Sacar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb sacar means to take out, to get, and this page covers it in the present tense — the tense for habits, facts and what is happening now. If you want the whole picture, start with the full sacar conjugation, which has every tense on one page. Here we go deep on one tense only: the full table, how it is formed, when to use it, how it differs from the closest tense, examples, the mistakes learners actually make, a quiz and answers to the questions people ask most. One example to start: Yo saco el perro a pasear. — "I take out the dog for a walk."

No pronunciation is given on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for sacar, so no pronunciation is shown rather than an invented one. All the forms below come from the verified conjugation tables, so you can trust every form you see here.

The sacar present tense table

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for sacar. The gerund is sacando and the past participle is sacado.

Person Form
yo saco
tú sacas
él/ella/Ud. saca
nosotros/as sacamos
vosotros/as sacáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. sacan

The gerund sacando is used with estar for the progressive (estoy sacando, I am taking out), and the past participle sacado is used with haber for the perfect tenses (he sacado, I have took out).

How the present tense of sacar is formed

Start with the infinitive sacar. Take off the -ar ending and you are left with the stem sac-. Then add the present endings for -ar verbs: -o (yo), -as (tú), -a (él/ella/Ud.), -amos (nosotros/as), -áis (vosotros/as) and -an (ellos/ellas/Uds.). That gives you the six forms in the table above, and for most verbs in this group that is the whole story.

sacar is regular in the present: every form is exactly the stem plus the ending above, with no stem change and no spelling change. If you know the stem and the six endings, you can build the whole tense without memorising anything extra.

Two details are worth fixing early. First, the vosotros form carries a written accent on the ending: sacáis. Second, the present tense in Spanish has no auxiliary verb: saco on its own means both "I take out" and "I am taking out" in English, so you do not need a separate word for the progressive unless you want to stress that something is happening right now.

When to use the present tense of sacar

Habits and routines

The present is the tense of what you do regularly. Talking about taking things out: a book from a rucksack, money from the bank, the rubbish out.

  • Yo saco el perro a pasear. — "I take out the dog for a walk."
  • Tú sacas la basura. — "you take out the rubbish."

Facts and general truths

The present also states facts that are true in general, not just today. Talking about taking the dog for a walk: sacar el perro is a daily routine for dog owners.

  • Él saca el dinero del banco. — "he/she takes out money from the bank."
  • Nosotros sacamos el libro de la mochila. — "we take out the book from my rucksack."

What is happening now

The present describes what is happening at this moment. Talking about getting good marks: sacar buenas notas, and taking photos: sacar una foto.

  • Vosotros sacáis una foto del álbum. — "you (all) take out a photo from the album."
  • Ellos sacan buenas notas en el examen. — "they take out good marks in the exam."

Plans in the near future

Spanish also uses the present for fixed plans in the near future, especially with a time expression. A plan you have already decided on can be stated in the present, and it sounds more certain than the future tense.

  • Él saca el dinero del banco. — "he/she takes out money from the bank."
  • Nosotros sacamos el libro de la mochila. — "we take out the book from my rucksack."

Sacar present vs present progressive

The present tense and the present progressive (estar + gerund) are close neighbours, and learners mix them up. The present describes a habit, a fact or a routine. The progressive describes something in progress right now, at this very moment. Compare the three pairs below: the first sentence in each pair is a habit, the second is happening now.

  • Present (habit): Yo saco el perro a pasear. — "I take out the dog for a walk."

  • Progressive (right now): Yo estoy sacando el perro a pasear. — "I am taking out the dog for a walk."

  • Present (habit): Tú sacas la basura. — "you take out the rubbish."

  • Progressive (right now): Tú estás sacando la basura. — "you are taking out the rubbish."

  • Present (habit): Él saca el dinero del banco. — "he/she takes out money from the bank."

  • Progressive (right now): Él está sacando el dinero del banco. — "he/she is taking out money from the bank."

Use the present when you talk about what you usually do, and the progressive when you want to stress that it is happening as you speak. If you say saco every day, that is a routine. If you say Estoy sacando, you are doing it at this moment.

Examples of sacar in the present

Eight sentences in the present tense, so you can see the forms in real use. Read the Spanish first, guess the meaning, then check the translation.

  1. Saco el perro a pasear todos los días. — "I take the dog for a walk every day."
  2. Mi hermano saca la basura por la noche. — "My brother takes out the rubbish at night."
  3. Ayer saqué el dinero del banco. — "Yesterday I took money out of the bank."
  4. De niño, sacaba buenas notas en el examen. — "As a child, I used to get good marks in the exam."
  5. Mañana sacaré una foto en el parque. — "Tomorrow I will take a photo in the park."
  6. Si tuviera una cámara, sacaría fotos todos los días. — "If I had a camera, I would take photos every day."
  7. Él saca una foto del álbum. — "he/she takes out a photo from the album."
  8. Nosotros sacamos buenas notas en el examen. — "we take out good marks in the exam."

