In today’s lesson, we are going to teach you the simple present in Spanish. Simple present is called “el presente del indicativo” in Spanish and some of its usages are as same as in English, but there are some different usages that you will learn by reading this article.
When do we use el presente del indicativo in Spanish?
Table of Contents
Usages
Reference to the present time
For habitual actions in present, for example:
¿Qué haces los fines de semana?
What do you do at weekends?
En mi casa desayunamos a las 7 de la mañana.
At my house, we have breakfast at seven in the morning.
Todos los días escucho la música.
Every day I listen to music.
Él va al trabajo 5 días a la semana.
He goes to work 5 days a week.
For general truths, and talking about informations and news, for example:
La mayoría de los españoles son católicos.
The majority of Spaniards are Catholics.
Ella vive en Barcelona.
She lives in Barcelona.
Tres y tres suman seis.
Three plus three equals six.
Él banco abre a las 8:30.
The bank opens at 8:30.
With ‘since’ expressions, referring to a period of time that continues up until the present, for example:
Ella vive en México desde hace cinco años./ Hace cinco años que ella vive en México.
He has been living in Mexico for five years. (From five years ago up until now).
Espero desde hace mucho rato./ Hace mucho rato que espero.
I have been waiting for a long time.
Reference to the future time
A fixed event; something which has been pre-arranged (especially with verbs of motion) or which is intended, for example:
El viernes no hay clase, es fiesta.
There is no class on Friday, it’s a holiday.
Los exámenes empiezan pasado mañana.
The exams begin the day after tomorrow.
Salimos mañana temprano.
We (are due to, intend to) leave early tomorrow.
Reference to past time
In formal style, usually, it’s used as an alternative to the preterite, as an example:
En 1978 se aprueba (= se aprobó) la nueva Constitución.
The new Constitution was approved in 1978.
In colloquial use, as an alternative to either the preterite or the imperfect, to create an impression of greater vividness. Although this possibility exists in English, the usage is more common in Spanish. For example:
Estoy en la calle, cuando se me acerca un hombre y me dice …
I was in the street when a man came up to me and said …
It’s used as an imperative and also gives instructions:
Para ir al cine coge la segunda calle a la derecha.
To go to the cinema take the second street on the right.
Sigue todo recto hasta el primer semáforo y luego gira a la derecha.
Go straight as far as the first traffic -light and then turn right.
How can we change an infinitive verb to presente del indicativo in Spanish?
In Spanish, there are 3 groups of verbs, based on the termination of the infinitive: -ar, -er, -ir that we have to conjugate them, and the terminations should be omitted.
- Conjugation (-ar): trabajar (to work)
- Conjugation (-er): beber (to drink)
- Conjugation (-ir): vivir (to live)
1. Conjugation (-ar):
- (Yo) trabajo > I work
- (Tú) trabajas > you work
- (Él) trabaja > he works
- (Ella) trabaja > she works
- (Usted) trabaja (formal, singular) > you work
- (Nosotros/Nosotras) trabajamos > we work
- (Vosotros/Vosotras) trabajáis (plural) > you work
- (Ellos) trabajan > they work
- (Ellas) trabajan (feminine) > they work
- (Ustedes) trabajan (formal, plural) > you work
2. Conjugation (-er):
- (Yo) bebo > I drink
- (Tú) bebes > you drink
- (Él) bebe > he drinks
- (Ella) bebe > she drinks
- (Usted) bebe (formal, singular) > you drink
- (Nosotros/Nosotras) bebemos > we drink
- (Vosotros/Vosotras) bebéis (plural) > you drink
- (Ellos) beben > they drink
- (Ellos) beben (feminine) > they drink
- (Ustedes) beben (formal, plural) > you drink
3. Conjugation (-ir)
- (Yo) vivo > I live
- (Tú) vives > you live
- (Él) vive > he lives
- (Ella) vive > she lives
- (Usted) vive (formal, singular) > you live
- (Nosotros/Nosotras) vivimos > we live
- (Vosotros/ Vosotras) vivís (plural) > you live
- (Ellos) viven > they live
- (Ellas) viven (feminine) > they live
- (Ustedes) viven (formal, plural) > you live
Some examples:
Yo vivo en Madrid.
I live in Madrid.
Tú bebes alcohol.
You drink alcohol.
Él trabaja mucho.
He works a lot.
There is a verb that is completely irregular:
Ir: to go
- Yo voy > I go
- Tú vas > you go
- Él, Ella, usted va > he goes, she goes, you go
- Nosotros, Nosotras vamos > we go
- Vosotros, Vosotras vais > you go
- Ellos, Ellas, Ustedes > they go, you go
Some verbs are irregular and their dictations are different:
Decir (to tell): digo, dices, dice, decimos, decís, dicen
Oír (to hear): oigo, oyes, oye, oímos, oís, oyen
Tener (to have): tengo, tienes, tiene, tenemos, tenéis, tienen
Venir (to come): vengo, vienes, viene, venimos, venís, vienen
There are some irregular verbs, that their first person is different, examples:
Coger (to take): cojo, coges, coge, cogemos, cogéis, cogen
Conocer (to know): conozco, conoces, conoce, conocemos, conocéis, conocen
Dar (to give): doy, das, da, damos, dais, dan
Hacer (to do, to make): hago, haces, hace, hacemos, hacéis, hacen
Poner (to put, to turn on): pongo, pones, pone, ponemos, ponéis, ponen
Traer (to bring): traigo, traes, trae, traemos, traéis, traen
Saber (to know, can): sé, sabes, sabe, sabemos, sabéis, saben
Salir (to leave, to go out): salgo, sales, sale, salimos, salís, salen
Some more examples:
Maria sabe tocar el piano.
Maria can play the piano.
Nosotros vamos a la escuela en coche.
We go to school by car.
Mi amigo siempre dice la verdad.
My friend always tells the truth.
¿Haces la cama todas las mañanas?
Do you make the bed every morning?
How can we make the simple present negative in Spanish?
In Spanish, a “no” should be added before the verb in order to make the sentence or question negative. For example:
No hablo Italiano.
I don’t speak Italian.
Él no se levanta temprano.
He doesn’t get up early.
Su hermana no va al trabajo los sábados.
Her sister doesn’t go to work on Saturdays.
Mi amigo no es tan estudioso.
My friend isn’t that much studious.
In this article, we learned Simple Present Tense in Spanish (El presente del indicativo). if you have any questions about this topic, please leave a comment for us.
You can also check out the Spanish Grammar page to read other grammatical articles.