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Everything You Need to Know About the Present Tense in Spanish
Gordon Feliz • Updated Aug 16th, 2024
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The Spanish present tense is usually the first tense you learn when starting Spanish.
It lets you have everyday conversations about yourself, where you're from, and what you do.
It’s also handy for asking directions, ordering food, or enjoying life in a Spanish-speaking country.
In this guide, you’ll discover what the present tense is and how to conjugate it correctly.
How to Form the Present Tense in Spanish
Spanish verbs fall into one of three categories based on their infinitive endings:
- Verbs ending in -AR, like bailar (to dance)
- Verbs ending in -ER, such as comer (to eat)
- Verbs ending in -IR, as in vivir (to live)
To form the present tense in Spanish, start with the verb stem and then add the correct ending based on the pronoun (I/you/he/etc.) and verb type (-ar/-er/-ir).
The stem is the part of the verb before -ar/-er/-ir. For example, here are the stems for the verbs mentioned above:
- bailar → bail-
- vivir → viv-
- comer → com-
How to Conjugate -AR Verbs in the Present Tense
-AR verbs follow these endings:
Subject | Ending | Example (Bailar)
- Yo | -o | Bailo (I dance)
- Tú | -as | Bailas (You dance)
- Él/Ella/Usted | -a | Baila (He/She dances)
- Nosotros | -amos | Bailamos (We dance)
- Vosotros | -áis | Bailáis (You all dance)
- Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes | -an | Bailan (They dance)
Here are some examples:
-
Bailo todas las mañanas (I dance every morning).
- Bailas todas las mañanas (You dance every morning).
- Baila todas las mañanas (He/She dances every morning/You (formal) dance every morning).
- Bailamos todas las mañanas (We dance every morning).
-
Bailáis todas las mañanas (You all dance every morning).
- Bailan todas las mañanas (They dance every morning).
How to Conjugate -ER Verbs in the Present Tense
Here’s how -ER verbs are conjugated:
Subject | Ending | Example (Comer) |
Yo | -o | Como (I eat) |
Tú | -es | Comes (You eat) |
Él/Ella/Usted | -e | Come (He/she eats) |
Nosotros | -emos | Comemos (We eat) |
Vosotros | -éis | Coméis (You all eat) |
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes | -en | Comen (They eat) |
Notice that -ER verbs use “e” instead of “a” in their endings, except for the first person which remains the same.
Example sentences:
- Como una hamburguesa (I eat a hamburger).
-
Comes una hamburguesa (You eat a hamburger).
- Come una hamburguesa (He/She eats a hamburger/You (formal) eat a hamburger).
- Comemos una hamburguesa (We eat a hamburger).
- Coméis una hamburguesa (You all eat a hamburger).
- Comen una hamburguesa (They eat a hamburger).
How to Conjugate -IR Verbs in the Present Tense
The -IR verb endings are very similar to -ER verbs, with slight differences in the nosotros and vosotros forms.
Subject | Ending | Example (Vivir) |
Yo | -o | Vivo (I live) |
Tú | -es | Vives (You live) |
Él/Ella/Usted | -e | Vive (He/she lives) |
Nosotros | -imos | Vivimos (We live) |
Vosotros | -ís | Vivís (You all live) |
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes | -en | Viven (They live) |
Examples:
- Vivo en Buenos Aires (I live in Buenos Aires).
- Vives en Buenos Aires (You live in Buenos Aires).
- Vive en Buenos Aires (He/She lives in Buenos Aires/You (formal) live in Buenos Aires).
- Vivimos en Buenos Aires (We live in Buenos Aires).
- Vivís en Buenos Aires (You all live in Buenos Aires).
- Viven en Buenos Aires (They live in Buenos Aires).
The only way to truly master the present tense is through practice. Do grammar exercises, make up sentences, and repeat the endings to yourself until they stick. Once you’ve mastered regular verbs, it’s time to tackle irregular verbs.
Irregular Verbs in the Spanish Present Tense
Irregular Verbs: Stem-Changers
Some verbs change their stem in the present tense, usually in all forms except nosotros and vosotros. These are often categorized by the type of change, such as “o” → “ue” or “e” → “ie.”