Common mistakes with sacar in the present

These are the errors learners actually make with this verb. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why it is wrong.

1. Yo saca el perro a pasear.

Wrong: Yo saca el perro a pasear.

Right: Yo saco el perro a pasear.

The yo form ends in -o: saco. Saca is the él/ella form.

2. Ayer yo saco el dinero del banco.

Wrong: Ayer yo saco el dinero del banco.

Right: Ayer yo saqué el dinero del banco.

A finished action yesterday needs the preterite, and the yo preterite changes c to qu: saqué, to keep the hard k sound.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

Wrong: Ayer yo saco el perro a pasear.

Right: Ayer yo saqué el perro a pasear.

Ayer (yesterday) signals a finished action, so it needs the preterite: saqué. The present saco describes what you do now or usually, not what you did yesterday.

4. Forgetting the accent on the vosotros form

Wrong: Vosotros sacais el perro a pasear.

Right: Vosotros sacáis el perro a pasear.

The vosotros ending carries a written accent: sacáis. Without it, the spelling is wrong, even though the pronunciation is close.

Quiz: test yourself on sacar in the present

Choose the right form for each sentence. The answers are at the end of this section, with an explanation for every question.

  1. Yo ___ el perro a pasear
    • a) saco
    • b) sacas
    • c) saca
    • d) sacamos
  2. Tú ___ la basura
    • a) saco
    • b) saca
    • c) sacamos
    • d) sacas
  3. Él ___ el dinero del banco
    • a) sacas
    • b) sacamos
    • c) saca
    • d) saco
  4. Nosotros ___ el libro de la mochila
    • a) saca
    • b) sacamos
    • c) saco
    • d) sacas
  5. Vosotros ___ una foto del álbum
    • a) sacáis
    • b) saco
    • c) sacas
    • d) saca
  6. Ellos ___ buenas notas en el examen
    • a) saco
    • b) sacas
    • c) saca
    • d) sacan
  7. Yo ___ el perro a pasear
    • a) saca
    • b) sacamos
    • c) saco
    • d) sacas
  8. Tú ___ la basura
    • a) sacamos
    • b) sacas
    • c) saco
    • d) saca

Answers

  1. a) saco — The sentence needs the yo form, because the subject is yo.
  2. d) sacas — The sentence needs the tú form, because the subject is tú.
  3. c) saca — The sentence needs the él/ella/Ud. form, because the subject is él/ella/Ud..
  4. b) sacamos — The sentence needs the nosotros/as form, because the subject is nosotros/as.
  5. a) sacáis — The sentence needs the vosotros/as form, because the subject is vosotros/as.
  6. d) sacan — The sentence needs the ellos/ellas/Uds. form, because the subject is ellos/ellas/Uds..
  7. c) saco — The sentence needs the yo form, because the subject is yo.
  8. b) sacas — The sentence needs the tú form, because the subject is tú.

Frequently asked questions about sacar in the present

Why is the yo preterite saqué and not sacé?

Verbs ending in -car change c to qu before e, to keep the hard k sound: yo saqué, but tú sacaste, él sacó. The present is not affected: yo saco.

Does sacar mean to take out or to get?

Both. Sacar means to take something out (saco el libro de la mochila) and to get something, like marks or a photo (saco buenas notas, saco una foto).

Is sacar regular in the present?

Yes. sacar is regular in the present: the six forms are the stem sac- plus the regular endings, with no stem change. The only thing to watch is the written accent on the stressed endings, for example saco.

What are the gerund and the past participle of sacar?

The gerund is sacando, used with estar for the progressive (estoy sacando), and the past participle is sacado, used with haber for the perfect tenses (he sacado).

How to remember sacar

Four small habits will fix sacar in your memory. First, say the present tense out loud, in order, three times: saco, sacas, saca, sacamos, sacáis, sacan. Saying the forms is far more effective than reading them silently, because you hear the endings and the stem at the same time. Second, write three sentences about your own life: one about today with the present (saco), one about yesterday with the preterite (saqué), and one about tomorrow with the future (sacaré). Personal sentences stick because they are about you, not about a textbook. Third, remember the difference from meter: Sacar is taking something out; meter is putting it in. Metes el libro en la mochila y lo sacas en clase. Finally, learn the two key forms by heart: the gerund sacando and the past participle sacado. With those two and the present tense, you can already build the progressive (estoy sacando) and the present perfect (he sacado), which covers most everyday conversation.

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