Ganar Conjugation Chart & Full Tense Guide

“Ganar” is a Spanish verb meaning “to win” or “to earn”. It is a regular verb, and useful in various contexts.

“Ganar” is an -AR verb, which is one of three main verb groups in Spanish verb conjugation.

I’m James, from Learn Spanish With James, and the Learn Spanish With James Podcast. 

In this guide, I’ll show you how to conjugate “ganar” in various tenses and moods.

From the indicative to the subjunctive and imperative moods, we’ll explore “ganar” conjugation charts across different tenses, along with example sentences with English translations to illustrate its usage in everyday conversations.

Present Tense

When We Use the Present Tense

The present tense describes ongoing actions or habits in the present moment. In the case of “ganar,” it signifies winning or earning at the present time. 

To conjugate the verb “ganar” in Spanish for the present tense, remove the infinitive ending “-ar” and add the appropriate present tense endings for each subject pronoun.

The sentences below show you how to conjugate “ganar” in the present tense. I’ve provided English translations too.

Examples of the Spanish Verb “ganar” in the Present Tense

• Yo gano mucho dinero al mes. (I earn a lot of money per month.)
• Tú ganas la lotería. (You win the lottery.)
• Él/ella gana el partido. (He/she wins the game.)
• Nosotros ganamos la competencia. (We win the competition.)
• Vosotros ganáis reconocimiento por vuestro trabajo. (You [plural] earn recognition for your work.)
• Ellos/ellas ganan experiencia en cada proyecto. (They gain experience in every project.)

Preterite Tense

When We Use the Preterite Tense

The preterite tense is used to describe actions completed in the past, often with a specific time reference. 

For example, “I earnt” or “I won”.

In Spanish, “ganar” is conjugated in the preterite tense by removing the infinitive ending “-ar” and adding the appropriate endings for each subject pronoun.

Examples of “ganar” in the Preterite Tense

• Yo gané la carrera ayer. (I won the race yesterday.)
• Tú ganaste el premio la semana pasada. (You won the prize last week.)
• Él/ella ganó mucho dinero el año pasado. (He/she earned a lot of money last year.)
• Nosotros ganamos el campeonato el mes pasado. (We won the championship last month.)
• Vosotros ganasteis la lotería hace unos años. (You [plural] won the lottery a few years ago.)
• Ellos/ellas ganaron el torneo el verano pasado. (They won the tournament last summer.)

Imperfect Tense

When We Use the Imperfect Tense

The imperfect tense is used to describe ongoing or habitual actions in the past, without emphasizing their completion. 

An example of this is “I was winning” or “I used to win”.

Just as is the case for many Spanish tenses, in order to conjugate “ganar” in the imperfect tense, remove the infinitive ending “-ar” and add the appropriate imperfect tense endings for each subject pronoun.

Examples of “ganar” in the Imperfect Tense

• Yo ganaba siempre en ese casino. (I used to always win at that casino.)
• Tú ganabas mucho dinero cuando trabajabas allí. (You used to earn a lot of money when you worked there.)
• Él/ella ganaba cada partido con facilidad. (He/she used to win every game easily.)
• Nosotros ganábamos experiencia cada día. (We were gaining experience every day.)
• Vosotros ganabais reconocimiento por vuestros esfuerzos. (You [plural] were earning recognition for your efforts.)
• Ellos/ellas ganaban la confianza de sus clientes. (They were gaining the trust of their clients.)

Future Tense

When We Use the Future Tense

The future tense is used to express actions that will happen in the future. 

The key word here is “will” – the translation is “I will earn” or “I will win”.

The future tense in Spanish is a really easy tense to learn, as you just add the correct endings to the infinitive form, without changing the stem. 

Examples of “ganar” in the Future Tense

• Yo ganaré la lotería algún día. (I will win the lottery someday.)
• Tú ganarás la carrera el próximo año. (You will win the race next year.)
• Él/ella ganará mucho dinero con ese negocio. (He/she will earn a lot of money with that business.)
• Nosotros ganaremos el partido si seguimos así. (We will win the game if we continue like this.)
• Vosotros ganaréis experiencia en este trabajo. (You [plural] will gain experience in this job.)
• Ellos/ellas ganarán reconocimiento internacional. (They will earn international recognition.)

