Tomar Conjugation 101: Conjugate Tomar in Spanish

Tomar is a basic verb that you’ll use in plenty of daily-life situations. Therefore, in this guide, you’ll learn the most common conjugations of ‘tomar’. Here is a summary of what we’ll cover:

Take Note: There are many tenses in Spanish. However, we don’t use them all. Many are simply old and outdated. As a result, in this guide, you’ll only learn the tenses you need to know to become fluent in Spanish. 

Overview of Tomar

Verb CharacteristicProperty
Verb Type-AR
IrregularNo
InfinitiveTomar
Gerund (Present Participle) FormTomando
Past Participle FormTomado
SynonymsAgarrar, beber, coger (only Castilian Spanish)

Depending on the sentence, tomar can be translated as ‘to take’, ‘to drink’, or ‘to have’. For simplicity, I’ll only use the one translation in the conjugation examples included in the tables below. You can check when to apply the other meanings in the Uses & Examples section.

Indicative Conjugations of Tomar

Present tense

In the present tense, tomar is used to talk about the things people take or drink. For example: siempre tomo el camión de las 7.

PersonConjugationTranslation
YoTomoI take
TomasYou take
Él / Ella
Usted
TomaHe/She takes
You (formal) take
NosotrosTomamosWe take
VosotrosTomáisYou take
Ellos / Ellas
Ustedes
TomanThey take
You (plural) take

Preterite tense

The preterite conjugations of tomar are regular. In the preterite tense, ‘tomar’ refers to things or medication people took or drinks they had at a specific moment in the past. For instance: ¿quién se tomó mi café?

PersonConjugationTranslation
YoToméI took
TomasteYou took
Él / Ella
Usted
TomóHe/She took
You (formal) took
NosotrosTomamosWe took
VosotrosTomasteisYou took
Ellos / Ellas
Ustedes
TomaronThey took
You (plural) took

Imperfect tense

 The imperfect tense of tomar describes the things you used to take or drink repeatedly or at an unspecified moment in the past. Mis hermanos tomaban un vaso de leche antes de dormir. The imperfect conjugations of ‘tomar’ can be translated as ‘used to take’ or ‘took’.

PersonConjugationTranslation
YoTomabaI took
I used to take
TomabasYou took
You used to take
Él / Ella
Usted
TomabaHe/She took
He/She used to take

You (formal) took
You (formal) used to take
NosotrosTomábamosWe took
We used to take
VosotrosTomabaisYou took
You used to take
Ellos / Ellas
Ustedes
TomabanThey took
They used to take

You (plural) took
You (plural) used to take

Near future

 The near or immediate future of tomar is used to talk about things you intend to take or drinks you want to have soon in the future. For example: apenas voy a tomar el camión. The near future is formed with ir (present) + a + tomar and can be translated as “going to take”.

PersonConjugationTranslation
YoVoy a tomarI’m going to take
Vas a tomarYou’re going to take
Él / Ella
Usted
Va a tomarHe/She is going to take
You (formal) are going to take
NosotrosVamos a tomarWe’re going to take
VosotrosVais a tomarYou’re going to take
Ellos / Ellas
Ustedes
Van a tomarThey’re going to take
You (plural) are going to take

Future simple tense

Tomar in the future tense expresses that someone will take something or will have a drink at some point in the future. Creo que tomaremos el siguiente tren.

PersonConjugationTranslation
YoTomaréI will take
TomarásYou will take
Él / Ella
Usted
TomaráHe/She will take
You (formal) will take
NosotrosTomaremosWe will take
VosotrosTomaréisYou (formal) will take
Ellos / Ellas
Ustedes
TomaránThey will take
You (plural) will take

Conditional tense

 The conditional forms of tomar allow you to express that someone would take or drink something if a given circumstance is fulfilled. For example: si yo fuera tú, no tomaría ese camión.

PersonConjugationTranslation
YoTomaríaI would take
TomaríasYou would take
Él / Ella
Usted
TomaríaHe/She would take
You (formal) would take
NosotrosTomaríamosWe would take
VosotrosTomaríaisYou would take
Ellos / Ellas
Ustedes
TomaríanThey would take
You (plural) would take

Present perfect tense

When using the present perfect tense of ‘tomar’, you’re referring to things or drinks you have or haven’t taken. No nos hemos tomado la medicina. With this verb, the formula for the present perfect in Spanish is: ‘haber’ in the present tense + tomado.

