The Present Tense in Spanish

11 min read

The present tense is one of the most important parts of Spanish grammar. Click here to learn how to conjugate regular and irregular verbs in the present tense!

Okay, so you know a bit of Spanish vocabulary, and now you want to know how to use it in sentences. The best place to start? Right here, right now, with the present tense!

Three types of verb

To form sentences in the present tense, we need to know how to conjugate verbs with the correct present tense endings.

In Spanish, verbs can be split into three main types:

• -ar
• -er
• -ir

Each group has its own conjugation pattern. To conjugate a verb, you need to remove the infinitive ending (-ar, -er, or -ir) and add on the appropriate present tense ending.

-ar verbs

Let’s take the common -ar verb hablar (to talk) as an example.

First, you remove the -ar.

Hablar → habl-

Then you add one of the following endings:

For example, ‘I talk’ would be: habl- + -o → hablo

So, what we end up with a conjugation table like this:

-er verbs

This table shows you the present tense endings for -er verbs:

*In this article, we refer to ustedes as being formal (as it is in most of Spain). But remember that in most of Latin America, this form is used even in familiar contexts when addressing a group of people!

One of the most common -er verbs is vender (to sell). The conjugation table looks like this:

-ir verbs

The common verb vivir (to live) is conjugated like this:

The good news…

That may feel like a lot of tables, but don’t be overwhelmed! If we simplify things a little, you’ll see that there aren’t actually that many differences. Check out this table which shows them side by side.

Not so bad, right?

Null-subject language

Spanish is what we call a ‘null-subject language.’

This means that, due to the variety of endings, we can leave out the subject and still make sense. Take the verb vender as an example. In English, most of the verb endings are the same:

So if you were to say ‘sell houses’ you’d have no idea who is doing the selling. For that reason, in English we have to include the subject, to differentiate between ‘I sell houses,’ ‘you sell houses,’ ‘we sell houses,’ and ‘they sell houses.’

But in Spanish, each person pretty much has its own verb ending. So if I say ‘vendo casas,’ it’s perfectly clear that it’s me selling the houses, because of the ‘o’ at the end. There’s no need to say ‘yo vendo casas.’

Examples

Take a look at these examples, and try to spot how the verb endings often allow us to drop the subject:

-ar verbs

• Yo hablo.I speak.
• ¿Por qué tú me miras?Why are you looking at me?
• Carolina baila bien.*Carolina dances well.
• Nosotros nadamos en el mar.We swim in the sea.
• ¿Vosotros trabajáis por aquí?Do you (plural) work around here?
• Ellas toman riesgos.They take risks.

*Examples like this are a little more complicated. The verb ending -a could refer to he or she or it or you (formal), so it may be necessary to include the subject to clarify who exactly we are talking about. But don’t forget the power of context.

If we were reading a book all about Carolina the ballerina then we wouldn’t need to say ‘Carolina es bailarina de ballet. Carolina baila bien. Carolina tiene 30 años.’ It would be clear that we were talking about Carolina, so we could drop her name and just say: ‘Carolina es bailarina de ballet. Baila bien. Tiene 30 años.’

-er verbs

• Yo bebo té.I drink tea.
• Tú aprendes rápido.You learn fast.
• Él no teme nada.He fears nothing.
• Nosotras comemos por la noche.We eat in the evening.
• Vosotras vendéis muchas cosas.You (plural) sell lots of things.
• Ustedes leen libros.You (formal plural) read books.

-ir verbs

• Yo vivo en Inglaterra.I live in England.
• ¿Tú recibes mensajes de él?Do you receive messages from him?
• ¿Qué ocurre?What is happening?
• Nosotros permitimos animales.We permit animals.
• Vosotros asistís al colegio.You attend school.
• Los abrebotellas abren botellas.Bottle openers open bottles.

Irregular verbs

There are quite a few irregular verbs in Spanish, but it’s important to learn the most common ones, as they’re some of the most useful verbs in the language.

ir  (to go)

Examples:

• Voy al mercado.I’m going to the market.
• Borja va al gimnasio.Borja goes to the gym.
• Vamos a la playa.We are going to the beach.

hacer (to do/to make)

• hagohacemos
• haceshacéis
• hacehacen

Examples:

• Los martes, hago la compra.On Tuesdays, I do the grocery shopping.
• ¿Qué haces?What are you doing?
• Hacen mucho ruido.They’re making a lot of noise.

ser (to be)*

• soysomos
• eressois
• esson

Examples:

• Eres hermosa.You are beautiful.
• Sois idiotas.You are idiots.
• Son hombres.They are men.

estar (to be)*

• estoyestamos
• estásestáis
• estáestán

Examples:

• ¿Dónde está la biblioteca?Where is the library?
• Estáis en mi casa.You (plural) are in my house.
• ¿Señores, cómo están?Gentlemen, how are you?

*The differences between these two versions of ‘to be’ can be quite subtle and take a while to learn. Just remember that there are two verbs that mean ‘to be.’

You can also check out our article on ser vs estar here.

haber (to have)*

• hehemos
• hashabéis
• ha/hayhan

This verb is usually used in compound tenses.

Another use of haber is that the third person singular form hay is used to mean ‘there is’/’there are.’

