Gratinar Conjugation in Spanish
The Spanish verb gratinar means to gratinate, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. Gratinar 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 gratinar 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 gratino las patatas — "I gratinate the potatoes" — and in the preterite you say Yo gratiné con queso — "I gratinated with cheese". 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: gratinar
- English: to gratinate
- Verb type: regular -ar verb
- Ending: -ar
- Gerund: gratinando
- Past participle: gratinado
- Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + gratinado)
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for gratinar, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for gratinar. 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: gratinando · Past participle: gratinado
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | gratino |
| tú | gratinas |
| él/ella/Ud. | gratina |
| nosotros/as | gratinamos |
| vosotros/as | gratináis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | gratinan |
Preterite
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | gratiné |
| tú | gratinaste |
| él/ella/Ud. | gratinó |
| nosotros/as | gratinamos |
| vosotros/as | gratinasteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | gratinaron |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | gratinaba |
| tú | gratinabas |
| él/ella/Ud. | gratinaba |
| nosotros/as | gratinábamos |
| vosotros/as | gratinabais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | gratinaban |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | gratinaré |
| tú | gratinarás |
| él/ella/Ud. | gratinará |
| nosotros/as | gratinaremos |
| vosotros/as | gratinaréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | gratinarán |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | gratinaría |
| tú | gratinarías |
| él/ella/Ud. | gratinaría |
| nosotros/as | gratinaríamos |
| vosotros/as | gratinaríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | gratinarían |
Present perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he gratinado |
| tú | has gratinado |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha gratinado |
| nosotros/as | hemos gratinado |
| vosotros/as | habéis gratinado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han gratinado |
Pluperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había gratinado |
| tú | habías gratinado |
| él/ella/Ud. | había gratinado |
| nosotros/as | habíamos gratinado |
| vosotros/as | habíais gratinado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían gratinado |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré gratinado |
| tú | habrás gratinado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá gratinado |
| nosotros/as | habremos gratinado |
| vosotros/as | habréis gratinado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán gratinado |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría gratinado |
| tú | habrías gratinado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría gratinado |
| nosotros/as | habríamos gratinado |
| vosotros/as | habríais gratinado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían gratinado |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | gratine |
| tú | gratines |
| él/ella/Ud. | gratine |
| nosotros/as | gratinemos |
| vosotros/as | gratinéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | gratinen |
Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | gratinara |
| tú | gratinaras |
| él/ella/Ud. | gratinara |
| nosotros/as | gratináramos |
| vosotros/as | gratinarais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | gratinaran |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | gratina |
| él/ella/Ud. | gratine |
| nosotros/as | gratinemos |
| vosotros/as | gratinad |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | gratinen |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | gratines |
| él/ella/Ud. | gratine |
| nosotros/as | gratinemos |
| vosotros/as | gratinéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | gratinen |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | Spanish | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Gerund | gratinando | with estar for the progressive: estoy gratinando |
| Past participle | gratinado | with haber for the perfect tenses: he gratinado |
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 gratinar, the present indicative looks like this in a real sentence: Yo gratino con queso — "I gratinate with cheese". 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 gratinar, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Yo gratiné en el horno — "I gratinated in the oven". 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 gratinar, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo gratinaba las patatas — "I used to gratinate the potatoes". 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 gratinar, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Yo gratinaré con queso — "I will gratinate with cheese". 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 gratinar, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Yo gratinaría en el horno — "I would gratinate in the oven". 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 gratinar, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo he gratinado las patatas — "I have gratinated the potatoes". 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 gratinar, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo había gratinado con queso — "I had gratinated with cheese". 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 gratinar, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo habré gratinado en el horno — "I will have gratinated in the oven". 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 gratinar, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo habría gratinado las patatas — "I would have gratinated the potatoes". 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 gratinar, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él gratine con queso — "I hope he gratinates with cheese". 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 gratinar, the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) looks like this in a real sentence: Si yo gratinara en el horno, todo cambiaría — "If I gratinated in the oven, 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 gratinar, the imperative (affirmative) looks like this in a real sentence: Gratine las patatas — "Let him gratinate the potatoes". 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 gratinar, the imperative (negative) looks like this in a real sentence: No gratines con queso — "Don't gratinate with cheese". 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 gratinar, covering different tenses and persons. Each one uses a form from the tables above.
