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 -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, no account needed. Type the form, then press Enter or tap Check.
yo: tomo, tú: tomas, él: toma, nosotros: tomamos, vosotros: tomáis, ellos: toman
The past participle is tomado (he tomado) and the gerund is tomando (estoy tomando).
Verbs that are easy to confuse with tomar or that behave like it.
Tomar is on the AQA, Edexcel and Eduqas GCSE Spanish vocabulary lists. Compare the exam boards.
Written by Daniel Holmes for GCSE & A-Level Spanish students.