Agravar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of agravar — “to aggravate, to worsen” 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 agravar 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. Agravar means to aggravate or to worsen, to make a problem, an illness or a situation worse. It is a formal verb used in health, law and news, and it is fully regular. To see it in a real sentence: Agravo la situación con sus palabras. — “I aggravate the situation with his words.” Learn the six forms in the table below, and the present tense of agravar will be ready for everyday conversation.
Present tense conjugation table: agravar
Every person of agravar in the present tense. The gerund is agravando and the past participle is agravado.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | agravo |
| tú | agravas |
| él/ella/Ud. | agrava |
| nosotros/as | agravamos |
| vosotros/as | agraváis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | agravan |
How the present indicative of agravar is formed
The present indicative of agravar is built from the stem plus the present indicative 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 | agravo |
| tú | -as | agravas |
| él/ella/Ud. | -a | agrava |
| nosotros/as | -amos | agravamos |
| vosotros/as | -áis | agraváis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -an | agravan |
Agravar is a regular -ar verb in the present tense, so the table above is completely regular. The stem is agrav- and the endings are the normal -ar endings, so once you know the pattern you can produce every form on this page.
The gerund of agravar is agravando and the past participle is agravado. Both are regular for this verb, and the participle is the form you need for all the perfect tenses with haber.
When to use the present tense of agravar
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and agravar appears in all of them. The five uses below are the ones you will meet most often, each with an example that shows the verb in a natural sentence.
Routines and habits
Use the present for things you do regularly, every day or every week. The present is the tense of routine, and agravar fits naturally into daily life.
“Yo agravo la situación con sus palabras todos los días.” — “I aggravate the situation with his words every day.”
General facts
Use the present for facts that are true in general, not just today. When you state how something is, the present is the tense to use.
“Él agrava la enfermedad del paciente.” — “He/she aggravates the patient's illness.”
What is happening right now
Use the present for what is happening at this moment. Spanish often uses the simple present where English uses the progressive, so agravo can mean both “I aggravate” and “I am aggravateing”.
“Ahora mismo, yo agravo el problema con cada retraso.” — “Right now, I aggravate the problem with every delay.”
Fixed plans in the near future
Use the present for a plan that is already fixed, such as something arranged for tomorrow. Spanish uses the present for near-future plans much more freely than English does.
“Mañana, yo agravo la crisis económica.” — “Tomorrow, I will aggravate the economic crisis.”
Questions and negatives
Use the present to ask about habits and to say what does not happen. The question and the negative use exactly the same forms as the statement.
“¿Tú agravas la situación con sus palabras?” — “Do you aggravate the situation with his words?”
The present tense vs the closest tenses
Present — habit or general fact vs Preterite — one finished occasion
The present describes a habit, a routine or a general fact — something that happens again and again or that is true in general. The preterite reports one finished occasion in the past. Use the present when the action repeats or is still true, and the preterite when you are telling what happened once, on a specific day.
- Present — habit or general fact: Agrava la enfermedad del paciente. — “He/she aggravates the patient's illness.”
- Preterite — one finished occasion: Agravó la enfermedad del paciente. — the same idea, placed in the preterite.
Present — now vs Imperfect — a past habit or background
The present talks about now. The imperfect talks about the past as a background — a repeated habit, an ongoing situation, something that used to happen. If you can add “used to” in English, the imperfect is usually the right choice; if it is happening now or always, use the present.
- Present — now: Agravan el problema con cada retraso. — “They aggravate the problem with every delay.”
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: Agravaban el problema con cada retraso. — the same idea, placed in the imperfect.
Present — now or a fixed plan vs Future — what will happen
The present describes what happens now, what you do regularly, or a plan that is already fixed. The future describes what will happen later — a promise, a prediction, a plan that is not yet under way. Spanish often uses the present for near-future plans, but the future is the form for a clear statement about tomorrow.
- Present — now or a fixed plan: Agravas la crisis económica. — “You aggravate the economic crisis.”
- Future — what will happen: Agravarás la crisis económica. — the same idea, placed in the future.
Examples: agravar in the present tense
Seven sentences that show agravar in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo agravo la situación con sus palabras. — “I aggravate the situation with his words.”
- Tú agravas la enfermedad del paciente. — “You aggravate the patient's illness.”
- Él agrava el problema con cada retraso. — “He aggravates the problem with every delay.”
- Nosotros agravamos la crisis económica. — “We aggravate the economic crisis.”
- Vosotros agraváis la situación con sus palabras. — “You (plural) aggravate the situation with his words.”
- Ellos agravan la enfermedad del paciente. — “They aggravate the patient's illness.”
