Abordar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of abordar — “to board, to tackle” in English — is the form you need for what happens now, for habits and for general truths. This page gives you the full present conjugation table for abordar with all six persons, explains exactly how the tense is formed for this verb, shows when to use it with real examples, and finishes with a quiz so you can test yourself. Abordar has two common meanings: to board, as in boarding a plane or a ship, and to tackle, as in tackling a problem or a topic. The boarding sense is the everyday one at airports and ports, while the tackling sense appears in meetings and in writing: abordar un tema means to take it up and deal with it. Abordar is a regular -ar verb, so the notes below explain exactly where it follows the rules and where it breaks them. To see it in a real sentence: Abordo el avión a Madrid.

Present tense conjugation table: abordar

Every person of abordar in the present tense. The gerund is abordando and the past participle is abordado.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo abordo
tú abordas
él/ella/Ud. aborda
nosotros/as abordamos
vosotros/as abordáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. abordan

How the present of abordar is formed

The present of abordar is built from the stem abord- plus the present endings for -ar verbs. Take the infinitive, drop the -ar ending, and add the ending that matches the person. The table below shows the endings, and the full table above shows them attached to the stem.

Person Ending Form
yo -o abordo
tú -as abordas
él/ella/Ud. -a aborda
nosotros/as -amos abordamos
vosotros/as -áis abordáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -an abordan

For abordar there are no surprises in the present: every form is the stem abord- plus the regular ending, so once you know the endings you know the whole tense.

When to use the present tense with abordar

Habits and routines

Use the present for things you do regularly.

Yo abordo el avión a Madrid. — I board the plane to Madrid.

General facts

Use the present for facts and general truths that do not change.

Él/Ella aborda el barco en el puerto. — He boards the boat in the port.

What is happening right now

Use the present for what is happening at this moment.

Ahora, Nosotros/as abordamos el tren a Barcelona. — Right now, We board the train to Barcelona.

Near-future plans

Use the present for fixed plans in the near future, especially with mañana or la semana que viene.

Mañana, Tú abordas el autobús en la estación. — Tomorrow, You board the bus at the station.

Instructions and timeless statements

Use the present for instructions, rules and statements that are always true.

Él/Ella aborda el avión a Madrid. — He boards the plane to Madrid.

The present vs the preterite

The present and the preterite answer different questions: the present says what happens regularly or right now, while the preterite says what happened once and finished. Compare the same idea in both tenses with abordar.

  1. Yo abordo el avión a Madrid. — I board the plane to Madrid. / Ayer, Yo abordé el avión a Madrid. — Yesterday, I boarded the plane to Madrid.
  2. Yo abordo el barco en el puerto. — I board the boat in the port. / Ayer, Yo abordé el barco en el puerto. — Yesterday, I boarded the boat in the port.
  3. Yo abordo el tren a Barcelona. — I board the train to Barcelona. / Ayer, Yo abordé el tren a Barcelona. — Yesterday, I boarded the train to Barcelona.

Example sentences in the present tense

Seven sentences with abordar in the present tense only, covering all six persons.

  1. Yo abordo el avión a Madrid. — I board the plane to Madrid.
  2. Tú abordas el barco en el puerto. — You board the boat in the port.
  3. Él/Ella aborda el tren a Barcelona. — He boards the train to Barcelona.
  4. Nosotros/as abordamos el autobús en la estación. — We board the bus at the station.
  5. Vosotros/as abordáis el avión a Madrid. — You board the plane to Madrid.
  6. Ellos/as abordan el barco en el puerto. — They board the boat in the port.
  7. Yo abordo el tren a Barcelona. — I board the train to Barcelona.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo aborda el avión a Madrid. — Right: Yo abordo el avión a Madrid. — The person matters: aborda is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is abordo.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo abordo el barco en el puerto. — Right: Ayer, yo abordé el barco en el puerto. — With ayer, use the preterite (abordé), not the present. The present is for habits and for right now.
  3. Wrong: Using abordar where embarcar belongs. — Right: Abordar means to board, to tackle, while embarcar means to embark, to board a ship or plane. — Check the meaning before you choose: abordar fits Abordo el avión a Madrid.
  4. Wrong: Espero que él aborda el barco en el puerto. — Right: Espero que él aborde el barco en el puerto. — After espero que, Spanish needs the subjunctive: aborde, not the present indicative aborda.

Quiz: the present tense of abordar

Eight questions on the present tense of abordar. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ el avión a Madrid. (present tense, yo) A. abordo B. abordas C. aborda D. abordamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ el barco en el puerto. (present tense, tú) A. abordo B. aborda C. abordamos D. abordas

  3. Complete the sentence: Él/Ella ___ el tren a Barcelona. (present tense, él/ella/Ud.) A. abordas B. abordamos C. aborda D. abordo

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros/as ___ el autobús en la estación. (present tense, nosotros/as) A. aborda B. abordamos C. abordo D. abordas

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros/as ___ el avión a Madrid. (present tense, vosotros/as) A. abordáis B. abordo C. abordas D. aborda

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos/as ___ el barco en el puerto. (present tense, ellos/ellas/Uds.) A. abordo B. abordas C. aborda D. abordan

  7. Which is the gerund of abordar? A. abordo B. abordé C. abordando D. abordado

  8. Which is the past participle of abordar, used with haber in the perfect tenses? A. abordé B. abordado C. abordando D. abordo

Answer key

  1. abordo — The yo present form of abordar is abordo.
  2. abordas — The tú present form of abordar is abordas.
  3. aborda — The él/ella/Ud. present form of abordar is aborda.
  4. abordamos — The nosotros/as present form of abordar is abordamos.
  5. abordáis — The vosotros/as present form of abordar is abordáis.
  6. abordan — The ellos/ellas/Uds. present form of abordar is abordan.
  7. abordando — The gerund of abordar is abordando: estoy abordando.
  8. abordado — The past participle of abordar is abordado: he abordado, has abordado, ha abordado.

Frequently asked questions

How is the present tense of abordar formed?

Take the infinitive abordar, drop the -ar ending to get the stem abord-, then add the present endings: -o, -as, -a, -amos, -áis, -an. The full table is above, with every person. No, the present of abordar is fully regular: the stem abord- plus the standard -ar endings gives every form.

When do I use the present tense of abordar?

Use the present for habits, facts and what is happening right now. For example: Abordo el avión a Madrid.

What is the difference between the present and the preterite of abordar?

The present (abordo) and the preterite (abordé) answer different questions: the present is for habits and for right now, while the preterite is for one finished action. Compare them in the contrast section above.

How do I practise the present of abordar?

Drill the six forms in the table until you can say them without looking, then use the full conjugation of abordar to see how the present fits with the other tenses, and the abordar examples and quiz page for more sentences. The Spanish Verb Quiz tests the forms under pressure.

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