Arruinar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of arruinar — “to ruin” 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 arruinar 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. Arruinar means to ruin, and it covers ruining a plan, a reputation, a business, a holiday and a person's life: bad weather ruins a picnic, a scandal ruins a career, debts ruin a family. It is a strong verb of total damage. Arruinar 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: Arruino el plan del fin de semana.

Present tense conjugation table: arruinar

Every person of arruinar in the present tense. The gerund is arruinando and the past participle is arruinado.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo arruino
tú arruinas
él/ella/Ud. arruina
nosotros/as arruinamos
vosotros/as arruináis
ellos/ellas/Uds. arruinan

How the present of arruinar is formed

The present of arruinar is built from the stem arruin- 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 arruino
tú -as arruinas
él/ella/Ud. -a arruina
nosotros/as -amos arruinamos
vosotros/as -áis arruináis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -an arruinan

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

When to use the present tense with arruinar

Habits and routines

Use the present for things you do regularly.

Yo arruino el plan del fin de semana. — I ruin the weekend plan.

General facts

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

Él/Ella arruina la reputación de la empresa. — He ruins the company's reputation.

What is happening right now

Use the present for what is happening at this moment.

Ahora, Nosotros/as arruinamos las vacaciones con la lluvia. — Right now, We ruin the holidays with the rain.

Near-future plans

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

Mañana, Tú arruinas mi carrera con un escándalo. — Tomorrow, You ruin my career with a scandal.

Instructions and timeless statements

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

Él/Ella arruina el plan del fin de semana. — He ruins the weekend plan.

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 arruinar.

  1. Yo arruino el plan del fin de semana. — I ruin the weekend plan. / Ayer, Yo arruiné el plan del fin de semana. — Yesterday, I ruined the weekend plan.
  2. Yo arruino la reputación de la empresa. — I ruin the company's reputation. / Ayer, Yo arruiné la reputación de la empresa. — Yesterday, I ruined the company's reputation.
  3. Yo arruino las vacaciones con la lluvia. — I ruin the holidays with the rain. / Ayer, Yo arruiné las vacaciones con la lluvia. — Yesterday, I ruined the holidays with the rain.

Example sentences in the present tense

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

  1. Yo arruino el plan del fin de semana. — I ruin the weekend plan.
  2. Tú arruinas la reputación de la empresa. — You ruin the company's reputation.
  3. Él/Ella arruina las vacaciones con la lluvia. — He ruins the holidays with the rain.
  4. Nosotros/as arruinamos mi carrera con un escándalo. — We ruin my career with a scandal.
  5. Vosotros/as arruináis el plan del fin de semana. — You ruin the weekend plan.
  6. Ellos/as arruinan la reputación de la empresa. — They ruin the company's reputation.
  7. Yo arruino las vacaciones con la lluvia. — I ruin the holidays with the rain.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo arruina el plan del fin de semana. — Right: Yo arruino el plan del fin de semana. — The person matters: arruina is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is arruino.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo arruino la reputación de la empresa. — Right: Ayer, yo arruiné la reputación de la empresa. — With ayer, use the preterite (arruiné), not the present. The present is for habits and for right now.
  3. Wrong: Using arruinar where estropear belongs. — Right: Arruinar means to ruin, while estropear means to spoil or damage something. — Check the meaning before you choose: arruinar fits Arruino el plan del fin de semana.
  4. Wrong: Espero que él arruina la reputación de la empresa. — Right: Espero que él arruine la reputación de la empresa. — After espero que, Spanish needs the subjunctive: arruine, not the present indicative arruina.

Quiz: the present tense of arruinar

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

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ el plan del fin de semana. (present tense, yo) A. arruino B. arruinas C. arruina D. arruinamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ la reputación de la empresa. (present tense, tú) A. arruino B. arruina C. arruinamos D. arruinas

  3. Complete the sentence: Él/Ella ___ las vacaciones con la lluvia. (present tense, él/ella/Ud.) A. arruinas B. arruinamos C. arruina D. arruino

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros/as ___ mi carrera con un escándalo. (present tense, nosotros/as) A. arruina B. arruinamos C. arruino D. arruinas

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros/as ___ el plan del fin de semana. (present tense, vosotros/as) A. arruináis B. arruino C. arruinas D. arruina

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos/as ___ la reputación de la empresa. (present tense, ellos/ellas/Uds.) A. arruino B. arruinas C. arruina D. arruinan

  7. Which is the gerund of arruinar? A. arruino B. arruiné C. arruinando D. arruinado

  8. Which is the past participle of arruinar, used with haber in the perfect tenses? A. arruiné B. arruinado C. arruinando D. arruino

Answer key

  1. arruino — The yo present form of arruinar is arruino.
  2. arruinas — The tú present form of arruinar is arruinas.
  3. arruina — The él/ella/Ud. present form of arruinar is arruina.
  4. arruinamos — The nosotros/as present form of arruinar is arruinamos.
  5. arruináis — The vosotros/as present form of arruinar is arruináis.
  6. arruinan — The ellos/ellas/Uds. present form of arruinar is arruinan.
  7. arruinando — The gerund of arruinar is arruinando: estoy arruinando.
  8. arruinado — The past participle of arruinar is arruinado: he arruinado, has arruinado, ha arruinado.

Frequently asked questions

How is the present tense of arruinar formed?

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

When do I use the present tense of arruinar?

Use the present for habits, facts and what is happening right now. For example: Arruino el plan del fin de semana.

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

The present (arruino) and the preterite (arruiné) 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 arruinar?

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

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