Regar Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb regar means to water (plants), and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. Regar means to water plants: regar las plantas, regar el jardín. It takes the plants or the garden as its direct object. Like every Spanish verb, regar changes its ending for each person and tense, and this page gives you the complete picture: every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle, all from the verified conjugation tables. For example, in the present tense you say Yo riego las plantas del balcón — "I water the plants on the balcony". 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.

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.

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: regar
  • English: to water (plants)
  • Verb type: stem-changing -ar verb (e → ie)
  • Ending: -ar
  • Gerund: regando
  • Past participle: regado
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + regado)

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for regar, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

Full conjugation tables

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for regar. The imperfect subjunctive is shown in its -ra forms; the -se forms use the same stem.

Present indicative

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | riego | | tú | riegas | | él/ella/Ud. | riega | | nosotros/as | regamos | | vosotros/as | regáis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | riegan |

Preterite

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | regué | | tú | regaste | | él/ella/Ud. | regó | | nosotros/as | regamos | | vosotros/as | regasteis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | regaron |

Imperfect

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | regaba | | tú | regabas | | él/ella/Ud. | regaba | | nosotros/as | regábamos | | vosotros/as | regabais | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | regaban |

Future

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | regaré | | tú | regarás | | él/ella/Ud. | regará | | nosotros/as | regaremos | | vosotros/as | regaréis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | regarán |

Conditional

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | regaría | | tú | regarías | | él/ella/Ud. | regaría | | nosotros/as | regaríamos | | vosotros/as | regaríais | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | regarían |

Present perfect

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | he regado | | tú | has regado | | él/ella/Ud. | ha regado | | nosotros/as | hemos regado | | vosotros/as | habéis regado | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | han regado |

Pluperfect

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | había regado | | tú | habías regado | | él/ella/Ud. | había regado | | nosotros/as | habíamos regado | | vosotros/as | habíais regado | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían regado |

Future perfect

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | habré regado | | tú | habrás regado | | él/ella/Ud. | habrá regado | | nosotros/as | habremos regado | | vosotros/as | habréis regado | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán regado |

Conditional perfect

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | habría regado | | tú | habrías regado | | él/ella/Ud. | habría regado | | nosotros/as | habríamos regado | | vosotros/as | habríais regado | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían regado |

Present subjunctive

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | riegue | | tú | riegues | | él/ella/Ud. | riegue | | nosotros/as | reguemos | | vosotros/as | reguéis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | rieguen |

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | regara | | tú | regaras | | él/ella/Ud. | regara | | nosotros/as | regáramos | | vosotros/as | regarais | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | regaran |

Imperative (affirmative)

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | tú | riega | | él/ella/Ud. | riegue | | nosotros/as | reguemos | | vosotros/as | regad | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | rieguen |

Imperative (negative)

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | tú | riegues | | él/ella/Ud. | riegue | | nosotros/as | reguemos | | vosotros/as | reguéis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | rieguen |

Gerund and past participle

Form Spanish Use
Gerund regando with estar for the progressive: está regando
Past participle regado with haber for the perfect tenses: he regado

How to use each tense

Present indicative

Use the present for routines, general facts and what is happening right now. 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. For regar, the present indicative looks like this in a real sentence: Yo riego las plantas del balcón — "I water the plants on the balcony".

Preterite

Use the preterite for finished actions with a clear end, often with ayer, el año pasado or anoche. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For regar, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Ayer, yo regué el jardín por la mañana — "Yesterday, I watered the garden in the morning".

Imperfect

Use the imperfect for background, habits and actions in progress in the past, often with de niño, antes or mientras. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For regar, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: De niño, yo regaba las flores del patio — "As a child, I used to water the flowers in the courtyard".

Future

Use the future for plans, predictions and promises, often with mañana, el año que viene or pronto. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For regar, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Mañana, yo regaré el huerto en verano — "Tomorrow, I will water the vegetable garden in summer".

Conditional

Use the conditional for polite requests, hypotheticals and what would happen, often with si clauses. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For regar, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Yo regaría las plantas del balcón si pudiera — "I would water the plants on the balcony if I could".

Present perfect

Use the present perfect for recent actions and experiences, often with hoy, esta semana or ya. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For regar, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Hoy, yo he regado el jardín por la mañana — "Today, I have watered the garden in the morning".

Pluperfect

Use the pluperfect when one past action happened before another past action. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For regar, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo ya había regado las flores del patio antes de salir — "I already had watered the flowers in the courtyard before leaving".

Future perfect

Use the future perfect for something that will already be finished by a future time. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For regar, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Para mañana, yo habré regado el huerto en verano — "By tomorrow, I will have watered the vegetable garden in summer".

Conditional perfect

Use the conditional perfect for what would have happened under different conditions. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For regar, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo habría regado las plantas del balcón con más tiempo — "I would have watered the plants on the balcony with more time".

Present subjunctive

Use the present subjunctive after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and hope, such as espero que or quiero que. 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. For regar, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él riegue el jardín por la mañana — "I hope he waters the garden in the morning".

