Pegarse Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb pegarse means to stick — it also means to fight, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. Pegarse is a spelling-changing -ar (g → gu before e), reflexive verb, so the tables below show you exactly how it behaves in every tense. It has a spelling change (g → gu before e), which keeps the pronunciation of the stem the same when the ending changes. Pegarse is reflexive, so it always takes a reflexive pronoun that matches the person: me, te, se, nos, os or se. For example, me pego el cartel en la pared means "I stick the poster on the wall". Without the pronoun, the verb changes meaning or stops making sense. On this page you will find the full conjugation of pegarse 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 me pego el cartel en la pared — "I stick the poster on the wall" — and in the preterite you say Yo me pegué con pegamento — "I stuck with glue". 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: pegarse
  • English: to stick, to fight
  • Verb type: spelling-changing -ar (g → gu before e), reflexive verb
  • Ending: -ar
  • Gerund: pegando
  • Past participle: pegado
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + pegado)
  • Reflexive pronouns: me, te, se, nos, os, se — one before every conjugated form, matching the person.

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for pegarse, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one. Pegarse is reflexive: me pego, te pegas. Without the pronoun, pegar means something else — it acts on someone or something else, not on yourself.

Full conjugation tables

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for pegarse. 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: pegando · Past participle: pegado

Present indicative

Person Pronoun Form
yo me pego
tú te pegas
él/ella/Ud. se pega
nosotros/as nos pegamos
vosotros/as os pegáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se pegan

Preterite

Person Pronoun Form
yo me pegué
tú te pegaste
él/ella/Ud. se pegó
nosotros/as nos pegamos
vosotros/as os pegasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se pegaron

Imperfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me pegaba
tú te pegabas
él/ella/Ud. se pegaba
nosotros/as nos pegábamos
vosotros/as os pegabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. se pegaban

Future

Person Pronoun Form
yo me pegaré
tú te pegarás
él/ella/Ud. se pegará
nosotros/as nos pegaremos
vosotros/as os pegaréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se pegarán

Conditional

Person Pronoun Form
yo me pegaría
tú te pegarías
él/ella/Ud. se pegaría
nosotros/as nos pegaríamos
vosotros/as os pegaríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. se pegarían

Present perfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me he pegado
tú te has pegado
él/ella/Ud. se ha pegado
nosotros/as nos hemos pegado
vosotros/as os habéis pegado
ellos/ellas/Uds. se han pegado

Pluperfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me había pegado
tú te habías pegado
él/ella/Ud. se había pegado
nosotros/as nos habíamos pegado
vosotros/as os habíais pegado
ellos/ellas/Uds. se habían pegado

Future perfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me habré pegado
tú te habrás pegado
él/ella/Ud. se habrá pegado
nosotros/as nos habremos pegado
vosotros/as os habréis pegado
ellos/ellas/Uds. se habrán pegado

Conditional perfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me habría pegado
tú te habrías pegado
él/ella/Ud. se habría pegado
nosotros/as nos habríamos pegado
vosotros/as os habríais pegado
ellos/ellas/Uds. se habrían pegado

Present subjunctive

Person Pronoun Form
yo me pegue
tú te pegues
él/ella/Ud. se pegue
nosotros/as nos peguemos
vosotros/as os peguéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se peguen

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

Person Pronoun Form
yo me pegara
tú te pegaras
él/ella/Ud. se pegara
nosotros/as nos pegáramos
vosotros/as os pegarais
ellos/ellas/Uds. se pegaran

Imperative (affirmative)

Person Pronoun Form
tú te pega
él/ella/Ud. se pegue
nosotros/as nos peguemos
vosotros/as os pegad
ellos/ellas/Uds. se peguen

Imperative (negative)

Person Pronoun Form
tú te pegues
él/ella/Ud. se pegue
nosotros/as nos peguemos
vosotros/as os peguéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se peguen

Gerund and past participle

Form Spanish Use
Gerund pegando with estar for the progressive: estoy pegando (or me estoy pegando for this reflexive verb)
Past participle pegado with haber for the perfect tenses: he pegado

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 pegarse, the present indicative looks like this in a real sentence: Yo me pego con pegamento — "I stick with glue". 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 pegarse, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Yo me pegué a su hermano — "I stuck to his brother". 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. Spelling change in the preterite: the yo form is pegué (g → gu before e), so the sound of the stem stays the same.

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 pegarse, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo me pegaba el cartel en la pared — "I used to stick the poster on the wall". 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 pegarse, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Yo me pegaré con pegamento — "I will stick with glue". 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 pegarse, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Yo me pegaría a su hermano — "I would stick to his brother". 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 pegarse, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo me he pegado el cartel en la pared — "I have stuck the poster on the wall". 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 pegarse, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo me había pegado con pegamento — "I had stuck with glue". 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 pegarse, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo me habré pegado a su hermano — "I will have stuck to his brother". 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 pegarse, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo me habría pegado el cartel en la pared — "I would have stuck the poster on the wall". 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 pegarse, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él se pegue con pegamento — "I hope he sticks with glue". 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. The subjunctive keeps the spelling change: pegue, pegues, pegue all show g → gu before e, just like the preterite yo form.

