Afeitar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of afeitar — “to shave” 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 afeitar 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. Afeitar means to shave, and it is the non-reflexive verb for shaving someone else, as a barber does: you shave a customer, a patient or a child. To shave yourself, Spanish uses the reflexive afeitarse, and confusing the two is a classic mistake — yo afeito suggests you shave other people for a living. Afeitar 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: Afeito al cliente en la barbería.

Present tense conjugation table: afeitar

Every person of afeitar in the present tense. The gerund is afeitando and the past participle is afeitado.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo afeito
tú afeitas
él/ella/Ud. afeita
nosotros/as afeitamos
vosotros/as afeitáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. afeitan

How the present of afeitar is formed

The present of afeitar is built from the stem afeit- 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 afeito
tú -as afeitas
él/ella/Ud. -a afeita
nosotros/as -amos afeitamos
vosotros/as -áis afeitáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -an afeitan

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

When to use the present tense with afeitar

Habits and routines

Use the present for things you do regularly.

Yo afeito al cliente en la barbería. — I shave the customer in the barber's.

General facts

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

Él/Ella afeita a mi padre con cuidado. — He shaves my father carefully.

What is happening right now

Use the present for what is happening at this moment.

Ahora, Nosotros/as afeitamos la barba de mi abuelo. — Right now, We shave my grandfather's beard.

Near-future plans

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

Mañana, Tú afeitas al paciente en el hospital. — Tomorrow, You shave the patient in the hospital.

Instructions and timeless statements

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

Él/Ella afeita al cliente en la barbería. — He shaves the customer in the barber's.

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 afeitar.

  1. Yo afeito al cliente en la barbería. — I shave the customer in the barber's. / Ayer, Yo afeité al cliente en la barbería. — Yesterday, I shaved the customer in the barber's.
  2. Yo afeito a mi padre con cuidado. — I shave my father carefully. / Ayer, Yo afeité a mi padre con cuidado. — Yesterday, I shaved my father carefully.
  3. Yo afeito la barba de mi abuelo. — I shave my grandfather's beard. / Ayer, Yo afeité la barba de mi abuelo. — Yesterday, I shaved my grandfather's beard.

Example sentences in the present tense

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

  1. Yo afeito al cliente en la barbería. — I shave the customer in the barber's.
  2. Tú afeitas a mi padre con cuidado. — You shave my father carefully.
  3. Él/Ella afeita la barba de mi abuelo. — He shaves my grandfather's beard.
  4. Nosotros/as afeitamos al paciente en el hospital. — We shave the patient in the hospital.
  5. Vosotros/as afeitáis al cliente en la barbería. — You shave the customer in the barber's.
  6. Ellos/as afeitan a mi padre con cuidado. — They shave my father carefully.
  7. Yo afeito la barba de mi abuelo. — I shave my grandfather's beard.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo afeita al cliente en la barbería. — Right: Yo afeito al cliente en la barbería. — The person matters: afeita is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is afeito.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo afeito a mi padre con cuidado. — Right: Ayer, yo afeité a mi padre con cuidado. — With ayer, use the preterite (afeité), not the present. The present is for habits and for right now.
  3. Wrong: Using afeitar where afeitarse belongs. — Right: Afeitar means to shave, while afeitarse means to shave yourself. — Check the meaning before you choose: afeitar fits Afeito al cliente en la barbería.
  4. Wrong: Espero que él afeita a mi padre con cuidado. — Right: Espero que él afeite a mi padre con cuidado. — After espero que, Spanish needs the subjunctive: afeite, not the present indicative afeita.

Quiz: the present tense of afeitar

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

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ al cliente en la barbería. (present tense, yo) A. afeito B. afeitas C. afeita D. afeitamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ a mi padre con cuidado. (present tense, tú) A. afeito B. afeita C. afeitamos D. afeitas

  3. Complete the sentence: Él/Ella ___ la barba de mi abuelo. (present tense, él/ella/Ud.) A. afeitas B. afeitamos C. afeita D. afeito

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros/as ___ al paciente en el hospital. (present tense, nosotros/as) A. afeita B. afeitamos C. afeito D. afeitas

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros/as ___ al cliente en la barbería. (present tense, vosotros/as) A. afeitáis B. afeito C. afeitas D. afeita

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos/as ___ a mi padre con cuidado. (present tense, ellos/ellas/Uds.) A. afeito B. afeitas C. afeita D. afeitan

  7. Which is the gerund of afeitar? A. afeito B. afeité C. afeitando D. afeitado

  8. Which is the past participle of afeitar, used with haber in the perfect tenses? A. afeité B. afeitado C. afeitando D. afeito

Answer key

  1. afeito — The yo present form of afeitar is afeito.
  2. afeitas — The tú present form of afeitar is afeitas.
  3. afeita — The él/ella/Ud. present form of afeitar is afeita.
  4. afeitamos — The nosotros/as present form of afeitar is afeitamos.
  5. afeitáis — The vosotros/as present form of afeitar is afeitáis.
  6. afeitan — The ellos/ellas/Uds. present form of afeitar is afeitan.
  7. afeitando — The gerund of afeitar is afeitando: estoy afeitando.
  8. afeitado — The past participle of afeitar is afeitado: he afeitado, has afeitado, ha afeitado.

Frequently asked questions

How is the present tense of afeitar formed?

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

When do I use the present tense of afeitar?

Use the present for habits, facts and what is happening right now. For example: Afeito al cliente en la barbería.

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

The present (afeito) and the preterite (afeité) 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 afeitar?

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

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