Conditional Tense

When We Use the Conditional Tense

The conditional tense is used to express actions that would happen under certain conditions or hypothetical situations. In order to conjugate the verb “ganar” in the conditional tense, follow the same rules as the future tense; just add the correct endings to the infinitive form of the verb. 

Examples of “ganar” in the Conditional Tense

• Yo ganaría mucho si invirtiera en acciones. (I would earn a lot if I invested in stocks.)
• Tú ganarías el concurso si te esfuerzas más. (You would win the contest if you put more effort in.)
• Él/ella ganaría el juego si no se hubiera lesionado. (He/she would win the game if he/she hadn’t gotten injured.)
  Note: This is an example of the imperfect subjunctive. You can read more about that in this guide to Spanish tenses.
• Nosotros ganaríamos el debate si preparáramos mejor nuestros argumentos. (We would win the debate if we prepared our arguments better.)
• Vosotros ganaríais más dinero si aceptarais el nuevo proyecto. (You [plural] would earn more money if you accepted the new project.)
• Ellos/ellas ganarían fama si participaran en ese programa de televisión. (They would earn fame if they participated in that TV show.)

Perfect Tense

When We Use the Preterite Perfect Tense

The perfect tense is used to express actions that have been completed. Think of actions that were completed before a specific point in the past. 

In order to use “ganar” in the perfect tense, we need to use the auxiliary verb “haber” in the present tense followed by the past participle “ganado.”

Examples of “ganar” in the Preterite Perfect Tense

• Yo he ganado varios concursos este año. (I have won several contests this year.)
• Tú has ganado mucho desde que empezaste a trabajar aquí. (You have earned a lot since you started working here.)
• Él/ella ha ganado reconocimiento internacional por su investigación. (He/she has earned international recognition for his/her research.)
• Nosotros hemos ganado la confianza de nuestros clientes. (We have gained the trust of our clients.)
• Vosotros habéis ganado experiencia en diferentes campos. (You [plural] have gained experience in different fields.)
• Ellos/ellas han ganado el primer lugar en varias competencias. (They have won first place in several competitions.)

Pluperfect Tense

When We Use the Pluperfect Tense

Next, we have the pluperfect tense. In Spanish, the pluperfect tense is used to express actions that had been completed before another past action or point in time. For example, “I had won”.

In order to conjugate the verb “ganar” in the pluperfect tense, we use the auxiliary verb “haber” in the imperfect tense followed by the past participle “ganado.”

Examples of “ganar” in the Pluperfect Tense

• Yo había ganado mucho antes de perderlo todo en el casino. (I had won a lot before losing everything in the casino.)
• Tú habías ganado varios premios antes de cumplir los treinta. (You had won several awards before turning thirty.)
• Él/ella había ganado la confianza de sus colegas antes de ser ascendido. (He/she had gained the trust of his/her colleagues before being promoted.)
• Nosotros habíamos ganado el campeonato varias veces antes de retirarnos. (We had won the championship several times before retiring.)
• Vosotros habíais ganado experiencia en diferentes países antes de estableceros aquí. (You [plural] had gained experience in different countries before settling here.)
• Ellos/ellas habían ganado mucho dinero antes de enfrentar esa crisis financiera. (They had earned a lot of money before facing that financial crisis.)

Future Perfect Tense

When We Use the Future Perfect Tense

The future perfect tense is used to express actions that will have been completed by a certain point in the future. 

Again, we need to use the auxiliary verb “haber” in the future tense followed by the past participle “ganado” in order to use the future perfect tense. 

Examples of “ganar” in the Future Perfect Tense

• Yo habré ganado suficiente dinero para comprar una casa para entonces. (I will have earned enough money to buy a house by then.)
• Tú habrás ganado experiencia laboral en el extranjero para el próximo año. (You will have gained work experience abroad by next year.)
• Él/ella habrá ganado el respeto de sus colegas para cuando termine el proyecto. (He/she will have earned the respect of his/her colleagues by the time the project ends.)
• Nosotros habremos ganado más clientes para finales de este mes. (We will have gained more clients by the end of this month.)
• Vosotros habréis ganado reconocimiento internacional para el próximo evento. (You [plural] will have earned international recognition by the next event.)
• Ellos/ellas habrán ganado suficiente dinero para retirarse antes de cumplir los cuarenta. (They will have earned enough money to retire before turning forty.)