- Yo gratino en el horno — "I gratinate in the oven"
- Él gratina las patatas — "He gratinates the potatoes"
- Yo gratiné con queso — "I gratinated with cheese"
- Yo gratinaba en el horno — "I used to gratinate in the oven"
- Tú gratinarás las patatas — "You will gratinate the potatoes"
- Yo gratinaría con queso — "I would gratinate with cheese"
- Él ha gratinado en el horno — "He has gratinated in the oven"
- Espero que él gratine las patatas — "I hope he gratinates the potatoes"
- Yo había gratinado con queso — "I had gratinated with cheese"
- Ellos gratinaban en el horno — "They used to gratinate in the oven"
Common mistakes
- Wrong: Ellos gratina las patatas — Right: Ellos gratinan las patatas — Ellos needs the ellos form gratinan. The singular gratina belongs with él, ella or a singular noun.
- Wrong: Ayer, yo gratino — Right: Ayer, yo gratiné — The present tense cannot describe a finished action yesterday. Ayer forces the preterite, so the form must change to gratiné.
- Wrong: De niño, yo gratiné todos los días. — Right: Todos los días, yo gratinaba — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (gratinaba), not the preterite. The preterite (gratiné) is for one finished action.
- Wrong: Yo soy gratinado con queso. — Right: Yo he gratinado con queso. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he gratinado, has gratinado, ha gratinado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
- Wrong: Espero que él gratina las patatas. — Right: Espero que él gratine las patatas. — After espero que, Spanish needs the subjunctive: gratine. The indicative gratina is wrong here.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on gratinar. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
Complete the sentence: Yo ___ las patatas. (present tense) A. gratinad B. gratino C. gratinarán D. ha gratinado
Complete the sentence: Él ___ las patatas. (preterite) A. gratine B. gratinan C. gratinaras D. gratinó
Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ las patatas. (imperfect) A. hemos gratinado B. gratinarán C. gratinábamos D. gratinabas
Complete the sentence: Tú ___ las patatas. (future) A. gratinabas B. gratinarás C. han gratinado D. habría gratinado
Complete the sentence: Yo ___ las patatas. (conditional) A. gratinabais B. gratinaré C. gratinaría D. gratino
Complete the sentence: Espero que él ___ las patatas. (present subjunctive) A. gratinaré B. gratines C. gratinábamos D. gratine
Complete the sentence: Si yo ___ las patatas, todo cambiaría. (imperfect subjunctive, -ra form) A. gratinara B. gratine C. había gratinado D. habíamos gratinado
Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ las patatas. (present perfect) A. hemos gratinado B. gratinaríais C. gratinaba D. gratinemos
Complete the command: No ___ las patatas. (negative imperative, tú) A. gratines B. gratinéis C. gratine D. gratinen
Which is the gerund of gratinar, used with estar for the progressive? A. gratinaré B. gratinaba C. gratinando D. gratino
Answer key
- gratino — The yo present tense of gratinar is gratino.
- gratinó — The él/ella/Ud. preterite of gratinar is gratinó.
- gratinábamos — The nosotros/as imperfect of gratinar is gratinábamos.
- gratinarás — The tú future of gratinar is gratinarás.
- gratinaría — The yo conditional of gratinar is gratinaría.
- gratine — The él/ella/Ud. present subjunctive of gratinar is gratine.
- gratinara — The yo imperfect subjunctive, -ra form of gratinar is gratinara.
- hemos gratinado — The nosotros/as present perfect of gratinar is hemos gratinado.
- gratines — The negative tú imperative uses the present subjunctive form with no before it: gratines.
- gratinando — The gerund of gratinar is gratinando: estoy gratinando. The participle gratinado is used with haber instead.
Frequently asked questions
What does gratinar mean in English?
Gratinar means to gratinate. It is used in everyday situations such as Yo gratino las patatas. The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.
Is gratinar regular?
Yes. Gratinar is a regular -ar verb: gratino, gratinas, gratina. 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 gratinar?
The gerund is gratinando, used with estar for the progressive: estoy gratinando. The past participle is gratinado, used with haber in the perfect tenses: he gratinado.
How do I say “I gratinate” in the past?
It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: Yo gratiné con queso. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Yo gratinaba en el horno. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Yo he gratinado las patatas.
How do I practise gratinar?
Start with the present tense table, then drill the preterite and the imperfect, since those two past tenses cause the most mistakes. Try the gratinar examples and quiz page for more sentences, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure.
Related links
- Gratinar in the present tense — the full present-tense table for gratinar.
- Gratinar examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice for gratinar.
- Spanish verbs — the Spanish hub, with every verb and tense guide.
- Tostar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with gratinar.
- Untar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with gratinar.
- Rellenar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with gratinar.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — test yourself on real conjugated forms.
- Verb Conjugator — conjugate any Spanish verb in every tense.