Alentar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of alentar — "to encourage" 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 alentar 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. Alentar means to encourage someone: alentar a su equipo, alentar a su hija a estudiar. It takes a person as its object and often adds a + infinitive for the encouraged action. To see it in a real sentence: Yo aliento a su equipo antes del partido — "I encourage his team before the match".
Present tense conjugation table: alentar
Every person of alentar in the present tense. The gerund is alentando and the past participle is alentado.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | aliento |
| tú | alientas |
| él/ella/Ud. | alienta |
| nosotros/as | alentamos |
| vosotros/as | alentáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | alientan |
How the present of alentar is formed
The present of alentar is built from the stem alent- 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 | aliento |
| tú | -as | alientas |
| él/ella/Ud. | -a | alienta |
| nosotros/as | -amos | alentamos |
| vosotros/as | -áis | alentáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -an | alientan |
The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: aliento, alientas, alienta and alientan — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: alentamos, alentáis.
The gerund of alentar is alentando and the past participle is alentado. Both are the forms you need with estar and haber respectively.
When to use the present tense of alentar
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and alentar 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 describes things that happen regularly, as a habit or routine.
"Cada día, yo aliento a su equipo antes del partido" — "Every day, I encourage his team before the match"
General truths
The present states facts that are always true, not just true today.
"Mi amigo alienta a su hija a estudiar" — "My friend encourages his daughter to study"
What is happening now
The present describes an action in progress right now.
"Ahora, yo aliento a los alumnos con palabras" — "Right now, I encourage the pupils with words"
Near-future plans
Spanish often uses the present for a plan that is already fixed.
"Mañana, nosotros alentamos a su amigo en los malos momentos" — "Tomorrow, we encourage his friend in hard times"
Timetables and scheduled events
The present is the tense for timetables, programmes and things that happen on a schedule.
"Ellos alientan al público a participar" — "They encourage the public to take part"
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: {'pre_es': 'Cada día, ', 'pre_en': 'Every day, '}yo aliento a su equipo antes del partido — "I encourage his team before the match"
- Preterite — one finished occasion: {'pre_es': 'Ayer, ', 'pre_en': 'Yesterday, '}yo alenté a su equipo antes del partido — "I encouraged his team before the match"
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: {}tú alientas a su hija a estudiar — "You encourage his daughter to study"
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: {}tú alentabas a su hija a estudiar — "You used to encourage his daughter to study"
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: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él alienta a los alumnos con palabras — "He encourages the pupils with words"
- Future — what will happen: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él alentará a los alumnos con palabras — "He will encourage the pupils with words"
Examples: alentar in the present tense
Seven sentences that show alentar in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo aliento a su equipo antes del partido — "I encourage his team before the match"
- Tú alientas a su hija a estudiar — "You encourage his daughter to study"
- Él alienta a los alumnos con palabras — "He encourages the pupils with words"
- Nosotros alentamos a su amigo en los malos momentos — "We encourage his friend in hard times"
- Vosotros alentáis al público a participar — "You encourage the public to take part"
- Ellos alientan a su equipo antes del partido — "They encourage his team before the match"
- Yo aliento a su hija a estudiar — "I encourage his daughter to study"
Common mistakes with alentar in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with alentar in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ *Yo alento a su equipo antes del partido.
✓ Correct: Yo aliento a su equipo antes del partido.
alentar is a stem-changing verb (e → ie): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is aliento, not alento.
✗ *Tú alienta a su hija a estudiar.
✓ Correct: Tú alientas a su hija a estudiar.
The tú form and the él form are different: tú takes alientas, él takes alienta.
✗ *Cada día, yo alenté a los alumnos con palabras
✓ Correct: Cada día, yo aliento a los alumnos con palabras
Cada día describes a habit, so it needs the present, not the preterite.
✗ *Vosotros alentais a su amigo en los malos momentos.
✓ Correct: Vosotros alentáis a su amigo en los malos momentos.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: alentáis, not alentais.
Quiz: alentar in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of alentar. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
Which is the correct present form of alentar for tú? A. alentamos B. alientas C. aliento D. alienta
Complete the sentence: Yo ______ a su equipo antes del partido — "I encourage his team before the match" (present) A. alienta B. alentamos C. aliento D. alientas
Complete the sentence: Él ______ a su hija a estudiar — "He encourages his daughter to study" (present) A. alientas B. alentamos C. alienta D. aliento
Which is the correct present form of alentar for nosotros? A. alentamos B. alientas C. alienta D. alientan
Which sentence uses alentar correctly in the present? A. Mi amigo alentaba a los alumnos con palabras B. Mi amigo alentamos a los alumnos con palabras C. Mi amigo alienta a los alumnos con palabras D. Mi amigo alientas a los alumnos con palabras
Complete the sentence: Vosotros ______ a su amigo en los malos momentos — "You encourage his friend in hard times" (present) A. alienta B. alentáis C. aliento D. alientas
Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ al público a participar — "They encourage the public to take part" (present) A. alientas B. alienta C. alientan D. aliento
What is the gerund of alentar? A. alentado B. aliento C. alenté D. alentando
Answer key
- alientas — The tú form in the present is alientas.
- aliento — The present form for yo is aliento.
- alienta — The present form for él/ella/Ud. is alienta.
- alentamos — The nosotros form in the present is alentamos.
- Mi amigo alienta a los alumnos con palabras — Mi amigo alienta a los alumnos con palabras is correct: the verb agrees with its subject and the tense is the present.
- alentáis — The present form for vosotros/as is alentáis.
- alientan — The present form for ellos/ellas/Uds. is alientan.
- alentando — The gerund is alentando. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive, and it is not the past participle alentado.
Frequently asked questions
Is alentar regular in the present tense?
No — in the present the stem changes: The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: aliento, alientas, alienta and alientan — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: alentamos, alentáis. The nosotros and vosotros forms keep the plain stem.
What is the gerund and the past participle of alentar?
The gerund is alentando and the past participle is alentado. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say "I encourage" in the present tense?
Say aliento. For example: Yo aliento a su equipo antes del partido — "I encourage his team before the match".
What is the difference between the present and the preterite of alentar?
The present describes a habit or what happens now: Yo aliento a su equipo antes del partido — "I encourage his team before the match". The preterite reports one finished occasion: Ayer, yo alenté a su equipo antes del partido — "Yesterday, I encouraged his team before the match". Use the present when the action repeats or is still true, and the preterite when you are telling what happened once.
Related links
- Full conjugation of alentar — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- alentar 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.