Alquilar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of alquilar — “to rent, to hire” 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 alquilar 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. Alquilar means to rent or to hire, and it covers renting a flat, hiring a car, renting a bike and letting a house to a tenant. It works in both directions — you rent a flat from someone, and you rent a flat out to someone — and the context shows which direction is meant. Alquilar is a regular -ar verb, so the notes below explain exactly where it follows the rules and where it breaks them. To see it in a real sentence: Alquilo un piso en el centro.

Present tense conjugation table: alquilar

Every person of alquilar in the present tense. The gerund is alquilando and the past participle is alquilado.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo alquilo
tú alquilas
él/ella/Ud. alquila
nosotros/as alquilamos
vosotros/as alquiláis
ellos/ellas/Uds. alquilan

How the present of alquilar is formed

The present of alquilar is built from the stem alquil- 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 alquilo
tú -as alquilas
él/ella/Ud. -a alquila
nosotros/as -amos alquilamos
vosotros/as -áis alquiláis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -an alquilan

For alquilar there are no surprises in the present: every form is the stem alquil- plus the regular ending, so once you know the endings you know the whole tense.

When to use the present tense with alquilar

Habits and routines

Use the present for things you do regularly.

Yo alquilo un piso en el centro. — I rent a flat in the centre.

General facts

Use the present for facts and general truths that do not change.

Él/Ella alquila un coche para el fin de semana. — He rents a car for the weekend.

What is happening right now

Use the present for what is happening at this moment.

Ahora, Nosotros/as alquilamos una bicicleta en la playa. — Right now, We rent a bicycle on the beach.

Near-future plans

Use the present for fixed plans in the near future, especially with mañana or la semana que viene.

Mañana, Tú alquilas mi casa a unos estudiantes. — Tomorrow, You rent my house to some students.

Instructions and timeless statements

Use the present for instructions, rules and statements that are always true.

Él/Ella alquila un piso en el centro. — He rents a flat in the centre.

The present vs the preterite

The present and the preterite answer different questions: the present says what happens regularly or right now, while the preterite says what happened once and finished. Compare the same idea in both tenses with alquilar.

  1. Yo alquilo un piso en el centro. — I rent a flat in the centre. / Ayer, Yo alquilé un piso en el centro. — Yesterday, I rented a flat in the centre.
  2. Yo alquilo un coche para el fin de semana. — I rent a car for the weekend. / Ayer, Yo alquilé un coche para el fin de semana. — Yesterday, I rented a car for the weekend.
  3. Yo alquilo una bicicleta en la playa. — I rent a bicycle on the beach. / Ayer, Yo alquilé una bicicleta en la playa. — Yesterday, I rented a bicycle on the beach.

Example sentences in the present tense

Seven sentences with alquilar in the present tense only, covering all six persons.

  1. Yo alquilo un piso en el centro. — I rent a flat in the centre.
  2. Tú alquilas un coche para el fin de semana. — You rent a car for the weekend.
  3. Él/Ella alquila una bicicleta en la playa. — He rents a bicycle on the beach.
  4. Nosotros/as alquilamos mi casa a unos estudiantes. — We rent my house to some students.
  5. Vosotros/as alquiláis un piso en el centro. — You rent a flat in the centre.
  6. Ellos/as alquilan un coche para el fin de semana. — They rent a car for the weekend.
  7. Yo alquilo una bicicleta en la playa. — I rent a bicycle on the beach.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo alquila un piso en el centro. — Right: Yo alquilo un piso en el centro. — The person matters: alquila is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is alquilo.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo alquilo un coche para el fin de semana. — Right: Ayer, yo alquilé un coche para el fin de semana. — With ayer, use the preterite (alquilé), not the present. The present is for habits and for right now.
  3. Wrong: Using alquilar where arrendar belongs. — Right: Alquilar means to rent, to hire, while arrendar means to rent out a property, the formal synonym. — Check the meaning before you choose: alquilar fits Alquilo un piso en el centro.
  4. Wrong: Espero que él alquila un coche para el fin de semana. — Right: Espero que él alquile un coche para el fin de semana. — After espero que, Spanish needs the subjunctive: alquile, not the present indicative alquila.

Quiz: the present tense of alquilar

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

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ un piso en el centro. (present tense, yo) A. alquilo B. alquilas C. alquila D. alquilamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ un coche para el fin de semana. (present tense, tú) A. alquilo B. alquila C. alquilamos D. alquilas

  3. Complete the sentence: Él/Ella ___ una bicicleta en la playa. (present tense, él/ella/Ud.) A. alquilas B. alquilamos C. alquila D. alquilo

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros/as ___ mi casa a unos estudiantes. (present tense, nosotros/as) A. alquila B. alquilamos C. alquilo D. alquilas

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros/as ___ un piso en el centro. (present tense, vosotros/as) A. alquiláis B. alquilo C. alquilas D. alquila

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos/as ___ un coche para el fin de semana. (present tense, ellos/ellas/Uds.) A. alquilo B. alquilas C. alquila D. alquilan

  7. Which is the gerund of alquilar? A. alquilo B. alquilé C. alquilando D. alquilado

  8. Which is the past participle of alquilar, used with haber in the perfect tenses? A. alquilé B. alquilado C. alquilando D. alquilo

Answer key

  1. alquilo — The yo present form of alquilar is alquilo.
  2. alquilas — The tú present form of alquilar is alquilas.
  3. alquila — The él/ella/Ud. present form of alquilar is alquila.
  4. alquilamos — The nosotros/as present form of alquilar is alquilamos.
  5. alquiláis — The vosotros/as present form of alquilar is alquiláis.
  6. alquilan — The ellos/ellas/Uds. present form of alquilar is alquilan.
  7. alquilando — The gerund of alquilar is alquilando: estoy alquilando.
  8. alquilado — The past participle of alquilar is alquilado: he alquilado, has alquilado, ha alquilado.

Frequently asked questions

How is the present tense of alquilar formed?

Take the infinitive alquilar, drop the -ar ending to get the stem alquil-, then add the present endings: -o, -as, -a, -amos, -áis, -an. The full table is above, with every person. No, the present of alquilar is fully regular: the stem alquil- plus the standard -ar endings gives every form.

When do I use the present tense of alquilar?

Use the present for habits, facts and what is happening right now. For example: Alquilo un piso en el centro.

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

The present (alquilo) and the preterite (alquilé) answer different questions: the present is for habits and for right now, while the preterite is for one finished action. Compare them in the contrast section above.

How do I practise the present of alquilar?

Drill the six forms in the table until you can say them without looking, then use the full conjugation of alquilar to see how the present fits with the other tenses, and the alquilar examples and quiz page for more sentences. The Spanish Verb Quiz tests the forms under pressure.

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