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

Use the imperfect subjunctive after past wishes and in si clauses about the past. The -ra forms are shown here; the -se forms use the same stem. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For regar, the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) looks like this in a real sentence: Si yo regara las flores del patio, todo cambiaría — "If I watered the flowers in the courtyard, everything would change".

Imperative (affirmative)

Use the affirmative imperative for direct commands, instructions and invitations. 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. For regar, the imperative (affirmative) looks like this in a real sentence: Riega el huerto en verano. — "Water the vegetable garden in summer.".

Imperative (negative)

Use the negative imperative, always with no, to tell someone not to do something. 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. For regar, the imperative (negative) looks like this in a real sentence: No riegues las plantas del balcón. — "Do not water the plants on the balcony.".

Example sentences

Ten natural sentences with regar, covering different tenses and persons. Each one uses a form from the tables above.

  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. Ayer, yo regué las flores del patio — "Yesterday, I watered the flowers in the courtyard"
  4. Antes, nosotros regábamos el huerto en verano — "Before, we used to water the vegetable garden in summer"
  5. Mañana, tú regarás el césped cada tarde — "Tomorrow, you will water the lawn every evening"
  6. Yo regaría las plantas del balcón si tuviera más tiempo — "I would water the plants on the balcony if I had more time"
  7. Él ha regado el jardín por la mañana — "He has watered the garden in the morning"
  8. Espero que él riegue las flores del patio — "I hope he waters the flowers in the courtyard"
  9. Yo ya había regado el huerto en verano antes de salir — "I already had watered the vegetable garden in summer before leaving"
  10. Ellos regaban el césped cada tarde cuando eran jóvenes — "They used to water the lawn every evening when they were young"

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo rego el jardín por la mañana. — Right: Yo riego el jardín por la mañana. — 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.
  2. Wrong: Espero que él riega el jardín por la mañana — Right: Espero que él riegue el jardín por la mañana — After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: Espero que él riegue el jardín por la mañana — not the indicative Espero que él riega el jardín por la mañana.
  3. Wrong: Ayer, yo riego las flores del patio — Right: Ayer, yo regué las flores del patio — Ayer points to a finished action in the past, so it needs the preterite: Ayer, yo regué las flores del patio.
  4. Wrong: De niño, yo regué el huerto en verano todos los días — Right: De niño, yo regaba el huerto en verano todos los días — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect, not the preterite: De niño, yo regaba el huerto en verano todos los días.
  5. Wrong: Yo riego en las plantas del balcón. — Right: Yo riego las plantas del balcón. — regar takes this complement directly, with no preposition: Yo riego las plantas del balcón.

Quiz: test yourself

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

  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: Él ______ el jardín por la mañana — "He watered the garden in the morning" (preterite) A. regó B. regué C. regaste D. regamos

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

  4. Complete the sentence: Tú ______ el huerto en verano — "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: Espero que él ______ las plantas del balcón — "I hope he waters the plants on the balcony" (present subjunctive) A. riegues B. reguemos C. reguéis D. riegue

  7. Complete the sentence: Si yo ______ el jardín por la mañana, todo cambiaría — "If I watered the garden in the morning, everything would change" (imperfect subjunctive) A. regara B. regaras C. regáramos D. regarais

  8. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ______ las flores del patio — "We have watered the flowers in the courtyard" (present perfect) A. has regado B. ha regado C. hemos regado D. he regado

  9. Complete the sentence: No ______ el huerto en verano. — "Do not water the vegetable garden in summer." (negative imperative) A. riegues B. riegue C. reguemos D. reguéis

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

Answer key

  1. riego — The present form for yo is riego.
  2. regó — The preterite form for él/ella/Ud. is regó.
  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. riegue — The present subjunctive form for él/ella/Ud. is riegue.
  7. regara — The imperfect subjunctive form for yo is regara.
  8. hemos regado — The present perfect form for nosotros/as is hemos regado.
  9. riegues — The negative imperative form is riegues.
  10. regando — The gerund of regar is regando: estoy regando. The participle regado is used with haber instead.

Frequently asked questions

What does regar mean in English?

regar means to water (plants). It is used in everyday situations such as 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.

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. The nosotros and vosotros forms keep the plain stem, which is the part learners most often get right by accident.

What is the gerund and the past participle of regar?

The gerund is regando and the past participle is regado. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.

How do I say "I water" in the past?

It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: Ayer, yo regué el jardín por la mañana — "Yesterday, I watered the garden in the morning". For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: De niño, yo regaba las flores del patio — "As a child, I used to water the flowers in the courtyard". For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Hoy, yo he regado el jardín por la mañana — "Today, I have watered the garden in the morning".

What is the difference between regar and mojar?

Mojar is to wet something in general. Regar is specifically watering plants, a garden or a lawn. Regar means to water plants: regar las plantas, regar el jardín. It takes the plants or the garden as its direct object.

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