“o” → “ue” Stem-Changing Verbs
Here are three common examples:
Dormir (to sleep):
- Subject | Conjugation
- Yo | Duermo
- Tú | Duermes
- Él/Ella/Usted | Duerme
- Nosotros | Dormimos
- Vosotros | Dormís
- Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes | Duermen
Acostar (to go to bed):
- Subject | Conjugation
- Yo | Acuesto
- Tú | Acuestas
- Él/Ella/Usted | Acuesta
- Nosotros | Acostamos
- Vosotros | Acostáis
- Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes | Acuestan
Volver (to return):
- Subject | Conjugation
- Yo | Vuelvo
- Tú | Vuelves
- Él/Ella/Usted | Vuelve
- Nosotros | Volvemos
- Vosotros | Volvéis
- Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes | Vuelven
“e” → “ie” Stem-Changing Verbs
Another group of verbs changes from “e” to “ie.” Examples include:
Empezar (to start):
- Subject | Conjugation
- Yo | Empiezo
- Tú | Empiezas
- Él/Ella/Usted | Empieza
- Nosotros | Empezamos
- Vosotros | Empezáis
- Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes | Empiezan
Querer (to want):
- Subject | Conjugation
- Yo | Quiero
- Tú | Quieres
- Él/Ella/Usted | Quiere
- Nosotros | Queremos
- Vosotros | Queréis
- Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes | Quieren
Sentir (to feel):
- Subject | Conjugation
- Yo | Siento
- Tú | Sientes
- Él/Ella/Usted | Siente
- Nosotros | Sentimos
- Vosotros | Sentís
- Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes | Sienten
Feeling a bit overwhelmed? Don’t worry—you’re not alone. Every Spanish learner feels this way at first, but the good news is that mastering these verbs is totally doable. Once you get the hang of irregular verbs, they’ll start to feel natural.
Soon, you’ll be cringing when you hear a verb conjugated incorrectly!
Irregular Spanish Present Tense Verbs: First Person Irregulars
Some verbs are only irregular in the first person, while the rest of their forms are regular. These are easier to pick up. A common example is dar (to give).
The first person form is irregular: doy (as in doy un regalo – I give a present), but the other forms follow regular patterns:
Subject | Conjugation
- Yo | Doy
- Tú | Das
- Él/Ella/Usted | Da
- Nosotros | Damos
- Vosotros | Dais
- Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes | Dan
Other verbs like poner (to put), traer (to bring), and salir (to leave) are known as “yo-go” verbs because they end in “-go” in the first person.
Poner → pongo
Traer → traigo
Salir → salgo
These verbs are regular in all other forms. Here’s how poner is conjugated:
- Yo | pongo
- Tú | pones
- Él/Ella/Usted | pone
- Nosotros | ponemos
- Vosotros | ponéis
- Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes | ponen
Other similar verbs include:
- Hacer (to do/make) → hago
- Tener (to have) → tengo
- Decir (to say) → digo
- Venir (to come) → vengo
Other first-person irregulars are:
- Ver (to see) → veo
- Saber (to know) → sé
Irregular Spanish Present Tense Verbs: The Completely Irregulars
Three verbs are so irregular they have their own category: ser (to be), estar (to be), and ir (to go).
Ser (to be):
Subject | Conjugation
- Yo | Soy
- Tú | Eres
- Él/Ella/Usted | Es
- Nosotros | Somos
- Vosotros | Sois
- Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes | Son
Estar (to be) is almost regular, except for some accents:
Subject | Conjugation
- Yo | Estoy
- Tú | Estás
- Él/Ella/Usted | Está
- Nosotros | Estamos
- Vosotros | Estáis
- Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes | Están
Ir (to go) is quite unique:
Subject | Conjugation
- Yo | Voy
- Tú | Vas
- Él/Ella/Usted | Va
- Nosotros | Vamos
- Vosotros | Vais
- Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes | Van
Spelling Changes in the Spanish Present Tense
To make things more interesting, some verbs change their spelling in the present tense, but there are clear rules for when this happens.
Verbs Ending in “-cer” or “-cir”
When a verb ends in a vowel + “-cer” or “-cir,” the “c” changes to “zc” in the first person.
For example, conocer (to know) becomes conozco in the first person, but remains regular in other forms:
- Yo | conozco
- Tú | conoces
- Él/Ella/Usted | conoce
- Nosotros | conocemos
- Vosotros | conocéis
- Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes | conocen
Other verbs with this spelling change include:
- Traducir (to translate) → traduzco
- Aparecer (to appear) → aparezco
- Crecer (to grow) → crezco
- Nacer (to be born) → nazco
Verbs Ending in “-ger” or “-gir”
For verbs ending in “-ger” or “-gir,” the “g” changes to a “j” in the first person.
Examples:
- Escoger (to choose) → escojo
- Exigir (to demand) → exijo
- Fingir (to pretend) → finjo
- Elegir (to choose) → elijo (this is also a stem-changing verb)
Verbs Ending in “-guir”
Finally, for verbs ending in “-guir,” the “gu” changes to a “g” in the first person.
Examples:
- Conseguir (to get) → consigo
- Seguir (to follow) → sigo (another stem-changer)
- Distinguir (to distinguish) → distingo
Feeling overwhelmed? Take a deep breath, make yourself a cup of tea, and go through each section one at a time. It’s worth the effort, and you’ll get the hang of it with practice.