Lingvero

Spanish Present Tense Practice

The first tense every Spanish learner needs. Drill regular -ar, -er and -ir verbs, the stem-changers, and the irregulars with 30 sentences and instant explanations.

•30 exercises•~9 min to complete•A1 – A2 level
IRead first

The rule, in plain English.

The Spanish present tense (presente de indicativo) describes what happens now, what happens regularly, and general facts. To form it you drop the infinitive ending (-ar, -er, -ir) and add a new ending for each subject.

Most verbs follow this pattern; a smaller group change their stem vowel, and a handful are simply irregular and worth memorizing.

30 exercises below. Read the explanation after each answer — that's where the rule sinks in.

IIQuick reference
Regular endingsdrop -ar/-er/-ir, add the ending
01
-ar verbs (hablar)
hablo, hablas, habla, hablamos, habláis, hablan
02
-er verbs (comer)
como, comes, come, comemos, coméis, comen
03
-ir verbs (vivir)
vivo, vives, vive, vivimos, vivís, viven
04
Used for habits
Estudio español todos los días.
05
Used for facts now
Madrid es la capital de España.
Stem-changers & irregularsthe boot + yo-go verbs
01
e→ie (querer)
quiero, quieres, quiere, queremos, quieren
02
o→ue (poder)
puedo, puedes, puede, podemos, pueden
03
e→i (pedir)
pido, pides, pide, pedimos, piden
04
Irregular yo (-go)
tengo, hago, pongo, salgo, vengo, digo
05
Fully irregular
ser → soy, ir → voy, estar → estoy
IIIPractice exercises

Practice.

Answer first, then read the explanation. Don't skip it — that's the whole point.

Exercise 01 of 30Tag: Regular -ar
Fill in the blank

Yo _____ español todos los días. (hablar)

I speak Spanish every day.

Exercise 02 of 30Tag: Regular -er
Fill in the blank

Nosotros _____ café por la mañana. (beber)

We drink coffee in the morning.

Exercise 03 of 30Tag: Regular -ir
Fill in the blank

Ellos _____ en un piso pequeño. (vivir)

They live in a small flat.

Exercise 04 of 30Tag: Regular -ar
Fill in the blank

Tú _____ mucho los lunes. (trabajar)

You work a lot on Mondays.

Exercise 05 of 30Tag: Irregular yo
Fill in the blank

Yo _____ dos hermanos. (tener)

I have two siblings.

Exercise 06 of 30Tag: Fully irregular
Fill in the blank

Nosotros _____ estudiantes de medicina. (ser)

We are medical students.

Exercise 07 of 30Tag: Fully irregular
Fill in the blank

Yo _____ al gimnasio los lunes. (ir)

I go to the gym on Mondays.

Exercise 08 of 30Tag: Fully irregular
Fill in the blank

¿Cómo _____ ustedes hoy? (estar)

How are you (all) today?

Exercise 09 of 30Tag: Stem e→ie
Fill in the blank

Yo _____ un café, por favor. (querer)

I want a coffee, please.

Exercise 10 of 30Tag: Stem o→ue
Fill in the blank

¿_____ tú ayudarme con esto? (poder)

Can you help me with this?

Exercise 11 of 30Tag: Stem e→i
Fill in the blank

Mis amigos siempre _____ pizza los viernes. (pedir)

My friends always order pizza on Fridays.

Exercise 12 of 30Tag: Irregular yo
Fill in the blank

Yo _____ la tarea por la noche. (hacer)

I do my homework at night.

Exercise 13 of 30Tag: Irregular yo
Fill in the blank

Yo _____ la mesa antes de cenar. (poner)

I set the table before dinner.

Exercise 14 of 30Tag: Irregular yo
Fill in the blank

Yo _____ de casa a las ocho. (salir)

I leave home at eight.

Exercise 15 of 30Tag: Irregular yo
Fill in the blank

Yo no _____ la respuesta. (saber)

I don't know the answer.

Exercise 16 of 30Tag: Irregular yo
Fill in the blank

Yo _____ a tu hermano del trabajo. (conocer)

I know your brother from work.

Exercise 17 of 30Tag: Irregular yo
Fill in the blank

Yo _____ la tele por la noche. (ver)

I watch TV at night.

Exercise 18 of 30Tag: Irregular yo
Fill in the blank

Yo le _____ un regalo a María. (dar)

I give María a present.

