The Present Indicative in Spanish

All Spanish verbs in their infinitive form end in -ar, -er or -ir. Depending on these endings, verbs are classified into three conjugations (which are like classes or categories). You may already know this, but it is a good idea to remember it before learning about the present indicative in Spanish, also called present simple tense.

• The first conjugation includes all verbs ending in -AR. This is the most popular conjugation, since many common Spanish verbs end in -AR.
  And almost all verbs in this conjugation are regular.
• The second conjugation is composed of verbs ending in -ER.
• And the third conjugation includes all verbs ending in -IR.

Uses of Present Tense in Spanish

The present indicative in Spanish is used for these situations:

• When you describe a current situation or action. → Trabajo en una oficina.
• For describing repeated and permanent actions. → Todos los días voy a casa de mis abuelos.
• When you give a definition. → El ornitorrinco es un animal mamífero.
• For universal truths. → El cielo es azul.
• To provide information about something or someone. → Mi hijo tiene 19 años. / Esta chaqueta es marrón.
• To give instructions. → Después de cruzar el puente, gira a la derecha.
• To describe routines, usual actions. → De lunes a viernes voy a clases de español.
• To talk about planned actions that are going to happen in the near future (tomorrow, next week, next month, next year…).
  → Mañana cenamos en un restaurante italiano.
  → El año que viene me voy de Erasmus a Polonia.
  → El próximo mes Bon Jovi da un concierto en Madrid.
• To talk about something you started in the past and continue today. It is usually a hobby, a sport, a lifestyle…
  → Hablo francés desde los 15 años.
  → Juego a fútbol desde los 10 años.
  → Soy vegetariano desde hace 20 años.
• To highlight historical events. This is called “presente histórico”. → En 1914 comienza la Primera Guerra Mundial.
  

How to conjugate Spanish regular verbs in present tense

As we said at the beginning, there are three conjugations of verbs in Spanish with three different endings in the infinitive: -AR, -ER and -IR.
If we want to conjugate a Spanish regular verb in present indicative tense, we have to take off the infinitive ending and add the present tense endings of the different persons or pronouns (yo, tú, él/ella/usted, nosotros, vosotros, ellos/ellas/ustedes). When we take off the infinitive ending, the stem or root of the verb remains, and we have to join this stem with the correct present ending for each pronoun.
If you want to practice more about this, see the online exercise about the stem and ending in Spanish infinitives.

And what are the present tense endings for the regular verbs in Spanish? Look at the following tables:

How to conjugate Spanish irregular verbs in present tense

Now we are going to see how to conjugate irregular verbs in Spanish in present tense, which is more tricky, so you need to read carefully and patiently. After reading and reviewing the topic several times, it will be easier for you to understand it. And you can also practice with exercises later.

The first thing you need to know is that not all the verbs in Spanish are irregular in the same way. Some verbs are completely irregular while many others are only partially irregular.

• Completely irregular verbs are those that change both the stem and the ending in the present tense.
• Partially irregular verbs cover different cases, and these are:
  • Irregular verbs in the first person singular, changing the stem in the first person but remaining regular in the other persons.
  • Verbs in Spanish with vowel irregularities.
  • Verbs in Spanish with consonant irregularities.
  • Verbs with double irregularity.

Completely irregular verbs

These verbs are completely irregular. You must learn all their present forms since they do not follow a pattern.
The following conjugated verbs are completely irregular, and they are some of the most used verbs in Spanish: haber, ir, ser, estar.

Irregular verbs in the first person singular in Spanish

These verbs are only irregular in the first person singular (yo). In the other persons, these verbs are conjugated as regular verbs.
These verbs are: caer, caber, dar, hacer, poner, saber, salir, traer, valer, ver.

