Sacar means to take out, but it covers far more semantic territory than that English gloss suggests. In peninsular Spanish you sacas dinero del cajero, sacas buenas notas, sacas las entradas para un concierto, sacas la basura, sacas fotos, sacas a tu perro a pasear, sacas tu carnet de conducir, y sacas tema de conversación cuando hay silencio incómodo. Few verbs reward learners with the sheer mileage of sacar.
Conjugation-wise, sacar is a perfectly regular -ar verb, with one orthographic wrinkle: the c of the stem becomes qu whenever the following letter is e. That is exactly the same rule that governs buscar, tocar, atacar, practicar, marcar, publicar, aparcar (peninsular for to park), equivocarse, colocar, secar. Get the spelling change once and you have the whole family.
Non-finite forms
| Form | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Infinitivo | sacar | to take out, to get |
| Infinitivo compuesto | haber sacado | to have taken out |
| Gerundio | sacando | taking out |
| Gerundio compuesto | habiendo sacado | having taken out |
| Participio | sacado | taken out |
The participle, gerund, and all compound forms are perfectly regular — no spelling changes are triggered because no e follows the c in any of them.
Indicative — simple tenses
Presente
| yo | tú | él/ella/usted | nosotros | vosotros | ellos/ellas/ustedes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| saco | sacas | saca | sacamos | sacáis | sacan |
No spelling change appears in the present indicative — every ending begins with -a- or -o-, both compatible with c keeping its /k/ pronunciation. The verb behaves as a model regular -ar here.
Siempre saco al perro a primera hora, antes de que apriete el sol.
I always take the dog out first thing, before the sun gets strong.
¿Sacáis vosotros las entradas o las saco yo por internet?
Are you all getting the tickets or shall I get them online?
Pretérito perfecto simple
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| saqué | sacaste | sacó | sacamos | sacasteis | sacaron |
The yo form saqué is where the spelling change kicks in: the regular -é ending starts with e, and Spanish orthography forces c → qu before e to keep the /k/ sound. Everywhere else in the preterite the c stays, because the endings begin with -a- or -o-.
Ayer saqué doscientos euros del cajero y hoy no me queda ni uno.
Yesterday I took two hundred euros out of the cashpoint and today I haven't got a single one left.
Mi hijo sacó un sobresaliente en mates, no me lo podía creer.
My son got top marks in maths — I couldn't believe it.
Pretérito imperfecto
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| sacaba | sacabas | sacaba | sacábamos | sacabais | sacaban |
No spelling change in the imperfect — every ending begins with -a-. Fully regular.
Mi abuelo siempre nos sacaba a tomar el aperitivo los domingos.
My grandfather always used to take us out for a pre-lunch drink on Sundays.
Futuro simple
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| sacaré | sacarás | sacará | sacaremos | sacaréis | sacarán |
No spelling change in the future. Although the endings contain e, the e is separated from the stem-final c by -ar- (the infinitive linker): sacaré breaks as sac-a-ré, with -a- sitting between c and e. The /k/ is safe.
Mañana sacaré los billetes del AVE para Sevilla, antes de que se agoten.
Tomorrow I'll book the AVE tickets to Seville before they run out.
Condicional
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| sacaría | sacarías | sacaría | sacaríamos | sacaríais | sacarían |
Yo no sacaría tanto dinero de golpe, es mejor ir poco a poco.
I wouldn't take out so much money at once — better to do it bit by bit.
Indicative — compound tenses
All compound tenses pair haber with the regular participle sacado.
Pretérito perfecto compuesto
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| he sacado | has sacado | ha sacado | hemos sacado | habéis sacado | han sacado |
In peninsular Spanish this is the default tense for actions completed earlier today or within any still-open period: Esta mañana he sacado al perro, not Esta mañana saqué al perro.
He sacado el coche del taller esta tarde y ya hace ruidos otra vez.
I picked up the car from the garage this afternoon and it's already making noises again.
Pretérito pluscuamperfecto
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| había sacado | habías sacado | había sacado | habíamos sacado | habíais sacado | habían sacado |
Cuando llegamos al cine, ya habían sacado todas las entradas.
By the time we got to the cinema, they'd already sold all the tickets.
Futuro compuesto
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| habré sacado | habrás sacado | habrá sacado | habremos sacado | habréis sacado | habrán sacado |
Condicional compuesto
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| habría sacado | habrías sacado | habría sacado | habríamos sacado | habríais sacado | habrían sacado |
Si hubiera estudiado un poco más, habría sacado mejor nota.
If I'd studied a bit more, I'd have got a better grade.
