The Animated Book
of SpanishGrammar Reference

The Spanish Present Tense

Adapted from The Animated Book of Spanish, an interactive Spanish grammar book.

The simple present tense (el presente) is the first verb tense you learn in Spanish, and the one you'll use most. It describes what is happening now, what happens regularly, and what is generally true.
Present tense of the regular verbs hablar (to speak), comer (to eat), and vivir (to live), with endings highlighted
Subject-AR verbs: hablar-ER verbs: comer-IR verbs: vivir
yohablocomovivo
túhablascomesvives
él / ella / ustedhablacomevive
nosotroshablamoscomemosvivimos
vosotroshabláiscoméisvivís
ellos / ellas / ustedeshablancomenviven
On this page

When to use the present tense

Spanish gets more mileage out of the present tense than English does. A single form like hablo can mean I speak, I'm speaking, I do speak, and sometimes even I'll speak.

  1. Right now

    Things happening at this moment. English uses -ing here; Spanish usually doesn’t need to.

    • ¿Qué haces? Leo un libro.

      What are you doing? I’m reading a book.

    • Espero el autobús.

      I’m waiting for the bus.

  2. Habits and routines

    Things you do regularly, often with words like siempre, los lunes, or cada día.

    • Trabajo los lunes y los miércoles.

      I work on Mondays and Wednesdays.

    • Siempre desayunamos a las ocho.

      We always have breakfast at eight.

  3. Facts and general truths

    Things that are simply true, in general or about someone.

    • El agua hierve a cien grados.

      Water boils at 100 degrees.

    • Mi hermana habla tres idiomas.

      My sister speaks three languages.

  4. Plans in the near future

    Plans that are already set, usually with a time word like mañana.

    • Mañana salgo para Madrid.

      I’m leaving for Madrid tomorrow.

    • El tren sale a las nueve.

      The train leaves at nine.

  5. Things that started in the past and are still going on

    Where English says “have been,” Spanish uses the present with desde or desde hace.

    • Vivo aquí desde hace dos años.

      I’ve been living here for two years.

    • Estudio español desde enero.

      I’ve been studying Spanish since January.

  6. Offers and suggestions

    Where English says “shall I…?” or “should we…?”

    • ¿Abro la ventana?

      Shall I open the window?

    • ¿Te ayudo con las maletas?

      Shall I help you with your suitcases?

Boot verbs: stem-changing irregulars

Some verbs add or change a vowel in their stem when used in the present tense. The endings stay completely regular.

These changes don't happen in the nosotros or vosotros forms, so the forms that do change make a boot shape in the table.

Present tense of querer (e → ie)
yoquiero
nosotrosqueremos
túquieres
vosotrosqueréis
él / ella / ustedquiere
ellos / ellas / ustedesquieren

The shaded forms make a boot shape. Those are the ones where the stem changes.

Boot verbs come in four patterns, named for how the vowel changes. Here are the most common verbs for each, shown in the yo form.

e to ie verbs

The most common pattern. It happens in ‑ar, ‑er, and ‑ir verbs.

  • quieroquerer · to want
  • piensopensar · to think
  • empiezoempezar · to start
  • cierrocerrar · to close
  • entiendoentender · to understand
  • prefieropreferir · to prefer

  • La clase empieza a las nueve.

    The class starts at nine.

  • ¿Prefieres té o café?

    Do you prefer tea or coffee?

o to ue verbs

Also very common, in all three verb groups.

  • puedopoder · to be able to
  • duermodormir · to sleep
  • vuelvovolver · to return
  • encuentroencontrar · to find
  • recuerdorecordar · to remember
  • almuerzoalmorzar · to have lunch

  • Mis hijos duermen hasta las diez.

    My kids sleep until ten.

  • No puedo hoy, pero podemos mañana.

    I can’t today, but we can tomorrow.

e to i verbs

Only in ‑ir verbs.

  • pidopedir · to ask for
  • sirvoservir · to serve
  • repitorepetir · to repeat
  • sigoseguir · to follow, to keep going
  • compitocompetir · to compete
  • midomedir · to measure

  • Siempre pido lo mismo.

    I always order the same thing.

  • ¿Me repites la pregunta?

    Can you repeat the question?

u to ue verbs

Just one verb, but it's a common one.

  • juegojugar · to play

  • Juego al tenis los sábados.

    I play tennis on Saturdays.

  • ¿Juegas conmigo?

    Do you want to play with me?

