Aconsejar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of aconsejar — "to advise" 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 aconsejar 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. Aconsejar means to advise, and it is used for advising a son about his studies, advising students before an exam and advising a friend to rest. It is a fully regular -ar verb, and it is the standard verb for giving advice to one person. To see it in a real sentence: Él aconseja a su hijo sobre los estudios. — "He/she advises her son about his studies." 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: aconsejar

Every person of aconsejar in the present tense. The gerund is aconsejando and the past participle is aconsejado.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo aconsejo
tú aconsejas
él/ella/Ud. aconseja
nosotros/as aconsejamos
vosotros/as aconsejáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. aconsejan

How the present indicative of aconsejar is formed

The present indicative of aconsejar is built from the stem aconsej- 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 aconsejo
tú -as aconsejas
él/ella/Ud. -a aconseja
nosotros/as -amos aconsejamos
vosotros/as -áis aconsejáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -an aconsejan

The gerund of aconsejar is aconsejando and the past participle is aconsejado. 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 aconsejar

The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and aconsejar 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 aconsejar, this use looks like this: "Yo aconsejo a su hijo sobre los estudios." — "I advise her son about his studies." 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 aconsejar, this use looks like this: "Él aconseja a los alumnos antes del examen." — "He/she advises the students before the exam." 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 aconsejar, this use looks like this: "Nosotros aconsejamos paciencia a su amigo." — "We advise patience to her friend." 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 aconsejar, this use looks like this: "Ellos aconsejan a María que descanse." — "They advise María to rest." 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 aconsejar, this use looks like this: "Tú aconsejas a su hijo sobre los estudios." — "You advise her son about his studies." 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 aconsejar. 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 aconsejo a su hijo sobre los estudios." — "I advise her son about his studies."
  • Preterite: "Yo aconsejé a su hijo sobre los estudios." — "I advised her son about his studies." 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 aconseja a los alumnos antes del examen." — "He/she advises the students before the exam."
  • Preterite: "Él aconsejó a los alumnos antes del examen." — "He/she advised the students before the exam." 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 aconsejamos paciencia a su amigo." — "We advise patience to her friend."
  • Preterite: "Nosotros aconsejamos paciencia a su amigo." — "We advised patience to her friend." 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 aconsejar in the present tense only. Each one uses a form from the table above.

  1. Yo aconsejo a su hijo sobre los estudios. — I advise her son about his studies.
  2. Tú aconsejas a los alumnos antes del examen. — You advise the students before the exam.
  3. Él aconseja paciencia a su amigo. — He/she advises patience to her friend.
  4. Nosotros aconsejamos a María que descanse. — We advise María to rest.
  5. Vosotros aconsejáis a su hijo sobre los estudios. — You all advise her son about his studies.
  6. Ellos aconsejan a los alumnos antes del examen. — They advise the students before the exam.
  7. Yo aconsejo paciencia a su amigo. — I advise patience to her friend.
  8. Él aconseja a María que descanse. — He/she advises María to rest.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Vosotros aconsejais a los alumnos antes del examen. — Right: Vosotros aconsejáis a los alumnos antes del examen. — The vosotros present form carries a written accent: aconsejáis, not aconsejais.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo aconsejo paciencia a su amigo. — Right: Ayer, yo aconsejé paciencia a su amigo. — Ayer means yesterday, so it needs the preterite (aconsejé), not the present (aconsejo). The present is for now, not for yesterday.
  3. Wrong: Yo aconseja a su hijo sobre los estudios. — Right: Yo aconsejo a su hijo sobre los estudios. — The person matters: aconseja is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is aconsejo.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy aconsejado a los alumnos antes del examen. — Right: Yo he aconsejado a los alumnos antes del examen. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he aconsejado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.

Quiz: test yourself

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

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ a su hijo sobre los estudios. (present tense) A. aconsejo B. aconsejas C. aconseja D. aconsejamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ a los alumnos antes del examen. (present tense) A. aconsejas B. aconsejo C. aconseja D. aconsejamos

  3. Complete the sentence: Él ___ paciencia a su amigo. (present tense) A. aconseja B. aconsejo C. aconsejas D. aconsejamos

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ a María que descanse. (present tense) A. aconsejamos B. aconsejo C. aconsejas D. aconseja

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros ___ a su hijo sobre los estudios. (present tense) A. aconsejáis B. aconsejo C. aconsejas D. aconseja

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ___ a los alumnos antes del examen. (present tense) A. aconsejan B. aconsejo C. aconsejas D. aconseja

  7. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ paciencia a su amigo. (present tense) A. aconsejo B. aconsejas C. aconseja D. aconsejamos

  8. Complete the sentence: Él ___ a María que descanse. (present tense) A. aconseja B. aconsejo C. aconsejas D. aconsejamos

Answer key

  1. aconsejo — The yo present form of aconsejar is aconsejo. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  2. aconsejas — The tu present form of aconsejar is aconsejas. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  3. aconseja — The el present form of aconsejar is aconseja. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  4. aconsejamos — The nosotros present form of aconsejar is aconsejamos. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  5. aconsejáis — The vosotros present form of aconsejar is aconsejáis. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  6. aconsejan — The ellos present form of aconsejar is aconsejan. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  7. aconsejo — The yo present form of aconsejar is aconsejo. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  8. aconseja — The el present form of aconsejar is aconseja. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the present tense of aconsejar?

Use the present tense of aconsejar for habits, facts and what is happening now. For example: Yo aconsejo a su hijo sobre los estudios. — "I advise her son about his studies." The usage rules above give five situations with examples.

How is the present tense of aconsejar formed?

Take the stem aconsej- 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 aconsejar?

The present describes a habit or a present fact, while the preterite describes a finished action. Compare Yo aconsejo a los alumnos antes del examen. with Yo aconsejé a los alumnos antes del examen. — the verb is the same, but the time meaning changes.

How do I practise the present tense of aconsejar?

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

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