Present tense in Spanish
MFL, Spanish grammar. Usually met in years 7 to 11.
Choose the right form of common Spanish verbs in the present tense, for what happens now or usually.
What you practise
- Matching the verb to the person (I, you, we and so on)
- Regular and irregular verbs
- Telling this tense apart from the others
Starts with the most common verbs and adds irregular ones level by level. Practice moves up a level when a round goes well and down when it does not.
Sample questions
Each sample comes with the method and the reason every wrong option is wrong. Real practice rounds are ten questions at your level.
Sample question, level 2 of 5
ellos / ellas … (ir, to go): which is the present tense?
- vas
- va
- vamos
- van
- voy
Show the answer and method
Answer: D, van
The method: With ‘ellos / ellas’ (they), the present tense of ‘ir’ is ‘van’. Ir and ser have the same preterite forms.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A, vas: ‘vas’ goes with ‘tú’, not ‘ellos / ellas’.
- B, va: ‘va’ goes with ‘él / ella’, not ‘ellos / ellas’.
- C, vamos: ‘vamos’ goes with ‘nosotros’, not ‘ellos / ellas’.
- E, voy: ‘voy’ goes with ‘yo’, not ‘ellos / ellas’.
Sample question, level 4 of 5
él / ella … (ver, to see): which is the present tense?
- veo
- verá
- vio
- ve
- veis
Show the answer and method
Answer: D, ve
The method: With ‘él / ella’ (he or she), the present tense of ‘ver’ is ‘ve’.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A, veo: ‘veo’ goes with ‘yo’, not ‘él / ella’.
- B, verá: ‘verá’ is the future tense, not the present tense.
- C, vio: ‘vio’ is the past tense, not the present tense.
- E, veis: ‘veis’ goes with ‘vosotros’, not ‘él / ella’.
See where this fits: every language topic and Key Stage 3.
Related topics: Past tense (preterite), Future tense, Gender and agreement, Ser, estar and negatives.