Yo-go verbs

Some of the most common verbs in Spanish add a g in the yo form. For most of them, that's the only irregular form. Every other form takes the regular endings.

Present tense of hacer (to do, make)
yohago
nosotroshacemos
túhaces
vosotroshacéis
él / ella / ustedhace
ellos / ellas / ustedeshacen

The c changes to g: hago, not haco.

Only the shaded yo form is irregular. The rest take the regular endings.

  • Hago la cena todos los días.

    I make dinner every day.

  • ¿Dónde pongo las llaves?

    Where should I put the keys?

  • Salgo a las ocho, pero mi hermana sale a las nueve.

    I leave at eight, but my sister leaves at nine.

A few yo-go verbs are also boot verbs. They get the g in the yo form and a stem change in the rest of the boot.

Present tense of tener (to have)
yotengo
nosotrostenemos
tútienes
vosotrostenéis
él / ella / ustedtiene
ellos / ellas / ustedestienen

The yo form gets the g instead of the stem change: tengo, not tiengo.

These verbs undergo the yo-go change and are also stem-changing.

  • Tengo dos hermanos. ¿Cuántos tienes tú?

    I have two siblings. How many do you have?

  • ¿Vienes a la fiesta? Sí, vengo con Ana.

    Are you coming to the party? Yes, I’m coming with Ana.

  • ¿Qué dices? Yo no digo nada.

    What are you saying? I’m not saying anything.

Other irregular yo forms

A few very common verbs have a yo form that doesn't follow any pattern, so you just have to learn it. Like the yo-go verbs, every other form is regular.

Present tense of saber (to know)
yosé
nosotrossabemos
túsabes
vosotrossabéis
él / ella / ustedsabe
ellos / ellas / ustedessaben

Sé has an accent so it isn’t confused with the pronoun se.

Only the shaded yo form is irregular. The rest take the regular endings.

  • ¿Sabes dónde está el baño? No, no sé.

    Do you know where the bathroom is? No, I don’t know.

  • Doy clases de piano los martes.

    I give piano lessons on Tuesdays.

  • Veo a mis abuelos los domingos.

    I see my grandparents on Sundays.

Completely irregular: ser, estar, and ir

Three of the most common verbs in Spanish don't follow the patterns above, so you just have to memorize them. The good news is that you'll use them so often that they stick fast. For when to use each of the two verbs for to be, see ser vs. estar.

Present tense of ser (to be)
yosoy
nosotrossomos
túeres
vosotrossois
él / ella / ustedes
ellos / ellas / ustedesson

The most irregular of them all.

  • Mis padres son de México, pero ahora están en Madrid.

    My parents are from Mexico, but right now they’re in Madrid.

  • ¿Cómo estás? Estoy bien, gracias.

    How are you? I’m fine, thanks.

  • Voy al gimnasio los lunes. ¿Vas tú también?

    I go to the gym on Mondays. Do you go too?

Spelling-change verbs

Some verbs change a letter or add an accent in certain forms. Most of these changes follow simple spelling rules: the letters change so the sound stays the same (so depending who you ask, they're not technically irregular).

c to z c

Most verbs ending in a vowel + ‑cer or ‑cir add a z in the yo form.

Present tense of conocer (to know, be familiar with)
yoconozco
nosotrosconocemos
túconoces
vosotrosconocéis
él / ella / ustedconoce
ellos / ellas / ustedesconocen

Conocer is for people and places. For facts, use saber: sé.

Only the shaded yo form changes its spelling. The rest are regular.

  • ¿Conoces a mi hermano? No, no lo conozco.

    Do you know my brother? No, I don’t know him.

  • Traduzco documentos del inglés al español.

    I translate documents from English into Spanish.

c to z

Verbs ending in a consonant + ‑cer or ‑cir. Before o, a c would sound like k, so the yo form uses a z.

Present tense of convencer (to convince)
yoconvenzo
nosotrosconvencemos
túconvences
vosotrosconvencéis
él / ella / ustedconvence
ellos / ellas / ustedesconvencen

Only the shaded yo form changes its spelling. The rest are regular.

  • Nunca convenzo a mi padre.

    I can never convince my dad.

  • Siempre te venzo al ajedrez.

    I always beat you at chess.

g to j

Verbs ending in ‑ger or ‑gir. Before o, a g would sound hard, so the yo form uses a j to keep the sound.

