way. Spanish often uses the present for near-future plans, but the future is the form for a clear statement about tomorrow.
- Present — now or a fixed plan: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él friega la sartén con estropajo — "He washes the pan with a scourer"
- Future — what will happen: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él fregará la sartén con estropajo — "He will wash the pan with a scourer"
Examples: fregar in the present tense
Seven sentences that show fregar in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo friego los platos después de cenar — "I wash the dishes after dinner"
- Tú friegas el suelo de la cocina — "You wash the kitchen floor"
- Él friega la sartén con estropajo — "He washes the pan with a scourer"
- Nosotros fregamos los vasos antes de la fiesta — "We wash the glasses before the party"
- Vosotros fregáis el baño cada sábado — "You wash the bathroom every Saturday"
- Ellos friegan los platos después de cenar — "They wash the dishes after dinner"
- Yo friego el suelo de la cocina — "I wash the kitchen floor"
Common mistakes with fregar in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with fregar in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ *Yo frego los platos después de cenar.
✓ Correct: Yo friego los platos después de cenar.
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.
✗ *Tú friega el suelo de la cocina.
✓ Correct: Tú friegas el suelo de la cocina.
The tú form and the él form are different: tú takes friegas, él takes friega.
✗ *Cada día, yo fregué la sartén con estropajo
✓ Correct: Cada día, yo friego la sartén con estropajo
Cada día describes a habit, so it needs the present, not the preterite.
✗ *Vosotros fregais los vasos antes de la fiesta.
✓ Correct: Vosotros fregáis los vasos antes de la fiesta.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: fregáis, not fregais.
Quiz: fregar in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of fregar. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
Which is the correct present form of fregar for tú? A. fregamos B. friegas C. friego D. friega
Complete the sentence: Yo ______ los platos después de cenar — "I wash the dishes after dinner" (present) A. friego B. friegas C. friega D. fregamos
Complete the sentence: Él ______ el suelo de la cocina — "He washes the kitchen floor" (present) A. fregamos B. friega C. friego D. friegas
Which is the correct present form of fregar for nosotros? A. fregamos B. friegas C. friega D. friegan
Which sentence uses fregar correctly in the present? A. Mi amigo fregaba la sartén con estropajo B. Mi amigo fregamos la sartén con estropajo C. Mi amigo friega la sartén con estropajo D. Mi amigo friegas la sartén con estropajo
Complete the sentence: Vosotros ______ los vasos antes de la fiesta — "You wash the glasses before the party" (present) A. friegas B. friega C. fregáis D. friego
Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ el baño cada sábado — "They wash the bathroom every Saturday" (present) A. friego B. friegas C. friega D. friegan
What is the gerund of fregar? A. fregado B. friego C. fregué D. fregando
Answer key
- friegas — The tú form in the present is friegas.
- friego — The present form for yo is friego.
- friega — The present form for él/ella/Ud. is friega.
- fregamos — The nosotros form in the present is fregamos.
- Mi amigo friega la sartén con estropajo — Mi amigo friega la sartén con estropajo is correct: the verb agrees with its subject and the tense is the present.
- fregáis — The present form for vosotros/as is fregáis.
- friegan — The present form for ellos/ellas/Uds. is friegan.
- fregando — The gerund is fregando. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive, and it is not the past participle fregado.
Frequently asked questions
Is fregar regular in the present tense?
No — in the present the stem changes: 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. The nosotros and vosotros forms keep the plain stem.
What is the gerund and the past participle of fregar?
The gerund is fregando and the past participle is fregado. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say "I wash" in the present tense?
Say friego. For example: Yo friego los platos después de cenar — "I wash the dishes after dinner".
What is the difference between the present and the preterite of fregar?
The present describes a habit or what happens now: Yo friego los platos después de cenar — "I wash the dishes after dinner". The preterite reports one finished occasion: Ayer, yo fregué los platos después de cenar — "Yesterday, I washed the dishes after dinner". Use the present when the action repeats or is still true, and the preterite when you are telling what happened once.
Related links
- Full conjugation of fregar — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- fregar examples and quiz — more sentences, dialogues and a longer quiz.
- Spanish Present tense guide — how the present tense works for all Spanish verbs.
- Spanish verbs — the full list of Spanish verbs on VerbFlow.