Tomar Conjugation in Spanish, Translation, Examples

The verb tomar in Spanish is the equivalent of the English verb to take, but it can also mean to drink. Tomar is a regular -ar verb, so it follows a simple conjugation pattern, like the verbs hablar, necesitar, and desear.

In this article you can learn about different ways to use the verb tomar. You can also learn how to conjugate tomar in the most commonly used verb tenses: the present, past, conditional, and future indicative, the present and past subjunctive, and the imperative, as well as other verb forms like the gerund and past participle.

Using the Verb Tomar

The verb tomar is a very frequently used verb, and it can be used in several different ways. Below are some examples:

To take or grab something: Él tomó las llaves y se fue. (He took the keys and left.)
To take a hold of something: Toma mi mano para cruzar la calle. (Hold my hand to cross the street.)
To drink something: Ella toma vino todos los días. (She drinks wine every day.)
To take or catch a means of transportation: Yo tomo el autobús al trabajo. (I take the bus to work.)
To take medicine: Carlos toma pastillas para la presión alta. (Carlos takes pills for his high blood pressure.)

There are also many other common phrases involving the verb tomar, such as tomar el sol (to sunbathe), tomar bien las noticias (take the news well), tomar fotos (to take pictures), and tomar asiento (to take a seat).

Present Indicative

Yo	tomo	Yo tomo vino con la cena.	I drink wine with dinner.
Tú	tomas	Tú tomas el tren por la mañana.	You take the train in the morning.
Usted/él/ella	toma	Ella toma asiento en la oficina.	She takes a seat in the office.
Nosotros	tomamos	Nosotros tomamos fotos durante el viaje.	We take pictures during the trip.
Vosotros	tomáis	Vosotros tomáis las llaves del carro.	You take the car keys.
Ustedes/ellos/ellas	toman	Ellas toman vitaminas para estar saludables.	They take vitamins to be healthy.

Preterite Indicative

When conjugating the preterite, don't forget to include an accent mark in the first person singular (yo) and third person singular (él, ella, usted) conjugations.

Yo	tomé	Yo tomé vino con la cena.	I drank wine with dinner.
Tú	tomaste	Tú tomaste el tren por la mañana.	You took the train in the morning.
Usted/él/ella	tomó	Ella tomó asiento en la oficina.	She took a seat in the office.
Nosotros	tomamos	Nosotros tomamos fotos durante el viaje.	We took pictures during the trip.
Vosotros	tomasteis	Vosotros tomasteis las llaves del carro.	You took the car keys.
Ustedes/ellos/ellas	tomaron	Ellas tomaron vitaminas para estar saludables.	They took vitamins to be healthy.

Imperfect Indicative

In the imperfect tense, only the first person plural conjugation (nosotros) carries an accent mark. Remember that the imperfect can be translated to English as "was taking" or "used to take."

Yo	tomaba	Yo tomaba vino con la cena.	I used to drink wine with dinner.
Tú	tomabas	Tú tomabas el tren por la mañana.	You used to take the train in the morning.
Usted/él/ella	tomaba	Ella tomaba asiento en la oficina.	She used to take a seat in the office.
Nosotros	tomábamos	Nosotros tomábamos fotos durante el viaje.	We used to take pictures during the trip.
Vosotros	tomabais	Vosotros tomabais las llaves del carro.	You used to take the car keys.
Ustedes/ellos/ellas	tomaban	Ellas tomaban vitaminas para estar saludables.	They used to take vitamins to be healthy.

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Future Indicative

Regarding accent marks, the future indicative tense is the opposite of the imperfect, since in the future tense all of the conjugations have an accent mark except the first person plural (nosotros).

Yo	tomaré	Yo tomaré vino con la cena.	I will drink wine with dinner.
Tú	tomarás	Tú tomarás el tren por la mañana.	You will take the train in the morning.
Usted/él/ella	tomará	Ella tomará asiento en la oficina.	She will take a seat in the office.
Nosotros	tomaremos	Nosotros tomaremos fotos durante el viaje.	We will take pictures during the trip.
Vosotros	tomaréis	Vosotros tomaréis las llaves del carro.	You will take the car keys.
Ustedes/ellos/ellas	tomarán	Ellas tomarán vitaminas para estar saludables.	They will take vitamins to be healthy.

Periphrastic Future Indicative

The periphrastic future uses the present tense conjugation of the verb ir (to go), the preposition a, and the infinitive verb tomar, and it is usually translated to English as "going to take."

Yo	voy a tomar	Yo voy a tomar vino con la cena.	I am going to drink wine with dinner.
Tú	vas a tomar	Tú vas a tomar el tren por la mañana.	You are going to take the train in the morning.
Usted/él/ella	va a tomar	Ella va a tomar asiento en la oficina.	She is going to take a seat in the office.
Nosotros	vamos a tomar	Nosotros vamos a tomar fotos durante el viaje.	We are going to take pictures during the trip.
Vosotros	vais a tomar	Vosotros vais a tomar las llaves del carro.	You are going to take the car keys.
Ustedes/ellos/ellas	van a tomar	Ellas van a tomar vitaminas para estar saludables.	They are going to take vitamins to be healthy.

Present Progressive/Gerund Form

To talk about ongoing actions in the present, you can use the present progressive, which is formed with the verb estar and the present participle, also called the gerund.

Present Progressive of Tomar

está tomando

Ella está tomando asiento en la oficina.

She is taking a seat in the office.

