Arrestar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of arrestar — “to arrest” 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 arrestar 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. Arrestar means to arrest, and it is the verb of the police: officers arrest a thief, a suspect, a driver. It is a formal verb of law enforcement, and it is fully regular. Arrestar 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: Arresto al ladrón en la calle.

Present tense conjugation table: arrestar

Every person of arrestar in the present tense. The gerund is arrestando and the past participle is arrestado.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo arresto
tú arrestas
él/ella/Ud. arresta
nosotros/as arrestamos
vosotros/as arrestáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. arrestan

How the present of arrestar is formed

The present of arrestar is built from the stem arrest- 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 arresto
tú -as arrestas
él/ella/Ud. -a arresta
nosotros/as -amos arrestamos
vosotros/as -áis arrestáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -an arrestan

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

When to use the present tense with arrestar

Habits and routines

Use the present for things you do regularly.

Yo arresto al ladrón en la calle. — I arrest the thief in the street.

General facts

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

Él/Ella arresta al sospechoso del robo. — He arrests the robbery suspect.

What is happening right now

Use the present for what is happening at this moment.

Ahora, Nosotros/as arrestamos al conductor borracho. — Right now, We arrest the drunk driver.

Near-future plans

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

Mañana, Tú arrestas a dos personas en la protesta. — Tomorrow, You arrest two people at the protest.

Instructions and timeless statements

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

Él/Ella arresta al ladrón en la calle. — He arrests the thief in the street.

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 arrestar.

  1. Yo arresto al ladrón en la calle. — I arrest the thief in the street. / Ayer, Yo arresté al ladrón en la calle. — Yesterday, I arrested the thief in the street.
  2. Yo arresto al sospechoso del robo. — I arrest the robbery suspect. / Ayer, Yo arresté al sospechoso del robo. — Yesterday, I arrested the robbery suspect.
  3. Yo arresto al conductor borracho. — I arrest the drunk driver. / Ayer, Yo arresté al conductor borracho. — Yesterday, I arrested the drunk driver.

Example sentences in the present tense

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

  1. Yo arresto al ladrón en la calle. — I arrest the thief in the street.
  2. Tú arrestas al sospechoso del robo. — You arrest the robbery suspect.
  3. Él/Ella arresta al conductor borracho. — He arrests the drunk driver.
  4. Nosotros/as arrestamos a dos personas en la protesta. — We arrest two people at the protest.
  5. Vosotros/as arrestáis al ladrón en la calle. — You arrest the thief in the street.
  6. Ellos/as arrestan al sospechoso del robo. — They arrest the robbery suspect.
  7. Yo arresto al conductor borracho. — I arrest the drunk driver.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo arresta al ladrón en la calle. — Right: Yo arresto al ladrón en la calle. — The person matters: arresta is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is arresto.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo arresto al sospechoso del robo. — Right: Ayer, yo arresté al sospechoso del robo. — With ayer, use the preterite (arresté), not the present. The present is for habits and for right now.
  3. Wrong: Using arrestar where detener belongs. — Right: Arrestar means to arrest, while detener means to detain someone, the more common synonym. — Check the meaning before you choose: arrestar fits Arresto al ladrón en la calle.
  4. Wrong: Espero que él arresta al sospechoso del robo. — Right: Espero que él arreste al sospechoso del robo. — After espero que, Spanish needs the subjunctive: arreste, not the present indicative arresta.

Quiz: the present tense of arrestar

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

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ al ladrón en la calle. (present tense, yo) A. arresto B. arrestas C. arresta D. arrestamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ al sospechoso del robo. (present tense, tú) A. arresto B. arresta C. arrestamos D. arrestas

  3. Complete the sentence: Él/Ella ___ al conductor borracho. (present tense, él/ella/Ud.) A. arrestas B. arrestamos C. arresta D. arresto

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros/as ___ a dos personas en la protesta. (present tense, nosotros/as) A. arresta B. arrestamos C. arresto D. arrestas

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros/as ___ al ladrón en la calle. (present tense, vosotros/as) A. arrestáis B. arresto C. arrestas D. arresta

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos/as ___ al sospechoso del robo. (present tense, ellos/ellas/Uds.) A. arresto B. arrestas C. arresta D. arrestan

  7. Which is the gerund of arrestar? A. arresto B. arresté C. arrestando D. arrestado

  8. Which is the past participle of arrestar, used with haber in the perfect tenses? A. arresté B. arrestado C. arrestando D. arresto

Answer key

  1. arresto — The yo present form of arrestar is arresto.
  2. arrestas — The tú present form of arrestar is arrestas.
  3. arresta — The él/ella/Ud. present form of arrestar is arresta.
  4. arrestamos — The nosotros/as present form of arrestar is arrestamos.
  5. arrestáis — The vosotros/as present form of arrestar is arrestáis.
  6. arrestan — The ellos/ellas/Uds. present form of arrestar is arrestan.
  7. arrestando — The gerund of arrestar is arrestando: estoy arrestando.
  8. arrestado — The past participle of arrestar is arrestado: he arrestado, has arrestado, ha arrestado.

Frequently asked questions

How is the present tense of arrestar formed?

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

When do I use the present tense of arrestar?

Use the present for habits, facts and what is happening right now. For example: Arresto al ladrón en la calle.

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

The present (arresto) and the preterite (arresté) 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 arrestar?

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

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