Gastar means 'to spend (money)' and 'to use up', and it is a regular -ar verb central to the money and shopping topics. Gasto mucho en ropa (I spend a lot on clothes), gastamos toda la batería (we used up all the battery). Note the key distinction: gastar is for spending money, while pasar is for spending time — a mix-up English speakers often make. The reflexive-flavoured idiom gastar una broma means 'to play a joke'. Because it is regular and tied to a common topic, gastar is a practical verb to control.
Quick facts
Gastar (to spend) is a regular -ar verb.
Real sentences across different tenses — the kind of thing you'd actually say or write.
Gasto mucho en ropa (I spend a lot on clothes).
Gastar la batería (to use up the battery).
Spending time is pasar, not gastar.
Gastar una broma (to play a joke).
Fixed expressions worth knowing — they come up in listening, reading and writing tasks.
Idiomatic expressions
gastar is a regular -ar verb — it follows the standard -ar pattern in every tense. That makes it a good one to drill: if you know gastar, you know the template for all regular -ar verbs.
Type conjugations from memory and get instant feedback. That's how you actually build the automatic recall the exam needs — not from reading tables.
Practice gastar now →Three questions, no account needed. Type the form, then press Enter or tap Check.
yo: gasto, tú: gastas, él: gasta, nosotros: gastamos, vosotros: gastáis, ellos: gastan
The past participle is gastado (he gastado) and the gerund is gastando (estoy gastando).
Gastar is on the AQA and Eduqas GCSE Spanish vocabulary lists, but not on Edexcel.
Verbs that are easy to confuse with gastar or that behave like it.
Gastar is on the AQA and Eduqas GCSE Spanish vocabulary lists, but not on Edexcel. Compare the exam boards.
Written by Daniel Holmes for GCSE & A-Level Spanish students.