Gastar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of gastar — "to spend (money)" 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 gastar 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. Gastar means "to spend" — money, time, energy. It is the natural opposite of ahorrar: gastas dinero en ropa, you spend money on clothes; gastas tiempo, you spend time; gastas energía, you spend energy. It is also used for using something up (gastar la batería, to run the battery down) and for wearing something out (gastar los zapatos). It is a fully regular -ar verb, and its present tense is the everyday language of shopping, budgets and daily life. To see it in a real sentence: Yo gasto mucho dinero en comida. — "I spend a lot of money on food.".
Present tense conjugation table: gastar
Every person of gastar in the present tense. The gerund is gastando and the past participle is gastado.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | gasto |
| tú | gastas |
| él/ella/Ud. | gasta |
| nosotros/as | gastamos |
| vosotros/as | gastáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | gastan |
How the present indicative of gastar is formed
The present indicative of gastar is built from the stem gast- plus the present indicative 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 | gasto |
| tú | -as | gastas |
| él/ella/Ud. | -a | gasta |
| nosotros/as | -amos | gastamos |
| vosotros/as | -áis | gastáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -an | gastan |
Because gastar is a regular -ar verb, there are no surprises in the present indicative: the stem gast- never changes, and every person takes its normal ending. The only spelling detail to watch is the written accent on the vosotros form, gastáis, which carries an accent on the vowel of the ending. Learn the six endings once and you can conjugate any regular -ar verb the same way.
The gerund of gastar is gastando and the past participle is gastado. Both are regular for this verb, and the participle is the form you need for all the perfect tenses with haber.
When to use the present tense of gastar
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and gastar 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.
Spending money
The present describes a spending habit — every week, every month.
"Yo gasto mucho dinero en comida." — "I spend a lot of money on food."
Spending time
Gastar tiempo means to spend time, often with the sense of wasting it.
"Tú gastas demasiado tiempo en el móvil." — "You spend too much time on your phone."
Spending on something specific
Gastar en + noun names what the money goes on.
"Nosotros gastamos poco en ropa." — "We spend little on clothes."
Using up a battery or a resource
Gastar covers running something down to empty.
"Mi móvil gasta la batería muy rápido." — "My phone uses up the battery very fast."
Wearing things out
Shoes, clothes and tyres get worn out — gastar describes that slow using-up.
"Los niños gastan los zapatos en una semana." — "The children wear out their shoes in a week."
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: Yo gasto cien euros a la semana. — "I spend one hundred euros a week."
- Preterite — one finished occasion: Yo gasté cien euros a la semana. — the same idea, placed in the preterite.
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 gastas todo tu dinero en videojuegos. — "You spend all your money on video games."
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: Tú gastabas todo tu dinero en videojuegos. — the same idea, placed in the imperfect.
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: Mi hermano gasta mucho en gasolina. — "My brother spends a lot on petrol."
- Future — what will happen: Mi hermano gastará mucho en gasolina. — the same idea, placed in the future.
Examples: gastar in the present tense
Seven sentences that show gastar in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo gasto cien euros a la semana. — "I spend one hundred euros a week."
- Tú gastas todo tu dinero en videojuegos. — "You spend all your money on video games."
- Mi hermano gasta mucho en gasolina. — "My brother spends a lot on petrol."
- Nosotros gastamos poco en vacaciones. — "We spend little on holidays."
- Vosotros gastáis demasiado en restaurantes. — "You spend too much in restaurants."
- Ellos gastan su sueldo en alquiler. — "They spend their salary on rent."
- Ella gasta su tiempo en leer. — "She spends her time reading."
Common mistakes with gastar in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with gastar in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ *Yo gasto a mucho dinero en comida.
✓ Correct: Yo gasto mucho dinero en comida.
Money takes no personal a: gastar dinero, not gastar a dinero. The en for "on" is correct: gastar en comida.
✗ *Tú gastas demasiado tiempo al móvil (using a instead of en).
✓ Correct: Tú gastas demasiado tiempo en el móvil.
To spend time or money on something, use en: gastar tiempo en el móvil, gastar dinero en ropa.
✗ *Vosotros gastáis demasiado (written without the accent: gastais).
✓ Correct: Vosotros gastáis demasiado en restaurantes.
Gastáis needs the written accent on the á.
✗ *Ellos gastan a su sueldo.
✓ Correct: Ellos gastan su sueldo en alquiler.
Gastar takes a direct object: gastar su sueldo. Never put a before a thing.
Quiz: gastar in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of gastar. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
1. Which is the correct present tense form of gastar for tú?
- a) gastan
- b) gasta
- c) gasto
- d) gastas
2. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ cien euros a la semana. — "I spend one hundred euros a week."
- a) gasto
- b) gasté
- c) gastan
- d) gastas
3. Complete the sentence: Tú ______ demasiado tiempo en el móvil. — "You spend too much time on your phone."
- a) gastas
- b) gastaste
- c) gasta
- d) gastamos
4. Which is the correct present tense form of gastar for nosotros?
- a) gastas
- b) gastamos
- c) gastan
- d) gasto
5. Which sentence uses gastar correctly in the present tense?
- a) Mi hermano gastas mucho en gasolina.
- b) Mi hermano gasta mucho en gasolina.
- c) Mi hermano gastó mucho en gasolina.
6. Which is the correct present tense form of gastar for vosotros?
- a) gastas
- b) gasto
- c) gasta
- d) gastáis
7. Complete the sentence: Mi móvil ______ la batería muy rápido. — "My phone uses up the battery very fast."
- a) gasto
- b) gastan
- c) gasta
- d) gastó
8. What is the gerund of gastar?
- a) gastamos
- b) gastado
- c) gasto
- d) gastando
Answer key
d) gastas — The tú form is gastas. The -s ending belongs to tú in the present; gasto is yo, gasta is él/ella and gastan is ellos/ellas.
a) gasto — The sentence needs the yo form in the present: gasto. The other options are the wrong person or the wrong tense.
a) gastas — The subject is tú, so the present form is gastas.
b) gastamos — Nosotros takes gastamos. In the present the nosotros ending for -ar verbs is -amos, attached to the stem gast-.
b) Mi hermano gasta mucho en gasolina. — Mi hermano gasta mucho en gasolina. is correct: the verb agrees with its subject. The other sentences use the wrong person or the wrong tense.
d) gastáis — Vosotros takes gastáis. Remember the written accent on the ending — it is part of the correct spelling.
c) gasta — The subject is él/ella/Ud., so the present form is gasta.
d) gastando — The gerund is gastando. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive (estar + gerund), and it is not the past participle gastado.
Frequently asked questions
Is gastar regular in the present tense?
Yes. gastar is a regular -ar verb, so its present tense follows the standard endings exactly: gasto, gastas, gasta, gastamos, gastáis and gastan.
What is the gerund and the past participle of gastar?
The gerund is gastando and the past participle is gastado. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say "I to spend (money)" in Spanish?
Say gasto. For example: Yo gasto cien euros a la semana. — "I spend one hundred euros a week.".
What is the difference between gastar and ahorrar?
gastar means "to spend (money)", while ahorrar means "to save". They are related words that learners often meet together, but they are not interchangeable — use gastar when you mean "to spend (money)" and ahorrar when you mean "to save". The full conjugation of ahorrar is on its own page.
Related links
- Full conjugation of gastar — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- gastar 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.