PersonConjugationTranslation
YoHe tomadoI have taken
Has tomadoYou have taken
Él / Ella
Usted
Ha tomadoHe/She has taken
You (formal) have taken
NosotrosHemos tomadoWe have taken
VosotrosHabéis tomadoYou have taken
Ellos / Ellas
Ustedes
Han tomadoThey have taken
You (plural) have taken

Past perfect

The past perfect of ‘tomar’ allows you to explain that someone took something before some other reference point in the past. Cuando llegué, Jodie ya había tomado tu celular. The formula for conjugating to the past perfect tense is haber (imperfect form) + tomado (tomar’s past participle form).

PersonConjugationTranslation
YoHabía tomadoI had taken
Habías tomadoYou had taken
Él / Ella
Usted
Había tomadoHe/She had taken
You (formal) had taken
NosotrosHabíamos tomadoWe had taken
VosotrosHabíais tomadoYou had taken
Ellos / Ellas
Ustedes
Habían tomadoThey had taken
You (plural) had taken

Future perfect

Tomar’s future perfect conjugations are formed by conjugating haber to the future tense and adding tomado (the past participle of ‘tomar’). With the future perfect, ‘tomar’ communicates that someone will take something by or before a certain time in the future. For example: a estas horas, Stephie ya habrá tomado su avión.

PersonConjugationTranslation
YoHabré tomadoI will have taken
Habrás tomadoYou will have taken
Él / Ella
Usted
Habrá tomadoHe/She will have taken
You (formal) will have taken
NosotrosHabremos tomadoWe will have taken
VosotrosHabréis tomadoYou will have taken
Ellos / Ellas
Ustedes
Habrán tomadoThey will have taken
You (plural) will have taken

Conditional perfect

The conditional perfect conjugations of ‘tomar’ are used to talk about things you would have taken if a past condition had been met. For instance, de haber podido, habríamos tomado el camión de las 9.

PersonConjugationTranslation
YoHabría tomadoI would have taken
Habrías tomadoYou would have taken
Él / Ella
Usted
Habría tomadoHe/She would have taken
You (formal) would have taken
NosotrosHabríamos tomadoWe would have taken
VosotrosHabríais tomadoYou would have taken
Ellos / Ellas
Ustedes
Habrían tomadoThey would have taken
You (plural) would have taken

Progressive tenses

The progressive tenses forms of ‘tomar’ are used to express that someone is taking something at the moment of speaking. For example: mamá, ¿qué estás tomando? The progressive tenses are formed with the structure: estar (conjugated) + gerund form of tomar (tomando).

Progressive TenseFormulaTranslation Example
PresentEstar (present) + tomandoI am taking
PreteriteEstar (preterite) + tomandoYou were taking
ImperfectEstar (imperfect) + tomandoHe was taking
FutureEstar (future) + tomandoWe will be taking
ConditionalEstar (conditional) + tomandoThey would be taking
You (plural) would be taking

Tomar Subjunctive Conjugations

In Spanish, the subjunctive is used to talk about wishes, hypothetical situations or express uncertainty. The conjugation charts below show the subjunctive forms of tomar. 

Present subjunctive

Tomar to the present subjunctive allows you to express wishes, suggestions and expectations about what you want people to take. For instance: te sugiero que no tomes de esa botella.

PersonConjugationTranslation
YoTomeI take
TomesYou take
Él / Ella
Usted
TomeHe/She takes
You (formal) take
NosotrosTomemosWe take
VosotrosToméisYou take
Ellos / Ellas
Ustedes
TomenThey take
You (plural) take

Present perfect subjunctive

Haber in the present subjunctive + tomado is the structure you should use to build the present perfect subjunctive form of ‘tomar’. With this tense, ‘tomar’ implies uncertainty about the things people have taken. ¿Quién crees que haya tomado tu cartera?

