Afrontar Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb afrontar means to face, to confront, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. Afrontar means to face or to confront, to deal with a problem, a fear or a difficult situation directly. It is used for challenges, debts and fears, and it is fully regular. Like every Spanish verb, afrontar changes its ending for each person and tense, and this page gives you the complete picture: every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle, all from the verified conjugation tables. For example, in the present tense you say afronto el problema con valentía, and in the preterite you say afronté sus miedos poco a poco. Work through the tables below, read the notes for each tense, and then test yourself with the examples, the common mistakes and the quiz at the end of the page.

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: afrontar
  • English: to face, to confront
  • Verb type: regular -ar verb
  • Ending: -ar
  • Gerund: afrontando
  • Past participle: afrontado
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + afrontado)

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for afrontar, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one. Afrontar is fully regular: afronto, afronta. It is facing a problem to solve it; enfrentar is the close synonym, often for facing a person.

Full conjugation tables

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for afrontar. The imperfect subjunctive is shown in its -ra forms; the -se forms use the same stem. For reflexive verbs, the pronoun column shows the reflexive pronoun that goes before each form.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo afronto
tú afrontas
él/ella/Ud. afronta
nosotros/as afrontamos
vosotros/as afrontáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. afrontan

Preterite

Person Form
yo afronté
tú afrontaste
él/ella/Ud. afrontó
nosotros/as afrontamos
vosotros/as afrontasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. afrontaron

Imperfect

Person Form
yo afrontaba
tú afrontabas
él/ella/Ud. afrontaba
nosotros/as afrontábamos
vosotros/as afrontabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. afrontaban

Future

Person Form
yo afrontaré
tú afrontarás
él/ella/Ud. afrontará
nosotros/as afrontaremos
vosotros/as afrontaréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. afrontarán

Conditional

Person Form
yo afrontaría
tú afrontarías
él/ella/Ud. afrontaría
nosotros/as afrontaríamos
vosotros/as afrontaríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. afrontarían

Present perfect

Person Form
yo he afrontado
tú has afrontado
él/ella/Ud. ha afrontado
nosotros/as hemos afrontado
vosotros/as habéis afrontado
ellos/ellas/Uds. han afrontado

Pluperfect

Person Form
yo había afrontado
tú habías afrontado
él/ella/Ud. había afrontado
nosotros/as habíamos afrontado
vosotros/as habíais afrontado
ellos/ellas/Uds. habían afrontado

Future perfect

Person Form
yo habré afrontado
tú habrás afrontado
él/ella/Ud. habrá afrontado
nosotros/as habremos afrontado
vosotros/as habréis afrontado
ellos/ellas/Uds. habrán afrontado

Conditional perfect

Person Form
yo habría afrontado
tú habrías afrontado
él/ella/Ud. habría afrontado
nosotros/as habríamos afrontado
vosotros/as habríais afrontado
ellos/ellas/Uds. habrían afrontado

Present subjunctive

Person Form
yo afronte
tú afrontes
él/ella/Ud. afronte
nosotros/as afrontemos
vosotros/as afrontéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. afronten

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

Person Form
yo afrontara
tú afrontaras
él/ella/Ud. afrontara
nosotros/as afrontáramos
vosotros/as afrontarais
ellos/ellas/Uds. afrontaran

Imperative (affirmative)

Person Form
tú afronta
él/ella/Ud. afronte
nosotros/as afrontemos
vosotros/as afrontad
ellos/ellas/Uds. afronten

Imperative (negative)

Person Form
tú afrontes
él/ella/Ud. afronte
nosotros/as afrontemos
vosotros/as afrontéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. afronten

Gerund and past participle

Form Spanish Use
Gerund afrontando with estar for the progressive: estoy afrontando
Past participle afrontado with haber for the perfect tenses: he afrontado

How to use each tense

Present indicative

Use the present for routines, general facts and what is happening right now. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For afrontar, the present looks like this in a real sentence: Afronto el problema con valentía. Learn the present forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Preterite

