Aislar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of aislar — “to isolate” 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 aislar 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. Aislar means to isolate, to separate something from its surroundings, such as a house with insulation, a patient with an infection or a wire with plastic. It is fully regular, though the present forms carry an accent on the i. To see it in a real sentence: Aislo la casa con material aislante. — “I isolate the house with insulating material.” Learn the six forms in the table below, and the present tense of aislar will be ready for everyday conversation.
Present tense conjugation table: aislar
Every person of aislar in the present tense. The gerund is aislando and the past participle is aislado.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | aislo |
| tú | aislas |
| él/ella/Ud. | aisla |
| nosotros/as | aislamos |
| vosotros/as | aisláis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | aislan |
How the present indicative of aislar is formed
The present indicative of aislar 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 | aislo |
| tú | -as | aislas |
| él/ella/Ud. | -a | aisla |
| nosotros/as | -amos | aislamos |
| vosotros/as | -áis | aisláis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -an | aislan |
Aislar is a regular -ar verb in the present tense, so the table above is completely regular. The stem is aisl- 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 aislar is aislando and the past participle is aislado. 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 aislar
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and aislar 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 aislar fits naturally into daily life.
“Yo aislo la casa con material aislante todos los días.” — “I isolate the house with insulating material 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 aisla al enfermo en una habitación.” — “He/she isolates the patient in a room.”
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 aislo can mean both “I isolate” and “I am isolateing”.
“Ahora mismo, yo aislo el cable con plástico.” — “Right now, I isolate the cable with plastic.”
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 aislo la zona por seguridad.” — “Tomorrow, I will isolate the area for safety.”
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 aislas la casa con material aislante?” — “Do you isolate the house with insulating material?”
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: Aisla al enfermo en una habitación. — “He/she isolates the patient in a room.”
- Preterite — one finished occasion: Aisló al enfermo en una habitación. — 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: Aislan el cable con plástico. — “They isolate the cable with plastic.”
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: Aislaban el cable con plástico. — 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: Aislas la zona por seguridad. — “You isolate the area for safety.”
- Future — what will happen: Aislarás la zona por seguridad. — the same idea, placed in the future.
Examples: aislar in the present tense
Seven sentences that show aislar in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo aislo la casa con material aislante. — “I isolate the house with insulating material.”
- Tú aislas al enfermo en una habitación. — “You isolate the patient in a room.”
- Él aisla el cable con plástico. — “He isolates the cable with plastic.”
- Nosotros aislamos la zona por seguridad. — “We isolate the area for safety.”
- Vosotros aisláis la casa con material aislante. — “You (plural) isolate the house with insulating material.”
- Ellos aislan al enfermo en una habitación. — “They isolate the patient in a room.”
- ¿Tú aislas el cable con plástico? — “Do you isolate the cable with plastic?”
Common mistakes with aislar in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with aislar in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ Yo aislar la casa con material aislante. (using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form).
✓ Correct: Yo aislo la casa con material aislante.
The infinitive is not a conjugated form. With yo, the present tense of aislar is aislo, not the infinitive aislar.
✗ Vosotros aislais la casa con material aislante. (forgetting the accent on the vosotros form).
✓ Correct: Vosotros aisláis la casa con material aislante.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: aisláis, not aislais. The accent marks the stressed vowel, and leaving it out is a spelling mistake.
✗ Ayer, yo aislo al enfermo en una habitación. (using the present for a finished past action).
✓ Correct: Ayer, yo aislé al enfermo en una habitación.
The present and the preterite are different tenses: aislo is happening now, while aislé is a finished action in the past. Use the preterite with ayer.
✗ Treating aislar and separar as identical in every context. (confusing aislar with separar).
✓ Correct: Aislar means to isolate, while separar means to separate.
They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: aislar fits sentences such as Aislo la casa con material aislante, while separar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
Quiz: aislar in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of aislar. 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 aislar for tú?
- a) aislas
- b) aislo
- c) aisla
- d) aislan
2. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ la casa con material aislante. — “I isolate the house with insulating material.”
- a) aisla
- b) aislamos
- c) aislas
- d) aislo
3. Complete the sentence: Él ______ al enfermo en una habitación. — “He/she isolates the patient in a room.” (present tense)
- a) aislaba
- b) aislará
- c) aisla
- d) aisló
4. Which is the correct present tense form of aislar for nosotros?
- a) aislan
- b) aislamos
- c) aislo
- d) aisla
5. Which sentence uses aislar correctly in the present tense?
- a) Él aisló al enfermo en una habitación.
- b) Él aisla al enfermo en una habitación.
- c) Él aislará al enfermo en una habitación.
- d) Ellos aisla al enfermo en una habitación.
6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ el cable con plástico. — “They isolate the cable with plastic.”
- a) aislo
- b) aisla
- c) aislamos
- d) aislan
7. Complete the question: ¿Tú ______ la zona por seguridad? — “Do you isolate the area for safety?”
- a) aisla
- b) aislarás
- c) aislas
- d) aislo
8. What is the gerund of aislar?
- a) aislé
- b) aislando
- c) aislado
- d) aislo
Answer key
a) aislas — The tú form is aislas. The -s ending belongs to tú in the present; aislo is yo, aisla is él/ella and aislan is ellos/ellas.
d) aislo — The sentence needs the yo form in the present: aislo. The other options are the wrong person.
c) aisla — The sentence needs the él/ella/Ud. form in the present: aisla. The other options are the preterite, the imperfect and the future.
b) aislamos — Nosotros takes aislamos. In the present the nosotros ending for -ar verbs is -amos, attached to the stem.
b) Él aisla al enfermo en una habitación. — Él aisla al enfermo en una habitación. is correct: the verb agrees with its subject. The other sentences use the wrong person or the wrong tense.
d) aislan — The subject is ellos/ellas/Uds., so the present form is aislan.
c) aislas — The question needs the tú form in the present: aislas.
b) aislando — The gerund is aislando. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive (estar + gerund), and it is not the past participle aislado.
Frequently asked questions
Is aislar regular in the present tense?
Yes. Aislar is a regular -ar verb in the present tense, so the forms follow the standard endings: aislo, aislas, aisla, aislamos, aisláis and aislan.
What is the gerund and the past participle of aislar?
The gerund is aislando and the past participle is aislado. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say “I isolate” in Spanish?
Say aislo. For example: Aislo la casa con material aislante. — “I isolate the house with insulating material.”
What is the difference between aislar and separar?
Aislar means “to isolate”, while separar means “to separate”. They are related words that learners often meet together, but they are not interchangeable — use aislar when you mean “to isolate” and separar when you mean “to separate”. The full conjugation of aislar is on its own page.
Related links
- Full conjugation of aislar — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- aislar 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.
- Ahuyentar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with aislar.
- Agravar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with aislar.
- Ajustar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with aislar.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise this verb in the interactive tool.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — test yourself on Spanish verbs.