Prender is a regular -er verb in Spanish.
Practice prender free →Prender means 'to light', 'to switch on' and 'to catch (fire)', and it is a regular -er verb whose use varies by region — it is especially common in Latin America for turning on lights and devices (prender la luz, to turn on the light), where Spain often prefers encender. Prender fuego means 'to set fire'. Because switching things on is everyday vocabulary, prender is worth knowing, particularly if you encounter Latin American Spanish. As a regular -er verb the conjugation is predictable, and its opposite is apagar ('to switch off / put out').
Quick facts
Prender (to turn on / catch) is a regular -er verb.
Real sentences across different tenses — the kind of thing you'd actually say or write.
Prender la luz (to turn on the light) — common in Latin America.
Prender fuego (to set fire).
Spain often prefers encender.
Apagar (to switch off).
Fixed expressions worth knowing — they come up in listening, reading and writing tasks.
Idiomatic expressions
Prender 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.
prender is a regular -er verb — it follows the standard -er pattern in every tense. That makes it a good one to drill: if you know prender, you know the template for all regular -er 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 prender now →Three questions. Press Enter to check each answer.
yo: prendo, tú: prendes, él: prende, nosotros: prendemos, vosotros: prendéis, ellos: prenden
Prender is a regular -er verb following the standard -er pattern.
Use prender 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 prender 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. Prender 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.