Sobrar Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb sobrar means to be left over, to be too much, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. Sobrar means to be left over or to be too much, and it is used for food, money, time and people: sobra comida, sobran tres sillas. The subject is the thing left over, so the verb usually appears in the third person, singular or plural. It is a fully regular -ar verb. Like every Spanish verb, sobrar 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 Sobra comida después de la cena, and in the preterite you say Sobraron tres sillas en el salón. 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: sobrar
  • English: to be left over, to be too much
  • Verb type: regular -ar verb
  • Ending: -ar
  • Gerund: sobrando
  • Past participle: sobrado
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + sobrado)

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for sobrar, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one. Sobrar agrees with the thing left over: sobra comida, sobran tres sillas. The subject comes after the verb.

Full conjugation tables

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for sobrar. 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.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo sobro
tú sobras
él/ella/Ud. sobra
nosotros/as sobramos
vosotros/as sobráis
ellos/ellas/Uds. sobran

Preterite

Person Form
yo sobré
tú sobraste
él/ella/Ud. sobró
nosotros/as sobramos
vosotros/as sobrasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. sobraron

Imperfect

Person Form
yo sobraba
tú sobrabas
él/ella/Ud. sobraba
nosotros/as sobrábamos
vosotros/as sobrabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. sobraban

Future

Person Form
yo sobraré
tú sobrarás
él/ella/Ud. sobrará
nosotros/as sobraremos
vosotros/as sobraréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. sobrarán

Conditional

Person Form
yo sobraría
tú sobrarías
él/ella/Ud. sobraría
nosotros/as sobraríamos
vosotros/as sobraríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. sobrarían

Present perfect

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

Pluperfect

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

Future perfect

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

Conditional perfect

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

Present subjunctive

Person Form
yo sobre
tú sobres
él/ella/Ud. sobre
nosotros/as sobremos
vosotros/as sobréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. sobren

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

Person Form
yo sobrara
tú sobraras
él/ella/Ud. sobrara
nosotros/as sobráramos
vosotros/as sobrarais
ellos/ellas/Uds. sobraran

Imperative (affirmative)

Person Form
tú sobra
él/ella/Ud. sobre
nosotros/as sobremos
vosotros/as sobrad
ellos/ellas/Uds. sobren

Imperative (negative)

Person Form
tú sobres
él/ella/Ud. sobre
nosotros/as sobremos
vosotros/as sobréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. sobren

Gerund and past participle

Form Spanish Use
Gerund sobrando with estar for the progressive: estoy sobrando
Past participle sobrado with haber for the perfect tenses: he sobrado

How to use each tense

Present indicative

Use the present for routines, general facts and what is happening right now. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For sobrar, the present looks like this in a real sentence: Sobra comida después de la cena. Learn the present 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 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 sobrar, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Ayer, sobraron tres sillas en el salón. 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.

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 sobrar, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Antes, sobraba tiempo antes de salir. 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. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For sobrar, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Mañana, sobrará dinero a fin de mes. 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 with si clauses. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For sobrar, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Si lloviera, sobraría comida después de la cena. 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. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For sobrar, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Hoy, han sobrado tres sillas en el salón. 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. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For sobrar, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Ya había sobrado tiempo antes de salir. 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. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For sobrar, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Para mañana, habrá sobrado dinero a fin de mes. 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. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For sobrar, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Habría sobrado comida después de la cena. 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. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For sobrar, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que sobren tres sillas en el salón. 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.

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 this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For sobrar, the imperfect subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Si sobrara tiempo antes de salir, todo cambiaría. Learn the imperfect subjunctive 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. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For sobrar, the affirmative imperative looks like this in a real sentence: Que sobre dinero a fin de mes. Learn the affirmative imperative 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. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For sobrar, the negative imperative looks like this in a real sentence: No sobre comida después de la cena. Learn the negative imperative 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 sobrar, covering different tenses and persons. Each one uses a form from the tables above.