Present tense of escoger (to choose)
yoescojo
nosotrosescogemos
túescoges
vosotrosescogéis
él / ella / ustedescoge
ellos / ellas / ustedesescogen

Only the shaded yo form changes its spelling. The rest are regular.

  • ¿Cuál escojo? Todos son bonitos.

    Which one should I pick? They’re all nice.

  • Siempre recojo a los niños a las tres.

    I always pick up the kids at three.

g u to g

Verbs ending in ‑guir. The u is silent and only keeps the g hard before e and i. Before o it isn’t needed, so it drops out.

Present tense of distinguir (to distinguish, make out)
yodistingo
nosotrosdistinguimos
túdistingues
vosotrosdistinguís
él / ella / usteddistingue
ellos / ellas / ustedesdistinguen

Only the shaded yo form changes its spelling. The rest are regular.

  • Si sigo recto, ¿llego al museo?

    If I keep going straight, will I get to the museum?

  • De lejos no distingo las caras.

    From far away I can’t make out faces.

u to u y

Verbs ending in ‑uir (but not ‑guir) add a y in every form in the boot.

Present tense of construir (to build)
yoconstruyo
nosotrosconstruimos
túconstruyes
vosotrosconstruís
él / ella / ustedconstruye
ellos / ellas / ustedesconstruyen

The shaded forms add a y. Nosotros and vosotros don’t.

  • ¿El precio incluye el desayuno?

    Does the price include breakfast?

  • Construyen un hotel nuevo en la playa.

    They’re building a new hotel on the beach.

i and u take an accent

Some verbs ending in ‑iar or ‑uar add a written accent in the boot forms. Others, like estudiar (estudio), don’t, so learn these as you meet them.

Present tense of enviar (to send)
yoenvío
nosotrosenviamos
túenvías
vosotrosenviáis
él / ella / ustedenvía
ellos / ellas / ustedesenvían

The shaded forms take a written accent. Nosotros and vosotros don’t.

  • Te envío las fotos esta noche.

    I’ll send you the photos tonight.

  • La historia continúa en el próximo capítulo.

    The story continues in the next chapter.

Common mistakes English speakers make

  1. Adding “do” to questions

    Incorrect:¿Haces tú hablar español?
    Correct:¿Hablas español?

    Spanish has no helper verb like English do. The main verb carries the question on its own. Just raise your voice at the end, or put the subject after the verb: ¿Hablas tú español?

  2. Changing the stem in nosotros

    Incorrect:Nosotros puedemos ir.
    Correct:Nosotros podemos ir.

    Boot verbs only change inside the boot. Nosotros and vosotros keep the original vowel.

  3. Making an irregular yo form regular

    Incorrect:Yo no sabo.
    Correct:Yo no sé.

    The most common verbs tend to have irregular yo forms: sé, hago, tengo, conozco. Learn these first. You'll say them constantly.

  4. Dropping the accent when using estar

    Incorrect:Ella esta en casa.
    Correct:Ella está en casa.

    Without the accent, esta means this (esta casa, this house).

  5. Saying yo every time

    Sounds unnatural:Yo trabajo en un banco. Yo vivo en Denver.
    Correct:Trabajo en un banco. Vivo en Denver.

    The -o ending already means I, so native speakers usually leave yo out unless they're contrasting.

Questions about the present tense

How many present tenses are there in Spanish?

As a beginner, you need two. The simple present (hablo) is the one on this page, and it covers most situations. The present progressive (estoy hablando) stresses that something is happening right now.

Later you'll also meet the present subjunctive (hable) and the present perfect (he hablado). Despite the "present" in their names, those are separate tenses with their own uses.

Do I need to learn vosotros?

Only if you're learning the Spanish of Spain. Everywhere else, ustedes is used for "you all" in both formal and informal situations. It's still worth being able to recognize vosotros forms, since you'll see them in books, films, and songs from Spain.

How do I know if a verb is stem-changing?

You can't tell from the infinitive alone: pensar changes (pienso) but pasar doesn't (paso). Many dictionaries and textbooks mark it, as in pensar (ie) or dormir (ue). In practice, learn the most common boot verbs as a group. It's the same dozen or so verbs that come up again and again.

Which irregular verbs should I learn first?

Start with ser, estar, ir, tener, hacer, poder, querer, decir, saber, and venir. They're some of the most common verbs in Spanish, and every one of them is irregular or stem-changing in the present tense.

Next upSer vs. estarThe two verbs for "to be": DOCTOR and PLACE, the permanent vs. temporary myth, and adjectives that change meaning.

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