Gastar Conjugation | How to Conjugate Gastar in Spanish

Gastar means “to spend,” “to use up,” or “to wear out.” You will learn its regular -AR conjugation and the common patterns used with money, time, energy, and resources.

Gastar conjugation at a glance

Verb type: Regular AR. Gastar keeps the stable stem gast- and takes ordinary -AR endings. Its gerund gastando — “spending / using up” — and participle gastado — “spent / used up” — are regular.

Gastar 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 gastado remains invariant in those compounds.

Function	Spanish	Natural English guide
Infinitive	gastar	to spend / use up
Gerund	gastando	spending / using up
Past participle	gastado	spent / used up

Gastar meaning and essential uses

Gastar — “to spend / use up” — is commonly transitive: Gasto dinero en libros. — “I spend money on books.” RAE also records consuming energy and deteriorating something through use.

For expenditure, gastar en — “to spend on” — introduces the purpose or item: Gastamos mucho en transporte. — “We spend a lot on transportation.”

Gastar regular conjugation pattern

The stem gast- remains unchanged throughout the core paradigm. Forms such as gasto — “I spend,” gasté — “I spent,” and gaste — “that I spend” — use normal -AR endings.

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

Gastar indicative and periphrastic conjugations

Gastar 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	gasto	I spend / use up
Tú — you, singular informal	gastas	you spend / use up
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	gasta	he / she spends / uses up; you spend / use up (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	gastamos	we spend / use up
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	gastáis	you spend / use up (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	gastan	they spend / use up; you spend / use up (plural)

• Gasto demasiado dinero en comida fuera de casa. — I spend too much money on eating out.

Gastar preterite conjugation

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

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	gasté	I spent / used up
Tú — you, singular informal	gastaste	you spent / used up
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	gastó	he / she spent / used up; you spent / used up (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	gastamos	we spent / used up
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	gastasteis	you spent / used up (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	gastaron	they spent / used up; you spent / used up (plural)

• Ayer gasté veinte euros. — Yesterday I spent twenty euros.

Gastar imperfect conjugation

Imperfect (el pretérito imperfecto) — Use it for habitual, descriptive, background, or ongoing past situations. Form it with the appropriate form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus gastado — “spent / used up.”

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	gastaba	I used to spend / use up / was spending / using up
Tú — you, singular informal	gastabas	you used to spend / use up / were spending / using up
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	gastaba	he / she used to spend / use up / was spending / using up; you used to spend / use up / were spending / using up (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	gastábamos	we used to spend / use up / were spending / using up
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	gastabais	you used to spend / use up / were spending / using up (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	gastaban	they used to spend / use up / were spending / using up; you used to spend / use up (plural)

• Antes gastaba menos electricidad. — I used to use less electricity.

Gastar present progressive

Present progressive — This verbal periphrasis focuses on an action or process in progress. Form it with present estar — “to be” — plus gastando — “spending / using up.”

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

• Estamos gastando mucha energía. — We are using a lot of energy.

Gastar 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 gastar.

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

• Voy a gastar menos este mes. — I am going to spend less this month.

Gastar future tense conjugation

Simple future (el futuro simple) — Use it for future reference and, when useful, probability. The endings attach to the full infinitive.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	gastaré	I will spend / use up
Tú — you, singular informal	gastarás	you will spend / use up
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	gastará	he / she will spend / use up; you will spend / use up (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	gastaremos	we will spend / use up
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	gastaréis	you will spend / use up (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	gastarán	they will spend / use up; you will spend / use up (plural)

• Gastaremos parte del presupuesto en formación. — We will spend part of the budget on training.

Gastar conditional conjugation

Conditional (el condicional simple) — Use it for hypothetical outcomes, softened statements, or related conditional meanings. The endings attach to the full infinitive.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	gastaría	I would spend / use up
Tú — you, singular informal	gastarías	you would spend / use up
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	gastaría	he / she would spend / use up; you would spend / use up (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	gastaríamos	we would spend / use up
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	gastaríais	you would spend / use up (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	gastarían	they would spend / use up; you would spend / use up (plural)

• Gastaría más en calidad y menos en cantidad. — I would spend more on quality and less on quantity.

Gastar 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 gastado — “spent / used up.”

