Introduction
restar means “to subtract, to take away”. It belongs to the group of Spanish verbs that express “to subtract, to take away”, and once you can conjugate it you can say a surprising amount with a single verb. This page is the complete reference for restar: every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle, with notes on usage, real example sentences, common mistakes, a quiz and frequently asked questions. restar is a regular -ar verb. If it is irregular in a tense, the note under that table says so plainly, and the forms in the table are the correct ones — copy them, do not guess them from the infinitive. A first example to fix the verb in your mind: “Yo resto cinco de diez todos los días.” — “I subtract five from ten.”
Quick facts
| Infinitive | restar |
| English | to subtract, to take away |
| Verb type | Regular -ar verb |
| Gerund | restando |
| Past participle | restado |
| Auxiliary verb | haber |
Full conjugation tables
Gerund: restando · Past participle: restado
Present Indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | resto |
| tú | restas |
| él/ella/Ud. | resta |
| nosotros/as | restamos |
| vosotros/as | restáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | restan |
The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For restar, the yo form is resto, as in “Yo resto cinco de diez.” — “I subtract five from ten.”
Preterite
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | resté |
| tú | restaste |
| él/ella/Ud. | restó |
| nosotros/as | restamos |
| vosotros/as | restasteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | restaron |
The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. For restar, the yo form is resté, as in “Yo resté cinco de diez.” — “I subtracted five from ten.”
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | restaba |
| tú | restabas |
| él/ella/Ud. | restaba |
| nosotros/as | restábamos |
| vosotros/as | restabais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | restaban |
The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. For restar, the yo form is restaba, as in “Yo restaba cinco de diez.” — “I used to subtract five from ten.”
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | restaré |
| tú | restarás |
| él/ella/Ud. | restará |
| nosotros/as | restaremos |
| vosotros/as | restaréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | restarán |
The future tense states what will happen. It is also used for predictions and promises. For restar, the yo form is restaré, as in “Yo restaré cinco de diez.” — “I will subtract five from ten.”
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | restaría |
| tú | restarías |
| él/ella/Ud. | restaría |
| nosotros/as | restaríamos |
| vosotros/as | restaríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | restarían |
The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. For restar, the yo form is restaría, as in “Yo restaría cinco de diez.” — “I would subtract five from ten.”
Present Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he restado |
| tú | has restado |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha restado |
| nosotros/as | hemos restado |
| vosotros/as | habéis restado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han restado |
The present perfect connects the past with the present: something that has happened, often today or recently. For restar, the yo form is he restado, as in “Yo he restado cinco de diez.” — “I have subtracted five from ten.”
Pluperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había restado |
| tú | habías restado |
| él/ella/Ud. | había restado |
| nosotros/as | habíamos restado |
| vosotros/as | habíais restado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían restado |
The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event. For restar, the yo form is había restado, as in “Yo había restado cinco de diez.” — “I had subtracted five from ten.”
Future Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré restado |
| tú | habrás restado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá restado |
| nosotros/as | habremos restado |
| vosotros/as | habréis restado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán restado |
The future perfect describes something that will already be finished by a future moment. For restar, the yo form is habré restado, as in “Yo habré restado cinco de diez.” — “I will have subtracted five from ten.”
Conditional Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría restado |
| tú | habrías restado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría restado |
| nosotros/as | habríamos restado |
| vosotros/as | habríais restado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían restado |
The conditional perfect describes what would have happened under different conditions. For restar, the yo form is habría restado, as in “Yo habría restado cinco de diez.” — “I would have subtracted five from ten.”
Present Subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | reste |
| tú | restes |
| él/ella/Ud. | reste |
| nosotros/as | restemos |
| vosotros/as | restéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | resten |
The present subjunctive is used after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and influence. For restar, the yo form is reste, as in “Espero que yo reste cinco de diez.” — “I hope that I subtract five from ten.”
Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | restara |
| tú | restaras |
| él/ella/Ud. | restara |
| nosotros/as | restáramos |
| vosotros/as | restarais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | restaran |
The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past versions of subjunctive clauses, and after "si" in hypothetical sentences. For restar, the yo form is restara, as in “Si yo restara cinco de diez, ...” — “If I subtracted five from ten, ...”
The -se variant of this tense follows the same pattern with -se instead of -ra: restara becomes restase, and the same change applies to every person. Both variants mean the same thing; -ra is more common in everyday speech.
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | resta |
| Ud. | reste |
| nosotros/as | restemos |
| vosotros/as | restad |
| Uds. | resten |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | restes |
| Ud. | reste |
| nosotros/as | restemos |
| vosotros/as | restéis |
| Uds. | resten |
The imperative is for orders, requests and advice. The affirmative tú form is resta, as in “¡Resta cinco de diez” — “Subtract five from ten” For the negative imperative, Spanish uses the subjunctive forms: no restes. Note that the affirmative and negative forms differ, so check the table above before you give an order with restar.
Example sentences
Here are ten sentences with restar, covering different tenses and persons. Read each one out loud, then read the translation, and notice how the verb form changes while the meaning stays the same.
- “Yo resto cinco de diez cada día.” — “I subtract five from ten.”
- “Él resta cinco de diez todos los días.” — “He subtracts five from ten.”
- “Yo resté cinco de diez ayer.” — “I subtracted five from ten.”
- “Él restó cinco de diez ayer.” — “He subtracted five from ten.”
