The Spanish present tense is the most basic tense in the language. It has a wide variety of uses ranging from habitual actions and routines, present activities and near future events to everyday situations like going shopping or ordering at a restaurant.
Examples of present tense verbs:
Juego al tenis los sábados por la tarde.
I play tennis on Saturday afternoons.
No nos gustan las películas de terror.
We don’t like horror movies.
All Spanish verbs end in -ar, -er and -ir, falling in two major categories: regular and irregular verbs. Regular verbs follow common patterns for the conjugation of the present tense and all verb tenses. In contrast, irregular verbs follow no common conjugation rules and must therefore be studied individually.
Quick tip: The present tense, as well as all Spanish verb tenses, has one conjugation for each subject. Pronouns are therefore typically omitted, as the conjugation already indicates which grammatical person is being referred to.
- Also see: Spanish verb conjugator
Present Tense conjugation: regular verbs
To conjugate regular verbs in the present tense, the infinitive ending is dropped and is replaced with a new ending, depending on the subject and on whether the infinitive verb ends in -ar, -er or -ir.
The stem of regular verbs, that is, the initial part of the verb, never changes. Only their ending (-ar, -er, -ir) does with conjugation.
- More on this: Regular verbs in Spanish
Present tense of -ar verbs
To conjugate regular -ar verbs in the present tense, the -ar ending is removed, and a new ending is added depending on the subject. All regular -ar verbs follow the same conjugation pattern as hablar (to speak):
| Subject pronoun | Verb ending | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Yo I |
-o | Yo hablo inglés. I speak English. |
| Tú you |
-as | Tú hablas inglés. You speak English. |
| Él/ella He/she Usted formal you |
-a | Él habla inglés. He speaks English. |
| Nosotros/as We |
-amos | Nosotros hablamos inglés. We speak English. |
| Vosotros/as plural you |
-áis | Vosotros habláis inglés. You speak English. |
| Ellos/as They Ustedes plural you |
-an | Ellos hablan inglés. They speak English. |
Amo los atardeceres de verano.
I love summer sunsets.¿Practicas algún deporte?
Do you play any sports?
- More on this: Spanish -ar verbs
Present tense of -er verbs
To conjugate regular -er verbs in the present tense, the -er ending is removed, and a new ending is added depending on the subject. All regular -er verbs follow the same conjugation pattern as comer (to eat):
| Subject pronoun | Verb ending | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Yo I |
-o | Yo como pasta. I eat pasta. |
| Tú you |
-es | Tú comes pasta. You eat pasta. |
| Él/ella He/she Usted formal you |
-e | Él come pasta. He eats pasta. |
| Nosotros/as We |
-emos | Nosotros comemos pasta. We eat. |
| Vosotros/as plural you |
-éis | Vosotros coméis pasta. You eat pasta. |
| Ellos/as They Ustedes plural you |
-en | Ellos comen pasta. They eat pasta. |
Mi hermano corre un maratón todos los años.
My brother runs a marathon every year.Temo que él no llegará a tiempo.
I fear he won’t make it on time.
- See also: Spanish -er verbs
Present tense of -ir verbs
To conjugate regular -ir verbs in the present tense, the -ir ending is removed, and a new ending is added depending on the subject. All regular -ir verbs follow the same conjugation pattern as vivir (to live):
| Subject pronoun | Verb ending | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Yo I | -o | Yo vivo lejos. I live far. |
| Tú You | -es | Tú vives lejos. You live far. |
| Él, Ella He, She Usted formal you | -e | Él vive lejos. He lives far. |
| Nosotros/as We | -imos | Nosotros vivimos lejos. We live far. |
| Vosotros/as plural you | -ís | Vosotros vivís lejos. You live far. |
| Ellos, Ellas They Ustedes plural you | -en | Ellos viven lejos. They live far. |
Mi tren parte a las 8 a.m.
My train leaves at 8 a.m.Siempre recibo muchos regalos para mi cumpleaños.
I always get lots of presents for my birthday.
Quick tip: Regular -er and -ir verbs share the same conjugation pattern, except for the nosotros and vosotros pronouns.
- More on this: Spanish -ir verbs
Present tense conjugation: irregular verbs
Unlike regular verbs, irregular verbs follow no conjugation rules. While some of them share some common traits, some of the most basic irregular verbs in Spanish have a unique conjugation pattern.
