Acarrear Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of acarrear — “to carry, to haul” 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 acarrear 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. Acarrear means to carry or to haul, to transport heavy things from one place to another, often with effort. It is used for water, stones, boxes and firewood, and it is fully regular. To see it in a real sentence: Acarreo agua del río cada mañana. — “I carry water from the river every morning.” Learn the six forms in the table below, and the present tense of acarrear will be ready for everyday conversation.
Present tense conjugation table: acarrear
Every person of acarrear in the present tense. The gerund is acarreando and the past participle is acarreado.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | acarreo |
| tú | acarreas |
| él/ella/Ud. | acarrea |
| nosotros/as | acarreamos |
| vosotros/as | acarreáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | acarrean |
How the present indicative of acarrear is formed
The present indicative of acarrear is built from the stem plus the present indicative 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 | acarreo |
| tú | -as | acarreas |
| él/ella/Ud. | -a | acarrea |
| nosotros/as | -amos | acarreamos |
| vosotros/as | -áis | acarreáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -an | acarrean |
Acarrear is a regular -ar verb in the present tense, so the table above is completely regular. The stem is acarre- and the endings are the normal -ar endings, so once you know the pattern you can produce every form on this page.
The gerund of acarrear is acarreando and the past participle is acarreado. Both are regular for this verb, and the participle is the form you need for all the perfect tenses with haber.
When to use the present tense of acarrear
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and acarrear appears in all of them. The five uses below are the ones you will meet most often, each with an example that shows the verb in a natural sentence.
Routines and habits
Use the present for things you do regularly, every day or every week. The present is the tense of routine, and acarrear fits naturally into daily life.
“Yo acarreo agua del río cada mañana todos los días.” — “I carry water from the river every morning every day.”
General facts
Use the present for facts that are true in general, not just today. When you state how something is, the present is the tense to use.
“Él acarrea piedras para construir el muro.” — “He/she carries stones to build the wall.”
What is happening right now
Use the present for what is happening at this moment. Spanish often uses the simple present where English uses the progressive, so acarreo can mean both “I carry” and “I am carrying”.
“Ahora mismo, yo acarreo las cajas al almacén.” — “Right now, I carry the boxes to the warehouse.”
Fixed plans in the near future
Use the present for a plan that is already fixed, such as something arranged for tomorrow. Spanish uses the present for near-future plans much more freely than English does.
“Mañana, yo acarreo leña para el invierno.” — “Tomorrow, I will carry firewood for the winter.”
Questions and negatives
Use the present to ask about habits and to say what does not happen. The question and the negative use exactly the same forms as the statement.
“¿Tú acarreas agua del río cada mañana?” — “Do you carry water from the river every morning?”
The present tense vs the closest tenses
Present — habit or general fact vs Preterite — one finished occasion
The present describes a habit, a routine or a general fact — something that happens again and again or that is true in general. The preterite reports one finished occasion in the past. Use the present when the action repeats or is still true, and the preterite when you are telling what happened once, on a specific day.
- Present — habit or general fact: Acarrea piedras para construir el muro. — “He/she carries stones to build the wall.”
- Preterite — one finished occasion: Acarreó piedras para construir el muro. — the same idea, placed in the preterite.
Present — now vs Imperfect — a past habit or background
The present talks about now. The imperfect talks about the past as a background — a repeated habit, an ongoing situation, something that used to happen. If you can add “used to” in English, the imperfect is usually the right choice; if it is happening now or always, use the present.
- Present — now: Acarrean las cajas al almacén. — “They carry the boxes to the warehouse.”
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: Acarreaban las cajas al almacén. — the same idea, placed in the imperfect.
Present — now or a fixed plan vs Future — what will happen
The present describes what happens now, what you do regularly, or a plan that is already fixed. The future describes what will happen later — a promise, a prediction, a plan that is not yet under way. Spanish often uses the present for near-future plans, but the future is the form for a clear statement about tomorrow.
- Present — now or a fixed plan: Acarreas leña para el invierno. — “You carry firewood for the winter.”
- Future — what will happen: Acarrearás leña para el invierno. — the same idea, placed in the future.
Examples: acarrear in the present tense
Seven sentences that show acarrear in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo acarreo agua del río cada mañana. — “I carry water from the river every morning.”
- Tú acarreas piedras para construir el muro. — “You carry stones to build the wall.”
- Él acarrea las cajas al almacén. — “He carries the boxes to the warehouse.”
- Nosotros acarreamos leña para el invierno. — “We carry firewood for the winter.”
- Vosotros acarreáis agua del río cada mañana. — “You (plural) carry water from the river every morning.”
- Ellos acarrean piedras para construir el muro. — “They carry stones to build the wall.”
