Advertir Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of advertir — "to warn" 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 advertir 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. Advertir means to warn, and it is used for warning a driver about a danger, warning children not to touch something and warning a friend about a risk. It is a stem-changing -ir verb: e to ie in the present, e to i in the third-person preterite and in the gerund, so it is one of the trickier verbs in this batch. To see it in a real sentence: Él advierte al conductor del peligro. — "He/she warns the driver about the danger." 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: advertir

Every person of advertir in the present tense. The gerund is advirtiendo and the past participle is advertido.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo advierto
tú adviertes
él/ella/Ud. advierte
nosotros/as advertimos
vosotros/as advertís
ellos/ellas/Uds. advierten

How the present indicative of advertir is formed

The present indicative of advertir is built from the stem advert- plus the present endings for -ir verbs. Take the infinitive, drop the -ir 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 advierto
tú -es adviertes
él/ella/Ud. -e advierte
nosotros/as -imos advertimos
vosotros/as -ís advertís
ellos/ellas/Uds. -en advierten

advertir is a stem-changing verb (e → ie), so the stem changes in the singular and third-person plural forms of the present, while nosotros and vosotros keep the original stem. In this tense the first-person form is advierto, and the nosotros form is advertimos.

The gerund of advertir is advirtiendo and the past participle is advertido. Both are regular for this verb, and the participle is the form you need for all the perfect tenses with haber.

This tense is irregular for advertir, so the forms in the table above are the ones to learn — do not try to derive them from the regular endings. advertir is a stem-changing verb (e → ie), so the stem changes in the present singular and third-person plural forms, while nosotros and vosotros keep the original stem.

When to use the present tense of advertir

The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and advertir 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 advertir, this use looks like this: "Yo advierto al conductor del peligro." — "I warn the driver about the danger." 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 advertir, this use looks like this: "Él advierte a los niños de no tocar nada." — "He/she warns the children not to touch anything." 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 advertir, this use looks like this: "Nosotros advertimos a su amigo del riesgo." — "We warn his friend about the risk." 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 advertir, this use looks like this: "Ellos advierten de los cambios en el contrato." — "They warn of the changes in 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 advertir, this use looks like this: "Tú adviertes al conductor del peligro." — "You warn the driver about the danger." 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 advertir. 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 advierto al conductor del peligro." — "I warn the driver about the danger."
  • Preterite: "Yo advertí al conductor del peligro." — "I warned the driver about the danger." 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 advierte a los niños de no tocar nada." — "He/she warns the children not to touch anything."
  • Preterite: "Él advirtió a los niños de no tocar nada." — "He/she warned the children not to touch anything." 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 advertimos a su amigo del riesgo." — "We warn his friend about the risk."
  • Preterite: "Nosotros advertimos a su amigo del riesgo." — "We warned his friend about the risk." 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 advertir in the present tense only. Each one uses a form from the table above.

  1. Yo advierto al conductor del peligro. — I warn the driver about the danger.
  2. Tú adviertes a los niños de no tocar nada. — You warn the children not to touch anything.
  3. Él advierte a su amigo del riesgo. — He/she warns his friend about the risk.
  4. Nosotros advertimos de los cambios en el contrato. — We warn of the changes in the contract.
  5. Vosotros advertís al conductor del peligro. — You all warn the driver about the danger.
  6. Ellos advierten a los niños de no tocar nada. — They warn the children not to touch anything.
  7. Yo advierto a su amigo del riesgo. — I warn his friend about the risk.
  8. Él advierte de los cambios en el contrato. — He/she warns of the changes in the contract.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo adverto a los niños de no tocar nada. — Right: Yo advierto a los niños de no tocar nada. — In the present, the correct first-person form is advierto, not adverto. advertir is a stem-changing verb (e → ie), so the stem changes in the present singular and third-person plural forms, while nosotros and vosotros keep the original stem.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo advierto a su amigo del riesgo. — Right: Ayer, yo advertí a su amigo del riesgo. — Ayer means yesterday, so it needs the preterite (advertí), not the present (advierto). The present is for now, not for yesterday.
  3. Wrong: Yo advierte al conductor del peligro. — Right: Yo advierto al conductor del peligro. — The person matters: advierte is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is advierto.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy advertido a los niños de no tocar nada. — Right: Yo he advertido a los niños de no tocar nada. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he advertido. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.

Quiz: test yourself

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

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ al conductor del peligro. (present tense) A. advierto B. adviertes C. advierte D. advertimos

  2. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ a los niños de no tocar nada. (present tense) A. adviertes B. advierto C. advierte D. advertimos

  3. Complete the sentence: Él ___ a su amigo del riesgo. (present tense) A. advierte B. advierto C. adviertes D. advertimos

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ de los cambios en el contrato. (present tense) A. advertimos B. advierto C. adviertes D. advierte

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros ___ al conductor del peligro. (present tense) A. advertís B. advierto C. adviertes D. advierte

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ___ a los niños de no tocar nada. (present tense) A. advierten B. advierto C. adviertes D. advierte

  7. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ a su amigo del riesgo. (present tense) A. advierto B. adviertes C. advierte D. advertimos

  8. Complete the sentence: Él ___ de los cambios en el contrato. (present tense) A. advierte B. advierto C. adviertes D. advertimos

Answer key

  1. advierto — The yo present form of advertir is advierto. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  2. adviertes — The tu present form of advertir is adviertes. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  3. advierte — The el present form of advertir is advierte. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  4. advertimos — The nosotros present form of advertir is advertimos. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  5. advertís — The vosotros present form of advertir is advertís. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  6. advierten — The ellos present form of advertir is advierten. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  7. advierto — The yo present form of advertir is advierto. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  8. advierte — The el present form of advertir is advierte. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the present tense of advertir?

Use the present tense of advertir for habits, facts and what is happening now. For example: Yo advierto al conductor del peligro. — "I warn the driver about the danger." The usage rules above give five situations with examples.

How is the present tense of advertir formed?

Take the stem advert- and add the present endings for -ir verbs. The full table is at the top of this page. Remember the stem change: the singular and third-person plural forms change the stem vowel.

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

The present describes a habit or a present fact, while the preterite describes a finished action. Compare Yo advierto a los niños de no tocar nada. with Yo advertí a los niños de no tocar nada. — the verb is the same, but the time meaning changes.

How do I practise the present tense of advertir?

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

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