Arriesgarse in the Present Tense

Arriesgarse means “to take a risk”, and this page covers exactly one thing: arriesgarse in the present tense. The present is the tense Spanish speakers reach for when they talk about routines, facts and what is happening now. On this page you will find the full present table for arriesgarse, how the tense is formed for this verb, the situations where it is used, how it differs from the preterite, worked examples, the mistakes learners make most often, an eight-question quiz with explained answers, and answers to the questions students ask about arriesgarse in the present. For example: “Yo me arriesgo a perder el dinero.” — I take a risk to lose the money. Everything on this page uses the forms of arriesgarse exactly as they are conjugated in the present, so you can trust every form you see here.

Arriesgarse in the Present Tense — full table

Person Pronoun Form
yo me arriesgo
tú te arriesgas
él/ella/Ud. se arriesga
nosotros/as nos arriesgamos
vosotros/as os arriesgáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se arriesgan

Gerund: arriesgando · Past participle: arriesgado

The gerund is arriesgando, which you use with estar to say what is happening right now: “Estoy arriesgando” means the action of arriesgarse is in progress at this very moment. The past participle is arriesgado, which you use with haber in the perfect tenses: “he arriesgado” is the present perfect, used for a completed action. Keep both forms in mind as you read the examples below, because the present is only one part of how arriesgarse is used.

How the present of arriesgarse is formed

Arriesgarse is regular in the present tense. Take the stem arriesg and add the present endings for -ar verbs: -o, -as, -a, -amos, -áis, -an, giving arriesgo, arriesgas, arriesga, arriesgamos, arriesgáis, arriesgan. Watch the accents: the yo form is arriesgo and the él/ella/Ud. form is arriesga. Because arriesgarse is reflexive, put the pronoun before each form: me arriesgo, te arriesgas, se arriesga, nos arriesgamos, os arriesgáis, se arriesgan.

When to use the present of arriesgarse

The present is not a single-purpose tense. Below are the five situations where you will use arriesgarse in the present most often. Each one comes with a real example, so read the rule, then say the example out loud.

1. Routines and habits

The present tense is the tense of what you do regularly. When something happens every day, every week or every morning, the present is the right choice, and arriesgarse is no exception. Example: “Yo me arriesgo a perder el dinero todos los días.” — I take a risk to lose the money every day.

2. Facts and general truths

The present states facts that are true in general, not just right now. Use it to say what arriesgarse means in practice and how it works in the world. Example: “Se arriesga a viajar sin seguro.” — He/she takes a risk to travel without insurance.

3. What is happening right now

The present also describes actions in progress at this very moment. When something is happening as you speak, the present tense says so directly. Example: “Yo me arriesgo a hablar sin preparar nada ahora.” — I take a risk to speak without preparing anything now.

4. Scheduled events in the near future

Spanish often uses the present for things that are already arranged, such as plans for tomorrow or next week. The present sounds more certain than the future in these cases. Example: “Nosotros nos arriesgamos a llegar tarde a la reunión.” — We take a risk to arrive late for the meeting.

5. Instructions and everyday speech

In everyday speech the present gives instructions, makes offers and states what someone does. It is the tense you will hear most often in conversation. Example: “Tú te arriesgas a perder el dinero.” — You take a risk to lose the money.

Present Tense vs Preterite: how to choose

The closest tense to the present is the preterite, and choosing between them is one of the first decisions in Spanish. The rule is simple: the present describes routines, facts and what is happening now, while the preterite reports one finished action. The three pairs below use the same verb, so the only thing that changes is whether the action is a habit or a finished event. Time words help: todos los días and cada semana point to the present, while ayer and la semana pasada point to the preterite.

  • Present Tense: “Yo me arriesgo a perder el dinero todos los días.” — I take a risk to lose the money every day.

  • Preterite: “Ayer, yo me arriesgué a perder el dinero.” — Yesterday, I took a risk to lose the money.

  • The present sentence describes a habit; the preterite sentence reports one finished action. Todos los días points to the present, ayer points to the preterite.

  • Present Tense: “Él se arriesga a viajar sin seguro cada semana.” — He/she takes a risk to travel without insurance every week.

  • Preterite: “La semana pasada, él se arriesgó a viajar sin seguro.” — Last week, he took a risk to travel without insurance.

  • Cada semana describes a routine, so the present is right; la semana pasada names one finished week, so the preterite is right.

  • Present Tense: “Nosotros nos arriesgamos a hablar sin preparar nada a menudo.” — We take a risk to speak without preparing anything often.

  • Preterite: “Ayer, nosotros nos arriesgamos a hablar sin preparar nada.” — Yesterday, we took a risk to speak without preparing anything.

  • The present sentence counts no single event; the preterite sentence counts one finished action. That difference — habit versus finished event — is the whole decision.

Example sentences: arriesgarse in the present

Read these eight sentences out loud. They cover all six persons, so by the end you will have seen every form in the table used in a real sentence. Pay attention to the words around the verb — the time expressions, the objects, the other verbs — because those are what make each sentence sound natural.

  1. “Me arriesgo a perder el dinero.” — I take a risk to lose the money.

  2. “Te arriesgas a viajar sin seguro.” — You take a risk to travel without insurance.

  3. “Se arriesga a hablar sin preparar nada.” — He/she takes a risk to speak without preparing anything.

  4. “Nos arriesgamos a llegar tarde a la reunión.” — We take a risk to arrive late for the meeting.

  5. “Os arriesgáis a perder el dinero.” — You take a risk to lose the money.