  1. Sobra comida después de la cena. — There is food left over after dinner.
  2. Sobran tres sillas en el salón. — There are three chairs left over in the living room.
  3. Ayer, sobró tiempo antes de salir. — There was time left over before leaving.
  4. Antes, sobraba dinero a fin de mes. — There used to be money left over at the end of the month.
  5. Mañana, sobrará comida después de la cena. — There will be food left over after dinner.
  6. Si lloviera, sobrarían tres sillas en el salón. — If it rained, there would be three chairs left over in the living room.
  7. Ya ha sobrado tiempo antes de salir. — There has been time left over before leaving.
  8. Espero que sobre dinero a fin de mes. — I hope there is money left over at the end of the month.
  9. Ya había sobrado comida después de la cena antes de salir. — There had been food left over after dinner.
  10. Sobraban tres sillas en el salón todos los días. — There used to be three chairs left over in the living room.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo sobro comida después de la cena. — Right: Sobra comida después de la cena. — With sobrar, the thing is the subject, not the person: sobra is the form that agrees with comida después de la cena, and a person cannot be the subject of this verb in this sense.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, sobran tres sillas en el salón. — Right: Ayer, sobraron tres sillas en el salón. — The present and the preterite are different tenses: sobran is happening now, while sobraron is a finished action in the past. Use the preterite with ayer.
  3. Wrong: Treating sobrar and faltar as identical in every context. — Right: Sobrar means to be left over, to be too much, while faltar means to be missing, its opposite. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: sobrar fits sentences such as Sobra comida después de la cena, while faltar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
  4. Wrong: Son sobrado tres sillas en el salón. — Right: Han sobrado tres sillas en el salón. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: han sobrado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  5. Wrong: De niño, sobró tiempo antes de salir todos los días. — Right: De niño, sobraba tiempo antes de salir todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (sobraba), not the preterite. The preterite (sobró) is for one finished action.

Quiz: test yourself

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

  1. Complete the sentence: ___ comida después de la cena. (present tense) A. sobra B. sobro C. sobras D. sobramos

  2. Complete the sentence: Ayer, ___ tres sillas en el salón. (preterite) A. sobré B. sobraste C. sobró D. sobraron

  3. Complete the sentence: Antes, ___ tiempo antes de salir. (imperfect) A. sobrábamos B. sobro C. sobraba D. sobrabas

  4. Complete the sentence: Mañana, ___ dinero a fin de mes. (future) A. sobraremos B. sobrará C. sobraré D. sobrarás

  5. Complete the sentence: Si lloviera, ___ comida después de la cena. (conditional) A. sobraría B. sobrarías C. sobraríamos D. sobro

  6. Complete the sentence: Espero que ___ tres sillas en el salón. (present subjunctive) A. sobre B. sobres C. sobro D. sobren

  7. Complete the sentence: Si ___ tiempo antes de salir, todo cambiaría. (imperfect subjunctive, -ra form) A. sobráramos B. sobro C. sobrara D. sobraras

  8. Complete the sentence: ___ dinero a fin de mes. (present perfect) A. hemos sobrado B. ha sobrado C. he sobrado D. has sobrado

  9. Which is the past participle of sobrar, used with haber in the perfect tenses? A. sobrado B. sobrando C. sobro D. sobré

  10. Which is the gerund of sobrar, used with estar for the progressive? A. sobrado B. sobro C. sobré D. sobrando

Answer key

  1. sobra — The él/ella/Ud. present tense of sobrar is sobra.
  2. sobraron — The ellos/ellas/Uds. preterite of sobrar is sobraron.
  3. sobraba — The él/ella/Ud. imperfect of sobrar is sobraba.
  4. sobrará — The él/ella/Ud. future of sobrar is sobrará.
  5. sobraría — The él/ella/Ud. conditional of sobrar is sobraría.
  6. sobren — The ellos/ellas/Uds. present subjunctive of sobrar is sobren.
  7. sobrara — The él/ella/Ud. imperfect subjunctive, -ra form of sobrar is sobrara.
  8. ha sobrado — The él/ella/Ud. present perfect of sobrar is ha sobrado.
  9. sobrado — The past participle of sobrar is sobrado: he sobrado. The gerund sobrando is used with estar instead.
  10. sobrando — The gerund of sobrar is sobrando: estoy sobrando. The participle sobrado is used with haber instead.

Frequently asked questions

What does sobrar mean in English?

Sobrar means to be left over, to be too much. It is used in sentences such as Sobra comida después de la cena — There is food left over after dinner. The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

Is sobrar regular or irregular?

Sobrar is a fully regular -ar verb, so every tense follows the standard endings for its class. Once you know the regular pattern, you can produce every form on this page, including sobra in the present and sobró in the preterite.

What is the difference between sobrar and faltar?

Sobrar means to be left over, to be too much, while faltar means to be missing, its opposite. They are easy to confuse because they appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use sobrar when you mean to be left over, to be too much, as in Sobra comida después de la cena, and use faltar for to be missing, its opposite. When in doubt, check the object of the sentence — it usually shows which verb fits.

How do I talk about the past with sobrar?

It depends on the kind of past. For one finished event, use the preterite: Sobraron tres sillas en el salón. For background in the past, use the imperfect: Sobraba tiempo antes de salir. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Han sobrado tres sillas en el salón.

How do I practise sobrar?

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

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