Tomar means 'to take', but its range is wider and more idiomatic than that suggests. It is the usual verb for having food and drink (tomo un café, I have a coffee) and for taking transport (tomo el tren, I take the train). It also appears in many set phrases — tomar el sol (to sunbathe), tomar una decisión (to make a decision). As a regular -ar verb the forms are predictable, which is handy given how often it comes up. Because it covers eating, drinking, travelling and deciding, tomar is one of the most practically useful regular verbs to make automatic.
Quick facts
Tomar (to take / drink) is a regular -ar verb.
Real sentences across different tenses — the kind of thing you'd actually say or write.
Tomo un café (I have a coffee).
Tomo el autobús (I take the bus).
Tomar el sol (to sunbathe); tomar una decisión (to make a decision).
Toma esto (take this / here you go).
Fixed expressions worth knowing — they come up in listening, reading and writing tasks.
Idiomatic expressions
Tomar 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.
tomar 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 tomar, 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 tomar now →Three questions. Press Enter to check each answer.
yo: tomo, tú: tomas, él: toma, nosotros: tomamos, vosotros: tomáis, ellos: toman
Tomar is a regular -ar verb following the standard -ar pattern.
Use tomar 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 tomar 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. Tomar 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.