PersonConjugationTranslation
YoHaya tomadoI have taken
Hayas tomadoYou have taken
Él / Ella
Usted
Haya tomadoHe/She has taken
You (formal) have taken
NosotrosHayamos tomadoWe have taken
VosotrosHayáis tomadoYou have taken
Ellos / Ellas
Ustedes
Hayan tomadoThey have taken
You (plural) have taken

Imperfect subjunctive

The imperfect subjunctive of ‘tomar’ can be used to talk about things we wished someone took or to express uncertainty in the past. ¿Qué suéter querías que tomara?

The imperfect subjunctive has two conjugation models depending on which type of Spanish you’re using:

Latin American Spanish version

PersonConjugationTranslation
YoTomaraI took
TomarasYou took
Él / Ella
Usted
TomaraHe/She took
You (formal) took
NosotrosTomáramosWe took
Ellos / Ellas
Ustedes
TomaranThey took
You (plural) took

Note: The table above doesn’t include the conjugation for vosotros because this pronoun is not used in Latin American Spanish.

Castilian Spanish version

PersonConjugationTranslation
YoTomaseI took
TomasesYou took
Él / Ella
Usted
TomaseHe/She took
You (formal) took
NosotrosTomásemosWe took
VosotrosTomaseisYou took
Ellos / Ellas
Ustedes
TomasenThey took
You (plural) took

Past perfect subjunctive

In the past perfect subjunctive, tomar communicates that someone would have taken something if a past circumstance was met. These conjugations can also be used to talk about wishes or express regret about things you didn’t take. ¡No inventes, hubieras tomado otro camión!

PersonConjugationTranslation
YoHubiera tomadoI had taken
Hubieras tomadoYou had taken
Él / Ella
Usted
Hubiera tomadoHe/She had taken
You (formal) had taken
NosotrosHubiéramos tomadoWe had taken
VosotrosHubierais tomadoYou had taken
Ellos / Ellas
Ustedes
Hubieran tomadoThey had taken
You (plural) had taken

Tomar Imperative Conjugations

The Spanish imperative mood is used to instruct people on what to do (affirmative imperative) and what not to do (negative imperative).

Affirmative commands

To order people to drink or take something, you must use the affirmative imperative of ‘tomar’. Tómate las pastillas. 

PersonConjugationTranslation
TomaTake
UstedTomeTake
VosotrosTomadTake
UstedesTomenTake

Negative commands

Use the negative imperative to tell people what not to take or drink. For example: no tomen las cosas de su hermana.

PersonConjugationTranslation
No tomesDon’t take
UstedNo tomeDon’t take
VosotrosNo toméisDon’t take
UstedesNo tomenDon’t take

Meanings of Tomar & Examples

With the conjugations of tomar in mind, it’s time for you to learn the different applications of this verb. 

  1. As a synonym of ‘to take’ or ‘to grab’

[Tomar conjugated] + [complement]

¿Quién tomó mis llaves? 
Who took my keys?

¿Ya te has tomado el medicamento?
Have you taken the medicine already?

Ojalá te tomaras las cosas más en serio. 
I wish you took things more seriously. 

Tobey y James no tomaron la noticia muy bien. 
Tobey and James didn’t take the news very well. 

Take Note: Like ‘to take’, the verb tomar has multiple applications in Spanish. Some of the most common contexts where you can use this verb is when referring to grabbing objects, making decisions, taking the bus or meds. 

  1. Referring to the activity of drinking

¿Qué desea tomar?
What do you wish to drink?

Cuando éramos niños, mi papá tomaba mucho. 
When we were kids, dad used to drink a lot. 

Perla no quiere que los niños tomen más agua. 
Perla doesn’t want the kids to drink more water. 

Download Tomar Conjugation Tables & Uses Cheat sheets

I’ve created a PDF for you to download containing all of the conjugation tables, verb characteristics, and uses so you can study it at your own pace!

Practice Quiz: Tomar Conjugation

Take our ‘tomar’ conjugation practice quiz to put your skills to the test and expand your working knowledge of tenses with this verb.

Daniela Sanchez

¡Hola! Soy Daniela Sanchez, I've been studying Spanish professionally as well as teaching it in Mexico and online for over 10 years. I’ve taught Spanish to a wide array of foreigners from many backgrounds. Over the years, I've made it my mission to work hard on refining many challenging to understand grammar topics to make my students' learning experiences easier, faster and more enjoyable. Read More About Me

Recent Posts

Pin It on Pinterest