Ganar Conjugation | How to Conjugate Ganar in Spanish

Ganar means “to win,” “to earn,” or “to gain.” You will learn its regular -AR conjugation and the object patterns used for competitions, money, advantages, time, and other gains.

Ganar conjugation at a glance

Verb type: Regular AR. Ganar keeps the stable stem gan- and takes ordinary -AR endings. Its gerund ganando — “winning / earning / gaining” — and participle ganado — “won / earned / gained” — are regular.

Ganar gerund, past participle, and infinitive

The infinitive names the verb, the gerund supports progressive constructions, and the past participle combines with haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — in compound forms. The participle ganado remains invariant in those compounds.

Form	Spanish	Natural English guide
Infinitive	ganar	to win / earn / gain
Gerund	ganando	winning / earning / gaining
Past participle	ganado	won / earned / gained

Ganar meaning and essential uses

Ganar can mean “to earn” money or income: Gano dos mil euros al mes. — “I earn two thousand euros a month.” It can also mean “to win”: Ganamos el partido. — “We win the match.”

Other common transitive uses include obtaining an advantage, time, trust, or ground: Ganamos tiempo. — “We gain / save time.” The verb can also be intransitive in competition contexts: Hoy gana nuestro equipo. — “Our team wins today.”

Ganar regular conjugation pattern

The stem gan- remains unchanged throughout the core paradigm. Present gano — “I win / earn / gain,” preterite gané — “I won / earned / gained,” and present subjunctive gane — “that I win / earn / gain” — use standard -AR endings.

There is no stem change, spelling alternation, irregular preterite stem, irregular future stem, irregular gerund, or irregular participle.

Ganar indicative and periphrastic conjugations

Ganar 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 present paradigm.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	gano	I win / earn / gain
Tú — you, singular informal	ganas	you win / earn / gain
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	gana	he / she wins / earns / gains; you win / earn / gain (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	ganamos	we win / earn / gain
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	ganáis	you win / earn / gain (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	ganan	they win / earn / gain; you win / earn / gain (plural)

• Gano dinero con este trabajo. — I earn money from this job.

Ganar preterite conjugation

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

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	gané	I won / earned / gained
Tú — you, singular informal	ganaste	you won / earned / gained
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	ganó	he / she won / earned / gained; you won / earned / gained (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	ganamos	we won / earned / gained
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	ganasteis	you won / earned / gained (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	ganaron	they won / earned / gained; you won / earned / gained (plural)

• Ayer ganamos el partido. — Yesterday we won the match.

Ganar imperfect conjugation

Imperfect (el pretérito imperfecto) — Use it for habitual, descriptive, background, or ongoing past situations. The table uses the regular imperfect family.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	ganaba	I used to win / earn / gain / was winning / earning / gaining
Tú — you, singular informal	ganabas	you used to win / earn / gain / were winning / earning / gaining
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	ganaba	he / she used to win / earn / gain / was winning / earning / gaining; you used to win / earn / gain / were winning / earning / gaining (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	ganábamos	we used to win / earn / gain / were winning / earning / gaining
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	ganabais	you used to win / earn / gain / were winning / earning / gaining (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	ganaban	they used to win / earn / gain / were winning / earning / gaining; you used to win / earn / gain / were winning / earning / gaining (plural)

• Antes ganaba menos dinero. — I used to earn less money.

Ganar present progressive

Present progressive — This verbal periphrasis focuses on an action or process in progress. Form it with present estar — “to be” — plus ganando — “winning / earning / gaining.”

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

• Estamos ganando tiempo con este método. — We are gaining time with this method.

Ganar near future conjugation

Near future — This verbal periphrasis expresses an intention, plan, or expected event. Form it with present ir — “to go” — plus a — “to” — and ganar — “to win / earn / gain.”

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

• Voy a ganar experiencia con el proyecto. — I am going to gain experience from the project.

Ganar future tense conjugation

Simple future (el futuro simple) — Use it for future reference and, when useful, probability. The endings attach to the full infinitive; there is no separate irregular future or conditional stem.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	ganaré	I will win / earn / gain
Tú — you, singular informal	ganarás	you will win / earn / gain
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	ganará	he / she will win / earn / gain; you will win / earn / gain (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	ganaremos	we will win / earn / gain
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	ganaréis	you will win / earn / gain (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	ganarán	they will win / earn / gain; you will win / earn / gain (plural)

• Ganará el equipo con más puntos. — The team with more points will win.

Ganar conditional conjugation

Conditional (el condicional simple) — Use it for hypothetical outcomes, softened statements, or related conditional meanings. The endings attach to the full infinitive; there is no separate irregular future or conditional stem.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	ganaría	I would win / earn / gain
Tú — you, singular informal	ganarías	you would win / earn / gain
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	ganaría	he / she would win / earn / gain; you would win / earn / gain (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	ganaríamos	we would win / earn / gain
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	ganaríais	you would win / earn / gain (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	ganarían	they would win / earn / gain; you would win / earn / gain (plural)

• Ganaría más si trabajara más horas. — I would earn more if I worked more hours.

Ganar 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 — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus the invariant participle ganado — “won / earned / gained.”