Past Participle

To form perfect tenses like the present perfect you need the verb haber followed by the past participle.

Present Perfect of Tomar

ha tomado

Ella ha tomado asiento en la oficina.

She has taken a seat in the office.

Conditional Indicative

Notice that all of the conditional conjugations include the vowel combination ía, where the i has an accent mark.

Yo	tomaría	Yo tomaría vino con la cena si pudiera.	I would drink wine with dinner if I could.
Tú	tomarías	Tú tomarías el tren por la mañana si te diera tiempo.	You would take the train in the morning if you had time.
Usted/él/ella	tomaría	Ella tomaría asiento en la oficina, pero no hay sillas.	She would take a seat in the office, but there are no chairs.
Nosotros	tomaríamos	Nosotros tomaríamos fotos durante el viaje si tuviéramos una buena cámara.	We would take pictures during the trip if we had a good camera.
Vosotros	tomaríais	Vosotros tomaríais las llaves del carro si pudierais conducir.	You would take the car keys if you could drive.
Ustedes/ellos/ellas	tomarían	Ellas tomarían vitaminas para estar saludables, pero se les olvida.	They would take vitamins to be healthy, but they forget.

Present Subjunctive

Que yo	tome	El mesero sugiere que yo tome vino con la cena.	The waiter suggests that I drink wine with dinner.
Que tú	tomes	Tu esposo espera que tú tomes el tren por la mañana.	Your husband hopes that you take the train in the morning.
Que usted/él/ella	tome	Daniel recomienda que ella tome asiento en la oficina.	Daniel recommends that she take a seat in the office.
Que nosotros	tomemos	Paco espera que nosotros tomemos fotos durante el viaje.	Paco hopes that we take pictures during the trip.
Que vosotros	toméis	Rosa quiere que vosotros toméis las llaves del carro.	Rosa wants you to take the car keys.
Que ustedes/ellos/ellas	tomen	La doctora espera que ellas tomen vitaminas para estar saludables.	The doctor hopes that they take vitamins to be healthy.

Imperfect Subjunctive

The following are the two different ways in which you can conjugate the imperfect subjunctive:

Option 1

Que yo	tomara	El mesero sugirió que yo tomara vino con la cena.	The waiter suggested that I drink wine with dinner.
Que tú	tomaras	Tu esposo esperaba que tú tomaras el tren por la mañana.	Your husband hoped that you would take the train in the morning.
Que usted/él/ella	tomara	Daniel recomendó que ella tomara asiento en la oficina.	Daniel recommended that she take a seat in the office.
Que nosotros	tomáramos	Paco esperaba que nosotros tomáramos fotos durante el viaje.	Paco hoped that we would take pictures during the trip.
Que vosotros	tomarais	Rosa quería que vosotros tomarais las llaves del carro.	Rosa wanted you to take the car keys.
Que ustedes/ellos/ellas	tomaran	La doctora esperaba que ellas tomaran vitaminas para estar saludables.	The doctor hoped that they would take vitamins to be healthy.

Option 2

Que yo	tomase	El mesero sugirió que yo tomase vino con la cena.	The waiter suggested that I drink wine with dinner.
Que tú	tomases	Tu esposo esperaba que tú tomases el tren por la mañana.	Your husband hoped that you would take the train in the morning.
Que usted/él/ella	tomase	Daniel recomendó que ella tomase asiento en la oficina.	Daniel recommended that she take a seat in the office.
Que nosotros	tomásemos	Paco esperaba que nosotros tomásemos fotos durante el viaje.	Paco hoped that we would take pictures during the trip.
Que vosotros	tomaseis	Rosa quería que vosotros tomaseis las llaves del carro.	Rosa wanted you to take the car keys.
Que ustedes/ellos/ellas	tomasen	La doctora esperaba que ellas tomasen vitaminas para estar saludables.	The doctor hoped that they would take vitamins to be healthy.

Imperative

There are both positive and negative commands in the imperative mood.

Positive Commands

Tú	toma	¡Toma el tren por la mañana!	Take the train in the morning!
Usted	tome	¡Tome asiento en la oficina!	Take a seat in the office!
Nosotros	tomemos	¡Tomemos fotos durante el viaje!	Let's take pictures during the trip!
Vosotros	tomad	¡Tomad las llaves del carro!	Take the car keys!
Ustedes	tomen	¡Tomen vitaminas para estar saludables!	Take vitamins to be healthy!

Negative Commands

Tú	no tomes	¡No tomes el tren por la mañana!	Don't take the train in the morning!
Usted	no tome	¡No tome asiento en la oficina!	Don't take a seat in the office!
Nosotros	no tomemos	¡No tomemos fotos durante el viaje!	Let's not take pictures during the trip!
Vosotros	no toméis	¡No toméis las llaves del carro!	Don't take the car keys!
Ustedes	no tomen	¡Tomen vitaminas para estar saludables!	Don't take vitamins to be healthy!

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Meiners, Jocelly. "Spanish Verb Tomar Conjugation, Usage, and Examples." ThoughtCo, Apr. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/tomar-conjugation-in-spanish-4783618. Meiners, Jocelly. (2023, April 5). Spanish Verb Tomar Conjugation, Usage, and Examples. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/tomar-conjugation-in-spanish-4783618 Meiners, Jocelly. "Spanish Verb Tomar Conjugation, Usage, and Examples." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/tomar-conjugation-in-spanish-4783618 (accessed May 9, 2024).