Agitar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of agitar — “to shake, to stir” 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 agitar 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. Agitar means to shake or to stir, and it covers shaking a bottle before opening it, stirring a soup, shaking a rug and shaking someone to wake them. It also means to stir up a crowd or a debate, as in agitar a la gente, and it is a regular -ar verb. Agitar 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: Agito la botella antes de abrirla.

Present tense conjugation table: agitar

Every person of agitar in the present tense. The gerund is agitando and the past participle is agitado.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo agito
tú agitas
él/ella/Ud. agita
nosotros/as agitamos
vosotros/as agitáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. agitan

How the present of agitar is formed

The present of agitar is built from the stem agit- 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 agito
tú -as agitas
él/ella/Ud. -a agita
nosotros/as -amos agitamos
vosotros/as -áis agitáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -an agitan

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

When to use the present tense with agitar

Habits and routines

Use the present for things you do regularly.

Yo agito la botella antes de abrirla. — I shake the bottle before opening it.

General facts

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

Él/Ella agita la sopa con una cuchara. — He shakes the soup with a spoon.

What is happening right now

Use the present for what is happening at this moment.

Ahora, Nosotros/as agitamos la alfombra en el balcón. — Right now, We shake the rug on the balcony.

Near-future plans

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

Mañana, Tú agitas a mi hermano para despertarlo. — Tomorrow, You shake my brother to wake him up.

Instructions and timeless statements

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

Él/Ella agita la botella antes de abrirla. — He shakes the bottle before opening it.

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 agitar.

  1. Yo agito la botella antes de abrirla. — I shake the bottle before opening it. / Ayer, Yo agité la botella antes de abrirla. — Yesterday, I shook the bottle before opening it.
  2. Yo agito la sopa con una cuchara. — I shake the soup with a spoon. / Ayer, Yo agité la sopa con una cuchara. — Yesterday, I shook the soup with a spoon.
  3. Yo agito la alfombra en el balcón. — I shake the rug on the balcony. / Ayer, Yo agité la alfombra en el balcón. — Yesterday, I shook the rug on the balcony.

Example sentences in the present tense

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

  1. Yo agito la botella antes de abrirla. — I shake the bottle before opening it.
  2. Tú agitas la sopa con una cuchara. — You shake the soup with a spoon.
  3. Él/Ella agita la alfombra en el balcón. — He shakes the rug on the balcony.
  4. Nosotros/as agitamos a mi hermano para despertarlo. — We shake my brother to wake him up.
  5. Vosotros/as agitáis la botella antes de abrirla. — You shake the bottle before opening it.
  6. Ellos/as agitan la sopa con una cuchara. — They shake the soup with a spoon.
  7. Yo agito la alfombra en el balcón. — I shake the rug on the balcony.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo agita la botella antes de abrirla. — Right: Yo agito la botella antes de abrirla. — The person matters: agita is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is agito.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo agito la sopa con una cuchara. — Right: Ayer, yo agité la sopa con una cuchara. — With ayer, use the preterite (agité), not the present. The present is for habits and for right now.
  3. Wrong: Using agitar where sacudir belongs. — Right: Agitar means to shake, to stir, while sacudir means to shake something violently. — Check the meaning before you choose: agitar fits Agito la botella antes de abrirla.
  4. Wrong: Espero que él agita la sopa con una cuchara. — Right: Espero que él agite la sopa con una cuchara. — After espero que, Spanish needs the subjunctive: agite, not the present indicative agita.

Quiz: the present tense of agitar

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

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ la botella antes de abrirla. (present tense, yo) A. agito B. agitas C. agita D. agitamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ la sopa con una cuchara. (present tense, tú) A. agito B. agita C. agitamos D. agitas

  3. Complete the sentence: Él/Ella ___ la alfombra en el balcón. (present tense, él/ella/Ud.) A. agitas B. agitamos C. agita D. agito

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros/as ___ a mi hermano para despertarlo. (present tense, nosotros/as) A. agita B. agitamos C. agito D. agitas

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros/as ___ la botella antes de abrirla. (present tense, vosotros/as) A. agitáis B. agito C. agitas D. agita

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos/as ___ la sopa con una cuchara. (present tense, ellos/ellas/Uds.) A. agito B. agitas C. agita D. agitan

  7. Which is the gerund of agitar? A. agito B. agité C. agitando D. agitado

  8. Which is the past participle of agitar, used with haber in the perfect tenses? A. agité B. agitado C. agitando D. agito

Answer key

  1. agito — The yo present form of agitar is agito.
  2. agitas — The tú present form of agitar is agitas.
  3. agita — The él/ella/Ud. present form of agitar is agita.
  4. agitamos — The nosotros/as present form of agitar is agitamos.
  5. agitáis — The vosotros/as present form of agitar is agitáis.
  6. agitan — The ellos/ellas/Uds. present form of agitar is agitan.
  7. agitando — The gerund of agitar is agitando: estoy agitando.
  8. agitado — The past participle of agitar is agitado: he agitado, has agitado, ha agitado.

Frequently asked questions

How is the present tense of agitar formed?

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

When do I use the present tense of agitar?

Use the present for habits, facts and what is happening right now. For example: Agito la botella antes de abrirla.

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

The present (agito) and the preterite (agité) 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 agitar?

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

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