Exercise 19 of 30Tag: Regular -er
Fill in the blank

Los niños _____ a las dos. (comer)

The children eat at two.

Exercise 20 of 30Tag: Regular -ir
Fill in the blank

Tú _____ muchos correos cada día. (escribir)

You write a lot of emails every day.

Exercise 21 of 30Tag: Stem o→ue
Fill in the blank

Yo _____ ocho horas cada noche. (dormir)

I sleep eight hours every night.

Exercise 22 of 30Tag: The nosotros exception
Fill in the blank

Nosotros _____ al fútbol los domingos. (jugar)

We play football on Sundays.

Exercise 23 of 30Tag: Stem e→ie
Fill in the blank

¿Qué _____ usted de esta idea? (pensar)

What do you (formal) think of this idea?

Exercise 24 of 30Tag: Irregular yo + stem
Fill in the blank

Yo _____ de Argentina, de Buenos Aires. (venir)

I'm from Argentina, from Buenos Aires.

Exercise 25 of 30Tag: Irregular yo + stem
Fill in the blank

Yo siempre _____ la verdad. (decir)

I always tell the truth.

Exercise 26 of 30Tag: Choose the form
Choose the correct sentence

Which is the correct present-tense form of tener for nosotros (we have)?

Pick the 'we' form.

Exercise 27 of 30Tag: Spotting errors
Choose the correct sentence

Which yo form is wrong?

Spot the wrong present-tense form.

Exercise 28 of 30Tag: Regular -ir
Fill in the blank

Nosotros no _____ aquí; vivimos en otra ciudad. (vivir)

We don't live here; we live in another city.

Exercise 29 of 30Tag: Regular -ar
Fill in the blank

Mis amigos _____ medicina en la universidad. (estudiar)

My friends study medicine at university.

Exercise 30 of 30Tag: Spotting errors
Choose the correct sentence

Which sentence has a present-tense error?

Find the sentence with the wrong verb form.

Every answer is explained

Not just a green check. A short paragraph telling you why.

No gamification

No streaks, no points, no leaderboards. Just questions.

No signup

Runs in your browser. Bookmark the topics you want to come back to.

More to practice

Other topics.

01 · B1 – B2

Preterite Tense Practice

Once the present is solid, move to the past: completed actions in the preterite.

28 exercisesPractice →
02 · A1 – A2

Spanish Conjugation Practice

Mixed conjugation drills across persons, tenses, and verb types.

30 exercisesPractice →
03 · A1 – A2

Ser vs Estar Practice

Two present-tense verbs for to be — and the rules that decide which one you need.

32 exercisesPractice →
Coming soon

Also planned in this category.

Not live yet. Working through the catalog one topic at a time.

  • Conditional TenseSoonB125 ex.
  • Present PerfectSoonB120 ex.
  • Present ProgressiveSoonA220 ex.
  • Imperfect SubjunctiveSoonB225 ex.
Questions answered

Common questions.

How do you form the present tense in Spanish?+

Drop the infinitive ending (-ar, -er, -ir) and add the present endings. For -ar verbs: -o, -as, -a, -amos, -áis, -an. For -er: -o, -es, -e, -emos, -éis, -en. For -ir: -o, -es, -e, -imos, -ís, -en.

What is a stem-changing verb?+

A stem-changer keeps its regular endings but changes the vowel in its stem: e→ie (querer → quiero), o→ue (poder → puedo), or e→i (pedir → pido). The change happens in every form except nosotros and vosotros — the so-called 'boot'.

What are yo-go verbs?+

These are verbs whose yo form ends in -go even though the rest of the conjugation is regular: tengo (tener), hago (hacer), pongo (poner), salgo (salir), vengo (venir), digo (decir). Memorizing the yo form is usually enough.

When do you use the present tense in Spanish?+

Use it for actions happening now (Como ahora), habits and routines (Estudio cada día), general facts (El agua hierve a 100 grados), and even near-future plans (Mañana trabajo). It covers more ground than the English present.

Which present-tense verbs are fully irregular?+

The most common fully irregular ones are ser (soy, eres, es...), ir (voy, vas, va...), estar (estoy, estás, está...) and haber (he, has, ha...). These don't follow the regular patterns and are worth memorizing early.

Are these present tense exercises free?+

Yes. All 30 exercises run in your browser, need no signup, and give a clear explanation after every answer.