Adecuar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of adecuar — "to adapt, to suit" 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 adecuar 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. Adecuar means to adapt something to something else: adecuar el precio a su bolsillo, adecuar el texto al público. It takes a before the thing it is adapted to. To see it in a real sentence: Yo adecúo el precio a su bolsillo — "I adapt the price to his pocket".
Present tense conjugation table: adecuar
Every person of adecuar in the present tense. The gerund is adecuando and the past participle is adecuado.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | adecúo |
| tú | adecúas |
| él/ella/Ud. | adecúa |
| nosotros/as | adecuamos |
| vosotros/as | adecuáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | adecúan |
How the present of adecuar is formed
The present of adecuar is built from the stem adecu- 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 | adecúo |
| tú | -as | adecúas |
| él/ella/Ud. | -a | adecúa |
| nosotros/as | -amos | adecuamos |
| vosotros/as | -áis | adecuáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -an | adecúan |
The gerund of adecuar is adecuando and the past participle is adecuado. Both are the forms you need with estar and haber respectively.
When to use the present tense of adecuar
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and adecuar 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 describes things that happen regularly, as a habit or routine.
"Cada día, yo adecúo el precio a su bolsillo" — "Every day, I adapt the price to his pocket"
General truths
The present states facts that are always true, not just true today.
"Mi amigo adecúa el horario a sus clases" — "My friend adapts the timetable to his classes"
What is happening now
The present describes an action in progress right now.
"Ahora, yo adecúo la ropa al clima" — "Right now, I adapt the clothes to the climate"
Near-future plans
Spanish often uses the present for a plan that is already fixed.
"Mañana, nosotros adecuamos el texto al público" — "Tomorrow, we adapt the text to the audience"
Timetables and scheduled events
The present is the tense for timetables, programmes and things that happen on a schedule.
"Ellos adecúan su conducta a las normas" — "They adapt his behaviour to the rules"
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: {'pre_es': 'Cada día, ', 'pre_en': 'Every day, '}yo adecúo el precio a su bolsillo — "I adapt the price to his pocket"
- Preterite — one finished occasion: {'pre_es': 'Ayer, ', 'pre_en': 'Yesterday, '}yo adecué el precio a su bolsillo — "I adapted the price to his pocket"
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: {}tú adecúas el horario a sus clases — "You adapt the timetable to his classes"
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: {}tú adecuabas el horario a sus clases — "You used to adapt the timetable to his classes"
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: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él adecúa la ropa al clima — "He adapts the clothes to the climate"
- Future — what will happen: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él adecuará la ropa al clima — "He will adapt the clothes to the climate"
Examples: adecuar in the present tense
Seven sentences that show adecuar in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo adecúo el precio a su bolsillo — "I adapt the price to his pocket"
- Tú adecúas el horario a sus clases — "You adapt the timetable to his classes"
- Él adecúa la ropa al clima — "He adapts the clothes to the climate"
- Nosotros adecuamos el texto al público — "We adapt the text to the audience"
- Vosotros adecuáis su conducta a las normas — "You adapt his behaviour to the rules"
- Ellos adecúan el precio a su bolsillo — "They adapt the price to his pocket"
- Yo adecúo el horario a sus clases — "I adapt the timetable to his classes"
Common mistakes with adecuar in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with adecuar in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ *Yo adecúo en el precio a su bolsillo.
✓ Correct: Yo adecúo el precio a su bolsillo.
adecuar takes this complement directly, with no preposition: Yo adecúo el precio a su bolsillo.
✗ *Tú adecúa el horario a sus clases.
✓ Correct: Tú adecúas el horario a sus clases.
The tú form and the él form are different: tú takes adecúas, él takes adecúa.
✗ *Cada día, yo adecué la ropa al clima
✓ Correct: Cada día, yo adecúo la ropa al clima
Cada día describes a habit, so it needs the present, not the preterite.
✗ *Vosotros adecuais el texto al público.
✓ Correct: Vosotros adecuáis el texto al público.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: adecuáis, not adecuais.
Quiz: adecuar in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of adecuar. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
Which is the correct present form of adecuar for tú? A. adecúo B. adecúa C. adecuamos D. adecúas
Complete the sentence: Yo ______ el precio a su bolsillo — "I adapt the price to his pocket" (present) A. adecúas B. adecúa C. adecuamos D. adecúo
Complete the sentence: Él ______ el horario a sus clases — "He adapts the timetable to his classes" (present) A. adecúo B. adecúas C. adecuamos D. adecúa
Which is the correct present form of adecuar for nosotros? A. adecúa B. adecúan C. adecuamos D. adecúas
Which sentence uses adecuar correctly in the present? A. Mi amigo adecúa la ropa al clima B. Mi amigo adecúas la ropa al clima C. Mi amigo adecuaba la ropa al clima D. Mi amigo adecuamos la ropa al clima
Complete the sentence: Vosotros ______ el texto al público — "You adapt the text to the audience" (present) A. adecuáis B. adecúo C. adecúas D. adecúa
Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ su conducta a las normas — "They adapt his behaviour to the rules" (present) A. adecúas B. adecúa C. adecúan D. adecúo
What is the gerund of adecuar? A. adecué B. adecuando C. adecuado D. adecúo
Answer key
- adecúas — The tú form in the present is adecúas.
- adecúo — The present form for yo is adecúo.
- adecúa — The present form for él/ella/Ud. is adecúa.
- adecuamos — The nosotros form in the present is adecuamos.
- Mi amigo adecúa la ropa al clima — Mi amigo adecúa la ropa al clima is correct: the verb agrees with its subject and the tense is the present.
- adecuáis — The present form for vosotros/as is adecuáis.
- adecúan — The present form for ellos/ellas/Uds. is adecúan.
- adecuando — The gerund is adecuando. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive, and it is not the past participle adecuado.
Frequently asked questions
Is adecuar regular in the present tense?
Yes — in the present tense adecuar follows the regular endings for -ar verbs, as the table above shows.
What is the gerund and the past participle of adecuar?
The gerund is adecuando and the past participle is adecuado. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say "I adapt" in the present tense?
Say adecúo. For example: Yo adecúo el precio a su bolsillo — "I adapt the price to his pocket".
What is the difference between the present and the preterite of adecuar?
The present describes a habit or what happens now: Yo adecúo el precio a su bolsillo — "I adapt the price to his pocket". The preterite reports one finished occasion: Ayer, yo adecué el precio a su bolsillo — "Yesterday, I adapted the price to his pocket". Use the present when the action repeats or is still true, and the preterite when you are telling what happened once.
Related links
- Full conjugation of adecuar — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- adecuar 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.