Subjunctive — simple tenses
Presente de subjuntivo
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| saque | saques | saque | saquemos | saquéis | saquen |
The entire present subjunctive shows the spelling change, because every ending begins with -e-: saque, saques, saque, saquemos, saquéis, saquen. There is no extra rule to memorise — the c becomes qu exactly when an e follows. This is one of the cleanest spelling-change patterns in the language.
Quiero que saquéis la basura antes de iros a la cama.
I want you all to take the rubbish out before you go to bed.
No creo que saque el carnet a la primera, está muy nervioso.
I don't think he'll pass his driving test on the first try — he's very nervous.
Imperfecto de subjuntivo (-ra / -se)
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -ra | sacara | sacaras | sacara | sacáramos | sacarais | sacaran |
| -se | sacase | sacases | sacase | sacásemos | sacaseis | sacasen |
No spelling change in the imperfect subjunctive — the endings start with -a-. The -ra set dominates in spoken Spain; -se is more formal but fully current in writing.
Me pidió que sacara las copas buenas del aparador.
She asked me to take the good wine glasses out of the dresser.
Subjunctive — compound tenses
Pretérito perfecto de subjuntivo
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| haya sacado | hayas sacado | haya sacado | hayamos sacado | hayáis sacado | hayan sacado |
Es estupendo que hayas sacado el máster a la primera.
It's great you passed your master's on the first go.
Pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo
| yo | tú | él | nosotros | vosotros | ellos | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -ra | hubiera sacado | hubieras sacado | hubiera sacado | hubiéramos sacado | hubierais sacado | hubieran sacado |
| -se | hubiese sacado | hubieses sacado | hubiese sacado | hubiésemos sacado | hubieseis sacado | hubiesen sacado |
Si hubiéramos sacado las entradas con más tiempo, no estaríamos en la cola.
If we'd bought the tickets sooner, we wouldn't be in this queue.
Imperative
The spelling change appears in every imperative form that ends in -e or -emos: saque (Vd.), saquen (Vds.), saquemos (nosotros), plus the entire negative paradigm (which is built on the subjunctive). The tú and vosotros affirmative forms keep the c, because their endings start with -a- or -d-.
| Form | Affirmative | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| tú | saca | no saques |
| usted | saque | no saque |
| nosotros | saquemos | no saquemos |
| vosotros | sacad | no saquéis |
| ustedes | saquen | no saquen |
Sacad las chaquetas, que va a hacer fresco al volver.
(to a group) Take your jackets — it'll be chilly on the way back.
No saques conclusiones antes de oír toda la historia.
Don't draw conclusions before hearing the whole story.
When you attach pronouns to the affirmative imperative, a written accent often becomes obligatory: sácalo, sácame, sacádmelos. The general rule is that stress must stay where it was on the bare form, so adding a syllable forces an accent.
The enormous semantic range of sacar
English-speaking learners chronically under-use sacar because they reach for take, get, bring, or draw instead. Here are the senses that dominate everyday peninsular Spanish:
| Sense | Example |
|---|---|
| take out (a physical object) | Saca el pan del horno. |
| get / withdraw (money from an ATM) | Voy a sacar cien euros. |
| buy / get (tickets, a passport, a driving licence) | Ya he sacado los billetes para el AVE. |
| get (a grade or mark) | Sacó un nueve en el examen. |
| take (a photo) | ¿Me sacas una foto? |
| take out / walk (a pet) | Saco al perro tres veces al día. |
| get (something) out of someone | No le saqué una palabra en toda la cena. |
| release / launch (an album, a book) | El grupo va a sacar disco nuevo en otoño. |
| score (a goal, a point) | El Madrid sacó tres puntos en el último minuto. |
| bring up (a topic) | Siempre saca el mismo tema cuando bebe. |
| get rid of (a stain) | No consigo sacar esta mancha de la camisa. |
¿Nos sacas una foto a los tres con el monumento detrás?
Will you take a photo of the three of us with the monument behind?
Acaba de sacar libro nuevo y ya está en todas las librerías.
She's just published a new book and it's already in every bookshop.
High-frequency collocations from peninsular Spanish
| Phrase | Translation |
|---|---|
| sacar al perro | to walk the dog |
| sacar la basura | to take out the rubbish |
| sacar el carnet (de conducir) | to get one's driving licence |
| sacar dinero / sacar pasta | to take out / withdraw money (pasta is informal) |
| sacar una foto / sacar fotos | to take a photo / photos (preferred to hacer fotos in Spain) |
| sacar buena/mala nota | to get a good/bad grade |
| sacar adelante (a alguien / algo) | to keep going with, to bring (a project / a family) through |
| sacar provecho de | to make the most of |
| sacar de quicio (a alguien) | to drive (someone) up the wall |
| sacar las castañas del fuego (a alguien) | to bail (someone) out of a mess |
| no sacar nada en claro | to get nowhere, to be none the wiser |
The expression sacar adelante is one of the unsung workhorses of peninsular Spanish: a single mother saca adelante a sus hijos; a small business owner saca adelante su empresa en plena crisis. It carries the sense of getting through difficulty by sustained effort.
