What is the preterite of llegar in Spanish?

The preterite of llegar is: llegué, llegaste, llegó, llegamos, llegasteis, llegaron. The yo form adds u after the g (llegué, not llegé) to preserve the hard g sound before é. All other forms follow the standard regular -ar preterite pattern.

Why is the yo form llegué and not llegé?

Spanish spelling rules require g to be followed by u when it appears before e or i, to keep the hard g sound. Llegé would be pronounced with a soft g (like Spanish j). Llegué keeps the hard g pronunciation. The u is silent.

Do I always need the preposition a after llegar?

Yes, llegar almost always requires the preposition a before its destination: Llegué a casa (I arrived home), Llegamos al aeropuerto (We arrived at the airport). Even when English skips the preposition, Spanish needs it. The only exceptions are figurative uses like Llegó la primavera (Spring arrived) where there's no destination.

What other verbs follow the same g-to-gu spelling pattern?

All -gar verbs: jugar (jugué), pagar (pagué), apagar (apagué), entregar (entregué), navegar (navegué), pegar (pegué), rogar (rogué), colgar (colgué). The yo preterite always adds u after the g to preserve the hard sound.

How can I learn to use the preterite of llegar naturally?

Llegar appears in every story about travel, daily routines, meetings, or events. Parrot's short-form videos feature these contexts constantly, so the g-to-gu spelling rule and the mandatory preposition a become automatic through repeated exposure to native speakers using llegué, llegó, and llegaron in real conversation.

Spanish grammar · Intermediate

Preterite of Llegar: All Forms with Examples

Written by Sofia Ramirez, Lead Spanish Curriculum Editor · Reviewed May 2026

The preterite of llegar is regular except for a g-to-gu spelling change in the yo form (llegué) to preserve the hard g sound before é. The other forms follow the standard -ar preterite pattern (llegaste, llegó, llegamos, llegasteis, llegaron).

Llegué temprano a la oficina.

I arrived early at the office.

What it is

Llegar's preterite is regular except for one spelling rule: the yo form adds u after the g to keep the hard g sound before é. The result is llegué, not llegé. All other forms follow standard -ar preterite endings: llegaste, llegó, llegamos, llegasteis, llegaron.

In Llegué temprano a la oficina (I arrived early at the office), llegué marks one specific completed arrival. The preterite frames the arrival as a finished event, anchored to a specific past moment.

How to spot it

The yo form llegué is the only one with the spelling change. The other five forms are standard regular -ar preterite (llegaste, llegó, llegamos, llegasteis, llegaron). Llegar is one of the most common arrival verbs in Spanish, useful in nearly any past narrative.

Llegué a casa muy tarde. — I arrived home very late.
Llegó tarde a la reunión. — She arrived late to the meeting.
Llegaron a tiempo gracias al tráfico ligero. — They arrived on time thanks to the light traffic.

Llegar belongs to the -gar family (with jugar, pagar, apagar). The g-to-gu rule in the yo form is shared across all of them.

Preterite of Llegar Quick Reference

Preterite of llegar, all six forms

Person	Form	Translation
yo	llegué	I arrived
tú	llegaste	you arrived
él/ella/Ud.	llegó	he, she, you (formal) arrived
nosotros	llegamos	we arrived
vosotros	llegasteis	you all arrived (Spain)
ellos/Uds.	llegaron	they, you all arrived

Common Preterite of Llegar Examples in Spanish

Llegar means to arrive, reach, or get to a place. The preterite frames each arrival as a completed event, often anchored by a specific time or place.

Arriving at Places

Llegué a casa a las seis.: I arrived home at six.
Llegaste tarde otra vez.: You arrived late again.
Llegó al aeropuerto con tiempo de sobra.: He arrived at the airport with plenty of time.
Llegamos al hotel cansados.: We arrived at the hotel exhausted.
Llegaron al pueblo de noche.: They arrived in the village at night.

Llegar a + place is the standard structure for arrivals. The preposition a is required before the destination.

Arriving with Timing

Llegué temprano a la cita.: I arrived early to the appointment.
Llegó puntual a la entrevista.: She arrived on time for the interview.
Llegamos justo a tiempo para el tren.: We arrived just in time for the train.
Llegaron media hora tarde.: They arrived half an hour late.
¿Llegaste antes que los demás?: Did you arrive before everyone else?

Timing-related arrivals (early, late, on time, just in time) are extremely common in everyday Spanish. The preterite captures the moment of arrival as a closed event.

Reaching Milestones or Goals

Llegué a un acuerdo con mi jefe.: I reached an agreement with my boss.
Llegamos a la conclusión correcta.: We reached the right conclusion.
Llegó a ser un gran escritor.: He became a great writer.
Llegaron a un acuerdo después de horas.: They reached an agreement after hours.
Llegué a comprenderlo al final.: I came to understand it in the end.

Llegar a + noun / infinitive expresses reaching a state, goal, or conclusion. Llegar a ser + noun is a common expression for becoming something over time.

