Animarse Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of animarse — “to cheer up, to feel like” 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 animarse 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. Animarse means to cheer up or to feel like, and it is reflexive: you cheer up after bad news, you feel like going out, you pluck up the courage to do something. It takes a before an infinitive for feeling like doing something, as in animarse a salir. Animarse is a reflexive 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: Me animo con la buena noticia.

Present tense conjugation table: animarse

Every person of animarse in the present tense, with the reflexive pronoun. The gerund is animándose with the pronoun attached, and the past participle is animado.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo me animo
tú te animas
él/ella/Ud. se anima
nosotros/as nos animamos
vosotros/as os animáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se animan

How the present of animarse is formed

The present of animarse is built from the stem anim- plus the present endings for -ar verbs. Take the infinitive, drop the -ar ending and the reflexive -se, 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 me animo
tú -as te animas
él/ella/Ud. -a se anima
nosotros/as -amos nos animamos
vosotros/as -áis os animáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -an se animan

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

Because animarse is reflexive, the pronoun goes before the verb in every form: me, te, se, nos, os, se. In the gerund the pronoun attaches to the end: animándose.

When to use the present tense with animarse

Habits and routines

Use the present for things you do regularly.

Yo me animo con la buena noticia. — I cheer up with the good news.

General facts

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

Él/Ella se anima a salir con amigos. — He cheers up to go out with friends.

What is happening right now

Use the present for what is happening at this moment.

Ahora, Nosotros/as nos animamos a estudiar español. — Right now, We cheer up to study Spanish.

Near-future plans

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

Mañana, Tú te animas cuando llega el verano. — Tomorrow, You cheer up when summer arrives.

Instructions and timeless statements

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

Él/Ella se anima con la buena noticia. — He cheers up with the good news.

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 animarse.

  1. Yo me animo con la buena noticia. — I cheer up with the good news. / Ayer, Yo me animé con la buena noticia. — Yesterday, I cheered up with the good news.
  2. Yo me animo a salir con amigos. — I cheer up to go out with friends. / Ayer, Yo me animé a salir con amigos. — Yesterday, I cheered up to go out with friends.
  3. Yo me animo a estudiar español. — I cheer up to study Spanish. / Ayer, Yo me animé a estudiar español. — Yesterday, I cheered up to study Spanish.

Example sentences in the present tense

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

  1. Yo me animo con la buena noticia. — I cheer up with the good news.
  2. Tú te animas a salir con amigos. — You cheer up to go out with friends.
  3. Él/Ella se anima a estudiar español. — He cheers up to study Spanish.
  4. Nosotros/as nos animamos cuando llega el verano. — We cheer up when summer arrives.
  5. Vosotros/as os animáis con la buena noticia. — You cheer up with the good news.
  6. Ellos/as se animan a salir con amigos. — They cheer up to go out with friends.
  7. Yo me animo a estudiar español. — I cheer up to study Spanish.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo anima con la buena noticia. — Right: Yo animo con la buena noticia. — The person matters: anima is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is animo.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo animo a salir con amigos. — Right: Ayer, yo animé a salir con amigos. — With ayer, use the preterite (animé), not the present. The present is for habits and for right now.
  3. Wrong: Yo animo con la buena noticia. — Right: Yo me animo con la buena noticia. — Animarse is reflexive, so the pronoun me is required in the present tense too.
  4. Wrong: Espero que él anima a salir con amigos. — Right: Espero que él anime a salir con amigos. — After espero que, Spanish needs the subjunctive: anime, not the present indicative anima.

Quiz: the present tense of animarse

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

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ con la buena noticia. (present tense, yo) A. me animo B. te animas C. se anima D. nos animamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ a salir con amigos. (present tense, tú) A. me animo B. se anima C. nos animamos D. te animas

  3. Complete the sentence: Él/Ella ___ a estudiar español. (present tense, él/ella/Ud.) A. te animas B. nos animamos C. se anima D. me animo

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros/as ___ cuando llega el verano. (present tense, nosotros/as) A. se anima B. nos animamos C. me animo D. te animas

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros/as ___ con la buena noticia. (present tense, vosotros/as) A. os animáis B. me animo C. te animas D. se anima

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos/as ___ a salir con amigos. (present tense, ellos/ellas/Uds.) A. me animo B. te animas C. se anima D. se animan

  7. Which is the gerund of animarse? A. animo B. animé C. animando D. animado

  8. Which is the past participle of animarse, used with haber in the perfect tenses? A. animé B. animado C. animando D. animo

Answer key

  1. me animo — The yo present form of animarse is me animo.
  2. te animas — The tú present form of animarse is te animas.
  3. se anima — The él/ella/Ud. present form of animarse is se anima.
  4. nos animamos — The nosotros/as present form of animarse is nos animamos.
  5. os animáis — The vosotros/as present form of animarse is os animáis.
  6. se animan — The ellos/ellas/Uds. present form of animarse is se animan.
  7. animando — The gerund of animarse is animando: estoy animando.
  8. animado — The past participle of animarse is animado: he animado, has animado, ha animado.

Frequently asked questions

How is the present tense of animarse formed?

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

When do I use the present tense of animarse?

Use the present for habits, facts and what is happening right now. For example: Me animo con la buena noticia.

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

The present (animo) and the preterite (animé) 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 animarse?

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

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