Coger Conjugation | How to Conjugate Coger in Spanish

Coger means “to take,” “to catch,” “to pick up,” or “to get.” You will learn cojo, the coj- subjunctive family, regular past/future forms, commands, and major regional usage differences.

Coger conjugation at a glance

Verb type: Irregular. RAE gives cojo in first-person present, while the rest of the present uses cog-. Present subjunctive and related commands use coj-: coja, cojamos, cojáis.

Coger gerund, past participle, and infinitive

The infinitive names the verb, the gerund supports progressive constructions, and the past participle combines with haber in compound forms. The participle cogido remains invariant in those compounds.

Form	Spanish	Natural English guide
Infinitive	coger	to take / catch / pick up
Gerund	cogiendo	taking / catching / picking up
Past participle	cogido	taken / caught / picked up

Coger meaning and essential uses

Coger is highly polysemous. RAE records neutral senses including taking or grabbing something, collecting something, catching someone or something, occupying a place, acquiring something, understanding, and taking transport.

A major regional warning is essential: RAE marks a vulgar sexual meaning in Central America, Argentina, Bolivia, Mexico, Paraguay, the Dominican Republic, Uruguay, and Venezuela. In those regions, alternatives such as tomar or agarrar may be safer for neutral “take / grab.”

Coger irregular conjugation patterns

Present indicative is cojo, coges, coge, cogemos, cogéis, cogen. The g → j alternation appears before o in cojo and before a in the present-subjunctive family.

Preterite, imperfect, future, and conditional are otherwise regular: cogí, cogía, cogeré, cogería. The gerund is cogiendo and the participle is cogido.

Coger indicative and periphrastic conjugations

Coger present tense conjugation

Present indicative (el presente de indicativo) — Use it for current situations, habits, facts, and contextually near-future reference. The first-person singular is cojo; the remaining present forms keep cog-.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	cojo	I take / catch / pick up
Tú — you, singular informal	coges	you take / catch / pick up
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	coge	he / she takes / catches / picks up; you take / catch / pick up (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	cogemos	we take / catch / pick up
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	cogéis	you take / catch / pick up (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	cogen	they take / catch / pick up; you take / catch / pick up (plural)

• Cojo el autobús a las ocho. — I take the bus at eight.

Coger preterite conjugation

Preterite (el pretérito perfecto simple / pretérito indefinido) — Use it for completed or bounded past events. The table uses the verified paradigm.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	cogí	I took / caught / picked up
Tú — you, singular informal	cogiste	you took / caught / picked up
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	cogió	he / she took / caught / picked up; you took / caught / picked up (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	cogimos	we took / caught / picked up
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	cogisteis	you took / caught / picked up (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	cogieron	they took / caught / picked up; you took / caught / picked up (plural)

• Ayer cogí un taxi. — Yesterday I took a taxi.

Coger imperfect conjugation

Imperfect (el pretérito imperfecto) — Use it for habitual, descriptive, background, or ongoing past situations. Form it with the appropriate form of haber plus invariant cogido.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	cogía	I used to take / catch / pick up / was taking / catching / picking up
Tú — you, singular informal	cogías	you used to take / catch / pick up / were taking / catching / picking up
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	cogía	he / she used to take / catch / pick up / was taking / catching / picking up; you used to take / catch / pick up / were taking / catching / picking up (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	cogíamos	we used to take / catch / pick up / were taking / catching / picking up
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	cogíais	you used to take / catch / pick up / were taking / catching / picking up (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	cogían	they used to take / catch / pick up / were taking / catching / picking up; you used to take / catch / pick up / were taking / catching / picking up (plural)

• De niño cogía flores del jardín. — As a child, I used to pick flowers from the garden.

Coger present progressive

Present progressive — This verbal periphrasis focuses on an action or process in progress. Form it with present estar plus cogiendo.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	estoy cogiendo	I am taking / catching / picking up
Tú — you, singular informal	estás cogiendo	you are taking / catching / picking up
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	está cogiendo	he / she is taking / catching / picking up; you are taking / catching / picking up (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	estamos cogiendo	we are taking / catching / picking up
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	estáis cogiendo	you are taking / catching / picking up (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	están cogiendo	they are taking / catching / picking up; you are taking / catching / picking up (plural)

• Estoy cogiendo unos libros de la mesa. — I am picking up some books from the table.

