Adivinar Present Tense in Spanish
Introduction
adivinar means "to guess" in English, and the present tense is the form you use when you talk about what happens regularly, what is generally true, and what is happening now. This page gives you the full present-tense table for adivinar, explains how the tense is formed for this verb, shows when to use it, contrasts it with the closest tense, and finishes with examples, the mistakes learners actually make, a quiz and answers to the most common questions. A natural example is: Cada día, yo adivino el resultado del partido. — "Every day, I guess the result of the match." Once you can say that sentence confidently, try changing the person and the complement using the table below.
The present tense of adivinar: full table
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| Yo | adivino |
| Tú | adivinas |
| Él / Ella | adivina |
| Nosotros | adivinamos |
| Vosotros | adivináis |
| Ellos | adivinan |
The gerund of adivinar is adivinando and the past participle is adivinado. The gerund is used for the progressive (estoy adivinando), and the participle is used with haber in all perfect tenses (he adivinado).
How the present tense of adivinar is formed
The present tense of adivinar is built from the stem adivin- plus the regular -ar endings: -o, -as, -a, -amos, -áis, -an. Take the infinitive, remove the -ar ending, and add the ending that matches the person: yo adivino, tú adivinas, él adivina, nosotros adivinamos, vosotros adivináis and ellos adivinan. Once you know the pattern for one regular -ar verb, you can apply it to hundreds of others.
Two more forms belong with this tense. The gerund is adivinando, used for the progressive with estar: estoy adivinando. The past participle is adivinado, used with haber in all perfect tenses: he adivinado. Both forms appear constantly, so they are worth memorising on their own.
When to use the present tense with adivinar
1. Guessing in games and quizzes
Adivino el resultado del partido is the playful use of this verb. It appears in games, in bets between friends and in television quizzes, where guessing is the whole point of the activity. For example: Yo adivino el resultado del partido. — "I guess the result of the match."
2. Guessing an answer you do not know
Adivino la respuesta correcta describes what students do in exams when they are not sure. It is honest about the uncertainty: adivinar means you chose without knowing. For example: Tú adivinas mi edad. — "You guess my age."
3. Guessing the future
Adivinar el futuro belongs to fortune-tellers, horoscopes and jokes about what will happen next year. Nobody in ordinary conversation claims to adivinar el futuro seriously. For example: Él / Ella adivina la respuesta correcta. — "He / She guesses the right answer."
4. Plans and the near future
The present tense is also used for plans that are already fixed, especially with a time expression. Spanish speakers often say the present where English would use a future: the plan is so certain that it feels like a fact. For example, to talk about tomorrow's plan you can use the future — Mañana, yo adivinaré el futuro. — "Tomorrow, I will guess the future." — but in conversation you will also hear the present used the same way.
5. General truths and routines
Finally, the present tense states general truths and routines: what usually happens, what is always true, what people normally do. It is the tense of habits and of facts that do not belong to one moment. For example: Normalmente, él / ella adivina el resultado del partido. — "Normally, he / she guesses the result of the match."
Present vs preterite: adivinar
The closest tense to the present is the preterite, and learners mix them up constantly. The rule is simple: the present describes habits, routines and general truths, while the preterite describes one action that started and finished in the past. The three pairs below show the difference with adivinar.
Pair 1
- Present (habit): Cada día, yo adivino el resultado del partido. — "Every day, I guess the result of the match."
- Preterite (one finished action): Ayer, yo adiviné el resultado del partido. — "Yesterday, I guessed the result of the match."
The first sentence describes something that happens regularly. The second describes something that happened once, yesterday, and is now finished. If you can add cada día, use the present; if you can add ayer, use the preterite.
Pair 2
- Present (habit): Cada día, yo adivino mi edad. — "Every day, I guess my age."
- Preterite (one finished action): Ayer, yo adiviné mi edad. — "Yesterday, I guessed my age."
The first sentence describes something that happens regularly. The second describes something that happened once, yesterday, and is now finished. If you can add cada día, use the present; if you can add ayer, use the preterite.
Pair 3
- Present (habit): Cada día, yo adivino la respuesta correcta. — "Every day, I guess the right answer."
- Preterite (one finished action): Ayer, yo adiviné la respuesta correcta. — "Yesterday, I guessed the right answer."
The first sentence describes something that happens regularly. The second describes something that happened once, yesterday, and is now finished. If you can add cada día, use the present; if you can add ayer, use the preterite.
Examples: adivinar in the present tense
These six sentences show adivinar in the present tense with a different person each time. Read them aloud, then try changing the person and the complement to make your own versions.
- Yo adivino el resultado del partido. — "I guess the result of the match."
- Tú adivinas mi edad. — "You guess my age."
- Él / Ella adivina la respuesta correcta. — "He / She guesses the right answer."
