Echar Conjugation | How to Conjugate Echar in Spanish

Echar means “to throw,” “to put,” “to add,” or “to send out,” and appears in many fixed expressions. You will learn its fully regular -AR conjugation and key constructions.

Echar conjugation at a glance

Verb type: Regular AR. RAE gives echo, echas / echás, echa, echamos, echáis, echan, with regular preterite eché, gerund echando, and participle echado.

Echar 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 echado remains invariant in those compounds.

Form	Spanish	Natural English guide
Infinitive	echar	to throw / put / add
Gerund	echando	throwing / putting / adding
Past participle	echado	thrown / put / added

Echar meaning and essential uses

Echar has many meanings. RAE records throwing or casting something, putting or applying something onto another thing, sending or expelling, and beginning an action in constructions such as echar a reír.

Several fixed expressions are especially important for learners: echar de menos — “to miss,” echar a perder — “to spoil,” and echar una siesta — “to take a nap.”

Echar regular conjugation pattern

The stem ech- remains unchanged throughout the core paradigm. Forms such as echo, eché, and eche take ordinary -AR endings.

There is no stem change, irregular preterite stem, or irregular future stem. The spelling with h is constant: echo from echar is not the participle hecho of hacer.

Echar indicative and periphrastic conjugations

Echar present tense conjugation

Present indicative (el presente de indicativo) — Use it for current situations, habits, facts, and contextually near-future reference. The table uses the verified paradigm.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	echo	I throw / put / add
Tú — you, singular informal	echas	you throw / put / add
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	echa	he / she throws / puts / adds; you throw / put / add (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	echamos	we throw / put / add
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	echáis	you throw / put / add (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	echan	they throw / put / add; you throw / put / add (plural)

• Echo un poco de sal a la sopa. — I add a little salt to the soup.

Echar 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	eché	I threw / put / added
Tú — you, singular informal	echaste	you threw / put / added
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	echó	he / she threw / put / added; you threw / put / added (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	echamos	we threw / put / added
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	echasteis	you threw / put / added (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	echaron	they threw / put / added; you threw / put / added (plural)

• Ayer eché las cartas al buzón. — Yesterday I put the letters in the mailbox.

Echar 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 echado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	echaba	I used to throw / put / add / was throwing / putting / adding
Tú — you, singular informal	echabas	you used to throw / put / add / were throwing / putting / adding
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	echaba	he / she used to throw / put / add / was throwing / putting / adding; you used to throw / put / add / were throwing / putting / adding (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	echábamos	we used to throw / put / add / were throwing / putting / adding
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	echabais	you used to throw / put / add / were throwing / putting / adding (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	echaban	they used to throw / put / add / were throwing / putting / adding; you used to throw / put / add / were throwing / putting / adding (plural)

• Antes echábamos una siesta después de comer. — We used to take a nap after lunch.

Echar present progressive

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

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

• Estoy echando agua a las plantas. — I am putting water on the plants.

Echar near future conjugation

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

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

• Voy a echar estos papeles a la papelera. — I am going to throw these papers in the trash.

Echar 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	echaré	I will throw / put / add
Tú — you, singular informal	echarás	you will throw / put / add
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	echará	he / she will throw / put / add; you will throw / put / add (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	echaremos	we will throw / put / add
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	echaréis	you will throw / put / add (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	echarán	they will throw / put / add; you will throw / put / add (plural)

• Echaremos más leña al fuego. — We will put more wood on the fire.

Echar 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	echaría	I would throw / put / add
Tú — you, singular informal	echarías	you would throw / put / add
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	echaría	he / she would throw / put / add; you would throw / put / add (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	echaríamos	we would throw / put / add
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	echaríais	you would throw / put / add (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	echarían	they would throw / put / add; you would throw / put / add (plural)

• Echaría menos sal la próxima vez. — I would add less salt next time.

Echar 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 echado.

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

• He echado de menos a mis amigos. — I have missed my friends.