Coger near future conjugation

Near future — This verbal periphrasis expresses an intention, plan, or expected event. Form it with present ir + a + coger.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	voy a coger	I am going to take / catch / pick up
Tú — you, singular informal	vas a coger	you are going to take / catch / pick up
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	va a coger	he / she is going to take / catch / pick up; you are going to take / catch / pick up (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	vamos a coger	we are going to take / catch / pick up
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	vais a coger	you are going to take / catch / pick up (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	van a coger	they are going to take / catch / pick up; you are going to take / catch / pick up (plural)

• Voy a coger el tren de las nueve. — I am going to catch the nine o’clock train.

Coger future tense conjugation

Simple future (el futuro simple) — Use it for future reference and, where useful, probability. The table uses the verified paradigm.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	cogeré	I will take / catch / pick up
Tú — you, singular informal	cogerás	you will take / catch / pick up
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	cogerá	he / she will take / catch / pick up; you will take / catch / pick up (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	cogeremos	we will take / catch / pick up
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	cogeréis	you will take / catch / pick up (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	cogerán	they will take / catch / pick up; you will take / catch / pick up (plural)

• Cogeremos un taxi después. — We will take a taxi later.

Coger conditional conjugation

Conditional (el condicional simple) — Use it for hypothetical outcomes, softened statements, or related conditional meanings. The table uses the verified paradigm.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	cogería	I would take / catch / pick up
Tú — you, singular informal	cogerías	you would take / catch / pick up
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	cogería	he / she would take / catch / pick up; you would take / catch / pick up (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	cogeríamos	we would take / catch / pick up
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	cogeríais	you would take / catch / pick up (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	cogerían	they would take / catch / pick up; you would take / catch / pick up (plural)

• Cogería esa ruta si fuera más rápida. — I would take that route if it were faster.

Coger present perfect conjugation

Present perfect (el pretérito perfecto compuesto) — Use it for completed events connected to a present reference frame; regional distribution varies. Form it with the appropriate form of haber plus invariant cogido.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	he cogido	I have taken / caught / picked up
Tú — you, singular informal	has cogido	you have taken / caught / picked up
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	ha cogido	he / she has taken / caught / picked up; you have taken / caught / picked up (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	hemos cogido	we have taken / caught / picked up
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	habéis cogido	you have taken / caught / picked up (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	han cogido	they have taken / caught / picked up; you have taken / caught / picked up (plural)

• He cogido las llaves. — I have picked up the keys.

Coger past perfect conjugation

Past perfect (el pretérito pluscuamperfecto) — Use it for an event completed before another past reference point. Form it with the appropriate form of haber plus invariant cogido.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	había cogido	I had taken / caught / picked up
Tú — you, singular informal	habías cogido	you had taken / caught / picked up
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	había cogido	he / she had taken / caught / picked up; you had taken / caught / picked up (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	habíamos cogido	we had taken / caught / picked up
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	habíais cogido	you had taken / caught / picked up (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	habían cogido	they had taken / caught / picked up; you had taken / caught / picked up (plural)

• Ya habíamos cogido el tren cuando llamaste. — We had already caught the train when you called.

Coger future perfect conjugation

Future perfect (el futuro perfecto) — Use it for an event expected to be completed before a future reference point. Form it with the appropriate form of haber plus invariant cogido.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	habré cogido	I will have taken / caught / picked up
Tú — you, singular informal	habrás cogido	you will have taken / caught / picked up
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	habrá cogido	he / she will have taken / caught / picked up; you will have taken / caught / picked up (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	habremos cogido	we will have taken / caught / picked up
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	habréis cogido	you will have taken / caught / picked up (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	habrán cogido	they will have taken / caught / picked up; you will have taken / caught / picked up (plural)

• Para entonces habrán cogido todos sus equipajes. — By then they will have picked up all their luggage.