- ¿Tú acarreas las cajas al almacén? — “Do you carry the boxes to the warehouse?”
Common mistakes with acarrear in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with acarrear in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ Yo acarrear agua del río cada mañana. (using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form).
✓ Correct: Yo acarreo agua del río cada mañana.
The infinitive is not a conjugated form. With yo, the present tense of acarrear is acarreo, not the infinitive acarrear.
✗ Vosotros acarreais agua del río cada mañana. (forgetting the accent on the vosotros form).
✓ Correct: Vosotros acarreáis agua del río cada mañana.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: acarreáis, not acarreais. The accent marks the stressed vowel, and leaving it out is a spelling mistake.
✗ Ayer, yo acarreo piedras para construir el muro. (using the present for a finished past action).
✓ Correct: Ayer, yo acarreé piedras para construir el muro.
The present and the preterite are different tenses: acarreo is happening now, while acarreé is a finished action in the past. Use the preterite with ayer.
✗ Treating acarrear and transportar as identical in every context. (confusing acarrear with transportar).
✓ Correct: Acarrear means to carry, to haul, while transportar means to transport.
They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: acarrear fits sentences such as Acarreo agua del río cada mañana, while transportar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
Quiz: acarrear in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of acarrear. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
1. Which is the correct present tense form of acarrear for tú?
- a) acarreas
- b) acarreo
- c) acarrea
- d) acarrean
2. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ agua del río cada mañana. — “I carry water from the river every morning.”
- a) acarrea
- b) acarreamos
- c) acarreas
- d) acarreo
3. Complete the sentence: Él ______ piedras para construir el muro. — “He/she carries stones to build the wall.” (present tense)
- a) acarreaba
- b) acarreará
- c) acarrea
- d) acarreó
4. Which is the correct present tense form of acarrear for nosotros?
- a) acarrean
- b) acarreamos
- c) acarreo
- d) acarrea
5. Which sentence uses acarrear correctly in the present tense?
- a) Él acarreó piedras para construir el muro.
- b) Él acarrea piedras para construir el muro.
- c) Él acarreará piedras para construir el muro.
- d) Ellos acarrea piedras para construir el muro.
6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ las cajas al almacén. — “They carry the boxes to the warehouse.”
- a) acarreo
- b) acarrea
- c) acarreamos
- d) acarrean
7. Complete the question: ¿Tú ______ leña para el invierno? — “Do you carry firewood for the winter?”
- a) acarrea
- b) acarrearás
- c) acarreas
- d) acarreo
8. What is the gerund of acarrear?
- a) acarreé
- b) acarreando
- c) acarreado
- d) acarreo
Answer key
a) acarreas — The tú form is acarreas. The -s ending belongs to tú in the present; acarreo is yo, acarrea is él/ella and acarrean is ellos/ellas.
d) acarreo — The sentence needs the yo form in the present: acarreo. The other options are the wrong person.
c) acarrea — The sentence needs the él/ella/Ud. form in the present: acarrea. The other options are the preterite, the imperfect and the future.
b) acarreamos — Nosotros takes acarreamos. In the present the nosotros ending for -ar verbs is -amos, attached to the stem.
b) Él acarrea piedras para construir el muro. — Él acarrea piedras para construir el muro. is correct: the verb agrees with its subject. The other sentences use the wrong person or the wrong tense.
d) acarrean — The subject is ellos/ellas/Uds., so the present form is acarrean.
c) acarreas — The question needs the tú form in the present: acarreas.
b) acarreando — The gerund is acarreando. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive (estar + gerund), and it is not the past participle acarreado.
Frequently asked questions
Is acarrear regular in the present tense?
Yes. Acarrear is a regular -ar verb in the present tense, so the forms follow the standard endings: acarreo, acarreas, acarrea, acarreamos, acarreáis and acarrean.
What is the gerund and the past participle of acarrear?
The gerund is acarreando and the past participle is acarreado. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say “I carry” in Spanish?
Say acarreo. For example: Acarreo agua del río cada mañana. — “I carry water from the river every morning.”
What is the difference between acarrear and transportar?
Acarrear means “to carry, to haul”, while transportar means “to transport”. They are related words that learners often meet together, but they are not interchangeable — use acarrear when you mean “to carry, to haul” and transportar when you mean “to transport”. The full conjugation of acarrear is on its own page.
Related links
- Full conjugation of acarrear — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- acarrear examples and quiz — more sentences, dialogues and a longer quiz.
- Spanish Present tense guide — how the present tense works for all Spanish verbs.
- Spanish verbs — the full list of Spanish verbs on VerbFlow.
- Acechar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with acarrear.
- Abrochar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with acarrear.
- Achacar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with acarrear.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise this verb in the interactive tool.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — test yourself on Spanish verbs.