Regar Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish

regar means "to water (plants)" in English, and this page shows you how it actually sounds in everyday Spanish — not just the conjugation table, but the verb in real sentences, in short dialogues, and in the mistakes learners make with it. Regar means to water plants: regar las plantas, regar el jardín. It takes the plants or the garden as its direct object. Below you will find twelve example sentences grouped by use, two short dialogues, the most common mistakes with corrections, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. If you want the full tables first, start with the full conjugation of regar; if you want to study one tense in depth, see the regar present tense page.

regar in everyday use: examples with translations

Everyday present uses

How the verb sounds in the present, the future and in hypotheticals — the forms you will use most often.

  1. Yo riego las plantas del balcón — "I water the plants on the balcony"
  2. Mi amigo riega el jardín por la mañana — "My friend waters the garden in the morning"
  3. Mañana, tú regarás las flores del patio — "Tomorrow, you will water the flowers in the courtyard"
  4. Yo regaría el huerto en verano si pudiera — "I would water the vegetable garden in summer if I could"

Talking about the past

The same verb in the past: one finished action, a habit, something that has just happened, and something that had already happened.

  1. Ayer, yo regué las plantas del balcón — "Yesterday, I watered the plants on the balcony"
  2. Antes, nosotros regábamos el jardín por la mañana — "Before, we used to water the garden in the morning"
  3. Él ha regado las flores del patio — "He has watered the flowers in the courtyard"
  4. Yo ya había regado el huerto en verano antes de salir — "I already had watered the vegetable garden in summer before leaving"

Wishes, conditions and commands

The verb after espero que, in si clauses, as a command — and in the conditional perfect, for what would have happened.

  1. Espero que él riegue las plantas del balcón — "I hope he waters the plants on the balcony"
  2. Si yo regara el jardín por la mañana, todo cambiaría — "If I watered the garden in the morning, everything would change"
  3. Riega las flores del patio. — "Water the flowers in the courtyard."
  4. Yo habría regado el huerto en verano con más tiempo — "I would have watered the vegetable garden in summer with more time"

regar in conversation

Two short dialogues that use regar the way people really speak it. Notice how the verb changes with the person, and how the same verb fits different situations.

Two friends talk about it.

  • Lucía: Hola, ¿qué tal? — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Lucía: Yo riego las plantas del balcón — "I water the plants on the balcony"
  • Marcos: Él riega el jardín por la mañana — "He waters the garden in the morning"
  • Lucía: Ayer, yo regué las flores del patio — "Yesterday, I watered the flowers in the courtyard"
  • Marcos: Mañana, tú regarás el huerto en verano — "Tomorrow, you will water the vegetable garden in summer"

A practical exchange.

  • Marcos: Hola, ¿qué tal? — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Marcos: Riega el césped cada tarde. — "Water the lawn every evening."
  • Lucía: Él ha regado las plantas del balcón — "He has watered the plants on the balcony"
  • Marcos: Espero que él riegue el jardín por la mañana — "I hope he waters the garden in the morning"
  • Lucía: Antes, yo regaba las flores del patio — "Before, I used to water the flowers in the courtyard"

Common mistakes with regar

The errors learners actually make with regar, each with the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.

✗ *Yo rego el huerto en verano.

✓ Correct: Yo riego el huerto en verano.

regar is a stem-changing verb (e → ie): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is riego, not rego.

✗ *Espero que él riega el huerto en verano

✓ Correct: Espero que él riegue el huerto en verano

After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: Espero que él riegue el huerto en verano — not the indicative Espero que él riega el huerto en verano.

✗ *Ayer, yo riego el césped cada tarde

✓ Correct: Ayer, yo regué el césped cada tarde

Ayer points to a finished action in the past, so it needs the preterite: Ayer, yo regué el césped cada tarde.

✗ *De niño, yo regué las plantas del balcón todos los días

✓ Correct: De niño, yo regaba las plantas del balcón todos los días

For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect, not the preterite: De niño, yo regaba las plantas del balcón todos los días.

✗ *Yo riego en las flores del patio.

✓ Correct: Yo riego las flores del patio.

regar takes this complement directly, with no preposition: Yo riego las flores del patio.

Quiz: regar in use

Ten questions on regar — its forms, its tenses and its everyday use. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below, where every answer is explained.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ las plantas del balcón — "I water the plants on the balcony" (present) A. riegas B. riega C. regamos D. riego

  2. Complete the sentence: Ayer, yo ______ el jardín por la mañana — "Yesterday, I watered the garden in the morning" (preterite) A. regó B. regamos C. regué D. regaste

  3. Complete the sentence: Antes, nosotros ______ las flores del patio — "Before, we used to water the flowers in the courtyard" (imperfect) A. regábamos B. regaba C. regabas D. regabais

  4. Complete the sentence: Mañana, tú ______ el huerto en verano — "Tomorrow, you will water the vegetable garden in summer" (future) A. regarás B. regaré C. regará D. regaremos

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ el césped cada tarde — "I would water the lawn every evening" (conditional) A. regaríais B. regaría C. regarías D. regaríamos

  6. Complete the sentence: Él ______ las plantas del balcón — "He has watered the plants on the balcony" (present perfect) A. ha regado B. he regado C. has regado D. hemos regado

  7. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ______ el jardín por la mañana — "I hope he waters the garden in the morning" (present subjunctive) A. reguéis B. riegue C. riegues D. reguemos

  8. Complete the sentence: ______ las flores del patio. — "Water the flowers in the courtyard." (affirmative imperative) A. riega B. riegue C. reguemos D. regad

  9. Which is the gerund of regar, used with estar for the progressive? A. regué B. regando C. regado D. riego

  10. What does regar mean in English? A. to wet B. to enjoy C. to cross D. to water (plants)

Answer key

  1. riego — The present form for yo is riego.
  2. regué — The preterite form for yo is regué.
  3. regábamos — The imperfect form for nosotros/as is regábamos.
  4. regarás — The future form for tú is regarás.
  5. regaría — The conditional form for yo is regaría.
  6. ha regado — The present perfect form for él/ella/Ud. is ha regado.
  7. riegue — The present subjunctive form for él/ella/Ud. is riegue.
  8. riega — The affirmative imperative form is riega.
  9. regando — The gerund of regar is regando: estoy regando. The participle regado is used with haber instead.
  10. to water (plants) — regar means to water (plants).

Frequently asked questions

What does regar mean in English?

regar means to water (plants). For example: Yo riego las plantas del balcón — "I water the plants on the balcony". The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

What preposition goes with regar?

regar takes its complement directly, with no preposition, as in the examples above. Adding an extra preposition is a common learner error.

Is regar regular?

No. regar is a stem-changing -ar verb (e → ie). The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: riego, riegas, riega and riegan — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: regamos, regáis.

How do I practise regar?

Start with the present tense table on the full conjugation page, then drill the preterite and the imperfect, since those two past tenses cause the most mistakes. Try the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure, and come back to the sentences above until you can say them without looking.

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