Coger conditional perfect conjugation

Conditional perfect (el condicional compuesto) — Use it for a hypothetical completed outcome. Form it with the appropriate form of haber plus invariant cogido.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	habría cogido	I would have taken / caught / picked up
Tú — you, singular informal	habrías cogido	you would have taken / caught / picked up
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	habría cogido	he / she would have taken / caught / picked up; you would have taken / caught / picked up (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	habríamos cogido	we would have taken / caught / picked up
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	habríais cogido	you would have taken / caught / picked up (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	habrían cogido	they would have taken / caught / picked up; you would have taken / caught / picked up (plural)

• Habría cogido un taxi con más prisa. — I would have taken a taxi if I had been in more of a hurry.

Coger subjunctive conjugations

Coger present subjunctive conjugation

Present subjunctive (el presente de subjuntivo) — Use it in subordinate environments involving wishes, influence, emotion, doubt or denial, evaluation, necessity, possibility, or non-specific reference. Present subjunctive uses coj- throughout: coja, cojas, cojamos, cojáis, cojan.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	coja	that I take / catch / pick up
Tú — you, singular informal	cojas	that you take / catch / pick up
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	coja	that he / she take / catch / pick up; that you take / catch / pick up (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	cojamos	that we take / catch / pick up
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	cojáis	that you take / catch / pick up (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	cojan	that they take / catch / pick up; that you take / catch / pick up (plural)

• Quiero que cojas el autobús temprano. — I want you to take the bus early.

Coger imperfect subjunctive conjugation

Imperfect subjunctive (el imperfecto de subjuntivo) — The main table uses the -ra series. The accepted -se series is also valid in many contexts and is demonstrated after the table. Form it with the appropriate form of haber plus invariant cogido.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	cogiera	that I took / caught / picked up
Tú — you, singular informal	cogieras	that you took / caught / picked up
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	cogiera	that he / she took / caught / picked up; that you took / caught / picked up (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	cogiéramos	that we took / caught / picked up
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	cogierais	that you took / caught / picked up (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	cogieran	that they took / caught / picked up; that you took / caught / picked up (plural)

• Preferían que cogiéramos un taxi. — They preferred that we take a taxi.
• Era mejor que cogieses las llaves antes de salir. — It was better for you to pick up the keys before leaving.

Coger future subjunctive conjugation

Future subjunctive (el futuro de subjuntivo) — Rare in modern everyday Spanish. It survives mainly in formal, legal, proverbial, literary, or historical contexts. These rare reference forms belong mainly to formal, legal, proverbial, literary, or historical registers.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	cogiere	if / when I should take / catch / pick up
Tú — you, singular informal	cogieres	if / when you should take / catch / pick up
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	cogiere	if / when he / she should take / catch / pick up; if / when you should take / catch / pick up (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	cogiéremos	if / when we should take / catch / pick up
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	cogiereis	if / when you should take / catch / pick up (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	cogieren	if / when they should take / catch / pick up; if / when you should take / catch / pick up (plural)

• Quien cogiere material de esta sala deberá registrarlo. — Whoever should take material from this room must register it.

Coger present perfect subjunctive conjugation

Present perfect subjunctive (el pretérito perfecto de subjuntivo) — Use it when a completed event appears inside a present- or future-oriented subjunctive environment. Form it with the appropriate form of haber plus invariant cogido.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	haya cogido	that I have taken / caught / picked up
Tú — you, singular informal	hayas cogido	that you have taken / caught / picked up
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	haya cogido	that he / she has taken / caught / picked up; that you have taken / caught / picked up (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	hayamos cogido	that we have taken / caught / picked up
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	hayáis cogido	that you have taken / caught / picked up (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	hayan cogido	that they have taken / caught / picked up; that you have taken / caught / picked up (plural)

• Me alegra que hayas cogido el último tren. — I am glad that you caught the last train.

