Alarmar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of alarmar — “to alarm” 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 alarmar 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. Alarmar means to alarm, to frighten someone with worrying news or a warning. It is used for news, sounds and situations that cause fear, and it is fully regular. To see it in a real sentence: Alarmo a los vecinos con el ruido. — “I alarm the neighbours with the noise.” Learn the six forms in the table below, and the present tense of alarmar will be ready for everyday conversation.
Present tense conjugation table: alarmar
Every person of alarmar in the present tense. The gerund is alarmando and the past participle is alarmado.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | alarmo |
| tú | alarmas |
| él/ella/Ud. | alarma |
| nosotros/as | alarmamos |
| vosotros/as | alarmáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | alarman |
How the present indicative of alarmar is formed
The present indicative of alarmar 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 | alarmo |
| tú | -as | alarmas |
| él/ella/Ud. | -a | alarma |
| nosotros/as | -amos | alarmamos |
| vosotros/as | -áis | alarmáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -an | alarman |
Alarmar is a regular -ar verb in the present tense, so the table above is completely regular. The stem is alarm- 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 alarmar is alarmando and the past participle is alarmado. 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 alarmar
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and alarmar 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 alarmar fits naturally into daily life.
“Yo alarmo a los vecinos con el ruido todos los días.” — “I alarm the neighbours with the noise 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 alarma a la población con la noticia.” — “He/she alarms the population with the news.”
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 alarmo can mean both “I alarm” and “I am alarming”.
“Ahora mismo, yo alarmo a su familia con el mensaje.” — “Right now, I alarm his family with the message.”
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 alarmo a los pasajeros con la alarma.” — “Tomorrow, I will alarm the passengers with the alarm.”
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 alarmas a los vecinos con el ruido?” — “Do you alarm the neighbours with the noise?”
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: Alarma a la población con la noticia. — “He/she alarms the population with the news.”
- Preterite — one finished occasion: Alarmó a la población con la noticia. — 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: Alarman a su familia con el mensaje. — “They alarm his family with the message.”
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: Alarmaban a su familia con el mensaje. — 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: Alarmas a los pasajeros con la alarma. — “You alarm the passengers with the alarm.”
- Future — what will happen: Alarmarás a los pasajeros con la alarma. — the same idea, placed in the future.
Examples: alarmar in the present tense
Seven sentences that show alarmar in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo alarmo a los vecinos con el ruido. — “I alarm the neighbours with the noise.”
- Tú alarmas a la población con la noticia. — “You alarm the population with the news.”
- Él alarma a su familia con el mensaje. — “He alarms his family with the message.”
- Nosotros alarmamos a los pasajeros con la alarma. — “We alarm the passengers with the alarm.”
- Vosotros alarmáis a los vecinos con el ruido. — “You (plural) alarm the neighbours with the noise.”
- Ellos alarman a la población con la noticia. — “They alarm the population with the news.”
- ¿Tú alarmas a su familia con el mensaje? — “Do you alarm his family with the message?”
Common mistakes with alarmar in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with alarmar in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ Yo alarmar a los vecinos con el ruido. (using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form).
✓ Correct: Yo alarmo a los vecinos con el ruido.
The infinitive is not a conjugated form. With yo, the present tense of alarmar is alarmo, not the infinitive alarmar.
✗ Vosotros alarmais a los vecinos con el ruido. (forgetting the accent on the vosotros form).
✓ Correct: Vosotros alarmáis a los vecinos con el ruido.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: alarmáis, not alarmais. The accent marks the stressed vowel, and leaving it out is a spelling mistake.
✗ Ayer, yo alarmo a la población con la noticia. (using the present for a finished past action).
✓ Correct: Ayer, yo alarmé a la población con la noticia.
The present and the preterite are different tenses: alarmo is happening now, while alarmé is a finished action in the past. Use the preterite with ayer.
✗ Treating alarmar and asustar as identical in every context. (confusing alarmar with asustar).
✓ Correct: Alarmar means to alarm, while asustar means to frighten.
They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: alarmar fits sentences such as Alarmo a los vecinos con el ruido, while asustar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
Quiz: alarmar in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of alarmar. 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 alarmar for tú?
- a) alarmas
- b) alarmo
- c) alarma
- d) alarman
2. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ a los vecinos con el ruido. — “I alarm the neighbours with the noise.”
- a) alarma
- b) alarmamos
- c) alarmas
- d) alarmo
3. Complete the sentence: Él ______ a la población con la noticia. — “He/she alarms the population with the news.” (present tense)
- a) alarmaba
- b) alarmará
- c) alarma
- d) alarmó
4. Which is the correct present tense form of alarmar for nosotros?
- a) alarman
- b) alarmamos
- c) alarmo
- d) alarma
5. Which sentence uses alarmar correctly in the present tense?
- a) Él alarmó a la población con la noticia.
- b) Él alarma a la población con la noticia.
- c) Él alarmará a la población con la noticia.
- d) Ellos alarma a la población con la noticia.
6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ a su familia con el mensaje. — “They alarm his family with the message.”
- a) alarmo
- b) alarma
- c) alarmamos
- d) alarman
7. Complete the question: ¿Tú ______ a los pasajeros con la alarma? — “Do you alarm the passengers with the alarm?”
- a) alarma
- b) alarmarás
- c) alarmas
- d) alarmo
8. What is the gerund of alarmar?
- a) alarmé
- b) alarmando
- c) alarmado
- d) alarmo
Answer key
a) alarmas — The tú form is alarmas. The -s ending belongs to tú in the present; alarmo is yo, alarma is él/ella and alarman is ellos/ellas.
d) alarmo — The sentence needs the yo form in the present: alarmo. The other options are the wrong person.
c) alarma — The sentence needs the él/ella/Ud. form in the present: alarma. The other options are the preterite, the imperfect and the future.
b) alarmamos — Nosotros takes alarmamos. In the present the nosotros ending for -ar verbs is -amos, attached to the stem.
b) Él alarma a la población con la noticia. — Él alarma a la población con la noticia. is correct: the verb agrees with its subject. The other sentences use the wrong person or the wrong tense.
d) alarman — The subject is ellos/ellas/Uds., so the present form is alarman.
c) alarmas — The question needs the tú form in the present: alarmas.
b) alarmando — The gerund is alarmando. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive (estar + gerund), and it is not the past participle alarmado.
Frequently asked questions
Is alarmar regular in the present tense?
Yes. Alarmar is a regular -ar verb in the present tense, so the forms follow the standard endings: alarmo, alarmas, alarma, alarmamos, alarmáis and alarman.
What is the gerund and the past participle of alarmar?
The gerund is alarmando and the past participle is alarmado. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say “I alarm” in Spanish?
Say alarmo. For example: Alarmo a los vecinos con el ruido. — “I alarm the neighbours with the noise.”
What is the difference between alarmar and asustar?
Alarmar means “to alarm”, while asustar means “to frighten”. They are related words that learners often meet together, but they are not interchangeable — use alarmar when you mean “to alarm” and asustar when you mean “to frighten”. The full conjugation of alarmar is on its own page.
Related links
- Full conjugation of alarmar — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- alarmar 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.
- Alabar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with alarmar.
- Alegar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with alarmar.
- Alertar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with alarmar.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise this verb in the interactive tool.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — test yourself on Spanish verbs.