Pastar Conjugation in Spanish
The Spanish verb pastar means to graze, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. Pastar 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 pastar 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 pasto en el campo — "I graze in the field" — and in the preterite you say Yo pasté hierba fresca — "I grazed fresh grass". 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: pastar
- English: to graze
- Verb type: regular -ar verb
- Ending: -ar
- Gerund: pastando
- Past participle: pastado
- Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + pastado)
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for pastar, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for pastar. 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: pastando · Past participle: pastado
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | pasto |
| tú | pastas |
| él/ella/Ud. | pasta |
| nosotros/as | pastamos |
| vosotros/as | pastáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | pastan |
Preterite
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | pasté |
| tú | pastaste |
| él/ella/Ud. | pastó |
| nosotros/as | pastamos |
| vosotros/as | pastasteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | pastaron |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | pastaba |
| tú | pastabas |
| él/ella/Ud. | pastaba |
| nosotros/as | pastábamos |
| vosotros/as | pastabais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | pastaban |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | pastaré |
| tú | pastarás |
| él/ella/Ud. | pastará |
| nosotros/as | pastaremos |
| vosotros/as | pastaréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | pastarán |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | pastaría |
| tú | pastarías |
| él/ella/Ud. | pastaría |
| nosotros/as | pastaríamos |
| vosotros/as | pastaríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | pastarían |
Present perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he pastado |
| tú | has pastado |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha pastado |
| nosotros/as | hemos pastado |
| vosotros/as | habéis pastado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han pastado |
Pluperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había pastado |
| tú | habías pastado |
| él/ella/Ud. | había pastado |
| nosotros/as | habíamos pastado |
| vosotros/as | habíais pastado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían pastado |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré pastado |
| tú | habrás pastado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá pastado |
| nosotros/as | habremos pastado |
| vosotros/as | habréis pastado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán pastado |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría pastado |
| tú | habrías pastado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría pastado |
| nosotros/as | habríamos pastado |
| vosotros/as | habríais pastado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían pastado |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | paste |
| tú | pastes |
| él/ella/Ud. | paste |
| nosotros/as | pastemos |
| vosotros/as | pastéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | pasten |
Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | pastara |
| tú | pastaras |
| él/ella/Ud. | pastara |
| nosotros/as | pastáramos |
| vosotros/as | pastarais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | pastaran |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | pasta |
| él/ella/Ud. | paste |
| nosotros/as | pastemos |
| vosotros/as | pastad |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | pasten |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | pastes |
| él/ella/Ud. | paste |
| nosotros/as | pastemos |
| vosotros/as | pastéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | pasten |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | Spanish | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Gerund | pastando | with estar for the progressive: estoy pastando |
| Past participle | pastado | with haber for the perfect tenses: he pastado |
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 pastar, the present indicative looks like this in a real sentence: Yo pasto hierba fresca — "I graze fresh grass". 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 pastar, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Todo el día, yo pasté — "All day, I grazed". 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 pastar, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo pastaba en el campo — "I used to graze in the field". 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 pastar, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Yo pastaré hierba fresca — "I will graze fresh grass". 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 pastar, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Todo el día, yo pastaría — "All day, I would graze". 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 pastar, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo he pastado en el campo — "I have grazed in the field". 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 pastar, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo había pastado hierba fresca — "I had grazed fresh grass". 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 pastar, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Todo el día, yo habré pastado — "All day, I will have grazed". 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 pastar, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo habría pastado en el campo — "I would have grazed in the field". 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 pastar, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él paste hierba fresca — "I hope he grazes fresh grass". 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 pastar, the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) looks like this in a real sentence: Si yo pastara todo el día, todo cambiaría — "If I grazed all day, 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 pastar, the imperative (affirmative) looks like this in a real sentence: Paste en el campo — "Let him graze in the field". 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 pastar, the imperative (negative) looks like this in a real sentence: No pastes hierba fresca — "Don't graze fresh grass". 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 pastar, covering different tenses and persons. Each one uses a form from the tables above.