Use the preterite for finished actions with a clear end, often with ayer, el año pasado or anoche. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For afrontar, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Ayer, afronté la crisis sin miedo. Learn the preterite forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Imperfect

Use the imperfect for background, habits and actions in progress in the past, often with de niño, antes or mientras. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For afrontar, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: De niño, afrontaba sus miedos poco a poco. Learn the imperfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Future

Use the future for plans, predictions and promises, often with mañana, el año que viene or pronto. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For afrontar, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Mañana, afrontaré la situación con calma. Learn the future forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Conditional

Use the conditional for polite requests, hypotheticals and what would happen, often with si clauses. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For afrontar, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Afrontaría el problema con valentía si pudiera. Learn the conditional forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Present perfect

Use the present perfect for recent actions and experiences, often with hoy, esta semana or ya. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For afrontar, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Hoy, he afrontado la crisis sin miedo. Learn the present perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Pluperfect

Use the pluperfect when one past action happened before another past action. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For afrontar, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Había afrontado sus miedos poco a poco antes de salir. Learn the pluperfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Future perfect

Use the future perfect for something that will already be finished by a future time. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For afrontar, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Para mañana, habré afrontado la situación con calma. Learn the future perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Conditional perfect

Use the conditional perfect for what would have happened under different conditions. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For afrontar, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Habría afrontado el problema con valentía con más tiempo. Learn the conditional perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Present subjunctive

Use the present subjunctive after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and hope, such as espero que or quiero que. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For afrontar, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él afronte la crisis sin miedo. Learn the present subjunctive forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

Use the imperfect subjunctive after past wishes and in si clauses about the past, and note the -ra forms shown here; the -se forms use the same stem. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For afrontar, the imperfect subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Si él afrontara sus miedos poco a poco, todo cambiaría. Learn the imperfect subjunctive forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Imperative (affirmative)

Use the affirmative imperative for direct commands, instructions and invitations. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For afrontar, the affirmative imperative looks like this in a real sentence: ¡Afronta la situación con calma! Learn the affirmative imperative forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Imperative (negative)

Use the negative imperative, always with no, to tell someone not to do something. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For afrontar, the negative imperative looks like this in a real sentence: No afrontes el problema con valentía. Learn the negative imperative forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Example sentences

Ten natural sentences with afrontar, covering different tenses and persons. Each one uses a form from the tables above.

  1. Afronto el problema con valentía. — I face the problem bravely.
  2. Afronta la crisis sin miedo. — He/she faces the crisis without fear.
  3. Ayer, afronté sus miedos poco a poco. — Yesterday, I faced my fears little by little.
  4. Antes, nosotros afrontábamos la situación con calma. — Before, we used to face the situation calmly.
  5. Mañana, tú afrontarás el problema con valentía. — Tomorrow, you will face the problem bravely.
  6. Yo afrontaría la crisis sin miedo si tuviera más tiempo. — I would face the crisis without fear if I had more time.
  7. Él ha afrontado sus miedos poco a poco. — He has faced my fears little by little.
  8. Espero que él afronte la situación con calma. — I hope he faces the situation calmly.
  9. Yo ya había afrontado el problema con valentía antes de salir. — I had already faced the problem bravely before leaving.
  10. Ellos afrontaban la crisis sin miedo cuando eran jóvenes. — They used to face the crisis without fear when they were young.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo afronta el problema con valentía. — Right: Yo afronto el problema con valentía. — The person matters: afronta is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is afronto. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
  2. Wrong: Ayer yo afronto la crisis sin miedo. — Right: Ayer yo afronté la crisis sin miedo. — The present and the preterite are different tenses: afronto is happening now, while afronté is a finished action in the past. Use the preterite with ayer.
  3. Wrong: Treating afrontar and enfrentar as identical in every context. — Right: Afrontar means to face, to confront, while enfrentar means to face, a close synonym. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: afrontar fits sentences such as Afronto el problema con valentía, while enfrentar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy afrontado la crisis sin miedo. — Right: Yo he afrontado la crisis sin miedo. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he afrontado, has afrontado, ha afrontado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  5. Wrong: De niño, yo afronté sus miedos poco a poco todos los días. — Right: De niño, yo afrontaba sus miedos poco a poco todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (afrontaba), not the preterite. The preterite (afronté) is for one finished action.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on afrontar. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ el problema con valentía. (present tense) A. afronto B. afrontas C. afronta D. afrontamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Ayer, él ___ la crisis sin miedo. (preterite) A. afronté B. afrontaste C. afrontaron D. afrontó