• He terminado.I have finished.
• Juan ha escrito algo.Juan has written something.
• Hay un ratón en la casa.There is a mouse in the house.

tener (to have)

• tengotenemos
• tienestenéis
• tienetienen

Examples:

• Julia tiene fiebre.Julia has a fever.
• Tenemos muchos problemas.We have a lot of problems.
• Los perros tienen muchos juguetes.The dogs have lots of toys.

poner (to put)

• pongoponemos
• ponesponéis
• poneponen

Examples:

• ¿Te pongo más ensalada?Shall I give you more salad?
• ¿Por qué pones tus cosas en mi habitación?Why do you put your things in my room?
• La radio pone mis canciones favoritas.The radio puts on my favorite songs.

decir (to say)

• digodecimos
• dicesdecís
• dicedicen

Examples:

• Digo la verdad.I’m telling the truth.
• A veces mi padre dice palabrotas.Sometimes my dad says curse words.
• Dicen que todo pasa por alguna razón.They say that everything happens for a reason.

ver (to see)

• veovemos
• vesveis
• veven

Examples:

• Ya me has hecho daño, ¿ves?Now you’ve hurt me, see?
• Veis demasiadas películas.You watch too many films.
• Tus profes ven todo.Your teachers see everything.

saber (to know something/to taste)

• sésabemos
• sabessabéis
• sabesaben

Examples:

• No lo sé.I don’t know.
• El helado sabe a vainilla.The ice cream tastes of vanilla.
• Sabemos cantar.We know how to sing.

venir (to come)

• vengovenimos
• vienesvenís
• vienevienen

Examples:

• Ya vengo.I’m coming.
• ¿Señora, viene a la reunión?Madame, are you coming to the meeting?
• Vienen a la fiesta.They are coming to the party.

conocer (to know someone)

• conozcoconocemos
• conocesconocéis
• conoceconocen

Examples:

• Conozco a Joan.I know Joan.
• ¿Os conocéis?Do you know each other?
• Conocen a Shakira.They know Shakira.

dar (to give)

• doydamos
• dasdais
• dadan

Examples:

• Doy mis consejos.I give my advice.
• ¿Me das tu número de teléfono?Will you give me your number?
• Damos pasos para mejorar la situación.We are taking steps to improve the situation.

salir (to go out)

• salgosalimos
• salessalís
• salesalen

Examples:

• Salgo cada viernes.I go out every Friday.
• Sale más barato así.It works out cheaper this way.
• Normalmente salen por esa puerta.Normally they go out through that door.

Stem-changing verbs

Also known as radical-changing verbs, these don’t follow the regular conjugations, but they aren’t fully irregular, either!

In some verbs, the o → ue

In some verbs, the e → ie

In some verbs, the e → i

The changes occur in the yo, tú, él/ella/usted, and ellos/ellas/ustedes forms. No changes occur in the nosotros and vosotros forms

poder (to be able to)

o → ue

• puedopodemos
• puedespodéis
• puedepueden

Examples:

• No puedo ir.I can’t go.
• ¿Podéis venir?Can you (plural) come?
• Pueden entrar.You (formal plural) may enter.

volver (to return)

o → ue

• vuelvovolvemos
• vuelvesvolvéis
• vuelvevuelven

Examples:

• Los lunes vuelvo a casa a medianoche.On Mondays I return home at midnight.
• Sandra siempre vuelve con su ex.Sandra always goes back to her ex.
• ¿Chicas, a qué hora volvéis?Girls, what time are you coming back?

querer (to want)

e → ie

• quieroqueremos
• quieresqueréis
• quierequieren

Examples:

• Te quiero.I love you.
• ¿Quieres un bocadillo?Do you want a sandwich?
• Queremos ir a Japón.We want to go to Japan.

empezar (to start)

e → ie

• empiezoempezamos
• empiezasempezáis
• empiezaempiezan

Examples:

• La película empieza pronto.The movie starts soon.
• Cuando estamos listos, empezamos.When we’re ready, we begin.
• Las canciones empiezan bien.The songs start well.

pensar (to think)

e → ie

• piensopensamos
• piensaspensáis
• piensapiensan

Examples:

• ¿Piensas en mí?Do you think about me?
• Tu madre y yo pensamos que eres muy inteligente.Your mother and I think that you’re very intelligent.
• Ana y María piensan alquilar el piso.Ana and María are are thinking about renting the apartment.

preferir (to prefer)

e → ie

• prefieropreferimos
• prefierespreferís
• prefiereprefieren

Examples:

• Prefiero vivir en Alemania.I prefer living in Germany.
• ¿Cuál prefiere usted?Which one do you (formal) prefer?
• ¿Preferís pastel o helado?Do you (plural) prefer cake or ice cream?

repetir (to repeat)

e → i

• repitorepetimos
• repitesrepetís
• repite repiten

Examples:

• Repito: no vas a la fiesta.I say again: you are not going to the party.
• A veces cenamos y luego repetimos.Sometimes we have dinner then have second helpings.
• Repiten los mismos errores.They make the same mistakes.

pedir (to ask for)

e → i

• pidopedimos
• pidespedís
• pidepiden

Examples:

• No pido nada de él.I’m not asking anything of him.
• El gato pide leche.The cat pleads for milk.
• Piden voluntarios.They are looking for volunteers.

Good job!

That’s a lot of example sentences to get through, so well done! It’s okay if you don’t memorize all this at once. Start by trying to learn the regular verb endings, practicing a little every day, then think about moving onto the irregular ones!

For more comprehensive Spanish lessons like this, check out My Spanish Routine!