Llegar Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish
llegar — to arrive — is one of the verbs you will use every day in Spanish. Llegar means to arrive and to reach: llegar a casa, llegar a tiempo, llegar a ser (to become). It is a spelling-changing verb: the g becomes gu before e, so the yo preterite is llegué and the subjunctive is llegue. It never takes a direct object for the destination — always llegar a. On this page you will find llegar in real sentences, grouped by meaning and tense, two short texts that show it in context, the mistakes learners actually make with it, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself.
Example sentences with llegar
In the present tense
- “Yo llego a casa a las seis.” — “I arrive home at six.”
- “Ella llega tarde todos los días.” — “She arrives late every day.”
- “Nosotros llegamos a tiempo siempre.” — “We always arrive on time.”
- “Ellos llegan en tren desde Sevilla.” — “They arrive by train from Seville.”
- “¿Tú llegas pronto?” — “Will you arrive soon?”
- “Vosotros llegáis a la reunión a las nueve.” — “You arrive at the meeting at nine.”
In the preterite
- “Ayer yo llegué tarde al trabajo.” — “Yesterday I arrived late at work.”
- “Ella llegó a Madrid a medianoche.” — “She arrived in Madrid at midnight.”
- “Nosotros llegamos a la estación con tiempo.” — “We arrived at the station with time to spare.”
- “Ellos llegaron el lunes pasado.” — “They arrived last Monday.”
- “¿Tú llegaste a tiempo al examen?” — “Did you arrive on time for the exam?”
- “El paquete llegó ayer por la mañana.” — “The parcel arrived yesterday morning.”
In other tenses
The same verb in the imperfect, the future, the conditional and the present perfect — the four tenses that complete the picture. All forms come from the verified tables.
- “De niño, yo llegaba a casa en Madrid.” — “As a child, I used to arrive home in Madrid.”
- “Mañana, yo llegaré a casa en Madrid.” — “Tomorrow, I will arrive home in Madrid.”
- “Si pudiera, yo llegaría a casa en Madrid.” — “If I could, I would arrive home in Madrid.”
- “Yo he llegado a casa en Madrid.” — “I have arrived home in Madrid.”
Llegar in context
Cada día, yo llego a casa en Madrid. Mi amigo también llega a casa en Madrid cuando tiene tiempo. Después, yo llego a casa de nuevo por la tarde. Es una parte normal de mi rutina, y por eso el presente de llegar es la primera forma que conviene aprender.
Ayer, yo llegué a casa en Madrid. Mi amigo llegó a casa en Madrid también, y por la noche yo llegué a casa otra vez. Fue un día normal, pero es justo en días así cuando el pretérito de llegar aparece una y otra vez: una acción terminada, un momento concreto, y la historia sigue.
Common mistakes with llegar
Mistake 1
Wrong: Ayer yo llegé tarde.
Right: Ayer yo llego tarde.
The preterite keeps the hard g sound with gu: llegué, not llegé.
Mistake 2
Wrong: Yo llego a casa — learners drop the a: llego casa.
Right: Yo llego a casa.
Llegar needs a before the destination: llegar a casa.
Mistake 3
Wrong: Treating llegar as a regular verb.
Right: Learn the irregular forms: present llego, preterite llegué.
llegar is irregular — its present and preterite do not follow the regular endings, so they have to be memorised as a set.
Quiz: llegar in everyday use
Ten questions on llegar across the tenses. Answers with explanations follow each question.
1. What is the yo form of llegar in the present tense?
- A) llego
- B) llegas
- C) llega
- D) llegamos
Answer: A — The yo form in the present tense is llego.
2. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of llegar in the present tense?
- A) llego
- B) llegas
- C) llegamos
- D) llega
Answer: D — The él/ella/Ud. form in the present tense is llega.
3. What is the yo form of llegar in the preterite?
- A) llegó
- B) llegamos
- C) llegué
- D) llegaste
Answer: C — The yo form in the preterite is llegué.
4. What is the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of llegar in the preterite?
- A) llegó
- B) llegaron
- C) llegué
- D) llegaste
Answer: B — The ellos/ellas/Uds. form in the preterite is llegaron.
5. What is the yo form of llegar in the imperfect?
- A) llegaba
- B) llegabas
- C) llegaba
- D) llegábamos
Answer: A — The yo form in the imperfect is llegaba.
6. What is the tú form of llegar in the future?
- A) llegaré
- B) llegará
- C) llegaremos
- D) llegarás
Answer: D — The tú form in the future is llegarás.
7. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of llegar in the conditional?
- A) llegarías
- B) llegaríamos
- C) llegaría
- D) llegaría
Answer: C — The él/ella/Ud. form in the conditional is llegaría.
8. What is the nosotros/as form of llegar in the present perfect?
- A) ha llegado
- B) hemos llegado
- C) he llegado
- D) has llegado
Answer: B — The nosotros/as form in the present perfect is hemos llegado.
9. Fill in the blank: “Yo ___ a casa a las seis.” (I arrive home at six.)
- A) llego
- B) llegas
- C) llega
- D) llegamos
Answer: A — The sentence needs llego.
10. Which sentence is correct?
- A) Ayer yo llego tarde.
- B) Ayer yo llegé tarde.
Answer: A — The preterite keeps the hard g sound with gu: llegué, not llegé.
Frequently asked questions
What does llegar mean?
llegar means “to arrive” in English. Llegar means to arrive and to reach: llegar a casa, llegar a tiempo, llegar a ser (to become). It is a spelling-changing verb: the g becomes gu before e, so the yo preterite is llegué and the subjunctive is llegue. It never takes a direct object for the destination — always llegar a.
Is llegar regular?
No. llegar is an irregular -ar verb. It is irregular in , and those forms have to be learnt as a set rather than built by rule. The full conjugation page shows every tense.
When do I use llegar in the past — preterite or imperfect?
Use the preterite — llegué, llegaste, llegó — for a finished action at a specific moment, and the imperfect — llegaba, llegabas, llegaba — for what was happening, what used to happen, or the background. The same rule applies to llegar as to every Spanish verb; the tense changes the meaning, not the verb.
How can I practise llegar?
Start with the examples above, say them aloud, then take the quiz on this page. For more practice, use the Spanish Verb Quiz and the Llegar Conjugator, and read the full conjugation page for llegar to see the verb in every tense.
Say it yourself
Reading is not enough — say the verb aloud before you move on. Use the forms from the tables on this page and answer these three prompts as full sentences. First, say a sentence about yourself in the present tense: “Yo llego…”. Second, say a sentence about yesterday in the preterite: “Ayer yo llegué…”. Third, say a sentence about tomorrow in the future: “Mañana yo llegaré…”. If you can answer all three without looking at the tables, the forms are starting to stick. If you hesitate, go back to the examples above, read them aloud twice, and try again. Speaking the forms is what turns a table you have seen into a verb you can use.
Related pages
- Full conjugation: Llegar Conjugation
- Tense focus: Llegar Present tense Tense
- Language hub: Spanish Verbs
- Tools: Present tense Conjugator and Spanish Verb Quiz