El presente de indicativo
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The Spanish present tense, also known as the present indicative, is very similar in usage to the English simple present, but there are some key differences. The Spanish present tense can talk about any of the following:
1. Current actions or states of being
| Vamos al mercado. | We are going to the market. | |
| Estoy listo. | I am ready. |
2. Habitual actions or states of being
| Voy a la escuela todos los días. | I go to school every day. | |
| Veo una película los sábados. | I see a movie on Saturdays. |
3. Absolute and general truths.
| La tierra es grande. | The earth is big. | |
| La escuela es importante. | School is important. |
4. Actions which will occur in the near future.
| Voy al mercado lunes. | I’ll go to the store Monday. | |
| Ana llega a las dos. | Ana’s arriving at two. |
5. Conditions in si clauses
| Si puedo, iré contigo. | If I can, I will go with you. |
Spanish vs English
Much of the above applies to the English present tense, but as you can see in some of the translations, the Spanish present tense often has three possible English equivalents – the English helping verbs "to be" and "to do" are not translated into the Spanish present tense.
| I eat | } | Yo como. |
| I am eating | ||
| I do eat |
However, if you want to emphasize the fact that something is happening right now, you can use the present progressive:
| I am eating (right now) | } | Estoy comiendo. |
| I’m in the process of eating |
Present tense conjugations
Present Tense Quizzes
Think you’ve got it? Test yourself on the Spanish present tense with these fill-in-the-blanks exercises:
- Adviento
- Años bisiestos
- Día Internacional de las Bibliotecas
- En abril aguas mil
- Gisela Pulido
- Mi semana
- Who is Alejandro Sanz?
Note: You must be logged into your Progress with Lawless Spanish account to take these tests. If you don’t have one, sign up – it’s free!
Related lessons
- Present tense conjugations – PwLS super list
- Present tense usage – PwLS super list
- Present progressive
- Introduction to Spanish verbs
En français
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