- “Yo restaba cinco de diez cuando era joven.” — “I used to subtract five from ten.”
- “Nosotros restaremos cinco de diez mañana.” — “We will subtract five from ten.”
- “Si pudiera, yo restaría cinco de diez.” — “If I could, i would subtract five from ten.”
- “Yo he restado cinco de diez hoy.” — “I have subtracted five from ten.”
- “Espero que yo reste cinco de diez.” — “I hope that I subtract five from ten.”
- “estoy restando cinco de diez ahora mismo.” — “I am subtracting five from ten.”
Common mistakes
Forgetting the accent in the preterite
The yo preterite form is resté, with an accent on the stressed vowel. Writing it without the accent — reste — is a spelling error, and in speech the stress lands in the wrong place. Preterite yo forms that end in a vowel carry that accent, so check it every time you write the preterite of restar.
Mixing up present and preterite nosotros
For restar, the nosotros form is the same in the present and the preterite: restamos. Only the context tells you which tense is meant, so pay attention to the time words around it — cada día points to the present, ayer points to the preterite. Do not invent a different form for one of the tenses.
Using ser instead of haber in perfect tenses
Spanish perfect tenses always use haber, never ser: yo he restado cinco de diez. English speakers sometimes reach for soy because English uses to be in some passives, but soy restado is not the present perfect of restar — it is a passive construction with a different meaning.
Confusing restar with resultar
restar and resultar look similar, and learners mix them up. They are different verbs with different meanings, so check which one the sentence needs before you conjugate. If you can substitute the English meaning of restar — subtract — the sentence needs restar; if it needs the meaning of resultar, use that verb instead.
Using the indicative after "espero que"
After espero que (I hope that), Spanish needs the subjunctive: Espero que yo reste cinco de diez. Using the indicative — Espero que yo resto — is one of the most frequent learner errors with restar. Whenever the main clause expresses a wish, doubt or emotion, switch to the subjunctive.
Quiz
Test yourself on the forms above. Choose the best answer, then check the key below.
1. What is the yo form of restar in the present?
- A. restas
- B. resta
- C. restamos
- D. resto
2. What is the tu form of restar in the preterite?
- A. restamos
- B. restaste
- C. resté
- D. restó
3. What is the el form of restar in the imperfect?
- A. restabas
- B. restábamos
- C. restabais
- D. restaba
4. What is the nosotros form of restar in the future?
- A. restará
- B. restaremos
- C. restaré
- D. restarás
5. What is the vosotros form of restar in the present perfect?
- A. he restado
- B. has restado
- C. ha restado
- D. habéis restado
6. What is the ellos form of restar in the present subjunctive?
- A. reste
- B. resten
- C. reste
- D. restes
7. What is the yo form of restar in the preterite?
- A. restaste
- B. restó
- C. restamos
- D. resté
8. What is the tu form of restar in the imperfect?
- A. restábamos
- B. restabas
- C. restaba
- D. restaba
9. What is the el form of restar in the future?
- A. restaré
- B. restarás
- C. restaremos
- D. restará
10. What is the nosotros form of restar in the conditional?
- A. restaría
- B. restaríamos
- C. restaría
- D. restarías
Answer key
- resto — The present table gives yo = resto.
- restaste — The preterite table gives tu = restaste.
- restaba — The imperfect table gives el = restaba.
- restaremos — The future table gives nosotros = restaremos.
- habéis restado — The present perfect table gives vosotros = habéis restado.
- resten — The present subjunctive table gives ellos = resten.
- resté — The preterite table gives yo = resté.
- restabas — The imperfect table gives tu = restabas.
- restará — The future table gives el = restará.
- restaríamos — The conditional table gives nosotros = restaríamos.
Frequently asked questions
Is restar regular or irregular?
restar is a regular -ar verb. It follows the regular patterns for its ending in every tense. The tables on this page show the correct form for every person, so use them rather than guessing.
What is the past participle of restar?
The past participle of restar is restado. You use it with haber in the perfect tenses — he restado, había restado, habré restado — and after estar in passive-style descriptions. It is the regular participle for its verb class. Learn it together with the gerund restando and you have the two non-finite forms covered.
What is the gerund of restar?
The gerund of restar is restando. You use it with estar to describe an action in progress, as in estoy restando, and after verbs such as seguir and ir. Keep it distinct from the past participle restado, which belongs with haber, not with estar.
What is the yo form of restar in the present?
The yo form is resto — “Yo resto cinco de diez.” means “I subtract five from ten.” That is the form you will use most often when you talk about yourself. For other persons, use the present table above: tú restas, él resta, nosotros restamos, ellos restan.
What is the difference between restar and resultar?
restar means “to subtract, to take away”, while resultar means “to turn out, to result”. They share letters and sometimes a root, but they are different verbs. If your sentence means “to subtract, to take away”, use restar; if it is about the meaning of resultar, use resultar instead. Checking the English meaning first prevents most mix-ups.
Related links
- restar in the present tense — the full present-tense page for this verb.
- restar examples and quiz — more sentences, dialogues and a second quiz.
- Spanish verbs — the Spanish hub with every verb on VerbFlow.
- resultar conjugation — another verb in the same family.
- resumir conjugation — another verb in the same family.
- resaltar conjugation — another verb in the same family.
- Verb conjugator — conjugate any Spanish verb instantly.
- Verb quiz — practise conjugations with timed questions.