Lavar means 'to wash', and it is a regular -ar verb at home in the chores and daily-routine topics. Lavo los platos (I wash the dishes), lavamos el coche (we washed the car). Its reflexive form lavarse is especially important for describing personal routine: me lavo los dientes (I brush my teeth), se lava la cara (he washes his face). That reflexive use is a reliable way to show control of reflexive verbs at GCSE. As a regular -ar verb the conjugation is straightforward in both forms.
Quick facts
Lavar (to wash) is a regular -ar verb.
Real sentences across different tenses — the kind of thing you'd actually say or write.
Lavo los platos (I wash the dishes).
Reflexive lavarse: me lavo los dientes.
A staple of household-jobs answers.
Great for showing control of reflexive verbs.
Fixed expressions worth knowing — they come up in listening, reading and writing tasks.
Idiomatic expressions
Lavar is a regular verb. Make sure you know the endings for each tense — especially the preterite and subjunctive, which is where marks are most often lost.
lavar 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 lavar, 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 lavar now →Three questions. Press Enter to check each answer.
yo: lavo, tú: lavas, él: lava, nosotros: lavamos, vosotros: laváis, ellos: lavan
Lavar is a regular -ar verb following the standard -ar pattern.
Use lavar in multiple tenses to show range — present, preterite and future at minimum. This is a key criterion for higher GCSE marks.
Verbs that are easy to confuse with lavar or that behave like it.
This reference is written for UK GCSE and A-Level Spanish learners and their teachers. It is designed for exam revision: every form is checked against standard conjugation rules, and the examples reflect the registers and topics that come up in the AQA, Edexcel and Eduqas specifications. Lavar is a high-frequency verb and appears often in exam papers. For active recall, use the free practice tool rather than only reading the tables.
Last updated 2 August 2026. Written by Daniel Holmes for GCSE & A-Level Spanish students.