Present tense in Spanish: use and conjugation

O callsign present in Spanish is used to express:

• usual or current actions
• universal truths or values
• historical facts
• shares with future value and uncertain realization

In some cases it can also be used with a value of imperative to give orders.

Its conjugation, just like in Portuguese, has person, number and time marks.. The morphological structure of this tense is composed of regular verbs — when there is no modification of the root — and irregularities — when the irregularity is proper or the root undergoes some kind of change.

In the second case, these modifications can occur either with the addition or change of vowels or consonants or with a change in stress. Let's learn a little about this common tense in Spanish. ¡Échale ganas!

Read too: Defective verbs in Spanish – verbs that have incomplete conjugation

Come learn about the uses of the present indicative in español.

Regular verbs in present tense

Regular verbs are those that do not show root modification. Let's look at the conjugation of three of them, one from each conjugation group.

persona	finish	Eat	Leave
singular	yo	FinishO	With-O	part-O
you	finishat	with-are you	part-are you
you	finishat	with-you are	part-is
he/she/usted	finishThe	with-and	part-and
plural form	nosotros	finishloves	with-emos	part-we go
you (as)	finishthere	with-you are	part-is
they/they/usedes	Finishan	with-en	part-we go

¡OJO!Youand you are both second person singular personal pronouns, and are translated by you or you. You it is usual in Latin America in general, but it is more used and recognized in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile, Colombia and Venezuela. As noted by the examples, its most common conjugation is done by adding an accent to the theme vowel + s:

finish - finish

eat – eat+s

depart - depart

Examples:

• Yes you finish las tasks, I want you to go out for a walk.
  (If finish the tasks, I let them walk.)
• yo forever like in my abuela's house.
  (I always like at my grandmother's house.)
• You, when partis?
  (You part When?)

Read too:Personal and treatment pronouns – how and when to use them?

Irregular present tense verbs

These verbs have their own irregularity or can undergo changes with addition or change of vowels or consonants.

• Verbs with proper irregularity

persona	Be	To give	To be	Go	know
singular	yo	i am	doy	soy	voy	he
you	these	of the	you are	go	has
you	these	of the	SOS	go	has
he/she/usted	it is	gives	are you	go	there is
plural form	nosotros	we are	we give	are	let's go	hemos
you (as)	you are	two	you are	you go	skillful
they/they/usedes	are you	dan	son	van	ha

• Irregular verbs with vowel alternation

They are those that have their own irregularity or have some change in the vowel in the root when the syllable to which the vowel belongs is stressed. This change happens in the first, second (you) and third person singular and third person plural. The endings remain the same.

• Vocal exchange e>ie

persona	Empezar (start)	To understand	To lie	Awakening (waking up)
singular	yo	Empiezo	soiegoing	Mienot	undress meieright
you	empiezap	soiewhere	miebefore	undress youielol
you	empezas	understand	lie	wake you up
he/she/usted	empieza	Entiewhere	miebefore	undressesiert
plural form	nosotros	we started	We understand	we lie	we wake up
you (as)	empezáis	understand	lie	the awakened
they/they/usedes	empiezan	Entienden	mietent	undressesiertan

Another examples:right, discern, start, acquire, order, skim (punish, punish), manifest, add, bloody, recommend, blind, close, deny, think, rethink, close (close), meet, defend, lose, want, have fun, feel, suggest, inherit (hurt).

¡OJO!Pronouns of pronominal verbs are always placed before conjugated verbs.

• vowel change what

persona	fly (fly)	back (back)	die (die)
singular	yo	vhuhit	Vhuhlvo	Mhuhro
you	vhuhla	vhuhlves	mhuhres
you	volás	turn	moris
he/she/usted	vhuhthere	vhuhlight	mhuhre
plural form	nosotros	come back	we come back	we died
you (as)	volatiles	volleys	moris
they/they/usedes	vhuhlan	Vhuhlven	mhuhren

Another examples:move, count, sleep, wake up, lunch (to have lunch), approve, shame, hang (to hang), verify, count, cost, find, force, judge (play play), show, poor (people), probar, remember, rotate, sonar (sound), dream, agree, demonstrate, approve, disapprove, strive, resolve, revolve, move, doler, llover, bite, power, promote.

• Vocal exchange e>i

persona	Ask	rive	smile
singular	yo	Piof	RíO	soníO
you	Pides	ríare you	soníare you
you	asked	kings	somreis
he/she/usted	Piin	ríand	soníand
plural form	nosotros	we ask	kings	we smile
you (as)	asked	kings	somreis
they/they/usedes	Piden	ríen	soníen

Another examples: melting, measuring, receiving, serving, dressing.

¡OJO!Generally speaking, gaps (meeting a strong vowel — a, o, u — with a weak vowel — i, u — or vice versa, in separate syllables) are not given a graphic accent. However, in some cases, the tonic accent falls on the weak vowel, which should be accentuated: reír, sonreír, actúas, evaluas, create...

