Aceptar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of aceptar — "to accept" 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 aceptar 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. Aceptar means to accept, and it covers accepting a job offer, an invitation, a gift and the terms of a contract. It is the opposite of rechazar, and it is a fully regular -ar verb. To see it in a real sentence: Él acepta la oferta de trabajo. — "He/she accepts the job offer." Work through the table below, then the formation notes, the usage rules and the contrast with the preterite, and test yourself at the end.

Present tense conjugation table: aceptar

Every person of aceptar in the present tense. The gerund is aceptando and the past participle is aceptado.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo acepto
tú aceptas
él/ella/Ud. acepta
nosotros/as aceptamos
vosotros/as aceptáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. aceptan

How the present indicative of aceptar is formed

The present indicative of aceptar is built from the stem acept- 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 acepto
tú -as aceptas
él/ella/Ud. -a acepta
nosotros/as -amos aceptamos
vosotros/as -áis aceptáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -an aceptan

The gerund of aceptar is aceptando and the past participle is aceptado. 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 aceptar

The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and aceptar 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.

Habits and routines

The present tense describes things you do regularly. If you do it every day, every week or every morning, the present is the tense to use. For aceptar, this use looks like this: "Yo acepto la oferta de trabajo." — "I accept the job offer." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

General facts

The present tense states facts that are generally true, not tied to one moment. It is the tense for definitions and permanent situations. For aceptar, this use looks like this: "Él acepta una invitación a cenar." — "He/she accepts an invitation to dinner." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

What is happening now

The present tense also covers what is happening at this moment, especially with verbs that describe an action in progress. For aceptar, this use looks like this: "Nosotros aceptamos el regalo con una sonrisa." — "We accept the gift with a smile." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

Timetables and schedules

The present tense is used for fixed plans and timetables, such as trains, classes and opening times, even when they refer to the future. For aceptar, this use looks like this: "Ellos aceptan las condiciones del contrato." — "They accept the terms of the contract." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

Instructions and requests

The present tense appears in instructions and polite requests, where it sounds softer than a direct command. For aceptar, this use looks like this: "Tú aceptas la oferta de trabajo." — "You accept the job offer." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

The present tense vs the preterite

Learners often mix up the present and the preterite with aceptar. The rule is simple: the present is for habits, facts and what is happening now, while the preterite is for one finished action in the past. The three pairs below show the same idea in both tenses, so you can feel the difference.

Pair 1: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Yo acepto la oferta de trabajo." — "I accept the job offer."
  • Preterite: "Yo acepté la oferta de trabajo." — "I accepted the job offer." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Pair 2: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Él acepta una invitación a cenar." — "He/she accepts an invitation to dinner."
  • Preterite: "Él aceptó una invitación a cenar." — "He/she accepted an invitation to dinner." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Pair 3: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Nosotros aceptamos el regalo con una sonrisa." — "We accept the gift with a smile."
  • Preterite: "Nosotros aceptamos el regalo con una sonrisa." — "We accepted the gift with a smile." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Example sentences in the present tense

Eight natural sentences with aceptar in the present tense only. Each one uses a form from the table above.

  1. Yo acepto la oferta de trabajo. — I accept the job offer.
  2. Tú aceptas una invitación a cenar. — You accept an invitation to dinner.
  3. Él acepta el regalo con una sonrisa. — He/she accepts the gift with a smile.
  4. Nosotros aceptamos las condiciones del contrato. — We accept the terms of the contract.
  5. Vosotros aceptáis la oferta de trabajo. — You all accept the job offer.
  6. Ellos aceptan una invitación a cenar. — They accept an invitation to dinner.
  7. Yo acepto el regalo con una sonrisa. — I accept the gift with a smile.
  8. Él acepta las condiciones del contrato. — He/she accepts the terms of the contract.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Vosotros aceptais una invitación a cenar. — Right: Vosotros aceptáis una invitación a cenar. — The vosotros present form carries a written accent: aceptáis, not aceptais.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo acepto el regalo con una sonrisa. — Right: Ayer, yo acepté el regalo con una sonrisa. — Ayer means yesterday, so it needs the preterite (acepté), not the present (acepto). The present is for now, not for yesterday.
  3. Wrong: Yo acepta la oferta de trabajo. — Right: Yo acepto la oferta de trabajo. — The person matters: acepta is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is acepto.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy aceptado una invitación a cenar. — Right: Yo he aceptado una invitación a cenar. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he aceptado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.

Quiz: test yourself

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

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ la oferta de trabajo. (present tense) A. acepto B. aceptas C. acepta D. aceptamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ una invitación a cenar. (present tense) A. aceptas B. acepto C. acepta D. aceptamos

  3. Complete the sentence: Él ___ el regalo con una sonrisa. (present tense) A. acepta B. acepto C. aceptas D. aceptamos

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ las condiciones del contrato. (present tense) A. aceptamos B. acepto C. aceptas D. acepta

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros ___ la oferta de trabajo. (present tense) A. aceptáis B. acepto C. aceptas D. acepta

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ___ una invitación a cenar. (present tense) A. aceptan B. acepto C. aceptas D. acepta

  7. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ el regalo con una sonrisa. (present tense) A. acepto B. aceptas C. acepta D. aceptamos

  8. Complete the sentence: Él ___ las condiciones del contrato. (present tense) A. acepta B. acepto C. aceptas D. aceptamos

Answer key

  1. acepto — The yo present form of aceptar is acepto. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  2. aceptas — The tu present form of aceptar is aceptas. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  3. acepta — The el present form of aceptar is acepta. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  4. aceptamos — The nosotros present form of aceptar is aceptamos. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  5. aceptáis — The vosotros present form of aceptar is aceptáis. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  6. aceptan — The ellos present form of aceptar is aceptan. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  7. acepto — The yo present form of aceptar is acepto. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  8. acepta — The el present form of aceptar is acepta. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the present tense of aceptar?

Use the present tense of aceptar for habits, facts and what is happening now. For example: Yo acepto la oferta de trabajo. — "I accept the job offer." The usage rules above give five situations with examples.

How is the present tense of aceptar formed?

Take the stem acept- and add the present endings for -ar verbs. The full table is at the top of this page.

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

The present describes a habit or a present fact, while the preterite describes a finished action. Compare Yo acepto una invitación a cenar. with Yo acepté una invitación a cenar. — the verb is the same, but the time meaning changes.

How do I practise the present tense of aceptar?

Drill the six forms in the table above until you can say them without looking, then use the aceptar examples and quiz page for more sentences, and test yourself with the Aceptar conjugation page for the full picture across all tenses.

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