Alargar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of alargar — "to lengthen, to extend" 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 alargar 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. Alargar means to lengthen or to extend, and it covers lengthening a dress, extending a meeting until six, holding out a hand to greet and extending a project deadline. It is a spelling-change verb: the g becomes gu before e. To see it in a real sentence: Él alarga el vestido para la fiesta. — "He/she lengthens the dress for the party." Work through the table below, then the formation notes, the usage rules and the contrast with the preterite, and test yourself at the end.

Present tense conjugation table: alargar

Every person of alargar in the present tense. The gerund is alargando and the past participle is alargado.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo alargo
tú alargas
él/ella/Ud. alarga
nosotros/as alargamos
vosotros/as alargáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. alargan

How the present indicative of alargar is formed

The present indicative of alargar is built from the stem alarg- 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 alargo
tú -as alargas
él/ella/Ud. -a alarga
nosotros/as -amos alargamos
vosotros/as -áis alargáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -an alargan

alargar is a spelling-change verb: g becomes gu before e. That is why the written form changes in some persons — the sound stays the same, and only the spelling adapts. In this tense, watch the first-person form alargo in particular.

The gerund of alargar is alargando and the past participle is alargado. 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 alargar

The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and alargar 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.

Habits and routines

The present tense describes things you do regularly. If you do it every day, every week or every morning, the present is the tense to use. For alargar, this use looks like this: "Yo alargo el vestido para la fiesta." — "I lengthen the dress for the party." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

General facts

The present tense states facts that are generally true, not tied to one moment. It is the tense for definitions and permanent situations. For alargar, this use looks like this: "Él alarga la reunión hasta las seis." — "He/she lengthens the meeting until six." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

What is happening now

The present tense also covers what is happening at this moment, especially with verbs that describe an action in progress. For alargar, this use looks like this: "Nosotros alargamos la mano para saludar." — "We lengthen my hand to greet." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

Timetables and schedules

The present tense is used for fixed plans and timetables, such as trains, classes and opening times, even when they refer to the future. For alargar, this use looks like this: "Ellos alargan el plazo del proyecto." — "They lengthen the project deadline." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

Instructions and requests

The present tense appears in instructions and polite requests, where it sounds softer than a direct command. For alargar, this use looks like this: "Tú alargas el vestido para la fiesta." — "You lengthen the dress for the party." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

The present tense vs the preterite

Learners often mix up the present and the preterite with alargar. The rule is simple: the present is for habits, facts and what is happening now, while the preterite is for one finished action in the past. The three pairs below show the same idea in both tenses, so you can feel the difference.

Pair 1: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Yo alargo el vestido para la fiesta." — "I lengthen the dress for the party."
  • Preterite: "Yo alargué el vestido para la fiesta." — "I lengthened the dress for the party." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Pair 2: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Él alarga la reunión hasta las seis." — "He/she lengthens the meeting until six."
  • Preterite: "Él alargó la reunión hasta las seis." — "He/she lengthened the meeting until six." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Pair 3: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Nosotros alargamos la mano para saludar." — "We lengthen my hand to greet."
  • Preterite: "Nosotros alargamos la mano para saludar." — "We lengthened my hand to greet." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Example sentences in the present tense

Eight natural sentences with alargar in the present tense only. Each one uses a form from the table above.

  1. Yo alargo el vestido para la fiesta. — I lengthen the dress for the party.
  2. Tú alargas la reunión hasta las seis. — You lengthen the meeting until six.
  3. Él alarga la mano para saludar. — He/she lengthens my hand to greet.
  4. Nosotros alargamos el plazo del proyecto. — We lengthen the project deadline.
  5. Vosotros alargáis el vestido para la fiesta. — You all lengthen the dress for the party.
  6. Ellos alargan la reunión hasta las seis. — They lengthen the meeting until six.
  7. Yo alargo la mano para saludar. — I lengthen my hand to greet.
  8. Él alarga el plazo del proyecto. — He/she lengthens the project deadline.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Vosotros alargais la reunión hasta las seis. — Right: Vosotros alargáis la reunión hasta las seis. — The vosotros present form carries a written accent: alargáis, not alargais.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo alargo la mano para saludar. — Right: Ayer, yo alargué la mano para saludar. — Ayer means yesterday, so it needs the preterite (alargué), not the present (alargo). The present is for now, not for yesterday.
  3. Wrong: Yo alarga el vestido para la fiesta. — Right: Yo alargo el vestido para la fiesta. — The person matters: alarga is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is alargo.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy alargado la reunión hasta las seis. — Right: Yo he alargado la reunión hasta las seis. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he alargado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.

Quiz: test yourself

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

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ el vestido para la fiesta. (present tense) A. alargo B. alargas C. alarga D. alargamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ la reunión hasta las seis. (present tense) A. alargas B. alargo C. alarga D. alargamos

  3. Complete the sentence: Él ___ la mano para saludar. (present tense) A. alarga B. alargo C. alargas D. alargamos

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ el plazo del proyecto. (present tense) A. alargamos B. alargo C. alargas D. alarga

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros ___ el vestido para la fiesta. (present tense) A. alargáis B. alargo C. alargas D. alarga

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ___ la reunión hasta las seis. (present tense) A. alargan B. alargo C. alargas D. alarga

  7. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ la mano para saludar. (present tense) A. alargo B. alargas C. alarga D. alargamos

  8. Complete the sentence: Él ___ el plazo del proyecto. (present tense) A. alarga B. alargo C. alargas D. alargamos

Answer key

  1. alargo — The yo present form of alargar is alargo. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  2. alargas — The tu present form of alargar is alargas. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  3. alarga — The el present form of alargar is alarga. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  4. alargamos — The nosotros present form of alargar is alargamos. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  5. alargáis — The vosotros present form of alargar is alargáis. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  6. alargan — The ellos present form of alargar is alargan. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  7. alargo — The yo present form of alargar is alargo. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  8. alarga — The el present form of alargar is alarga. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the present tense of alargar?

Use the present tense of alargar for habits, facts and what is happening now. For example: Yo alargo el vestido para la fiesta. — "I lengthen the dress for the party." The usage rules above give five situations with examples.

How is the present tense of alargar formed?

Take the stem alarg- and add the present endings for -ar verbs. The full table is at the top of this page. Remember the spelling change: g becomes gu before e.

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

The present describes a habit or a present fact, while the preterite describes a finished action. Compare Yo alargo la reunión hasta las seis. with Yo alargué la reunión hasta las seis. — the verb is the same, but the time meaning changes.

How do I practise the present tense of alargar?

Drill the six forms in the table above until you can say them without looking, then use the alargar examples and quiz page for more sentences, and test yourself with the Alargar conjugation page for the full picture across all tenses.

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