Read too:The accent – rules and peculiarities of accent in Spanish

• Irregular verbs with consonant change

Are those who have irregularity or have some consonant change in the root. In some cases, this change happens in the first, second (you) and third person singular and in the third person plural (hi, build, oler). In others, the change takes place only in the first person singular.

persona	hello	Ramp up	oler
singular	yo	oigo	construction	huelo
you	Oh yeah	builds	hueles
you	hello	build	hello
he/she/usted	oy	build	huele
plural form	nosotros	Hello	we build	let's oil
you (as)	hello	build	hellos
they/they/usedes	oyen	construyen	huelen

There is a linguistic phenomenon called epenthesis (epenthesis), that is, the addition of phonemes (sounds) within words. In the present tense in Spanish, we have three cases:

The) addition of -z to the first person singular root. Happens to all verbs ending in -ecer and -ducir and others ending in -cer.

deserve - deserving

craving - craving

meet - with us

thank - thank you

born - nazco

grow - crezco

drive - drive

produce - produceco

introduce - introduce

Lucir – Luzco

Exceptions:mete (mezo) and reminisce (remake).

B) addition of -g or -ig in the first person singular (yo):

fall - fall

make - hago

count - valgus

leave - salt

poner - pong

come - come

tener - I have

work like fall: draw, abstract, contract, attract, distract, extract, subtract, sustraer.

ç) verbs ending in -uir: the vowel -i is replaced by -y, as with the verb ramp up previously conjugated. Another examples: contribute, institute, attribute, reconstitute, replace.

d) other irregularities only in the first person singular:

fit – what?

know if

Uses of the present tense

• Expressing universal truths or values

The present tense assumes this function when used with verbs of opinion (believe, think, opine, opinion) and with truth expressions or universal values ​​(be clear that, be sure that, it is evident that...) in its affirmative form:

• I believe that year may improve.
  (I think the year he can improve.)
• It is evident that the climate change affect human life.
  (It is evident that climate change affects human life.)

When the sentence is negative, the present subjunctive is used:

I don't think it's the year puedia improve.
(I don't think the year can get any better.)

The present tense is also used for issuing an opinion in the Spanish language.

• Historical facts

is the call historical present, that is, the use of the present to emphasize facts from the past.

In 1948, suppress itself the armed forces in Costa Rica.
(In 1948, eliminate themselves the armed forces in Costa Rica.)

• Shares with future value and uncertain realization

This usage happens with the conditional conjunction yes (if):

Yes I have plata, travel en diciembre.
(If I have money, I travel/I will travel in December.)

• With imperative value to give orders

If sales temprano mañana, me warnings.
(If you leave early tomorrow, warn.)

Also access: exchange verbs –change verbs in spanish

solved exercises

Question 1 - Corrects the sentences whose verbs are not conjugated with the pronoun:

A) Where are you from?

B) You have a lot of understanding of geography.

C) Nosotras are not from here.

D) Ellos siempre Compras en mi tienda.

E) Vosotros are late.

Resolution

A) From where you are you?

B) Usted understand a lot of geography.

C) Correct.

D) Ellos always buy in my store.

E) Correct.

Question 2 - (EUCE 2018)

TEXT 1

The biggest trees on the planet fade

Some of the biggest and most ancient trees of the world were on the planet when the majority of humans literally lived in the City of Piedra. Without embargo, a wave of human actions, such as the splint, the degradation of ecosystems and now the climate change It's ending with the oldest ejemplares of secuoyas, eucalyptus trees of 100 meters or trees that are magical like it. baobab. It is even worse that the conditions are not in place for younger copies to reach the height and age of their predecessors.

Only there are many species of millenary trees, only a few times they grow during periods up to 50, 100 and up to 115 meters that surpass some examples of secuoya roja. There is no bien defined category of botanists who call LOT, Large Old Trees (grandes arboles viejos, en inglés). Also, a minimum height or span has been set to determine what is a large tree. An objective data is the central character that plays in your ecosystem. A subjective date is the majesty that inspires humans.

For that reason LOT are the species of secuoyas that grow on the west coast of the US, and the fresno de montaña (Eucalyptus regnans) which grows over 400 years up to 100 or more meters or Petersianthus quadrialatus, a kind of palo rosa that grows in the Philippines. But there are also old trees and large firs of more than 50 meters that are in the very large forest of Bialoweeza (Poland) the African baobab that in some species reaches 30 meters in height and more than 10 in circumference. Casi all are in retreat.

Miguel Ángel Created (EL PAÍS periodical)

At the end of the text we can infer that

A) The mountain fresno and the pink palo are typical of the United States.

B) The baobab grows in Africa and reaches 30 meters in circumference.

C) Firs are LOT types that grow in Polish forests.

D) the secuoyas estaduonidenses are all in retreat.

Resolution

Alternative C. The last paragraph mentions the trees that are considered large old trees (big old trees), that is, trees that play an important role in their ecosystems and, in addition, are majestic. The only true information regarding the trees mentioned is that spruce grows in Polish forests, ie alternative C.

By Renata Martins Gonarttes
Spanish teacher 

Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/espanhol/presente-do-indicativo-em-espanhol.htm