- Nosotros adivinamos el futuro. — "We guess the future."
- Vosotros adivináis el resultado del partido. — "You guess the result of the match."
- Ellos adivinan mi edad. — "They guess my age."
Common mistakes with adivinar in the present tense
Mistake 1
- Wrong: Yo adivino el resultado porque lo sé.
- Right: Yo adivino el resultado porque no lo sé.
- Why: Adivinar means to guess without knowing. If you know the answer, you do not adivinar it; you saber it.
Mistake 2
- Wrong: Yo adivíno la respuesta.
- Right: Yo adivino la respuesta.
- Why: There is no accent on adivino. The stress falls naturally on the second syllable, and the spelling has no written accent.
Mistake 3
- Wrong: Adivinar es lo mismo que saber.
- Right: Adivinar means to guess; saber means to know.
- Why: They are opposites in a way: saber is knowledge, adivinar is what you do when knowledge runs out.
Mistake 4
- Wrong: Ayer, yo adivino el resultado del partido.
- Right: Ayer, yo adiviné el resultado del partido.
- Why: Ayer means yesterday, so the action is finished and needs the preterite. The present tense is for habits and routines, not for yesterday.
Mistake 5
- Wrong: Yo adivinais el resultado del partido.
- Right: Yo adivináis el resultado del partido.
- Why: The form is adivináis, with a written accent. The accent is part of the spelling, and without it the word is misspelled.
Quiz: the present tense of adivinar
Test yourself with eight questions on the present tense of adivinar. The answers are explained, so read them even when you get a question right.
1. What is the i form of adivinar in the present tense?
- (a) adivino
- (b) adivinas
- (c) adivina
- (d) adivinamos
Answer: (a) adivino. The i form is adivino. The other options are the yo, tu, el forms, so check the person before you answer.
2. What is the you form of adivinar in the present tense?
- (a) adivino
- (b) adivina
- (c) adivinamos
- (d) adivinas
Answer: (d) adivinas. The you form is adivinas. The other options are the yo, tu, el forms, so check the person before you answer.
3. What is the he / she form of adivinar in the present tense?
- (a) adivinas
- (b) adivinamos
- (c) adivina
- (d) adivino
Answer: (c) adivina. The he / she form is adivina. The other options are the yo, tu, el forms, so check the person before you answer.
4. What is the we form of adivinar in the present tense?
- (a) adivina
- (b) adivinamos
- (c) adivino
- (d) adivinas
Answer: (b) adivinamos. The we form is adivinamos. The other options are the yo, tu, el forms, so check the person before you answer.
5. What is the they form of adivinar in the present tense?
- (a) adivinan
- (b) adivino
- (c) adivinas
- (d) adivina
Answer: (a) adivinan. The they form is adivinan. The other options are the yo, tu, el forms, so check the person before you answer.
6. Complete the sentence: Cada día, yo ___ el resultado del partido.
- (a) adivina
- (b) adivinamos
- (c) adivino
- (d) adivinas
Answer: (c) adivino. The sentence needs the yo form adivino (Every day, I guess the result of the match.)
7. What is the gerund of adivinar?
- (a) adivinado
- (b) adivinar
- (c) adivina
- (d) adivinando
Answer: (d) adivinando. The gerund is adivinando, used for the progressive: estoy adivinando.
8. Which sentence describes a habit, something you do regularly?
- (a) Cada día, yo adivino mi edad.
- (b) Antes, yo adivinaba mi edad.
- (c) Ayer, yo adiviné mi edad.
- (d) Mañana, yo adivinaré mi edad.
Answer: (a) Cada día, yo adivino mi edad.. Cada día, yo adivino mi edad. (Every day, I guess my age.) describes a habit, so it uses the present tense. Ayer, yo adiviné mi edad. is a single completed action, and Mañana, yo adivinaré mi edad. is in the future.
Frequently asked questions about the present tense of adivinar
Is adivinar regular?
Yes. Adivinar is a regular -ar verb: adivino, adivinaste, adivinaba, adivinaré. There are no stem changes and no spelling changes.
What is the difference between adivinar and acertar?
Adivinar is the act of guessing. Acertar is the result of guessing correctly. You can adivinar without acertar, and that happens more often than most people admit.
Can adivinar mean 'to predict'?
Yes, in the sense of guessing what will happen: adivinar el futuro. But for a serious prediction, Spanish speakers usually prefer predecir or prever.
When do I use the present tense instead of the preterite with adivinar?
Use the present for habits and routines: Cada día, yo adivino el resultado del partido. — "Every day, I guess the result of the match." Use the preterite for one finished action: Ayer, yo adiviné el resultado del partido. — "Yesterday, I guessed the result of the match." If the action happens regularly, choose the present; if it happened once and is finished, choose the preterite.