  6. “Se arriesgan a viajar sin seguro.” — They take a risk to travel without insurance.

  7. “Me arriesgo a hablar sin preparar nada.” — I take a risk to speak without preparing anything.

  8. “Se arriesga a llegar tarde a la reunión.” — He/she takes a risk to arrive late for the meeting.

Common mistakes with arriesgarse in the present

These are the errors learners actually make with this verb in this tense. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.

  • Wrong: “Yo arriesgo a perder el dinero.” Right: “Yo me arriesgo a perder el dinero.” Why: Arriesgarse is reflexive, so the pronoun me is required before every form. Without it the sentence is incomplete.

  • Wrong: “Espero que yo arriesge a viajar sin seguro.” Right: “Espero que yo arriesgue a viajar sin seguro.” Why: Arriesgarse is a spelling-change verb: the final consonant of the stem changes before e, so the subjunctive is arriesgue.

  • Wrong: “Nosotros arriesgas a hablar sin preparar nada.” Right: “Nosotros nos arriesgamos a hablar sin preparar nada.” Why: Nosotros needs nos arriesgamos. The tú form arriesgas belongs with tú.

  • Wrong: “Ellos arriesgo a llegar tarde a la reunión todos los días.” Right: “Ellos se arriesgan a llegar tarde a la reunión todos los días.” Why: The verb must agree with its subject. Ellos needs the ellos form se arriesgan, not the yo form arriesgo. This is the most common agreement slip in the present tense, and it happens because learners memorise the yo form first and then reuse it for every person.

Quiz: arriesgarse in the present

Choose the correct answer for each question, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained, so a wrong answer still teaches you something.

1. Complete the sentence: “Yo ______ a perder el dinero.” (To lose the money.)

  • (a) me arriesgo
  • (b) te arriesgas
  • (c) se arriesga

Answer: me arriesgo — The yo form of arriesgarse in the present is me arriesgo. The other options are the forms for different persons, so they do not agree with the subject.

2. Complete the sentence: “¿Tú ______ a viajar sin seguro?” (To travel without insurance.)

  • (a) me arriesgo
  • (b) se arriesga
  • (c) te arriesgas

Answer: te arriesgas — The tú form of arriesgarse in the present is te arriesgas. The other options are the forms for different persons, so they do not agree with the subject.

3. Complete the sentence: “Él ______ a hablar sin preparar nada.” (To speak without preparing anything.)

  • (a) te arriesgas
  • (b) se arriesga
  • (c) me arriesgo

Answer: se arriesga — The él/ella/Ud. form of arriesgarse in the present is se arriesga. The other options are the forms for different persons, so they do not agree with the subject.

4. Complete the sentence: “Nosotros ______ a llegar tarde a la reunión.” (To arrive late for the meeting.)

  • (a) nos arriesgamos
  • (b) me arriesgo
  • (c) te arriesgas

Answer: nos arriesgamos — The nosotros/as form of arriesgarse in the present is nos arriesgamos. The other options are the forms for different persons, so they do not agree with the subject.

5. What is the vosotros/as form of arriesgarse in the present?

  • (a) me arriesgo
  • (b) te arriesgas
  • (c) os arriesgáis

Answer: os arriesgáis — From the table above: vosotros/as takes os arriesgáis. Say it with the example sentence “Vosotros os arriesgáis a perder el dinero.” to fix it in your memory.

6. Complete the sentence: “Ellos ______ a viajar sin seguro.” (To travel without insurance.)

  • (a) te arriesgas
  • (b) se arriesgan
  • (c) me arriesgo

Answer: se arriesgan — The ellos/ellas/Uds. form of arriesgarse in the present is se arriesgan. The other options are the forms for different persons, so they do not agree with the subject.

7. Which is the correct yo form of arriesgarse in the present?

  • (a) me arriesgo
  • (b) te arriesgas
  • (c) se arriesga

Answer: me arriesgo — The yo form is me arriesgo. The other two options are the forms for other persons.

8. Which sentence describes a habit in the present?

  • (a) Yo me arriesgué a perder el dinero todos los días.
  • (b) Nosotros nos arriesgaremos a perder el dinero mañana.
  • (c) Yo me arriesgo a perder el dinero todos los días.

Answer: Yo me arriesgo a perder el dinero todos los días. — “Yo me arriesgo a perder el dinero todos los días.” describes a habit, so it takes the present. The second option reports a finished action in the past, and the third looks to the future.

Frequently asked questions

Is arriesgarse regular in the present?

Arriesgarse is a spelling-change verb, so some forms change spelling to keep the same consonant sound, but the present forms in the table above are the correct ones: arriesgo, arriesgas, arriesga, arriesgamos, arriesgáis, arriesgan.

What is the past participle of arriesgarse?

The past participle is arriesgado: 'He arriesgado' means 'I have taken a risk'. It is used with haber in every perfect tense. The gerund is arriesgando.

Does arriesgarse take a preposition?

It depends on the meaning. Arriesgarse takes a, and the g becomes gu before e: the subjunctive is arriesgue, never arriesge. In the examples on this page, arriesgarse appears with complements such as a perder el dinero and a viajar sin seguro, so copy those patterns when you write your own sentences.

How do I remember the present forms of arriesgarse?

Say the six forms out loud in order, three times, with a real sentence for each one: yo me arriesgo, tú te arriesgas, él/ella/Ud. se arriesga, nosotros/as nos arriesgamos, vosotros/as os arriesgáis, ellos/ellas/Uds. se arriesgan. Then write three of your own sentences with arriesgarse in the present, using the examples on this page as models.

Related pages