Echar 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 echado.

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

• Ya habíamos echado la carta al buzón. — We had already put the letter in the mailbox.

Echar 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 echado.

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

• Para entonces habrán echado todos los residuos al contenedor correcto. — By then they will have put all the waste in the correct container.

Echar 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 echado.

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

• Habría echado más agua a la mezcla. — I would have added more water to the mixture.

Echar subjunctive conjugations

Echar 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. The table uses the verified paradigm.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	eche	that I throw / put / add
Tú — you, singular informal	eches	that you throw / put / add
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	eche	that he / she throw / put / add; that you throw / put / add (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	echemos	that we throw / put / add
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	echéis	that you throw / put / add (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	echen	that they throw / put / add; that you throw / put / add (plural)

• Quiero que eches menos sal. — I want you to add less salt.

Echar 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 echado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	echara	that I threw / put / added
Tú — you, singular informal	echaras	that you threw / put / added
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	echara	that he / she threw / put / added; that you threw / put / added (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	echáramos	that we threw / put / added
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	echarais	that you threw / put / added (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	echaran	that they threw / put / added; that you threw / put / added (plural)

• Preferían que echáramos la carta hoy. — They preferred that we mail the letter today.
• Era mejor que echases más agua a las plantas. — It was better for you to give the plants more water.

Echar 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	echare	if / when I should throw / put / add
Tú — you, singular informal	echares	if / when you should throw / put / add
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	echare	if / when he / she should throw / put / add; if / when you should throw / put / add (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	echáremos	if / when we should throw / put / add
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	echareis	if / when you should throw / put / add (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	echaren	if / when they should throw / put / add; if / when you should throw / put / add (plural)

• Quien echare residuos en esta zona deberá retirarlos. — Whoever should dump waste in this area must remove it.

Echar 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 echado.

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

• Me alegra que hayas echado la carta. — I am glad that you mailed the letter.

Echar 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 echado.

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

• Si hubiera echado menos sal, la sopa estaría mejor. — If I had added less salt, the soup would be better.
• Si hubieses echado la carta ayer, habría llegado antes. — If you had mailed the letter yesterday, it would have arrived earlier.

Echar 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 echado.

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

• Si hubieren echado materiales adicionales, deberán registrarlos. — If they should have added additional materials, they must register them.

Echar imperative and commands

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

Echar 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	echa	throw
Usted — you, singular formal	eche	throw (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	echemos	let’s throw
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	echad	throw (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	echen	throw (plural)

• Echa un poco de agua aquí. — Put a little water here.

Echar 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 eches	do not throw
Usted — you, singular formal	no eche	do not throw (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	no echemos	let’s not throw
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	no echéis	do not throw (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	no echen	do not throw (plural)

• No eches eso a la basura todavía. — Do not throw that in the trash yet.

Common constructions with Echar

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

• echar algo a / en + place. — to throw, put, or add something into / onto a place.
• echar de menos a alguien / algo. — to miss someone / something.
• echar a + infinitive. — to suddenly begin an action, as in echar a reír.
• echar a perder. — to spoil / ruin.
• echar una siesta. — to take a nap.

Example sentences with Echar

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

• Echo de menos a mi familia. — I miss my family.
• El niño echó a reír. — The child burst out laughing.
• No eches a perder la comida. — Do not spoil the food.
• Espero que eches la carta hoy. — I hope you mail the letter today.
• Han echado una siesta. — They have taken a nap.
• Echa primero los ingredientes secos. — Add the dry ingredients first.

Regional and usage notes for Echar

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

• Vos echás azúcar al café. — You add sugar to the coffee. (voseo)
• Echá la carta al buzón. — Put the letter in the mailbox. (affirmative vos command)

Echar is morphologically regular but lexically broad. Master the ordinary -AR endings, then learn high-frequency constructions such as echar de menos, echar a + infinitive, echar a perder, and echar una siesta.