- ¿Tú agravas el problema con cada retraso? — “Do you aggravate the problem with every delay?”
Common mistakes with agravar in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with agravar in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ Yo agravar la situación con sus palabras. (using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form).
✓ Correct: Yo agravo la situación con sus palabras.
The infinitive is not a conjugated form. With yo, the present tense of agravar is agravo, not the infinitive agravar.
✗ Vosotros agravais la situación con sus palabras. (forgetting the accent on the vosotros form).
✓ Correct: Vosotros agraváis la situación con sus palabras.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: agraváis, not agravais. The accent marks the stressed vowel, and leaving it out is a spelling mistake.
✗ Ayer, yo agravo la enfermedad del paciente. (using the present for a finished past action).
✓ Correct: Ayer, yo agravé la enfermedad del paciente.
The present and the preterite are different tenses: agravo is happening now, while agravé is a finished action in the past. Use the preterite with ayer.
✗ Treating agravar and empeorar as identical in every context. (confusing agravar with empeorar).
✓ Correct: Agravar means to aggravate, to worsen, while empeorar means to get worse.
They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: agravar fits sentences such as Agravo la situación con sus palabras, while empeorar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
Quiz: agravar in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of agravar. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
1. Which is the correct present tense form of agravar for tú?
- a) agravas
- b) agravo
- c) agrava
- d) agravan
2. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ la situación con sus palabras. — “I aggravate the situation with his words.”
- a) agrava
- b) agravamos
- c) agravas
- d) agravo
3. Complete the sentence: Él ______ la enfermedad del paciente. — “He/she aggravates the patient's illness.” (present tense)
- a) agravaba
- b) agravará
- c) agrava
- d) agravó
4. Which is the correct present tense form of agravar for nosotros?
- a) agravan
- b) agravamos
- c) agravo
- d) agrava
5. Which sentence uses agravar correctly in the present tense?
- a) Él agravó la enfermedad del paciente.
- b) Él agrava la enfermedad del paciente.
- c) Él agravará la enfermedad del paciente.
- d) Ellos agrava la enfermedad del paciente.
6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ el problema con cada retraso. — “They aggravate the problem with every delay.”
- a) agravo
- b) agrava
- c) agravamos
- d) agravan
7. Complete the question: ¿Tú ______ la crisis económica? — “Do you aggravate the economic crisis?”
- a) agrava
- b) agravarás
- c) agravas
- d) agravo
8. What is the gerund of agravar?
- a) agravé
- b) agravando
- c) agravado
- d) agravo
Answer key
a) agravas — The tú form is agravas. The -s ending belongs to tú in the present; agravo is yo, agrava is él/ella and agravan is ellos/ellas.
d) agravo — The sentence needs the yo form in the present: agravo. The other options are the wrong person.
c) agrava — The sentence needs the él/ella/Ud. form in the present: agrava. The other options are the preterite, the imperfect and the future.
b) agravamos — Nosotros takes agravamos. In the present the nosotros ending for -ar verbs is -amos, attached to the stem.
b) Él agrava la enfermedad del paciente. — Él agrava la enfermedad del paciente. is correct: the verb agrees with its subject. The other sentences use the wrong person or the wrong tense.
d) agravan — The subject is ellos/ellas/Uds., so the present form is agravan.
c) agravas — The question needs the tú form in the present: agravas.
b) agravando — The gerund is agravando. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive (estar + gerund), and it is not the past participle agravado.
Frequently asked questions
Is agravar regular in the present tense?
Yes. Agravar is a regular -ar verb in the present tense, so the forms follow the standard endings: agravo, agravas, agrava, agravamos, agraváis and agravan.
What is the gerund and the past participle of agravar?
The gerund is agravando and the past participle is agravado. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say “I aggravate” in Spanish?
Say agravo. For example: Agravo la situación con sus palabras. — “I aggravate the situation with his words.”
What is the difference between agravar and empeorar?
Agravar means “to aggravate, to worsen”, while empeorar means “to get worse”. They are related words that learners often meet together, but they are not interchangeable — use agravar when you mean “to aggravate, to worsen” and empeorar when you mean “to get worse”. The full conjugation of agravar is on its own page.
Related links
- Full conjugation of agravar — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- agravar examples and quiz — more sentences, dialogues and a longer quiz.
- Spanish Present tense guide — how the present tense works for all Spanish verbs.
- Spanish verbs — the full list of Spanish verbs on VerbFlow.
- Agobiar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with agravar.
- Ahuyentar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with agravar.
- Aglomerar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with agravar.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise this verb in the interactive tool.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — test yourself on Spanish verbs.