Quick answer
ganar · gano, ganas, gana, ganamos, ganáis, ganan
to win, to earn. Fully regular, so the endings carry over to every other -ar verb.
Conjugation
| Person | Present | Preterite | Imperfect | Future |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| yo | gano | gané | ganaba | ganaré |
| tú | ganas | ganaste | ganabas | ganarás |
| él / ella / usted | gana | ganó | ganaba | ganará |
| nosotros | ganamos | ganamos | ganábamos | ganaremos |
| vosotros | ganáis | ganasteis | ganabais | ganaréis |
| ellos / ustedes | ganan | ganaron | ganaban | ganarán |
Orange marks a form you cannot guess from the rules.
| Non-finite | Form |
|---|---|
| gerund | ganando |
| past participle | ganado |
| imperative (tú) | gana |
| subjunctive (yo) | gane |
Which form to learn first
ganamos. Football and payday both run through the same word.
Where you will actually use it
Ganamos dos a cero.We won two nil.
¿Quién ganó?Who won?
Gano mil euros al mes.I earn a thousand euros a month.
Gané la apuesta.I won the bet.
Vas a ganar tiempo así.You’ll save time that way.
Se gana bien aquí.The pay is good here.
Typical mistakes
Gano dinero en la lotería.
Gané dinero en la lotería.
Winning money is fine — but the tense matters: a single event is the preterite.
Gano un coche nuevo cada mes (meaning a salary).
Gano mil euros al mes.
ganar dinero is earning; without money in the sentence it usually reads as winning.
Ganamos el juego.
¿Ganaste el partido?
A match is un partido. juego is the game as a concept, not the fixture.
Check yourself
___ mil euros al mes.