The present tense: The present tense (el presente) is the most-used tense in Spanish. You reach for it to talk about habits and routines («estudio cada día»), general facts («el agua hierve a 100 grados»), what's happening now («ahora trabajo») and even near-future plans («mañana viajo a Madrid»). This micro covers regular verbs — the ones whose endings follow a fixed pattern, with no surprises in the stem.
- el presente
- the present tense
- conjugar
- to conjugate — to change the verb so it matches the subject
- la raíz
- the stem — what's left after you remove -ar / -er / -ir
- la terminación
- the ending — the part that changes for each person
- regular
- regular — the verb follows the standard pattern, the stem never changes
- la persona
- the person — who does the action (yo, tú, él…)
When you reach for it: If the prompt mentions «normalmente», «todos los días», «siempre», «cada» — or simply asks what you do, like or think — it's almost always the present. It's the default tense for describing your routine and your opinions in the speaking and writing tasks.
Stem + ending: To conjugate a regular verb: drop the -ar / -er / -ir to get the stem, then add the ending for the person. The three families share most endings — only a couple of vowels differ between -er and -ir. Learn the table below and you can conjugate thousands of verbs.
| Persona | -ar (hablar) | -er (comer) | -ir (vivir) |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | hablo | como | vivo |
| tú | hablas | comes | vives |
| él / ella / usted | habla | come | vive |
| nosotros / nosotras | hablamos | comemos | vivimos |
| vosotros / vosotras | habláis | coméis | vivís |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | hablan | comen | viven |
It's always stem + ending: hablar → stem habl- + -o = hablo. The stem stays the same for every person; only the ending changes. Notice the -er and -ir endings are identical except for nosotros/vosotros (comemos/coméis vs vivimos/vivís).
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Five everyday jobs: The present tense does more than one job. Here are the five you meet most in the exam — each with a Spanish example. Notice that the same verb form covers habits, facts, the here-and-now and even the near future.
Usos del presente
- Habits & routines — «Cada mañana corro en el parque.» (Every morning I run in the park.)
- General facts — «La Tierra gira alrededor del Sol.» (The Earth goes around the Sun.)
- Actions happening now — «En este momento escribo un correo.» (Right now I'm writing an email.)
- Near-future plans — «Esta noche cenamos en casa de Ana.» (Tonight we're having dinner at Ana's.)
- Time spanning until now — «Vivo aquí desde hace tres años.» (I've been living here for three years.)
One form, many meanings: Spanish doesn't have a separate «I am doing» form for everyday speech — «trabajo» already covers I work, I do work and I'm working. Let the time markers («ahora», «normalmente», «esta noche») make the meaning clear.
A routine, sentence by sentence: Here's a short everyday paragraph built one sentence at a time. Every verb is a regular verb in the present. Read it once for the meaning, then tap Ver traducción for the English or 🔊 to hear it.
El presente en acción
Una rutina, frase a frase
- Todos los días me levanto a las siete de la mañana.
- Desayuno un café con tostadas y leo las noticias.
- Después estudio español en la biblioteca con mis amigos.
- Por la tarde comemos juntos y hablamos de nuestras clases.
- Mis hermanos viven cerca, así que los visito los fines de semana.
Steal this for your routine: Notice the pattern: a time marker («todos los días», «después», «por la tarde») + a regular verb in the present. Swap in your own activities and you have a ready-made paragraph about your daily life.
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The slips to watch for: Most present-tense mistakes are about the ending: leaving the verb in the infinitive, or matching the wrong person. Compare the right version with the typical mistake and the fix becomes obvious.
Correcto
- Yo hablo español.
- Nosotros comemos a la una.
- Ella vive en Sevilla.
Error común
- Yo hablar español.
- Nosotros comen a la una.
- Ella vivir en Sevilla.
Check the ending matches the person: Before you move on, ask: who is doing it, and does the ending match? «Yo» needs -o, «nosotros» needs -amos / -emos / -imos. A verb still ending in -ar / -er / -ir is a sign you forgot to conjugate it.