Conditional Perfect Tense

When We Use the Conditional Perfect Tense

The conditional perfect tense is used to express actions that would have been completed under certain conditions or hypothetical situations in the past. 

In order to conjugate the verb “ganar” in the conditional perfect tense, use the conditional tense of the auxiliary verb “haber” followed by the past participle “ganado.”

Examples of “ganar” in the Conditional Perfect Tense

• Yo habría ganado más dinero si hubiera aceptado ese trabajo. (I would have earned more money if I had accepted that job.)
• Tú habrías ganado la competencia si hubieras entrenado más. (You would have won the competition if you had trained more.)
• Él/ella habría ganado la lotería si hubiese comprado un boleto. (He/she would have won the lottery if he/she had bought a ticket.)
• Nosotros habríamos ganado el torneo si no hubiéramos tenido lesiones. (We would have won the tournament if we hadn’t had injuries.)
• Vosotros habríais ganado reconocimiento si hubierais presentado vuestro proyecto. (You [plural] would have earned recognition if you had presented your project.)
• Ellos/ellas habrían ganado más experiencia si hubieran viajado más. (They would have gained more experience if they had traveled more.)

Present Subjunctive

When We Use the Present Subjunctive

The present subjunctive is used to express desires, doubts, recommendations, or possibilities in the present or future. 

To conjugate the verb “ganar” in the present subjunctive, remove the infinitive ending “-ar” and add the appropriate present subjunctive endings for each subject pronoun.

Examples of “ganar” in the Present Subjunctive

• Es importante que yo gane este concurso. (It’s important that I win this contest.)
• Quiero que tú ganes más dinero. (I want you to earn more money.)
• Ojalá que él/ella gane la lotería. (I hope he/she wins the lottery.)
• Sugiero que nosotros ganemos más experiencia antes de tomar esa decisión. (I suggest that we gain more experience before making that decision.)
• Dudo que vosotros ganéis siempre. (I doubt that you [plural] always win.)
• Espero que ellos/ellas ganen más reconocimiento por su trabajo. (I hope they earn more recognition for their work.)

Imperfect Subjunctive

When We Use the Imperfect Subjunctive

Again, the imperfect subjunctive is used to express desires, doubts, recommendations, or possibilities – this time in the past. 

Examples of “ganar” in the Imperfect Subjunctive

• Quería que yo ganara más dinero. (I wanted to earn more money.)
• Dudaba que tú ganaras la lotería. (I doubted that you would win the lottery.)
• Prefería que él/ella ganara el partido. (I preferred that he/she won the game.)
• Esperábamos que nosotros ganáramos el torneo. (We hoped that we would win the tournament.)
• No creía que vosotros ganarais siempre. (I didn’t believe that you [plural] always won.)
• Era importante que ellos/ellas ganaran más reconocimiento. (It was important that they earned more recognition.)

Affirmative Imperative 

When We Use The Affirmative Imperative

The affirmative imperative is used to give direct commands or orders in a positive manner. When using the affirmative imperative with the verb “ganar” in Spanish, you’re instructing someone to “win” or “earn” in a direct and assertive way.

Examples of ”ganar” in the Affirmative Imperative

• ¡Gana el partido! (Win the game!)
• Gane usted la competencia. (Win the competition.)
• Ganemos más dinero. (Let’s earn more money.)
• Ganad la lotería. (Win the lottery.)
• ¡Ganen experiencia en este proyecto! (Gain experience in this project.)

Negative Imperative

When We Use The Negative Imperative

The negative imperative is used to give commands or orders in a negative manner, instructing someone not to perform an action. 

When using the negative imperative with the verb “ganar” in Spanish, you’re prohibiting someone from “winning” or “earning.”

Examples of ”ganar” in the Negative Imperative

• No ganes dinero fácilmente. (Don’t earn money easily.)
• No gane usted la lotería. (Don’t win the lottery.)
• No ganemos más de lo necesario. (Let’s not earn more than necessary.)
• No ganéis sin esfuerzo. (Don’t win without effort.)
• ¡No ganen a costa de otros! (Don’t earn at the expense of others.)

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