Present Tense - El Presente

    compr ar   beb er   viv ir
yo
tú
él/ella/Ud.
nosotros, -as
vosotros, -as
ellos/ellas/Uds.		   compr
compr
compr
compr
compr
compr		 o
as
a
amos
áis
an		   beb
beb
beb
beb
beb
beb		 o
es
e
emos
éis
en		   viv
viv
viv
viv
viv
viv		 o
es
e
imos
ís
en

 

Useful examples


Hablo inglés y francés
I speak English and French

¿Quieres tomar algo?
Do you want something to drink?

¿Estudias o trabajas?
Do you study or work?

Viven y trabajan en Londres
They live and work in London

Llegamos el lunes
We arrive on Monday

Mi tren sale a las siete
My train leaves at seven

Nunca salimos
We never go out

No conducen nunca por Madrid
They never drive in Madrid

¿Qué haces esta noche?
What are you doing tonight?

Salimos a las nueve
We are leaving at nine

Te veo mañana
I'll see you tomorrow

¿Bailamos?
Shall we dance?

¿A que hora quedamos y donde?
When and where shall we meet?

The simple present can express events started in the past and are still going on when used in conjunction with "desde" (since), "hace + time expression + que", "desde hace" (for) Eg:

Vivimos en Barcelona desde enero
We have lived in Barcelona since January

Hace días que no te veo
I haven’t seen you for days

Soy vegetariano desde hace un mes
I have been a vegetarian for a month

 

The verb "llevar"

The verb "llevar", which normally means "to bring / to carry", is also used in the present tense to speak about situations that started in the past and are still continuing or have just finished.

Este museo lleva cerrado cinco años
This museum has been closed for five years

¿Cuánto tiempo llevas aquí?
How long have you been here?

Llevo 5 horas esperándote
I've been waiting for you for 5 hours

 

The verb "acabar"

The verb "acabar", which normally means "to end / to finish", is also used in the present tense (followed by the preposition "de" + infinitive) to talk about an action that started in the past and stopped recently.

Acabo de despertarme
I have just woken up

Acabamos de llegar
We've just arrived

Acaba de terminar
He has just finished