Verbs that are completely irregular, having a unique conjugation pattern, include:
| Pronoun | ser to be, permanent | estar to be, temporary | ir to go |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yo I | soy | estoy | voy |
| Tú, vos you | eres - sos | estás | vas |
| Él/ella he/she Usted formal you | es | está | va |
| Nosotros/as we | somos | estamos | vamos |
| Vosotros/as plural you | sois | estáis | vais |
| Ellos/as they Ustedes plural you | son | están | van |
- More on this: Irregular verbs in Spanish
Irregular yo verbs
Some verbs show irregularities only in the first person singular yo (I) pronoun. The rest of the pronouns are conjugated in the same way as regular verbs.
| Verb | Yo pronoun present tense conjugation |
|---|---|
| dar to give | doy |
| conocer to know | conozco |
| salir leave | salgo |
| hacer to do | hago |
| poner to put | pongo |
| saber to know | sé |
| caer to fall | caigo |
Hago gimnasia en casa.
I do gym at home.Sé que lo que dices es mentira.
I know what you’re saying is a lie.
Stem-changing verbs
Some verbs have stem changes in the present tense conjugation. These verbs change a vowel in the stem of all pronouns except nosotros and vosotros. Otherwise, their ending is the same as regular verbs.
| e → ie querer to want | o → ue poder to be able, can | e → i pedir to ask for | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yo I | quiero | puedo | pido |
| Tú, vos you | quieres - querés | puedes - podés | pides - pedís |
| Él/ella he, she Usted formal you | quiere | puede | pide |
| Nosotros/as we | queremos | podemos | pedimos |
| Vosotros/as plural you | queréis | podéis | pedís |
| Ellos/as they Ustedes plural you | quieren | pueden | piden |
Quiero mudarme a una casa más grande.
I want to move to a bigger house.No puedo parar de pensar en él.
I can’t help thinking about him.
More verbs changing the e to ie are: entender (think), sentir (feel), pensar (think), cerrar (close), comenzar (begin), perder (lose).
More verbs changing the o to ue are: costar (cost), recordar (remember), encontrar (find), almorzar (have lunch), soler (used to).
More verbs changing the e to i are: seguir (follow), repetir (repeat), competir (compete), pedir (ask for), conseguir (get), vestir (wear), despedir (see off), elegir (choose).
- More on this: Irregular verbs in Spanish
When to use the Present Tense in Spanish
Though the Spanish present tense roughly mirrors its English counterpart (the present simple tense), the former spans other uses encompassed in English by the present continuous and present perfect continuous tenses.
The Spanish present tense is used for:
- Habitual actions and routines
To talk about routines and describe habitual actions and states:
Las clases comienzan a las 8.
Classes start at 8.
Siempre cenamos en casa.
We always have dinner at home.
- Facts
To talk about facts and universal truths, and things that are true in general and life descriptions such as in introductions:
El agua hierve a 100 grados centígrados.
Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius.
Mi nombre es María, tengo 20 años y amo la música.
My name is María, I’m 20 years old, and I love music.
- Present actions
To talk about actions, states and activities happening at the time of speaking or actions and states that started in the past and continue into the present time, which in English are expressed through the present continuous or the present perfect continuous tenses:
¿Qué haces? Escucho la radio.
What are you doing? I’m listening to the radio.
Trabajo aquí desde hace diez años.
I have been working here for ten years.
- Near future events
To talk about actions and events taking place in the near future:
Mis amigos se casan el 30 de septiembre.
My friends are getting married on September 30th.
Su avión sale a las 5 de la tarde.
His plane leaves at 5 in the afternoon.
- Ordering at a restaurant, buying and giving directions
To talk about a number of skills used in everyday contexts, such as asking for or giving directions, going shopping, ordering at a restaurant and asking for favors:
Quiero estos zapatos en una talla menos, por favor.
I’d like these shoes in a smaller size, please.
¿Me ayudas con este ejercicio?
Can you help me with this exercise?
Note: The present tense explained in this article is encompassed within the indicative mood, which is used to express actions and states regarded by the speaker as true. In contrast, the present tense of the subjunctive mood is used to express doubt and hypothesis: Quizás lleguemos a tiempo. / We may arrive on time.
Related articles:
- Spanish verbs
- Regular verbs in Spanish
- Irregular verbs in Spanish
- Spanish nouns
- Spanish adjectives
- Spanish adverbs
- Spanish prepositions
- Definite and indefinite articles in Spanish
Practice: Spanish Present Tense
References
- Real Academia Española, Glosario de términos gramaticales, under “Presente de indicativo,” accessed August 13, 2024, https://www.rae.es/
- Enciclopedia del Lenguaje, “Verbos en presente,” by Carla Giani. Last modified March 19, 2024, https://lenguaje.com/
- Wordreference.com, Spanish verb conjugation, accessed August 13, 2024, https://www.wordreference.com/
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