Afeitarse Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb afeitarse means to shave, and this page covers it in the present tense — the tense for habits, facts and what is happening now. If you want the whole picture, start with the full afeitarse conjugation, which has every tense on one page. Here we go deep on one tense only: the full table, how it is formed, when to use it, how it differs from the closest tense, examples, the mistakes learners actually make, a quiz and answers to the questions people ask most. One example to start: Yo me afeito por la mañana. — "I shave in the morning."

No pronunciation is given on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for afeitarse, so no pronunciation is shown rather than an invented one. All the forms below come from the verified conjugation tables, so you can trust every form you see here.

afeitarse is reflexive, so every form below is shown with its reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se). The pronoun is part of the verb, not an optional extra.

The afeitarse present tense table

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for afeitarse. The gerund is afeitando and the past participle is afeitado.

Person Pronoun Form
yo me afeito
tú te afeitas
él/ella/Ud. se afeita
nosotros/as nos afeitamos
vosotros/as os afeitáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se afeitan

The gerund afeitando is used with estar for the progressive (estoy afeitando, I am shaving), and the past participle afeitado is used with haber for the perfect tenses (he afeitado, I have shaved).

How the present tense of afeitarse is formed

Start with the infinitive afeitar. Take off the -ar ending and you are left with the stem afeit-. Then add the present endings for -ar verbs: -o (yo), -as (tú), -a (él/ella/Ud.), -amos (nosotros/as), -áis (vosotros/as) and -an (ellos/ellas/Uds.). That gives you the six forms in the table above, and for most verbs in this group that is the whole story.

afeitarse is regular in the present: every form is exactly the stem plus the ending above, with no stem change and no spelling change. If you know the stem and the six endings, you can build the whole tense without memorising anything extra.

afeitarse is reflexive, so every form needs its reflexive pronoun in front of it: me, te, se, nos, os, se, matching the person. In the table above the pronoun is shown in its own column, and in a sentence it goes before the conjugated verb: Me afeito por la mañana.. Do not drop the pronoun: without it, you are talking about a different verb. In the infinitive the pronoun is attached to the end (afeitarse), and in the gerund it can go before the auxiliary or attached to the gerund: estoy afeitando or afeitándome.

Two details are worth fixing early. First, the vosotros form carries a written accent on the ending: afeitáis. Second, the present tense in Spanish has no auxiliary verb: me afeito on its own means both "I shave" and "I am shaving" in English, so you do not need a separate word for the progressive unless you want to stress that something is happening right now.

When to use the present tense of afeitarse

Habits and routines

The present is the tense of what you do regularly. Talking about shaving as part of the morning routine, usually for men, before work.

  • Yo me afeito por la mañana. — "I shave in the morning."
  • Tú te afeitas con una maquinilla nueva. — "you shave with a new razor."

Facts and general truths

The present also states facts that are true in general, not just today. Talking about the tools: a razor, shaving foam, or an electric shaver.

  • Él se afeita antes de ir al trabajo. — "he/she shaves before going to work."
  • Nosotros nos afeitamos en el baño. — "we shave in the bathroom."

What is happening now

The present describes what is happening at this moment. Talking about being careful: afeitarse con cuidado, because a cut is easy to get.

  • Vosotros os afeitáis todos los días. — "you (all) shave every day."
  • Ellos se afeitan con cuidado. — "they shave carefully."

Plans in the near future

Spanish also uses the present for fixed plans in the near future, especially with a time expression. A plan you have already decided on can be stated in the present, and it sounds more certain than the future tense.

  • Él se afeita antes de ir al trabajo. — "he/she shaves before going to work."
  • Nosotros nos afeitamos en el baño. — "we shave in the bathroom."

Afeitarse present vs present progressive

The present tense and the present progressive (estar + gerund) are close neighbours, and learners mix them up. The present describes a habit, a fact or a routine. The progressive describes something in progress right now, at this very moment. Compare the three pairs below: the first sentence in each pair is a habit, the second is happening now.

  • Present (habit): Yo me afeito por la mañana. — "I shave in the morning."

  • Progressive (right now): Yo estoy afeitando por la mañana. — "I am shaving in the morning."

  • Present (habit): Tú te afeitas con una maquinilla nueva. — "you shave with a new razor."

  • Progressive (right now): Tú estás afeitando con una maquinilla nueva. — "you are shaving with a new razor."

  • Present (habit): Él se afeita antes de ir al trabajo. — "he/she shaves before going to work."

  • Progressive (right now): Él está afeitando antes de ir al trabajo. — "he/she is shaving before going to work."

Use the present when you talk about what you usually do, and the progressive when you want to stress that it is happening as you speak. If you say me afeito every day, that is a routine. If you say Estoy afeitando, you are doing it at this moment.

Examples of afeitarse in the present

Eight sentences in the present tense, so you can see the forms in real use. Read the Spanish first, guess the meaning, then check the translation.

  1. Me afeito por la mañana antes de ir al trabajo. — "I shave in the morning before going to work."
  2. Mi padre se afeita con una maquinilla nueva. — "My father shaves with a new razor."
  3. Ayer me afeité con cuidado en el baño. — "Yesterday I shaved carefully in the bathroom."
  4. De joven, me afeitaba todos los días. — "When I was young, I used to shave every day."
  5. Mañana me afeitaré antes de la entrevista. — "Tomorrow I will shave before the interview."
  6. Si tuviera más tiempo, me afeitaría con más calma. — "If I had more time, I would shave more calmly."
  7. Él se afeita todos los días. — "he/she shaves every day."
  8. Nosotros nos afeitamos con cuidado. — "we shave carefully."