Coger past perfect subjunctive conjugation

Past perfect subjunctive (el pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo) — The main table uses hubiera; hubiese is an accepted auxiliary alternative in many contexts and is demonstrated after the table. Form it with the appropriate form of haber plus invariant cogido.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	hubiera cogido	that I had taken / caught / picked up
Tú — you, singular informal	hubieras cogido	that you had taken / caught / picked up
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	hubiera cogido	that he / she had taken / caught / picked up; that you had taken / caught / picked up (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	hubiéramos cogido	that we had taken / caught / picked up
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	hubierais cogido	that you had taken / caught / picked up (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	hubieran cogido	that they had taken / caught / picked up; that you had taken / caught / picked up (plural)

• Si hubiera cogido otro autobús, habría llegado tarde. — If I had taken another bus, I would have arrived late.
• Si hubieses cogido las entradas antes, habrías pagado menos. — If you had gotten the tickets earlier, you would have paid less.

Coger future perfect subjunctive conjugation

Future perfect subjunctive (el futuro perfecto de subjuntivo) — Rare in modern everyday Spanish. Treat it as a formal or historical reference form, not an everyday conversational target. Form it with the appropriate form of haber plus invariant cogido.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	hubiere cogido	if / when I should have taken / caught / picked up
Tú — you, singular informal	hubieres cogido	if / when you should have taken / caught / picked up
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	hubiere cogido	if / when he / she should have taken / caught / picked up; if / when you should have taken / caught / picked up (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	hubiéremos cogido	if / when we should have taken / caught / picked up
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	hubiereis cogido	if / when you should have taken / caught / picked up (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	hubieren cogido	if / when they should have taken / caught / picked up; if / when you should have taken / caught / picked up (plural)

• Si hubieren cogido documentos adicionales, deberán devolverlos. — If they should have taken additional documents, they must return them.

Coger imperative and commands

Commands address another person directly. The nosotros/nosotras row is a present-subjunctive form used with exhortative “let’s…” value.

Coger affirmative commands

Use the verified affirmative command forms for direct instructions when the target meaning supports them naturally.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Tú — you, singular informal	coge	take
Usted — you, singular formal	coja	take (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	cojamos	let’s take
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	coged	take (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	cojan	take (plural)

• Coge las llaves antes de salir. — Take the keys before leaving.

Coger negative commands

Negative commands use subjunctive-based forms, with no before the verb.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Tú — you, singular informal	no cojas	do not take
Usted — you, singular formal	no coja	do not take (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	no cojamos	let’s not take
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	no cojáis	do not take (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	no cojan	do not take (plural)

• No cojas ese cable. — Do not grab that cable.

Common constructions with Coger

These patterns show sentence frames that materially affect how the target verb is used.

• coger algo / a alguien. — to take, grab, catch, or pick up something / someone.
• coger el autobús / tren / avión. — to take or catch a bus / train / plane.
• coger velocidad / fuerzas / una costumbre. — to gain speed / strength / a habit.
• coger bien / mal in regional and idiomatic uses. — meaning depends strongly on region and context.

Example sentences with Coger

These examples reinforce useful forms and contexts already taught in the lesson.

• ¿Qué autobús cogemos? — Which bus are we taking?
• Coge una silla y siéntate. — Take a chair and sit down.
• No he cogido el chiste. — I did not get the joke.
• Espero que cojas el tren correcto. — I hope you catch the correct train.
• Ya han cogido sus maletas. — They have already picked up their suitcases.
• Coge solo lo que necesites. — Take only what you need.

Regional and usage notes for Coger

The core tables retain tú, usted, vosotros/vosotras, and ustedes. Voseo changes some second-person singular forms where vos is used.

• Vos cogés el autobús temprano. — You take the bus early. (voseo)
• Cogé las llaves. — Take the keys. (affirmative vos command)
• In several Latin American countries, the verb can carry a vulgar sexual meaning; neutral alternatives such as tomar or agarrar may be preferable there. — Regional usage warning.

For coger, memorize cojo and the coj- subjunctive family, then treat the remaining core morphology as regular. Just as importantly, learn the regional register warning before using the verb across Latin America.