Mi madre nos sacó adelante a los cuatro sola, sin ayuda de nadie.
My mother brought the four of us up on her own, without help from anyone.
Ese vecino me saca de quicio con la música a todo volumen.
That neighbour drives me up the wall with the music at full blast.
A peninsular note: sacar fotos
In Spain, the default verb for taking photos is sacar, not hacer. You ask: ¿Me sacas una foto? — not ¿Me haces una foto? (which is understood, but sounds Latin American or self-consciously neutral). The same goes for sacarse una foto (to have one's photo taken, often a passport photo): Me tengo que sacar las fotos para el carnet.
Sácanos una foto rápido, que se nos va el autobús.
Take a quick photo of us — our bus is leaving.
Common Mistakes
❌ Ayer sacé doscientos euros del cajero.
The -car spelling change is obligatory in the preterite yo: saqué, with qu.
✅ Ayer saqué doscientos euros del cajero.
Yesterday I took two hundred euros out of the cashpoint.
❌ Quiero que saces el coche del garaje.
The whole present subjunctive shows the spelling change: saque, saques, saque, saquemos, saquéis, saquen.
✅ Quiero que saques el coche del garaje.
I want you to take the car out of the garage.
❌ Sacáis al perro antes de cenar, por favor.
With vosotros, the affirmative imperative is sacad, not sacáis (which is the present indicative). To form a polite request, you could say '¿Sacáis al perro?' as a question, but as a command it must be sacad.
✅ Sacad al perro antes de cenar, por favor.
(to a group) Take the dog out before dinner, please.
❌ ¿Me haces una foto delante de la catedral?
In Spain, the natural verb for taking a photo is sacar, not hacer. 'Me sacas una foto' sounds far more idiomatic.
✅ ¿Me sacas una foto delante de la catedral?
Will you take a photo of me in front of the cathedral?
❌ No sacar las conclusiones tan rápido.
To negate an imperative in Spanish, use 'no + present subjunctive,' not 'no + infinitive.' The infinitive after no is only used in impersonal warning signs.
✅ No saques conclusiones tan rápido.
Don't jump to conclusions so fast.
Key Takeaways
- Sacar is a regular -ar verb with the obligatory c → qu spelling change before any e: saqué, saque, saquemos, saquéis.
- The change is purely orthographic — it preserves the /k/ sound the verb has always had.
- The change appears in: preterite yo (saqué), the entire present subjunctive (saque, saques…), and all imperative forms built on the subjunctive (saque Vd., saquen Vds., no saques, no saquéis).
- Sacar covers far more ground than English take out — it is also "to get" (a grade, a ticket, a driving licence), "to take" (a photo, in Spain), "to walk" (a pet), and "to bring up" (a topic).
- Sacar adelante is the everyday Spanish for "to bring through, to keep going with" — a project, a family, a difficult time.
- In Spain, sacar fotos is preferred over hacer fotos.
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Start learning Spanish→Related Topics
- Presente de indicativo: verbos regulares en -arA1 — The six present-indicative endings for regular -ar verbs in peninsular Spanish, including the all-important vosotros form habláis.
- Pretérito: cambios ortográficos en -car, -gar, -zar (yo)A2 — Verbs ending in -car, -gar, and -zar change spelling in the yo preterite (busqué, llegué, empecé) to preserve the consonant sound before the -é ending.
- Subjuntivo presente: cambios ortográficosB1 — Spelling changes in the present subjunctive — how -car, -gar, -zar, -ger, -gir, -guir and -uir verbs adjust their spelling to keep the same stem sound.
- Cambios ortográficos en la conjugaciónA2 — Verbs that change spelling — but not pronunciation — to preserve consistent sounds across the conjugation: -car, -gar, -zar, -ger, -gir, -guir, -uir.
- buscarA1 — Full conjugation reference for buscar (to look for) — a regular -ar verb with the obligatory -car > -qu- spelling change before any e (busqué, busque, busquemos). Includes all tenses, every imperative form, and the critical reminder that buscar takes a direct object with no preposition.
- tocarA1 — Full conjugation reference for tocar — a regular -ar verb with the predictable c→qu spelling change in the preterite yo form (toqué) and in the entire present subjunctive. Covers every simple and compound tense and the verb's wide semantic range in peninsular Spanish: to touch, to play (an instrument), to ring (a bell), to be someone's turn, and to be one's lot in life.