Acechar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of acechar — “to watch, to lurk” 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 acechar 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. Acechar means to watch or to lurk, to observe someone secretly, waiting for the right moment. It is used for hunters, animals and people spying, and it is fully regular. To see it in a real sentence: Acecho a su presa en silencio. — “I watch its prey in silence.” Learn the six forms in the table below, and the present tense of acechar will be ready for everyday conversation.
Present tense conjugation table: acechar
Every person of acechar in the present tense. The gerund is acechando and the past participle is acechado.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | acecho |
| tú | acechas |
| él/ella/Ud. | acecha |
| nosotros/as | acechamos |
| vosotros/as | acecháis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | acechan |
How the present indicative of acechar is formed
The present indicative of acechar 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 | acecho |
| tú | -as | acechas |
| él/ella/Ud. | -a | acecha |
| nosotros/as | -amos | acechamos |
| vosotros/as | -áis | acecháis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -an | acechan |
Acechar is a regular -ar verb in the present tense, so the table above is completely regular. The stem is acech- 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 acechar is acechando and the past participle is acechado. 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 acechar
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and acechar 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 acechar fits naturally into daily life.
“Yo acecho a su presa en silencio todos los días.” — “I watch its prey in silence 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 acecha desde la esquina sin hacer ruido.” — “He/she watches from the corner without making a noise.”
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 acecho can mean both “I watch” and “I am watching”.
“Ahora mismo, yo acecho la oportunidad durante meses.” — “Right now, I watch the opportunity for months.”
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 acecho al enemigo en la oscuridad.” — “Tomorrow, I will watch the enemy in the dark.”
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 acechas a su presa en silencio?” — “Do you watch its prey in silence?”
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: Acecha desde la esquina sin hacer ruido. — “He/she watches from the corner without making a noise.”
- Preterite — one finished occasion: Acechó desde la esquina sin hacer ruido. — 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: Acechan la oportunidad durante meses. — “They watch the opportunity for months.”
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: Acechaban la oportunidad durante meses. — 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: Acechas al enemigo en la oscuridad. — “You watch the enemy in the dark.”
- Future — what will happen: Acecharás al enemigo en la oscuridad. — the same idea, placed in the future.
Examples: acechar in the present tense
Seven sentences that show acechar in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo acecho a su presa en silencio. — “I watch its prey in silence.”
- Tú acechas desde la esquina sin hacer ruido. — “You watch from the corner without making a noise.”
- Él acecha la oportunidad durante meses. — “He watches the opportunity for months.”
- Nosotros acechamos al enemigo en la oscuridad. — “We watch the enemy in the dark.”
- Vosotros acecháis a su presa en silencio. — “You (plural) watch its prey in silence.”
- Ellos acechan desde la esquina sin hacer ruido. — “They watch from the corner without making a noise.”
- ¿Tú acechas la oportunidad durante meses? — “Do you watch the opportunity for months?”
Common mistakes with acechar in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with acechar in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ Yo acechar a su presa en silencio. (using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form).
✓ Correct: Yo acecho a su presa en silencio.
The infinitive is not a conjugated form. With yo, the present tense of acechar is acecho, not the infinitive acechar.
✗ Vosotros acechais a su presa en silencio. (forgetting the accent on the vosotros form).
✓ Correct: Vosotros acecháis a su presa en silencio.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: acecháis, not acechais. The accent marks the stressed vowel, and leaving it out is a spelling mistake.
✗ Ayer, yo acecho desde la esquina sin hacer ruido. (using the present for a finished past action).
✓ Correct: Ayer, yo aceché desde la esquina sin hacer ruido.
The present and the preterite are different tenses: acecho is happening now, while aceché is a finished action in the past. Use the preterite with ayer.
✗ Treating acechar and observar as identical in every context. (confusing acechar with observar).
✓ Correct: Acechar means to watch, to lurk, while observar means to observe.
They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: acechar fits sentences such as Acecho a su presa en silencio, while observar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
Quiz: acechar in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of acechar. 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 acechar for tú?
- a) acechas
- b) acecho
- c) acecha
- d) acechan
2. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ a su presa en silencio. — “I watch its prey in silence.”
- a) acecha
- b) acechamos
- c) acechas
- d) acecho
3. Complete the sentence: Él ______ desde la esquina sin hacer ruido. — “He/she watches from the corner without making a noise.” (present tense)
- a) acechaba
- b) acechará
- c) acecha
- d) acechó
4. Which is the correct present tense form of acechar for nosotros?
- a) acechan
- b) acechamos
- c) acecho
- d) acecha
5. Which sentence uses acechar correctly in the present tense?
- a) Él acechó desde la esquina sin hacer ruido.
- b) Él acecha desde la esquina sin hacer ruido.
- c) Él acechará desde la esquina sin hacer ruido.
- d) Ellos acecha desde la esquina sin hacer ruido.
6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ la oportunidad durante meses. — “They watch the opportunity for months.”
- a) acecho
- b) acecha
- c) acechamos
- d) acechan
7. Complete the question: ¿Tú ______ al enemigo en la oscuridad? — “Do you watch the enemy in the dark?”
- a) acecha
- b) acecharás
- c) acechas
- d) acecho
8. What is the gerund of acechar?
- a) aceché
- b) acechando
- c) acechado
- d) acecho
Answer key
a) acechas — The tú form is acechas. The -s ending belongs to tú in the present; acecho is yo, acecha is él/ella and acechan is ellos/ellas.
d) acecho — The sentence needs the yo form in the present: acecho. The other options are the wrong person.
c) acecha — The sentence needs the él/ella/Ud. form in the present: acecha. The other options are the preterite, the imperfect and the future.
b) acechamos — Nosotros takes acechamos. In the present the nosotros ending for -ar verbs is -amos, attached to the stem.
b) Él acecha desde la esquina sin hacer ruido. — Él acecha desde la esquina sin hacer ruido. is correct: the verb agrees with its subject. The other sentences use the wrong person or the wrong tense.
d) acechan — The subject is ellos/ellas/Uds., so the present form is acechan.
c) acechas — The question needs the tú form in the present: acechas.
b) acechando — The gerund is acechando. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive (estar + gerund), and it is not the past participle acechado.
Frequently asked questions
Is acechar regular in the present tense?
Yes. Acechar is a regular -ar verb in the present tense, so the forms follow the standard endings: acecho, acechas, acecha, acechamos, acecháis and acechan.
What is the gerund and the past participle of acechar?
The gerund is acechando and the past participle is acechado. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say “I watch” in Spanish?
Say acecho. For example: Acecho a su presa en silencio. — “I watch its prey in silence.”
What is the difference between acechar and observar?
Acechar means “to watch, to lurk”, while observar means “to observe”. They are related words that learners often meet together, but they are not interchangeable — use acechar when you mean “to watch, to lurk” and observar when you mean “to observe”. The full conjugation of acechar is on its own page.
Related links
- Full conjugation of acechar — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- acechar 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.
- Acarrear conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with acechar.
- Achacar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with acechar.
- Abrochar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with acechar.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise this verb in the interactive tool.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — test yourself on Spanish verbs.