- Todo el día, yo pasto — "All day, I graze"
- Él pasta en el campo — "He grazes in the field"
- Yo pasté hierba fresca — "I grazed fresh grass"
- Todo el día, yo pastaba — "All day, I used to graze"
- Tú pastarás en el campo — "You will graze in the field"
- Yo pastaría hierba fresca — "I would graze fresh grass"
- Todo el día, él ha pastado — "All day, he has grazed"
- Espero que él paste en el campo — "I hope he grazes in the field"
- Yo había pastado hierba fresca — "I had grazed fresh grass"
- Todo el día, ellos pastaban — "All day, they used to graze"
Common mistakes
- Wrong: Ellos pasta en el campo — Right: Ellos pastan en el campo — Ellos needs the ellos form pastan. The singular pasta belongs with él, ella or a singular noun.
- Wrong: Ayer, yo pasto — Right: Ayer, yo pasté — The present tense cannot describe a finished action yesterday. Ayer forces the preterite, so the form must change to pasté.
- Wrong: De niño, yo pasté todos los días. — Right: Todos los días, yo pastaba — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (pastaba), not the preterite. The preterite (pasté) is for one finished action.
- Wrong: Yo soy pastado hierba fresca. — Right: Yo he pastado hierba fresca. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he pastado, has pastado, ha pastado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
- Wrong: Espero que él pasta en el campo. — Right: Espero que él paste en el campo. — After espero que, Spanish needs the subjunctive: paste. The indicative pasta is wrong here.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on pastar. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
Complete the sentence: Yo ___ en el campo. (present tense) A. pastemos B. pastad C. pasto D. pastes
Complete the sentence: Él ___ en el campo. (preterite) A. habíais pastado B. pastaron C. pastéis D. pastó
Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ en el campo. (imperfect) A. habéis pastado B. pastéis C. pastasteis D. pastábamos
Complete the sentence: Tú ___ en el campo. (future) A. pastarás B. habrá pastado C. pasta D. habremos pastado
Complete the sentence: Yo ___ en el campo. (conditional) A. habría pastado B. pastaría C. hemos pastado D. pasta
Complete the sentence: Espero que él ___ en el campo. (present subjunctive) A. habríais pastado B. habremos pastado C. pastasteis D. paste
Complete the sentence: Si yo ___ en el campo, todo cambiaría. (imperfect subjunctive, -ra form) A. pastara B. habrá pastado C. habíamos pastado D. pasten
Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ en el campo. (present perfect) A. paste B. hemos pastado C. habían pastado D. habíamos pastado
Complete the command: No ___ en el campo. (negative imperative, tú) A. pastéis B. pastemos C. pasten D. pastes
Which is the gerund of pastar, used with estar for the progressive? A. pasté B. pasto C. pastando D. pastaré
Answer key
- pasto — The yo present tense of pastar is pasto.
- pastó — The él/ella/Ud. preterite of pastar is pastó.
- pastábamos — The nosotros/as imperfect of pastar is pastábamos.
- pastarás — The tú future of pastar is pastarás.
- pastaría — The yo conditional of pastar is pastaría.
- paste — The él/ella/Ud. present subjunctive of pastar is paste.
- pastara — The yo imperfect subjunctive, -ra form of pastar is pastara.
- hemos pastado — The nosotros/as present perfect of pastar is hemos pastado.
- pastes — The negative tú imperative uses the present subjunctive form with no before it: pastes.
- pastando — The gerund of pastar is pastando: estoy pastando. The participle pastado is used with haber instead.
Frequently asked questions
What does pastar mean in English?
Pastar means to graze. It is used in everyday situations such as Yo pasto en el campo. The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.
Is pastar regular?
Yes. Pastar is a regular -ar verb: pasto, pastas, pasta. 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 pastar?
The gerund is pastando, used with estar for the progressive: estoy pastando. The past participle is pastado, used with haber in the perfect tenses: he pastado.
How do I say “I graze” in the past?
It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: Yo pasté hierba fresca. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Todo el día, yo pastaba. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Yo he pastado en el campo.
How do I practise pastar?
Start with the present tense table, then drill the preterite and the imperfect, since those two past tenses cause the most mistakes. Try the pastar examples and quiz page for more sentences, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure.
Related links
- Pastar in the present tense — the full present-tense table for pastar.
- Pastar examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice for pastar.
- Spanish verbs — the Spanish hub, with every verb and tense guide.
- Matricularse conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with pastar.
- Licenciarse conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with pastar.
- Doctorarse conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with pastar.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — test yourself on real conjugated forms.
- Verb Conjugator — conjugate any Spanish verb in every tense.