Asentar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of asentar — “to settle, to establish” 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 asentar 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. Asentar means to settle or to establish, to set something firmly in place, such as a business, a rule or a base. It is a stem-changing verb (e to ie) in the present, the present subjunctive and the imperative. It is a stem-changing verb (e → ie), so the stem changes in the singular and the third-person plural, while nosotros and vosotros keep the original stem. To see it in a real sentence: Asiento la empresa en la ciudad. — “I settle the company in the city.” Learn the six forms in the table below, and the present tense of asentar will be ready for everyday conversation.
Present tense conjugation table: asentar
Every person of asentar in the present tense. The gerund is asentando and the past participle is asentado.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | asiento |
| tú | asientas |
| él/ella/Ud. | asienta |
| nosotros/as | asentamos |
| vosotros/as | asentáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | asientan |
How the present indicative of asentar is formed
The present indicative of asentar is built from the stem plus the present indicative endings for -ar verbs. Take the infinitive, drop the -ar ending, and add the ending that matches the person. The stem changes e → ie in the singular and the third-person plural, so those forms use the changed stem, while nosotros and vosotros keep the original stem. The table below shows the endings, and the full table above shows them attached to the stem.
| Person | Ending | Form |
|---|---|---|
| yo | -o | asiento |
| tú | -as | asientas |
| él/ella/Ud. | -a | asienta |
| nosotros/as | -amos | asentamos |
| vosotros/as | -áis | asentáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -an | asientan |
Asentar is a stem-changing verb (e → ie) in the present tense. The stem changes in the yo, tú, él/ella/Ud. and ellos/ellas/Uds. forms, while nosotros and vosotros keep the original stem. Compare asiento with asentamos: the first uses the changed stem and the second does not. The rest of the present tense is completely regular, and the imperfect, the future and the conditional do not change the stem at all.
The gerund of asentar is asentando and the past participle is asentado. 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 asentar
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and asentar 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.
Routines and habits
Use the present for things you do regularly, every day or every week. The present is the tense of routine, and asentar fits naturally into daily life.
“Yo asiento la empresa en la ciudad todos los días.” — “I settle the company in the city every day.”
General facts
Use the present for facts that are true in general, not just today. When you state how something is, the present is the tense to use.
“Él asienta las bases del proyecto.” — “He/she settles the bases of the project.”
What is happening right now
Use the present for what is happening at this moment. Spanish often uses the simple present where English uses the progressive, so asiento can mean both “I settle” and “I am settleing”.
“Ahora mismo, yo asiento su autoridad en el equipo.” — “Right now, I settle his authority in the team.”
Fixed plans in the near future
Use the present for a plan that is already fixed, such as something arranged for tomorrow. Spanish uses the present for near-future plans much more freely than English does.
“Mañana, yo asiento el campamento en el valle.” — “Tomorrow, I will settle the camp in the valley.”
Questions and negatives
Use the present to ask about habits and to say what does not happen. The question and the negative use exactly the same forms as the statement.
“¿Tú asientas la empresa en la ciudad?” — “Do you settle the company in the city?”
The present tense vs the closest tenses
Present — habit or general fact vs Preterite — one finished occasion
The present describes a habit, a routine or a general fact — something that happens again and again or that is true in general. The preterite reports one finished occasion in the past. Use the present when the action repeats or is still true, and the preterite when you are telling what happened once, on a specific day.
- Present — habit or general fact: Asienta las bases del proyecto. — “He/she settles the bases of the project.”
- Preterite — one finished occasion: Asentó las bases del proyecto. — the same idea, placed in the preterite.
Present — now vs Imperfect — a past habit or background
The present talks about now. The imperfect talks about the past as a background — a repeated habit, an ongoing situation, something that used to happen. If you can add “used to” in English, the imperfect is usually the right choice; if it is happening now or always, use the present.
- Present — now: Asientan su autoridad en el equipo. — “They settle his authority in the team.”
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: Asentaban su autoridad en el equipo. — the same idea, placed in the imperfect.
Present — now or a fixed plan vs Future — what will happen
The present describes what happens now, what you do regularly, or a plan that is already fixed. The future describes what will happen later — a promise, a prediction, a plan that is not yet under way. Spanish often uses the present for near-future plans, but the future is the form for a clear statement about tomorrow.
- Present — now or a fixed plan: Asientas el campamento en el valle. — “You settle the camp in the valley.”
- Future — what will happen: Asentarás el campamento en el valle. — the same idea, placed in the future.
Examples: asentar in the present tense
Seven sentences that show asentar in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo asiento la empresa en la ciudad. — “I settle the company in the city.”
- Tú asientas las bases del proyecto. — “You settle the bases of the project.”
- Él asienta su autoridad en el equipo. — “He settles his authority in the team.”
- Nosotros asentamos el campamento en el valle. — “We settle the camp in the valley.”
