Afectar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of afectar — “to affect” 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 afectar 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. Afectar means to affect, and it is used for anything that changes or touches something else: a drought affects the harvest, a decision affects a family, a disease affects the lungs. It takes a direct object, and it is one of the most frequent verbs in news, science and work language. Afectar is a regular -ar verb, so the notes below explain exactly where it follows the rules and where it breaks them. To see it in a real sentence: Afecto la salud de los niños.

Present tense conjugation table: afectar

Every person of afectar in the present tense. The gerund is afectando and the past participle is afectado.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo afecto
tú afectas
él/ella/Ud. afecta
nosotros/as afectamos
vosotros/as afectáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. afectan

How the present of afectar is formed

The present of afectar is built from the stem afect- 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 afecto
tú -as afectas
él/ella/Ud. -a afecta
nosotros/as -amos afectamos
vosotros/as -áis afectáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -an afectan

For afectar there are no surprises in the present: every form is the stem afect- plus the regular ending, so once you know the endings you know the whole tense.

When to use the present tense with afectar

Habits and routines

Use the present for things you do regularly.

Yo afecto la salud de los niños. — I affect the children's health.

General facts

Use the present for facts and general truths that do not change.

Él/Ella afecta el precio del pan. — He affects the price of bread.

What is happening right now

Use the present for what is happening at this moment.

Ahora, Nosotros/as afectamos la vida de la familia. — Right now, We affect the family's life.

Near-future plans

Use the present for fixed plans in the near future, especially with mañana or la semana que viene.

Mañana, Tú afectas el resultado del partido. — Tomorrow, You affect the result of the match.

Instructions and timeless statements

Use the present for instructions, rules and statements that are always true.

Él/Ella afecta la salud de los niños. — He affects the children's health.

The present vs the preterite

The present and the preterite answer different questions: the present says what happens regularly or right now, while the preterite says what happened once and finished. Compare the same idea in both tenses with afectar.

  1. Yo afecto la salud de los niños. — I affect the children's health. / Ayer, Yo afecté la salud de los niños. — Yesterday, I affected the children's health.
  2. Yo afecto el precio del pan. — I affect the price of bread. / Ayer, Yo afecté el precio del pan. — Yesterday, I affected the price of bread.
  3. Yo afecto la vida de la familia. — I affect the family's life. / Ayer, Yo afecté la vida de la familia. — Yesterday, I affected the family's life.

Example sentences in the present tense

Seven sentences with afectar in the present tense only, covering all six persons.

  1. Yo afecto la salud de los niños. — I affect the children's health.
  2. Tú afectas el precio del pan. — You affect the price of bread.
  3. Él/Ella afecta la vida de la familia. — He affects the family's life.
  4. Nosotros/as afectamos el resultado del partido. — We affect the result of the match.
  5. Vosotros/as afectáis la salud de los niños. — You affect the children's health.
  6. Ellos/as afectan el precio del pan. — They affect the price of bread.
  7. Yo afecto la vida de la familia. — I affect the family's life.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo afecta la salud de los niños. — Right: Yo afecto la salud de los niños. — The person matters: afecta is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is afecto.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo afecto el precio del pan. — Right: Ayer, yo afecté el precio del pan. — With ayer, use the preterite (afecté), not the present. The present is for habits and for right now.
  3. Wrong: Using afectar where influir belongs. — Right: Afectar means to affect, while influir means to influence something. — Check the meaning before you choose: afectar fits Afecto la salud de los niños.
  4. Wrong: Espero que él afecta el precio del pan. — Right: Espero que él afecte el precio del pan. — After espero que, Spanish needs the subjunctive: afecte, not the present indicative afecta.

Quiz: the present tense of afectar

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

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ la salud de los niños. (present tense, yo) A. afecto B. afectas C. afecta D. afectamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ el precio del pan. (present tense, tú) A. afecto B. afecta C. afectamos D. afectas

  3. Complete the sentence: Él/Ella ___ la vida de la familia. (present tense, él/ella/Ud.) A. afectas B. afectamos C. afecta D. afecto

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros/as ___ el resultado del partido. (present tense, nosotros/as) A. afecta B. afectamos C. afecto D. afectas

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros/as ___ la salud de los niños. (present tense, vosotros/as) A. afectáis B. afecto C. afectas D. afecta

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos/as ___ el precio del pan. (present tense, ellos/ellas/Uds.) A. afecto B. afectas C. afecta D. afectan

  7. Which is the gerund of afectar? A. afecto B. afecté C. afectando D. afectado

  8. Which is the past participle of afectar, used with haber in the perfect tenses? A. afecté B. afectado C. afectando D. afecto

Answer key

  1. afecto — The yo present form of afectar is afecto.
  2. afectas — The tú present form of afectar is afectas.
  3. afecta — The él/ella/Ud. present form of afectar is afecta.
  4. afectamos — The nosotros/as present form of afectar is afectamos.
  5. afectáis — The vosotros/as present form of afectar is afectáis.
  6. afectan — The ellos/ellas/Uds. present form of afectar is afectan.
  7. afectando — The gerund of afectar is afectando: estoy afectando.
  8. afectado — The past participle of afectar is afectado: he afectado, has afectado, ha afectado.

Frequently asked questions

How is the present tense of afectar formed?

Take the infinitive afectar, drop the -ar ending to get the stem afect-, then add the present endings: -o, -as, -a, -amos, -áis, -an. The full table is above, with every person. No, the present of afectar is fully regular: the stem afect- plus the standard -ar endings gives every form.

When do I use the present tense of afectar?

Use the present for habits, facts and what is happening right now. For example: Afecto la salud de los niños.

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

The present (afecto) and the preterite (afecté) answer different questions: the present is for habits and for right now, while the preterite is for one finished action. Compare them in the contrast section above.

How do I practise the present of afectar?

Drill the six forms in the table until you can say them without looking, then use the full conjugation of afectar to see how the present fits with the other tenses, and the afectar examples and quiz page for more sentences. The Spanish Verb Quiz tests the forms under pressure.

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