Things Arriving (News, Items, Time)

Llegó tu paquete esta mañana.: Your package arrived this morning.
Llegaron las flores que pediste.: The flowers you ordered arrived.
Llegó la noticia de improviso.: The news arrived unexpectedly.
Llegó el momento de irnos.: The time to leave arrived.
Llegaron los invitados a la fiesta.: The guests arrived at the party.

Things and events also llegan, packages, news, the moment, guests. The preterite captures each as a specific moment of arrival.

How to Form the Preterite of Llegar

g → gu in the Yo Form

Spanish spelling rules require g to be followed by u when it appears before e or i, to preserve the hard g sound. The yo preterite ending -é forces a g-to-gu shift in -gar verbs: llegué, not llegé. The u is silent.

llegar → yo → llegué (not llegé).

The u is silent; its only job is to keep the g sound hard.

Any -gar verb in the yo preterite: add u after the g, llegué, jugué, pagué.

Other Forms Are Standard -ar

The remaining five forms follow standard -ar preterite endings: -aste, -ó, -amos, -asteis, -aron. No spelling adjustments because the endings don't start with é or í.

tú llegaste, él llegó, nosotros llegamos, vosotros llegasteis, ellos llegaron.

Standard regular -ar preterite endings everywhere except yo.

Only the yo form is affected by the spelling rule.

Llegar a vs. Llegar Without Preposition

Llegar almost always requires the preposition a before its destination: Llegué a casa, Llegamos al aeropuerto. Without a, the sentence sounds incomplete in Spanish ears, even though English often skips the preposition (I arrived home).

Llegué a casa. Llegamos al aeropuerto.

I arrived home. We arrived at the airport.

Always pair llegar with a + place / noun for arrivals.

Same Pattern: Jugar, Pagar, Apagar, Entregar

All -gar verbs follow the same yo-form spelling rule in the preterite. Jugar → jugué. Pagar → pagué. Apagar → apagué. Entregar → entregué. Navegar → navegué. Pegar → pegué.

Jugué al fútbol. Pagué la cuenta. Apagué la luz.

I played soccer. I paid the bill. I turned off the light.

Any -gar verb in yo preterite: gué, never gé.

Common Mistakes with Preterite of Llegar

Incorrect: Yo llegé temprano al trabajo. — I arrived early at work. (wrong, missing the u after g)

Correct: Yo llegué temprano al trabajo. — I arrived early at work.

The yo preterite of any -gar verb requires a u after the g to keep the hard g sound before é. Llegé (without u) would be pronounced with a soft g (like j or h), which doesn't match the verb's pronunciation. Llegué is the correct form.

Incorrect: Llegué casa muy tarde anoche. — I arrived home very late last night. (wrong, missing preposition a)

Correct: Llegué a casa muy tarde anoche. — I arrived home very late last night.

Llegar requires the preposition a before its destination in Spanish, even when English skips it. Llegué a casa, not Llegué casa. The omission sounds incomplete to native ears.

Incorrect: Llegaba al hotel a medianoche. — I arrived at the hotel at midnight. (wrong, imperfect for a specific arrival)

Correct: Llegué al hotel a medianoche. — I arrived at the hotel at midnight.

A specific completed arrival at a defined time takes the preterite (llegué). The imperfect (llegaba) would describe habitual or ongoing arriving, which doesn't fit a one-time event.

Preterite of Llegar FAQs

What is the preterite of llegar in Spanish?: The preterite of llegar is: llegué, llegaste, llegó, llegamos, llegasteis, llegaron. The yo form adds u after the g (llegué, not llegé) to preserve the hard g sound before é. All other forms follow the standard regular -ar preterite pattern.
Why is the yo form llegué and not llegé?: Spanish spelling rules require g to be followed by u when it appears before e or i, to keep the hard g sound. Llegé would be pronounced with a soft g (like Spanish j). Llegué keeps the hard g pronunciation. The u is silent.
Do I always need the preposition a after llegar?: Yes, llegar almost always requires the preposition a before its destination: Llegué a casa (I arrived home), Llegamos al aeropuerto (We arrived at the airport). Even when English skips the preposition, Spanish needs it. The only exceptions are figurative uses like Llegó la primavera (Spring arrived) where there's no destination.
What other verbs follow the same g-to-gu spelling pattern?: All -gar verbs: jugar (jugué), pagar (pagué), apagar (apagué), entregar (entregué), navegar (navegué), pegar (pegué), rogar (rogué), colgar (colgué). The yo preterite always adds u after the g to preserve the hard sound.
How can I learn to use the preterite of llegar naturally?: Llegar appears in every story about travel, daily routines, meetings, or events. Parrot's short-form videos feature these contexts constantly, so the g-to-gu spelling rule and the mandatory preposition a become automatic through repeated exposure to native speakers using llegué, llegó, and llegaron in real conversation.