  3. Complete the sentence: Antes, nosotros ___ sus miedos poco a poco. (imperfect) A. afrontabas B. afrontaban C. afrontábamos D. afrontaba

  4. Complete the sentence: Mañana, tú ___ la situación con calma. (future) A. afrontaremos B. afrontarás C. afrontaré D. afrontará

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ el problema con valentía si pudiera. (conditional) A. afrontaría B. afrontarías C. afrontarían D. afronto

  6. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ___ la crisis sin miedo. (present subjunctive) A. afrontes B. afrontemos C. afronto D. afronte

  7. Complete the sentence: Si yo ___ sus miedos poco a poco, todo cambiaría. (imperfect subjunctive, -ra form) A. afrontáramos B. afronto C. afrontara D. afrontaras

  8. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ la situación con calma. (present perfect) A. han afrontado B. hemos afrontado C. he afrontado D. has afrontado

  9. Complete the command: ¡___ el problema con valentía! (affirmative imperative, tú) A. afronta B. afronte C. afrontemos D. afrontad

  10. Which is the gerund of afrontar, used with estar for the progressive? A. afrontado B. afronto C. afronté D. afrontando

Answer key

  1. afronto — The first-person present of afrontar is afronto. The other options are the tú, él/ella and nosotros forms.
  2. afrontó — The third-person preterite of afrontar is afrontó, the form for a single finished action in the past.
  3. afrontábamos — The nosotros imperfect of afrontar is afrontábamos, used here for a repeated past habit.
  4. afrontarás — The second-person future of afrontar is afrontarás.
  5. afrontaría — The first-person conditional of afrontar is afrontaría, the form for what would happen.
  6. afronte — After espero que, the subjunctive is required: the third-person present subjunctive of afrontar is afronte.
  7. afrontara — The first-person imperfect subjunctive (-ra) of afrontar is afrontara.
  8. hemos afrontado — The nosotros present perfect of afrontar is hemos afrontado: hemos + afrontado.
  9. afronta — The affirmative tú imperative of afrontar is afronta.
  10. afrontando — The gerund of afrontar is afrontando: estoy afrontando. The participle afrontado is used with haber instead.

Frequently asked questions

What does afrontar mean in English?

Afrontar means to face, to confront. It is used in everyday situations such as Afronto el problema con valentía. The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

Is afrontar regular or irregular?

Afrontar is a fully regular -ar verb, so every tense follows the standard endings for its class. Once you know the regular pattern, you can produce every form on this page, including afronto in the present and afronté in the preterite.

What is the difference between afrontar and enfrentar?

Afrontar means to face, to confront, while enfrentar means to face, a close synonym. They are easy to confuse because they appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use afrontar when you mean to face, to confront, as in Afronto el problema con valentía, and use enfrentar for to face, a close synonym. When in doubt, check the object of the sentence — it usually shows which verb fits.

How do I say “I face” in the past?

It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: yo afronté la crisis sin miedo. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: yo afrontaba sus miedos poco a poco. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: yo he afrontado la crisis sin miedo.

How do I practise afrontar?

Start with the present tense table, then drill the preterite and the imperfect, since those two past tenses cause the most mistakes. Try the afrontar examples and quiz page for more sentences, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure.

Related links