Quitar means 'to take off', 'to remove' and 'to take away', and it is a regular -ar verb that is the natural opposite of poner. Quita los platos de la mesa (take the plates off the table). The reflexive quitarse is essential for clothing: me quito el abrigo (I take off my coat), mirroring ponerse ('to put on'). It also appears in quitar el polvo ('to dust'). Because dressing and removing things come up in routine and description, quitar and especially quitarse are practical. As a regular -ar verb the conjugation is predictable.
Quick facts
Quitar (to remove) is a regular -ar verb.
Real sentences across different tenses — the kind of thing you'd actually say or write.
Quita los platos (take the plates away).
Reflexive quitarse: me quito el abrigo.
Quitar (take off) vs poner (put on).
Quitar el polvo (to dust).
Fixed expressions worth knowing — they come up in listening, reading and writing tasks.
Idiomatic expressions
Quitar 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.
quitar 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 quitar, 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 quitar now →Three questions. Press Enter to check each answer.
yo: quito, tú: quitas, él: quita, nosotros: quitamos, vosotros: quitáis, ellos: quitan
Quitar is a regular -ar verb following the standard -ar pattern.
Use quitar 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 quitar 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. Quitar 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.