Apestar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of apestar — “to stink” 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 apestar 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. Apestar means to stink, to smell very bad. It is used for rubbish, fish, smoke and drains, and it is fully regular. It is informal and direct, so it suits complaints rather than polite conversation. To see it in a real sentence: Apesto a pescado en la cocina. — “I stink of fish in the kitchen.” Learn the six forms in the table below, and the present tense of apestar will be ready for everyday conversation.
Present tense conjugation table: apestar
Every person of apestar in the present tense. The gerund is apestando and the past participle is apestado.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | apesto |
| tú | apestas |
| él/ella/Ud. | apesta |
| nosotros/as | apestamos |
| vosotros/as | apestáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | apestan |
How the present indicative of apestar is formed
The present indicative of apestar 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 | apesto |
| tú | -as | apestas |
| él/ella/Ud. | -a | apesta |
| nosotros/as | -amos | apestamos |
| vosotros/as | -áis | apestáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -an | apestan |
Apestar is a regular -ar verb in the present tense, so the table above is completely regular. The stem is apest- 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 apestar is apestando and the past participle is apestado. 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 apestar
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and apestar 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 apestar fits naturally into daily life.
“Yo apesto a pescado en la cocina todos los días.” — “I stink of fish in the kitchen 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 apesta a humo después del incendio.” — “He/she stinks of smoke after the fire.”
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 apesto can mean both “I stink” and “I am stinking”.
“Ahora mismo, yo apesto en el baño por la tubería.” — “Right now, I stink in the bathroom because of the pipe.”
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 apesto a basura en verano.” — “Tomorrow, I will stink of rubbish in summer.”
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 apestas a pescado en la cocina?” — “Do you stink of fish in the kitchen?”
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: Apesta a humo después del incendio. — “He/she stinks of smoke after the fire.”
- Preterite — one finished occasion: Apestó a humo después del incendio. — 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: Apestan en el baño por la tubería. — “They stink in the bathroom because of the pipe.”
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: Apestaban en el baño por la tubería. — 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: Apestas a basura en verano. — “You stink of rubbish in summer.”
- Future — what will happen: Apestarás a basura en verano. — the same idea, placed in the future.
Examples: apestar in the present tense
Seven sentences that show apestar in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo apesto a pescado en la cocina. — “I stink of fish in the kitchen.”
- Tú apestas a humo después del incendio. — “You stink of smoke after the fire.”
- Él apesta en el baño por la tubería. — “He stinks in the bathroom because of the pipe.”
- Nosotros apestamos a basura en verano. — “We stink of rubbish in summer.”
- Vosotros apestáis a pescado en la cocina. — “You (plural) stink of fish in the kitchen.”
- Ellos apestan a humo después del incendio. — “They stink of smoke after the fire.”
- ¿Tú apestas en el baño por la tubería? — “Do you stink in the bathroom because of the pipe?”
Common mistakes with apestar in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with apestar in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ Yo apestar a pescado en la cocina. (using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form).
✓ Correct: Yo apesto a pescado en la cocina.
The infinitive is not a conjugated form. With yo, the present tense of apestar is apesto, not the infinitive apestar.
✗ Vosotros apestais a pescado en la cocina. (forgetting the accent on the vosotros form).
✓ Correct: Vosotros apestáis a pescado en la cocina.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: apestáis, not apestais. The accent marks the stressed vowel, and leaving it out is a spelling mistake.
✗ Ayer, yo apesto a humo después del incendio. (using the present for a finished past action).
✓ Correct: Ayer, yo apesté a humo después del incendio.
The present and the preterite are different tenses: apesto is happening now, while apesté is a finished action in the past. Use the preterite with ayer.
✗ Treating apestar and oler as identical in every context. (confusing apestar with oler).
✓ Correct: Apestar means to stink, while oler means to smell.
They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: apestar fits sentences such as Apesto a pescado en la cocina, while oler belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
Quiz: apestar in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of apestar. 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 apestar for tú?
- a) apestas
- b) apesto
- c) apesta
- d) apestan
2. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ a pescado en la cocina. — “I stink of fish in the kitchen.”
- a) apesta
- b) apestamos
- c) apestas
- d) apesto
3. Complete the sentence: Él ______ a humo después del incendio. — “He/she stinks of smoke after the fire.” (present tense)
- a) apestaba
- b) apestará
- c) apesta
- d) apestó
4. Which is the correct present tense form of apestar for nosotros?
- a) apestan
- b) apestamos
- c) apesto
- d) apesta
5. Which sentence uses apestar correctly in the present tense?
- a) Él apestó a humo después del incendio.
- b) Él apesta a humo después del incendio.
- c) Él apestará a humo después del incendio.
- d) Ellos apesta a humo después del incendio.
6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ en el baño por la tubería. — “They stink in the bathroom because of the pipe.”
- a) apesto
- b) apesta
- c) apestamos
- d) apestan
7. Complete the question: ¿Tú ______ a basura en verano? — “Do you stink of rubbish in summer?”
- a) apesta
- b) apestarás
- c) apestas
- d) apesto
8. What is the gerund of apestar?
- a) apesté
- b) apestando
- c) apestado
- d) apesto
Answer key
a) apestas — The tú form is apestas. The -s ending belongs to tú in the present; apesto is yo, apesta is él/ella and apestan is ellos/ellas.
d) apesto — The sentence needs the yo form in the present: apesto. The other options are the wrong person.
c) apesta — The sentence needs the él/ella/Ud. form in the present: apesta. The other options are the preterite, the imperfect and the future.
b) apestamos — Nosotros takes apestamos. In the present the nosotros ending for -ar verbs is -amos, attached to the stem.
b) Él apesta a humo después del incendio. — Él apesta a humo después del incendio. is correct: the verb agrees with its subject. The other sentences use the wrong person or the wrong tense.
d) apestan — The subject is ellos/ellas/Uds., so the present form is apestan.
c) apestas — The question needs the tú form in the present: apestas.
b) apestando — The gerund is apestando. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive (estar + gerund), and it is not the past participle apestado.
Frequently asked questions
Is apestar regular in the present tense?
Yes. Apestar is a regular -ar verb in the present tense, so the forms follow the standard endings: apesto, apestas, apesta, apestamos, apestáis and apestan.
What is the gerund and the past participle of apestar?
The gerund is apestando and the past participle is apestado. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say “I stink” in Spanish?
Say apesto. For example: Apesto a pescado en la cocina. — “I stink of fish in the kitchen.”
What is the difference between apestar and oler?
Apestar means “to stink”, while oler means “to smell”. They are related words that learners often meet together, but they are not interchangeable — use apestar when you mean “to stink” and oler when you mean “to smell”. The full conjugation of apestar is on its own page.
Related links
- Full conjugation of apestar — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- apestar 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.
- Asear conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with apestar.
- Asentar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with apestar.
- Anticipar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with apestar.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise this verb in the interactive tool.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — test yourself on Spanish verbs.