Verbs in Spanish with vowel irregularities

These irregular verbs change their stem or root in all persons except in the first person plural (nosotros) and second person plural (vosotros). See the following cases of stem-changing verbs in Spanish in the present tense:

• E → I
  In some verbs ending in -IR (third conjugation), the letter E changes to I in all persons except the first and second plural (nosotros and vosotros).
  Some of the most common Spanish verbs that fall into this category are the following: pedir, repetir, medir, vestir, despedir, impedir.
  Let’s take a look at a few of these conjugated verbs in present tense.

• E → IE
  In some verbs of the three conjugations, a letter E in the stem becomes IE in all persons, except in the first person plural (nosotros) and second person plural (vosotros).
  This happens with common Spanish verbs such as acertar, advertir, atender, atravesar, calentar, cerrar, comenzar, confesar, convertir, defender, despertar, divertir, empezar, encender, entender, enterrar, fregar, herir, hervir, mentir, merendar, negar, pensar, perder, preferir, querer, regar, sentarse, sugerir, temblar, tender, tropezar, verter….
  
  Let’s take a look at a few of these conjugated verbs in present tense.

• O → UE
  In some verbs of the three conjugations, a letter O in the stem becomes UE in all persons, except in the first person plural (nosotros) and second person plural (vosotros).
  This happens with common Spanish verbs such as acordar, almorzar, aprobar, colgar, contar, demostrar, devolver, dormir, encontrar, envolver, morder, morir, mostrar, mover, poder, probar, recordar, resolver, soler, soñar, volar, volver…
  
  Let’s take a look at a few of these conjugated verbs in present tense.

• U → UE
  There is one important verb in Spanish, jugar, that changes the letter U in the stem to UE in all persons, except in the first person plural (nosotros) and second person plural (vosotros).
  

Verbs in Spanish with consonant irregularities

• Verbs ending in –ACER, –ECER, –OCER and –UCIR change the –C– to –ZC– in the first person singular.
  In the other persons, these verbs are conjugated as regular verbs.
  Some verbs in Spanish that follow this rule are the following: agradecer, aparecer, conocer, crecer, desagradecer, desconocer, obedecer, desobeceder, favorecer, lucir, merecer, nacer, conducir, parecer, permanecer, pertenecer…
  See some of these verbs conjugated in present:

• Verbs ending in –DUCIR change the –C– to –ZC– in the first person singular.
  In the other persons, these verbs are conjugated as regular verbs.
  Some verbs in Spanish that follow this rule are the following: traducir, conducir, introducir, deducir, inducir, producir, reducir, reproducir, seducir…
  See some of these verbs conjugated in present:

• Verbs ending in –UIR change the –I– to –Y– in all persons, except in the first person plural (nosotros) and second person plural (vosotros).
  Some verbs in Spanish that follow this rule are the following: concluir, atribuir, constituir, contribuir, destituir, destruir, diluir, disminuir, distribuir, excluir, huir, incluir, influir, instruir, obstruir, reconstruir, sustituir…
  See some of these verbs conjugated in present:

• Verbs ending in –CER and –CIR change –C– to –Z– in the first person singular, before the -o ending.
  Some common verbs in Spanish that follow this rule are the following: convencer, vencer, cocer, esparcir, ejercer, torcer, escocer, mecer…
  See some of these verbs conjugated in present:
  
  * The verb MECER is an exception to the previous rule of verbs ending in -ACER, -ECER, -OCER and -UCIR that change the -C- to -ZC- in the first person singular. The verb MECER only adds a -z- in that person: yo mezo.

• Verbs ending in –GER and –GIR change –G– to –J– in the first person singular, before the -o ending.
  Some common verbs in Spanish that follow this rule are the following: acoger, coger, corregir, encoger, proteger, recoger, elegir, exigir, fingir, restringir, surgir…
  See some of these verbs conjugated in present:

Verbs with double irregularity

Verbs in Spanish that have double irregularity are these: tener, venir, oír, decir.
These four verbs change their stem in two ways:

• in the first person (tengo, vengo, oigo, digo),
• and in the rest of the persons, except for the first person plural (nosotros) and in the second person plural (vosotros).