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

• He gastado casi todo el saldo. — I have spent almost all the balance.

Gastar 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 gastado — “spent / used up.”

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

• Ya habíamos gastado demasiado tiempo. — We had already spent too much time.

Gastar 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 gastado — “spent / used up.”

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

• Para entonces habrán gastado todo el presupuesto. — By then they will have spent the whole budget.

Gastar 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 gastado — “spent / used up.”

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

• Habría gastado menos con otro proveedor. — I would have spent less with another supplier.

Gastar subjunctive conjugations

Gastar 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 present-subjunctive family.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	gaste	that I spend / use up
Tú — you, singular informal	gastes	that you spend / use up
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	gaste	that he / she spend / use up; that you spend / use up (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	gastemos	that we spend / use up
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	gastéis	that you spend / use up (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	gasten	that they spend / use up; that you spend / use up (plural)

• Quiero que gastes menos agua. — I want you to use less water.

Gastar 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 — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus gastado — “spent / used up.”

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	gastara	that I spent / used up
Tú — you, singular informal	gastaras	that you spent / used up
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	gastara	that he / she spent / used up; that you spent / used up (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	gastáramos	that we spent / used up
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	gastarais	that you spent / used up (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	gastaran	that they spent / used up; that you spent / used up (plural)

• Preferían que gastáramos el dinero en otra cosa. — They preferred that we spend the money on something else.
• Era mejor que gastases menos combustible. — It was better for you to use less fuel.

Gastar 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 forms share the same historical family as the imperfect subjunctive.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	gastare	if / when I should spend / use up
Tú — you, singular informal	gastares	if / when you should spend / use up
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	gastare	if / when he / she should spend / use up; if / when you should spend / use up (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	gastáremos	if / when we should spend / use up
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	gastareis	if / when you should spend / use up (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	gastaren	if / when they should spend / use up; if / when you should spend / use up (plural)

• Quien gastare fondos públicos deberá justificarlos. — Whoever should spend public funds must justify them.

Gastar 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 gastado — “spent / used up.”

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

• Me alegra que hayas gastado menos este mes. — I am glad that you have spent less this month.

Gastar 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 gastado — “spent / used up.”

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

• Si hubiéramos gastado menos, tendríamos más ahorros. — If we had spent less, we would have more savings.
• Si hubieses gastado el saldo, no podrías usar la tarjeta. — If you had spent the balance, you could not use the card.

Gastar 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 gastado — “spent / used up.”

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

• Si hubieren gastado los fondos, deberán presentar las facturas. — If they should have spent the funds, they must submit the invoices.

Gastar imperative and commands

Gastar affirmative commands

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

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Tú — you, singular informal	gasta	spend
Usted — you, singular formal	gaste	spend (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	gastemos	let’s spend
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	gastad	spend (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	gasten	spend (plural)

• Gasta solo lo necesario. — Spend only what is necessary.

Gastar negative commands

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

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Tú — you, singular informal	no gastes	do not spend
Usted — you, singular formal	no gaste	do not spend (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	no gastemos	let’s not spend
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	no gastéis	do not spend (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	no gasten	do not spend (plural)

• No gastes todo el dinero hoy. — Do not spend all the money today.

Common constructions with Gastar

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

• gastar dinero en algo. — to spend money on something.
• gastar tiempo o energía. — to spend / use time or energy.
• gastarse con el uso. — to wear out through use.

Example sentences with Gastar

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

• Gastamos mucho en transporte. — We spend a lot on transportation.
• No quiero gastar más tiempo en esto. — I do not want to spend more time on this.
• La batería se está gastando rápido. — The battery is wearing down quickly.
• Espero que no gastes todo el presupuesto. — I hope you do not spend the whole budget.
• Ya hemos gastado suficiente dinero. — We have already spent enough money.
• Gasta menos agua cuando te duches. — Use less water when you shower.

Regional and usage notes for Gastar

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 gastás demasiado en comida. — You spend too much on food. (voseo)
• Gastá solo lo necesario. — Spend only what is necessary. (affirmative vos command)

Gastar is morphologically regular. Focus on the object and complement: money, time, energy, or another resource is what gets spent or used, and en — “on” — commonly introduces the purpose.