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Present Tense ~ El Presente

The Spanish present tense, called el presente, is quite similar in usage to the English present tense.

El presente is used to express:

I.	Current actions and situations
	Estoy listo. Vamos al mercado.	I am ready. We are going to the market.
II.	Habitual actions
	Voy a la escuela todos los días. Veo una película los sábados.	I go to school every day I see a movie on Saturdays.
III.	Absolute and general truths
	La tierra es grande. La escuela es importante.	The earth is big. School is important.
IV.	Actions which will occur in the near future
	Voy al mercado lunes. Ana llega a las dos.	I'll go to the store Monday. Ana's arriving at two.
V.	Conditions in si clauses
	Si puedo, iré contigo.	If I can, I will go with you.

El presente has three different 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

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

To learn how to conjugate verbs in the presente and test yourself, please see these related lessons:

Spanish Verb Index

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