Arriesgar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of arriesgar — "to risk" 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 arriesgar 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. Arriesgar means to risk, and it is used for risking money on the stock market, risking your life for friends, risking too much on a business and risking your reputation. It is a spelling-change verb: the g becomes gu before e. To see it in a real sentence: Él arriesga su dinero en la bolsa. — "He/she risks his money on the stock market." Work through the table below, then the formation notes, the usage rules and the contrast with the preterite, and test yourself at the end.

Present tense conjugation table: arriesgar

Every person of arriesgar in the present tense. The gerund is arriesgando and the past participle is arriesgado.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo arriesgo
tú arriesgas
él/ella/Ud. arriesga
nosotros/as arriesgamos
vosotros/as arriesgáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. arriesgan

How the present indicative of arriesgar is formed

The present indicative of arriesgar is built from the stem arriesg- 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 arriesgo
tú -as arriesgas
él/ella/Ud. -a arriesga
nosotros/as -amos arriesgamos
vosotros/as -áis arriesgáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -an arriesgan

arriesgar is a spelling-change verb: g becomes gu before e. That is why the written form changes in some persons — the sound stays the same, and only the spelling adapts. In this tense, watch the first-person form arriesgo in particular.

The gerund of arriesgar is arriesgando and the past participle is arriesgado. 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 arriesgar

The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and arriesgar 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.

Habits and routines

The present tense describes things you do regularly. If you do it every day, every week or every morning, the present is the tense to use. For arriesgar, this use looks like this: "Yo arriesgo su dinero en la bolsa." — "I risk his money on the stock market." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

General facts

The present tense states facts that are generally true, not tied to one moment. It is the tense for definitions and permanent situations. For arriesgar, this use looks like this: "Él arriesga la vida por sus amigos." — "He/she risks his life for his friends." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

What is happening now

The present tense also covers what is happening at this moment, especially with verbs that describe an action in progress. For arriesgar, this use looks like this: "Nosotros arriesgamos demasiado en el negocio." — "We risk too much on the business." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

Timetables and schedules

The present tense is used for fixed plans and timetables, such as trains, classes and opening times, even when they refer to the future. For arriesgar, this use looks like this: "Ellos arriesgan su reputación con esa decisión." — "They risk his reputation with that decision." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

Instructions and requests

The present tense appears in instructions and polite requests, where it sounds softer than a direct command. For arriesgar, this use looks like this: "Tú arriesgas su dinero en la bolsa." — "You risk his money on the stock market." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

The present tense vs the preterite

Learners often mix up the present and the preterite with arriesgar. The rule is simple: the present is for habits, facts and what is happening now, while the preterite is for one finished action in the past. The three pairs below show the same idea in both tenses, so you can feel the difference.

Pair 1: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Yo arriesgo su dinero en la bolsa." — "I risk his money on the stock market."
  • Preterite: "Yo arriesgué su dinero en la bolsa." — "I risked his money on the stock market." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Pair 2: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Él arriesga la vida por sus amigos." — "He/she risks his life for his friends."
  • Preterite: "Él arriesgó la vida por sus amigos." — "He/she risked his life for his friends." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Pair 3: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Nosotros arriesgamos demasiado en el negocio." — "We risk too much on the business."
  • Preterite: "Nosotros arriesgamos demasiado en el negocio." — "We risked too much on the business." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Example sentences in the present tense

Eight natural sentences with arriesgar in the present tense only. Each one uses a form from the table above.

  1. Yo arriesgo su dinero en la bolsa. — I risk his money on the stock market.
  2. Tú arriesgas la vida por sus amigos. — You risk his life for his friends.
  3. Él arriesga demasiado en el negocio. — He/she risks too much on the business.
  4. Nosotros arriesgamos su reputación con esa decisión. — We risk his reputation with that decision.
  5. Vosotros arriesgáis su dinero en la bolsa. — You all risk his money on the stock market.
  6. Ellos arriesgan la vida por sus amigos. — They risk his life for his friends.
  7. Yo arriesgo demasiado en el negocio. — I risk too much on the business.
  8. Él arriesga su reputación con esa decisión. — He/she risks his reputation with that decision.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Vosotros arriesgais la vida por sus amigos. — Right: Vosotros arriesgáis la vida por sus amigos. — The vosotros present form carries a written accent: arriesgáis, not arriesgais.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo arriesgo demasiado en el negocio. — Right: Ayer, yo arriesgué demasiado en el negocio. — Ayer means yesterday, so it needs the preterite (arriesgué), not the present (arriesgo). The present is for now, not for yesterday.
  3. Wrong: Yo arriesga su dinero en la bolsa. — Right: Yo arriesgo su dinero en la bolsa. — The person matters: arriesga is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is arriesgo.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy arriesgado la vida por sus amigos. — Right: Yo he arriesgado la vida por sus amigos. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he arriesgado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.

Quiz: test yourself

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

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ su dinero en la bolsa. (present tense) A. arriesgo B. arriesgas C. arriesga D. arriesgamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ la vida por sus amigos. (present tense) A. arriesgas B. arriesgo C. arriesga D. arriesgamos

  3. Complete the sentence: Él ___ demasiado en el negocio. (present tense) A. arriesga B. arriesgo C. arriesgas D. arriesgamos

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ su reputación con esa decisión. (present tense) A. arriesgamos B. arriesgo C. arriesgas D. arriesga

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros ___ su dinero en la bolsa. (present tense) A. arriesgáis B. arriesgo C. arriesgas D. arriesga

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ___ la vida por sus amigos. (present tense) A. arriesgan B. arriesgo C. arriesgas D. arriesga

  7. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ demasiado en el negocio. (present tense) A. arriesgo B. arriesgas C. arriesga D. arriesgamos

  8. Complete the sentence: Él ___ su reputación con esa decisión. (present tense) A. arriesga B. arriesgo C. arriesgas D. arriesgamos

Answer key

  1. arriesgo — The yo present form of arriesgar is arriesgo. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  2. arriesgas — The tu present form of arriesgar is arriesgas. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  3. arriesga — The el present form of arriesgar is arriesga. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  4. arriesgamos — The nosotros present form of arriesgar is arriesgamos. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  5. arriesgáis — The vosotros present form of arriesgar is arriesgáis. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  6. arriesgan — The ellos present form of arriesgar is arriesgan. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  7. arriesgo — The yo present form of arriesgar is arriesgo. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  8. arriesga — The el present form of arriesgar is arriesga. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the present tense of arriesgar?

Use the present tense of arriesgar for habits, facts and what is happening now. For example: Yo arriesgo su dinero en la bolsa. — "I risk his money on the stock market." The usage rules above give five situations with examples.

How is the present tense of arriesgar formed?

Take the stem arriesg- and add the present endings for -ar verbs. The full table is at the top of this page. Remember the spelling change: g becomes gu before e.

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

The present describes a habit or a present fact, while the preterite describes a finished action. Compare Yo arriesgo la vida por sus amigos. with Yo arriesgué la vida por sus amigos. — the verb is the same, but the time meaning changes.

How do I practise the present tense of arriesgar?

Drill the six forms in the table above until you can say them without looking, then use the arriesgar examples and quiz page for more sentences, and test yourself with the Arriesgar conjugation page for the full picture across all tenses.

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