- Vosotros asentáis la empresa en la ciudad. — “You (plural) settle the company in the city.”
- Ellos asientan las bases del proyecto. — “They settle the bases of the project.”
- ¿Tú asientas su autoridad en el equipo? — “Do you settle his authority in the team?”
Common mistakes with asentar in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with asentar in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ Yo asentar la empresa en la ciudad. (using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form).
✓ Correct: Yo asiento la empresa en la ciudad.
The infinitive is not a conjugated form. With yo, the present tense of asentar is asiento, not the infinitive asentar.
✗ Vosotros asentais la empresa en la ciudad. (forgetting the accent on the vosotros form).
✓ Correct: Vosotros asentáis la empresa en la ciudad.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: asentáis, not asentais. The accent marks the stressed vowel, and leaving it out is a spelling mistake.
✗ Yo asento las bases del proyecto. (forgetting the stem change).
✓ Correct: Yo asiento las bases del proyecto.
Asentar is a stem-changing verb (e → ie), so the stem changes in the present singular and third-person plural. The nosotros form keeps the original stem.
✗ Treating asentar and establecer as identical in every context. (confusing asentar with establecer).
✓ Correct: Asentar means to settle, to establish, while establecer means to establish.
They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: asentar fits sentences such as Asiento la empresa en la ciudad, while establecer belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
Quiz: asentar in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of asentar. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
1. Which is the correct present tense form of asentar for tú?
- a) asientas
- b) asiento
- c) asienta
- d) asientan
2. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ la empresa en la ciudad. — “I settle the company in the city.”
- a) asienta
- b) asentamos
- c) asientas
- d) asiento
3. Complete the sentence: Él ______ las bases del proyecto. — “He/she settles the bases of the project.” (present tense)
- a) asentaba
- b) asentará
- c) asienta
- d) asentó
4. Which is the correct present tense form of asentar for nosotros?
- a) asientan
- b) asentamos
- c) asiento
- d) asienta
5. Which sentence uses asentar correctly in the present tense?
- a) Él asentó las bases del proyecto.
- b) Él asienta las bases del proyecto.
- c) Él asentará las bases del proyecto.
- d) Ellos asienta las bases del proyecto.
6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ su autoridad en el equipo. — “They settle his authority in the team.”
- a) asiento
- b) asienta
- c) asentamos
- d) asientan
7. Complete the question: ¿Tú ______ el campamento en el valle? — “Do you settle the camp in the valley?”
- a) asienta
- b) asentarás
- c) asientas
- d) asiento
8. What is the gerund of asentar?
- a) asenté
- b) asentando
- c) asentado
- d) asiento
Answer key
a) asientas — The tú form is asientas. The -s ending belongs to tú in the present; asiento is yo, asienta is él/ella and asientan is ellos/ellas.
d) asiento — The sentence needs the yo form in the present: asiento. The other options are the wrong person.
c) asienta — The sentence needs the él/ella/Ud. form in the present: asienta. The other options are the preterite, the imperfect and the future.
b) asentamos — Nosotros takes asentamos. In the present the nosotros ending for -ar verbs is -amos, attached to the stem.
b) Él asienta las bases del proyecto. — Él asienta las bases del proyecto. is correct: the verb agrees with its subject. The other sentences use the wrong person or the wrong tense.
d) asientan — The subject is ellos/ellas/Uds., so the present form is asientan.
c) asientas — The question needs the tú form in the present: asientas.
b) asentando — The gerund is asentando. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive (estar + gerund), and it is not the past participle asentado.
Frequently asked questions
Is asentar regular in the present tense?
No, not fully. Asentar is a stem-changing verb (e → ie), so the stem changes in the singular and the third-person plural: asiento, asientas, asienta and asientan. Nosotros and vosotros keep the original stem: asentamos and asentáis. The other tenses are regular.
What is the gerund and the past participle of asentar?
The gerund is asentando and the past participle is asentado. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say “I settle” in Spanish?
Say asiento. For example: Asiento la empresa en la ciudad. — “I settle the company in the city.”
What is the difference between asentar and establecer?
Asentar means “to settle, to establish”, while establecer means “to establish”. They are related words that learners often meet together, but they are not interchangeable — use asentar when you mean “to settle, to establish” and establecer when you mean “to establish”. The full conjugation of asentar is on its own page.
Related links
- Full conjugation of asentar — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- asentar examples and quiz — more sentences, dialogues and a longer quiz.
- Spanish Present tense guide — how the present tense works for all Spanish verbs.
- Spanish verbs — the full list of Spanish verbs on VerbFlow.
- Complete list of Spanish irregular verbs — where this verb's pattern is listed.
- Asear conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with asentar.
- Apestar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with asentar.
- Asesinar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with asentar.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise this verb in the interactive tool.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — test yourself on Spanish verbs.