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

• He ganado mucha experiencia este año. — I have gained a lot of experience this year.

Ganar 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 — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus the invariant participle ganado — “won / earned / gained.”

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

• Ya habían ganado dos partidos. — They had already won two matches.

Ganar 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 — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus the invariant participle ganado — “won / earned / gained.”

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

• Para entonces habremos ganado suficiente tiempo. — By then we will have gained enough time.

Ganar conditional perfect conjugation

Conditional perfect (el condicional compuesto) — Use it for a hypothetical completed outcome. Form it with the appropriate form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus the invariant participle ganado — “won / earned / gained.”

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

• Habría ganado más con otra estrategia. — I would have gained more with another strategy.

Ganar subjunctive conjugations

Ganar 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 regular present-subjunctive family.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	gane	that I win / earn / gain
Tú — you, singular informal	ganes	that you win / earn / gain
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	gane	that he / she win / earn / gain; that you win / earn / gain (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	ganemos	that we win / earn / gain
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	ganéis	that you win / earn / gain (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	ganen	that they win / earn / gain; that you win / earn / gain (plural)

• Espero que ganes el concurso. — I hope you win the contest.

Ganar 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; do not assume unrestricted interchangeability in every special construction. Form it with the appropriate form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus the invariant participle ganado — “won / earned / gained.”

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	ganara	that I won / earned / gained
Tú — you, singular informal	ganaras	that you won / earned / gained
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	ganara	that he / she won / earned / gained; that you won / earned / gained (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	ganáramos	that we won / earned / gained
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	ganarais	that you won / earned / gained (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	ganaran	that they won / earned / gained; that you won / earned / gained (plural)

• Querían que ganáramos tiempo. — They wanted us to gain time.
• Preferían que ganases experiencia primero. — They preferred that you gain experience first.

Ganar 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 share the same historical family as the imperfect subjunctive.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	ganare	if / when I should win / earn / gain
Tú — you, singular informal	ganares	if / when you should win / earn / gain
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	ganare	if / when he / she should win / earn / gain; if / when you should win / earn / gain (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	ganáremos	if / when we should win / earn / gain
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	ganareis	if / when you should win / earn / gain (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	ganaren	if / when they should win / earn / gain; if / when you should win / earn / gain (plural)

• Quien ganare el concurso recibirá el premio. — Whoever should win the contest will receive the prize.

Ganar 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 — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus the invariant participle ganado — “won / earned / gained.”

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

• Me alegra que hayas ganado el partido. — I am glad that you won the match.

Ganar 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 — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus the invariant participle ganado — “won / earned / gained.”

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

• Si hubiéramos ganado el primer partido, estaríamos en la final. — If we had won the first match, we would be in the final.
• Si hubieses ganado más experiencia, tendrías más opciones. — If you had gained more experience, you would have more options.

Ganar 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 — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus the invariant participle ganado — “won / earned / gained.”

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

• Si hubieren ganado el concurso, deberán acreditar su identidad. — If they should have won the contest, they must prove their identity.

Ganar imperative and commands

Commands address another person directly. Spanish uses different morphological sources by person and polarity; the nosotros/nosotras row is a present-subjunctive form used with exhortative “let’s…” value.

Ganar affirmative commands

Use affirmative commands for direct instructions when the target meaning supports them naturally. The table contains the five core addressee or exhortative rows.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Tú — you, singular informal	gana	win
Usted — you, singular formal	gane	win (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	ganemos	let’s win
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	ganad	win (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	ganen	win (plural)

• Gana tiempo preparando todo antes. — Gain time by preparing everything beforehand.

Ganar negative commands

Negative commands use subjunctive-based forms, with no — “not / do not” — before the command form.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Tú — you, singular informal	no ganes	do not win
Usted — you, singular formal	no gane	do not win (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	no ganemos	let’s not win
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	no ganéis	do not win (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	no ganen	do not win (plural)

• No ganes la partida con trampas. — Do not win the game by cheating.

Common constructions with Ganar

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

• ganar dinero. — to earn money.
• ganar un partido, concurso, or prize. — to win a match, contest, or prize.
• ganar tiempo, experiencia, or confianza. — to gain time, experience, or trust.

Example sentences with Ganar

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

• Gana un buen sueldo. — He / she earns a good salary.
• Ganamos el partido por dos puntos. — We won the match by two points.
• Quiero ganar más experiencia. — I want to gain more experience.
• Espero que ganes el premio. — I hope you win the prize.
• Han ganado mucho terreno. — They have gained a lot of ground.
• Gana tiempo organizando tus tareas. — Gain time by organizing your tasks.

Regional and usage notes for Ganar

The core tables retain tú, usted, vosotros/vosotras, and ustedes for project comparability. Voseo changes some common second-person singular forms in regions where vos — “you, singular informal” — is used.

• Vos ganás más experiencia cada año. — You gain more experience each year. (voseo)
• Ganá tiempo preparando todo antes. — Gain time by preparing everything beforehand. (affirmative vos command)

Ganar is morphologically regular, but its English meaning depends on the object. Use “win” for competitions and prizes, “earn” for income, and “gain” for advantages, experience, time, trust, or ground.