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 pegarse, the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) looks like this in a real sentence: Si yo me pegara a su hermano, todo cambiaría — "If I stuck to his brother, 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 pegarse, the imperative (affirmative) looks like this in a real sentence: Que se pegue el cartel en la pared — "Let him stick the poster on the wall". 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 pegarse, the imperative (negative) looks like this in a real sentence: No te pegues con pegamento — "Don't stick with glue". 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 pegarse, covering different tenses and persons. Each one uses a form from the tables above.

  1. Yo me pego a su hermano — "I stick to his brother"
  2. Él se pega el cartel en la pared — "He sticks the poster on the wall"
  3. Yo me pegué con pegamento — "I stuck with glue"
  4. Yo me pegaba a su hermano — "I used to stick to his brother"
  5. Tú te pegarás el cartel en la pared — "You will stick the poster on the wall"
  6. Yo me pegaría con pegamento — "I would stick with glue"
  7. Él se ha pegado a su hermano — "He has stuck to his brother"
  8. Espero que él se pegue el cartel en la pared — "I hope he sticks the poster on the wall"
  9. Yo me había pegado con pegamento — "I had stuck with glue"
  10. Ellos se pegaban a su hermano — "They used to stick to his brother"

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo pego el cartel en la pared — Right: Yo me pego el cartel en la pared — Pegarse is reflexive, so the pronoun me is required: without it the verb means something else, or nothing at all.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo me pego — Right: Ayer, yo me pegué — The present tense cannot describe a finished action yesterday. Ayer forces the preterite, so the form must change to pegué, with the spelling change g → gu before e.
  3. Wrong: De niño, yo me pegué todos los días. — Right: Todos los días, yo me pegaba — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (pegaba), not the preterite. The preterite (pegué) is for one finished action.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy pegado con pegamento. — Right: Yo me he pegado con pegamento. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he pegado, has pegado, ha pegado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  5. Wrong: Espero que él pega el cartel en la pared. — Right: Espero que él se pegue el cartel en la pared. — After espero que, Spanish needs the subjunctive: pegue. The indicative pega is wrong here.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on pegarse. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo me ___ el cartel en la pared. (present tense) A. han pegado B. pego C. habías pegado D. pegaréis

  2. Complete the sentence: Él se ___ el cartel en la pared. (preterite) A. pegó B. pegamos C. pegad D. ha pegado

  3. Complete the sentence: Nosotros nos ___ el cartel en la pared. (imperfect) A. pegábamos B. habré pegado C. habrían pegado D. ha pegado

  4. Complete the sentence: Tú te ___ el cartel en la pared. (future) A. pegarás B. pegaron C. habían pegado D. pega

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo me ___ el cartel en la pared. (conditional) A. pegues B. habíais pegado C. pegaría D. peguen

  6. Complete the sentence: Espero que él se ___ el cartel en la pared. (present subjunctive) A. pegue B. pegaríamos C. pegad D. habrían pegado

  7. Complete the sentence: Si yo me ___ el cartel en la pared, todo cambiaría. (imperfect subjunctive, -ra form) A. habré pegado B. pegara C. pegaría D. pegaran

  8. Complete the sentence: Nosotros nos ___ el cartel en la pared. (present perfect) A. ha pegado B. pegaría C. pegaran D. hemos pegado

  9. Complete the command: No te ___ el cartel en la pared. (negative imperative, tú) A. pegues B. peguemos C. pegue D. peguéis

  10. Which is the gerund of pegarse, used with estar for the progressive? A. pegaré B. pegando C. pegado D. pegué

Answer key

  1. me pego — The yo present tense of pegarse is me pego.
  2. se pegó — The él/ella/Ud. preterite of pegarse is se pegó.
  3. nos pegábamos — The nosotros/as imperfect of pegarse is nos pegábamos.
  4. te pegarás — The tú future of pegarse is te pegarás.
  5. me pegaría — The yo conditional of pegarse is me pegaría.
  6. se pegue — The él/ella/Ud. present subjunctive of pegarse is se pegue.
  7. me pegara — The yo imperfect subjunctive, -ra form of pegarse is me pegara.
  8. nos hemos pegado — The nosotros/as present perfect of pegarse is nos hemos pegado.
  9. te pegues — The negative tú imperative uses the present subjunctive form with no before it: te pegues.
  10. pegando — The gerund of pegarse is pegando: estoy pegando. The participle pegado is used with haber instead.

Frequently asked questions

What does pegarse mean in English?

Pegarse means to stick, to fight. It is used in everyday situations such as Yo me pego el cartel en la pared. The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

Is pegarse a reflexive verb?

Yes. Pegarse is reflexive, so it always takes a reflexive pronoun that matches the person: me, te, se, nos, os or se. For example, Yo me pego el cartel en la pared and Él se pega con pegamento. If you leave the pronoun out, the verb changes meaning or stops making sense.

What is the gerund and the past participle of pegarse?

The gerund is pegando, used with estar for the progressive: estoy pegando. The past participle is pegado, used with haber in the perfect tenses: he pegado.

How do I say “I stick” in the past?

It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: Yo me pegué con pegamento. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Yo me pegaba a su hermano. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Yo me he pegado el cartel en la pared.

How do I practise pegarse?

Start with the present tense table, then drill the preterite and the imperfect, since those two past tenses cause the most mistakes. Try the pegarse examples and quiz page for more sentences, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure.

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