How do you conjugate regular verbs in the Spanish present tense?
Take the infinitive without its -ar, -er or -ir and add the ending for the person: hablo, hablas, habla, hablamos, habláis, hablan. -Er and -ir verbs share every ending but two: nosotros (comemos, vivimos) and vosotros (coméis, vivís).
Usted takes the él form and ustedes the ellos form: usted habla, ustedes hablan. Vos has a present of its own, stressed on the ending — vos hablás, comés, vivís — which the dictionary's tables print beside tú: hablas / hablás.
| Person | -ar (hablar) | -er, -ir (comer, vivir) |
|---|---|---|
| yo | hablo | como · vivo |
| tú | hablas | comes · vives |
| él, ella, usted | habla | come · vive |
| nosotros | hablamos | comemos · vivimos |
| vosotros | habláis | coméis · vivís |
| ellos, ustedes | hablan | comen · viven |
Which verbs are irregular in the whole present tense?
Four of them end the yo form in -oy: soy, estoy, voy, doy. Estar carries an accent on every form but estoy and estamos, and ser has a vos form of its own: vos sos.
Haber's present builds the present perfect — he comido, has visto. Meaning there is or there are, it takes the form hay: hay un problema, hay tres farmacias (hay vs está sorts it from estar).
| Verb | Present |
|---|---|
| ser | soy, eres, es, somos, sois, son |
| estar | estoy, estás, está, estamos, estáis, están |
| ir | voy, vas, va, vamos, vais, van |
| dar | doy, das, da, damos, dais, dan |
| haber | he, has, ha, hemos, habéis, han |
Which verbs are irregular only in the yo form?
The biggest group adds a g: hago, pongo, salgo, valgo — and traigo and caigo, with an i before it. The academies note that a regular *salo for salgo is not even recorded. Tener, venir and decir add the g in yo and change the stem's vowel in the forms that stress it: tengo but tienes, vengo but vienes, digo but dices.
Verbs in -ecer and -ducir add a z before the c: parezco, conduzco, and conocer does the same — conozco. The rest of the tense is regular: conoces, conoce.
Saber shortens to sé — with an accent, which tells it from the pronoun se (accent marks has the pairs). Ver keeps its e: veo. Caber gives quepo. Three more change only a letter, to keep the sound: escoger → escojo, dirigir → dirijo, vencer → venzo.
| Pattern | Verbs |
|---|---|
| A g in yo | hacer → hago, poner → pongo, salir → salgo, valer → valgo, traer → traigo, caer → caigo |
| A g, and a vowel change elsewhere | tener → tengo (tienes), venir → vengo (vienes), decir → digo (dices) |
| A g, and a y elsewhere | oír → oigo (oyes, oye, oyen) |
| A z in yo | conocer → conozco, parecer → parezco, conducir → conduzco |
| One of a kind | saber → sé, ver → veo, caber → quepo |
| The spelling only | escoger → escojo, dirigir → dirijo, vencer → venzo |
Which other verbs change in the present?
A large group changes the vowel of the stem wherever it is stressed — every form but nosotros and vosotros: e → ie (quiero, queremos), o → ue (puedo, podemos), e → i (pido, pedimos), and jugar's u → ue (juego). They have their own page and quiz: stem-changing verbs.
Verbs ending in -uir add a y before an ending that does not begin with i: construyo, construyes, construye, construyen — but construimos and construís. Huir, concluir, disminuir and atribuir follow construir (Nueva gramática §4.9j).
When do you use the present tense in Spanish?
The present covers more ground than its English twin: what is happening as you speak (te llamo desde el aeropuerto), a habit (los sábados juego al fútbol), a fact about a person or a thing (Caracas es la capital de Venezuela) and a truth that holds at any time (dos y dos son cuatro).
It reaches forward when a plan or a timetable is already fixed and a word places it later: el avión sale a las diez, me voy dentro de dos meses. After si it is the only choice for the future — si vienes, never si vendrás — and si clauses have the rest.
It reaches back too: histories and biographies tell the past in the present (en 1492, Colón llega a América), and a story told aloud can jump into it for effect. And said to someone, it gives an instruction that is firmer than a request: tú te sientas aquí y esperas; usted sale por la puerta de atrás.
| Use | Example |
|---|---|
| Right now | Te llamo desde el aeropuerto. |
| A habit | Los sábados juego al fútbol. |
| A fact about something | Caracas es la capital de Venezuela. |
| A timeless truth | Dos y dos son cuatro. |
| A plan already fixed | El avión sale a las diez. |
| The past, told in a story | En 1492, Colón llega a América. |
| An instruction | Tú te sientas aquí y esperas. |
| After si, for the future | Si llueve, nos quedamos en casa. |
Hablo or estoy hablando?
For something going on as you speak, Spanish can use either: ¿qué haces? and ¿qué estás haciendo? both ask what someone is doing, and the academies list canto and estoy cantando as alternatives (Nueva gramática §23.5e). The plain present also asks about a habit: ¿qué haces los domingos?
English needs -ing far more often than Spanish needs estar: ¿adónde vas? is where are you going?, and salgo mañana is I'm leaving tomorrow. The present progressive sets out when estoy hablando is the better choice. A situation that started in the past and still goes on is the present too: vivo aquí desde hace dos años — hace vs desde hace explains the time words.
Why do English speakers get the present tense wrong?
The endings are regular; the slips come where a verb breaks them — a regular yo form for an irregular one (salo for salgo, conoco for conozco), a stem change carried into nosotros (puedemos for podemos), and -ir verbs given -er endings (vivemos for vivimos).
Our own grading data shows how often. Nivelo grades every conversation turn and writing task against the grammar it uses. Across 47 learners and 2,843 present-tense forms (recounted 24 September 2026), 22% were wrong — 26% at A2, 16% at B2. It covers every slip in the tense, form or use, and it is a count of our own learners, not a study.
What comes after the present tense?
Stem-changing verbs are the present's other irregular group — pienso, puedo, pido — and the present progressive is its -ing: estoy hablando. Ser vs estar is the choice between soy and estoy. The yo forms on this page are the base of the present subjunctive: hago gives haga, tengo gives tenga, conozco gives conozca. The irregular preterite is the past's own short list — hice, tuve, dije. The present is where Spanish starts, and how to go from A1 to A2 is the plan for the step after it. The free Spanish level test places you on the A1–C2 scale in five minutes.