Apostar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of apostar — “to bet” 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 apostar 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. Apostar means to bet, and it is used for betting money on a horse, a match or a lottery, and figuratively for betting on a person or an idea, as in apuesto por ti, I am betting on you. It is a stem-changing verb, o to ue, and a classic verb of games and risk. Apostar is a irregular verb, so the notes below explain exactly where it follows the rules and where it breaks them. To see it in a real sentence: Apuesto diez euros al caballo ganador.

Present tense conjugation table: apostar

Every person of apostar in the present tense. The gerund is apostando and the past participle is apostado.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo apuesto
tú apuestas
él/ella/Ud. apuesta
nosotros/as apostamos
vosotros/as apostáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. apuestan

How the present of apostar is formed

The present of apostar is built from the stem apost- 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 apuesto
tú -as apuestas
él/ella/Ud. -a apuesta
nosotros/as -amos apostamos
vosotros/as -áis apostáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -an apuestan

Watch out for yo: the form is apuesto, not the regular aposto. The stem vowel changes here, while nosotros and vosotros keep the original stem. Watch out for tú: the form is apuestas, not the regular apostas. The stem vowel changes here, while nosotros and vosotros keep the original stem. Watch out for él/ella/Ud.: the form is apuesta, not the regular aposta. The stem vowel changes here, while nosotros and vosotros keep the original stem. Watch out for ellos/ellas/Uds.: the form is apuestan, not the regular apostan. The stem vowel changes here, while nosotros and vosotros keep the original stem.

Because apostar is a stem-changing verb (o → ue), the change applies in the singular and in the third-person plural, while nosotros and vosotros keep the original stem: apostamos and apostáis.

When to use the present tense with apostar

Habits and routines

Use the present for things you do regularly.

Yo apuesto diez euros al caballo ganador. — I bet ten euros on the winning horse.

General facts

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

Él/Ella apuesta por mi equipo en la final. — He bets on my team in the final.

What is happening right now

Use the present for what is happening at this moment.

Ahora, Nosotros/as apostamos a que llueve mañana. — Right now, We bet that it rains tomorrow.

Near-future plans

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

Mañana, Tú apuestas todo mi dinero en la partida. — Tomorrow, You bet all my money on the game.

Instructions and timeless statements

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

Él/Ella apuesta diez euros al caballo ganador. — He bets ten euros on the winning horse.

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 apostar.

  1. Yo apuesto diez euros al caballo ganador. — I bet ten euros on the winning horse. / Ayer, Yo aposté diez euros al caballo ganador. — Yesterday, I bet ten euros on the winning horse.
  2. Yo apuesto por mi equipo en la final. — I bet on my team in the final. / Ayer, Yo aposté por mi equipo en la final. — Yesterday, I bet on my team in the final.
  3. Yo apuesto a que llueve mañana. — I bet that it rains tomorrow. / Ayer, Yo aposté a que llueve mañana. — Yesterday, I bet that it rains tomorrow.

Example sentences in the present tense

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

  1. Yo apuesto diez euros al caballo ganador. — I bet ten euros on the winning horse.
  2. Tú apuestas por mi equipo en la final. — You bet on my team in the final.
  3. Él/Ella apuesta a que llueve mañana. — He bets that it rains tomorrow.
  4. Nosotros/as apostamos todo mi dinero en la partida. — We bet all my money on the game.
  5. Vosotros/as apostáis diez euros al caballo ganador. — You bet ten euros on the winning horse.
  6. Ellos/as apuestan por mi equipo en la final. — They bet on my team in the final.
  7. Yo apuesto a que llueve mañana. — I bet that it rains tomorrow.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo apuesta diez euros al caballo ganador. — Right: Yo apuesto diez euros al caballo ganador. — The person matters: apuesta is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is apuesto.
  2. Wrong: Yo aposto por mi equipo en la final. — Right: Yo apuesto por mi equipo en la final. — Apostar is a stem-changing verb (o → ue), so the stem changes in the present singular and third-person plural.
  3. Wrong: Using apostar where jugarse belongs. — Right: Apostar means to bet, while jugarse means to gamble something, to risk it. — Check the meaning before you choose: apostar fits Apuesto diez euros al caballo ganador.
  4. Wrong: Espero que él apuesta por mi equipo en la final. — Right: Espero que él apueste por mi equipo en la final. — After espero que, Spanish needs the subjunctive: apueste, not the present indicative apuesta.

Quiz: the present tense of apostar

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

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ diez euros al caballo ganador. (present tense, yo) A. apuesto B. apuestas C. apuesta D. apostamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ por mi equipo en la final. (present tense, tú) A. apuesto B. apuesta C. apostamos D. apuestas

  3. Complete the sentence: Él/Ella ___ a que llueve mañana. (present tense, él/ella/Ud.) A. apuestas B. apostamos C. apuesta D. apuesto

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros/as ___ todo mi dinero en la partida. (present tense, nosotros/as) A. apuesta B. apostamos C. apuesto D. apuestas

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros/as ___ diez euros al caballo ganador. (present tense, vosotros/as) A. apostáis B. apuesto C. apuestas D. apuesta

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos/as ___ por mi equipo en la final. (present tense, ellos/ellas/Uds.) A. apuesto B. apuestas C. apuesta D. apuestan

  7. Which is the gerund of apostar? A. apuesto B. aposté C. apostando D. apostado

  8. Which is the past participle of apostar, used with haber in the perfect tenses? A. aposté B. apostado C. apostando D. apuesto

Answer key

  1. apuesto — The yo present form of apostar is apuesto.
  2. apuestas — The tú present form of apostar is apuestas.
  3. apuesta — The él/ella/Ud. present form of apostar is apuesta.
  4. apostamos — The nosotros/as present form of apostar is apostamos.
  5. apostáis — The vosotros/as present form of apostar is apostáis.
  6. apuestan — The ellos/ellas/Uds. present form of apostar is apuestan.
  7. apostando — The gerund of apostar is apostando: estoy apostando.
  8. apostado — The past participle of apostar is apostado: he apostado, has apostado, ha apostado.

Frequently asked questions

How is the present tense of apostar formed?

Take the infinitive apostar, drop the -ar ending to get the stem apost-, then add the present endings: -o, -as, -a, -amos, -áis, -an. The full table is above, with every person. Yes, the present of apostar is irregular: learn the forms in the table above rather than deriving them from the infinitive.

When do I use the present tense of apostar?

Use the present for habits, facts and what is happening right now. For example: Apuesto diez euros al caballo ganador.

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

The present (apuesto) and the preterite (aposté) 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 apostar?

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

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