Common mistakes with afeitarse in the present

These are the errors learners actually make with this verb. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why it is wrong.

1. Yo afeito por la mañana.

Wrong: Yo afeito por la mañana.

Right: Yo me afeito por la mañana.

Afeitarse is reflexive. Afeito on its own means you shave someone else, like a barber shaving a customer.

2. Me afeita por la mañana.

Wrong: Me afeita por la mañana.

Right: Me afeito por la mañana.

The pronoun me needs the yo form afeito. Afeita is the él/ella form, so me afeita does not agree.

3. Dropping the reflexive pronoun

Wrong: Yo afeito por la mañana.

Right: Me afeito por la mañana.

Without the pronoun you are using the non-reflexive verb, which means something else. The pronoun is part of afeitarse: me afeito.

4. Using the present for a finished past action

Wrong: Ayer yo me afeito por la mañana.

Right: Ayer yo me afeité por la mañana.

Ayer (yesterday) signals a finished action, so it needs the preterite: me afeité. The present me afeito describes what you do now or usually, not what you did yesterday.

5. Forgetting the accent on the vosotros form

Wrong: Vosotros afeitais por la mañana.

Right: Vosotros afeitáis por la mañana.

The vosotros ending carries a written accent: afeitáis. Without it, the spelling is wrong, even though the pronunciation is close.

Quiz: test yourself on afeitarse in the present

Choose the right form for each sentence. The answers are at the end of this section, with an explanation for every question.

  1. Yo ___ por la mañana
    • a) me afeito
    • b) te afeitas
    • c) se afeita
    • d) nos afeitamos
  2. Tú ___ con una maquinilla nueva
    • a) me afeito
    • b) se afeita
    • c) nos afeitamos
    • d) te afeitas
  3. Él ___ antes de ir al trabajo
    • a) te afeitas
    • b) nos afeitamos
    • c) se afeita
    • d) me afeito
  4. Nosotros ___ en el baño
    • a) se afeita
    • b) nos afeitamos
    • c) me afeito
    • d) te afeitas
  5. Vosotros ___ todos los días
    • a) os afeitáis
    • b) me afeito
    • c) te afeitas
    • d) se afeita
  6. Ellos ___ con cuidado
    • a) me afeito
    • b) te afeitas
    • c) se afeita
    • d) se afeitan
  7. Yo ___ por la mañana
    • a) se afeita
    • b) nos afeitamos
    • c) me afeito
    • d) te afeitas
  8. Tú ___ con una maquinilla nueva
    • a) nos afeitamos
    • b) te afeitas
    • c) me afeito
    • d) se afeita

Answers

  1. a) me afeito — The sentence needs the yo form, because the subject is yo.
  2. d) te afeitas — The sentence needs the tú form, because the subject is tú.
  3. c) se afeita — The sentence needs the él/ella/Ud. form, because the subject is él/ella/Ud..
  4. b) nos afeitamos — The sentence needs the nosotros/as form, because the subject is nosotros/as.
  5. a) os afeitáis — The sentence needs the vosotros/as form, because the subject is vosotros/as.
  6. d) se afeitan — The sentence needs the ellos/ellas/Uds. form, because the subject is ellos/ellas/Uds..
  7. c) me afeito — The sentence needs the yo form, because the subject is yo.
  8. b) te afeitas — The sentence needs the tú form, because the subject is tú.

Frequently asked questions about afeitarse in the present

What is the difference between afeitar and afeitarse?

Afeitar means to shave someone or something else: el barbero afeita a su cliente. Afeitarse means to shave yourself: me afeito. Most of the time you talk about yourself, so you need afeitarse.

Is afeitarse regular?

Yes, it is a regular -ar reflexive verb. The present is me afeito, te afeitas, se afeita, nos afeitamos, os afeitáis, se afeitan.

Is afeitarse regular in the present?

Yes. afeitarse is regular in the present: the six forms are the stem afeit- plus the regular endings, with no stem change. The only thing to watch is the written accent on the stressed endings, for example afeito.

What are the gerund and the past participle of afeitarse?

The gerund is afeitando, used with estar for the progressive (estoy afeitando), and the past participle is afeitado, used with haber for the perfect tenses (he afeitado).

How to remember afeitarse

Four small habits will fix afeitarse in your memory. First, say the present tense out loud, in order, three times: me afeito, te afeitas, se afeita, nos afeitamos, os afeitáis, se afeitan. Saying the forms is far more effective than reading them silently, because you hear the endings and the stem at the same time. Second, write three sentences about your own life: one about today with the present (me afeito), one about yesterday with the preterite (me afeité), and one about tomorrow with the future (me afeitaré). Personal sentences stick because they are about you, not about a textbook. Third, remember the difference from peinarse: Afeitarse is shaving the face; peinarse is combing the hair. Both belong to the morning routine, but they act on different parts of the body. Finally, learn the two key forms by heart: the gerund afeitando and the past participle afeitado. With those two and the present tense, you can already build the progressive (estoy afeitando) and the present perfect (he afeitado), which covers most everyday conversation.

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