Acosar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of acosar — “to harass, to pursue” 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 acosar 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. Acosar means to harass or to pursue, to bother someone repeatedly or to chase someone without rest. It is used for bullying, for the press following a celebrity and for animals chasing prey, and it is fully regular. To see it in a real sentence: Acoso a su víctima con mensajes. — “I harass his victim with messages.” Learn the six forms in the table below, and the present tense of acosar will be ready for everyday conversation.
Present tense conjugation table: acosar
Every person of acosar in the present tense. The gerund is acosando and the past participle is acosado.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | acoso |
| tú | acosas |
| él/ella/Ud. | acosa |
| nosotros/as | acosamos |
| vosotros/as | acosáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | acosan |
How the present indicative of acosar is formed
The present indicative of acosar 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 | acoso |
| tú | -as | acosas |
| él/ella/Ud. | -a | acosa |
| nosotros/as | -amos | acosamos |
| vosotros/as | -áis | acosáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -an | acosan |
Acosar is a regular -ar verb in the present tense, so the table above is completely regular. The stem is acos- 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 acosar is acosando and the past participle is acosado. 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 acosar
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and acosar 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 acosar fits naturally into daily life.
“Yo acoso a su víctima con mensajes todos los días.” — “I harass his victim with messages 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 acosa al famoso en la calle.” — “He/she harasses the celebrity in the street.”
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 acoso can mean both “I harass” and “I am harassing”.
“Ahora mismo, yo acoso a los vecinos con ruido.” — “Right now, I harass the neighbours with noise.”
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 acoso al rival sin darle descanso.” — “Tomorrow, I will harass the rival without giving him a rest.”
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 acosas a su víctima con mensajes?” — “Do you harass his victim with messages?”
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: Acosa al famoso en la calle. — “He/she harasses the celebrity in the street.”
- Preterite — one finished occasion: Acosó al famoso en la calle. — 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: Acosan a los vecinos con ruido. — “They harass the neighbours with noise.”
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: Acosaban a los vecinos con ruido. — 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: Acosas al rival sin darle descanso. — “You harass the rival without giving him a rest.”
- Future — what will happen: Acosarás al rival sin darle descanso. — the same idea, placed in the future.
Examples: acosar in the present tense
Seven sentences that show acosar in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo acoso a su víctima con mensajes. — “I harass his victim with messages.”
- Tú acosas al famoso en la calle. — “You harass the celebrity in the street.”
- Él acosa a los vecinos con ruido. — “He harasses the neighbours with noise.”
- Nosotros acosamos al rival sin darle descanso. — “We harass the rival without giving him a rest.”
- Vosotros acosáis a su víctima con mensajes. — “You (plural) harass his victim with messages.”
- Ellos acosan al famoso en la calle. — “They harass the celebrity in the street.”
- ¿Tú acosas a los vecinos con ruido? — “Do you harass the neighbours with noise?”
Common mistakes with acosar in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with acosar in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ Yo acosar a su víctima con mensajes. (using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form).
✓ Correct: Yo acoso a su víctima con mensajes.
The infinitive is not a conjugated form. With yo, the present tense of acosar is acoso, not the infinitive acosar.
✗ Vosotros acosais a su víctima con mensajes. (forgetting the accent on the vosotros form).
✓ Correct: Vosotros acosáis a su víctima con mensajes.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: acosáis, not acosais. The accent marks the stressed vowel, and leaving it out is a spelling mistake.
✗ Ayer, yo acoso al famoso en la calle. (using the present for a finished past action).
✓ Correct: Ayer, yo acosé al famoso en la calle.
The present and the preterite are different tenses: acoso is happening now, while acosé is a finished action in the past. Use the preterite with ayer.
✗ Treating acosar and perseguir as identical in every context. (confusing acosar with perseguir).
✓ Correct: Acosar means to harass, to pursue, while perseguir means to chase or pursue.
They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: acosar fits sentences such as Acoso a su víctima con mensajes, while perseguir belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
Quiz: acosar in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of acosar. 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 acosar for tú?
- a) acosas
- b) acoso
- c) acosa
- d) acosan
2. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ a su víctima con mensajes. — “I harass his victim with messages.”
- a) acosa
- b) acosamos
- c) acosas
- d) acoso
3. Complete the sentence: Él ______ al famoso en la calle. — “He/she harasses the celebrity in the street.” (present tense)
- a) acosaba
- b) acosará
- c) acosa
- d) acosó
4. Which is the correct present tense form of acosar for nosotros?
- a) acosan
- b) acosamos
- c) acoso
- d) acosa
5. Which sentence uses acosar correctly in the present tense?
- a) Él acosó al famoso en la calle.
- b) Él acosa al famoso en la calle.
- c) Él acosará al famoso en la calle.
- d) Ellos acosa al famoso en la calle.
6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ a los vecinos con ruido. — “They harass the neighbours with noise.”
- a) acoso
- b) acosa
- c) acosamos
- d) acosan
7. Complete the question: ¿Tú ______ al rival sin darle descanso? — “Do you harass the rival without giving him a rest?”
- a) acosa
- b) acosarás
- c) acosas
- d) acoso
8. What is the gerund of acosar?
- a) acosé
- b) acosando
- c) acosado
- d) acoso
Answer key
a) acosas — The tú form is acosas. The -s ending belongs to tú in the present; acoso is yo, acosa is él/ella and acosan is ellos/ellas.
d) acoso — The sentence needs the yo form in the present: acoso. The other options are the wrong person.
c) acosa — The sentence needs the él/ella/Ud. form in the present: acosa. The other options are the preterite, the imperfect and the future.
b) acosamos — Nosotros takes acosamos. In the present the nosotros ending for -ar verbs is -amos, attached to the stem.
b) Él acosa al famoso en la calle. — Él acosa al famoso en la calle. is correct: the verb agrees with its subject. The other sentences use the wrong person or the wrong tense.
d) acosan — The subject is ellos/ellas/Uds., so the present form is acosan.
c) acosas — The question needs the tú form in the present: acosas.
b) acosando — The gerund is acosando. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive (estar + gerund), and it is not the past participle acosado.
Frequently asked questions
Is acosar regular in the present tense?
Yes. Acosar is a regular -ar verb in the present tense, so the forms follow the standard endings: acoso, acosas, acosa, acosamos, acosáis and acosan.
What is the gerund and the past participle of acosar?
The gerund is acosando and the past participle is acosado. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say “I harass” in Spanish?
Say acoso. For example: Acoso a su víctima con mensajes. — “I harass his victim with messages.”
What is the difference between acosar and perseguir?
Acosar means “to harass, to pursue”, while perseguir means “to chase or pursue”. They are related words that learners often meet together, but they are not interchangeable — use acosar when you mean “to harass, to pursue” and perseguir when you mean “to chase or pursue”. The full conjugation of acosar is on its own page.
Related links
- Full conjugation of acosar — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- acosar 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.
- Acoplar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with acosar.
- Acuñar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with acosar.
- Acondicionar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with acosar.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise this verb in the interactive tool.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — test yourself on Spanish verbs.