Asesinar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of asesinar — “to murder” 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 asesinar 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. Asesinar means to murder, to kill someone deliberately. It is a formal verb used in law, crime news and history, and it is fully regular. It is stronger and more specific than matar. To see it in a real sentence: Asesino a su rival por venganza. — “I murder his rival out of revenge.” Learn the six forms in the table below, and the present tense of asesinar will be ready for everyday conversation.
Present tense conjugation table: asesinar
Every person of asesinar in the present tense. The gerund is asesinando and the past participle is asesinado.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | asesino |
| tú | asesinas |
| él/ella/Ud. | asesina |
| nosotros/as | asesinamos |
| vosotros/as | asesináis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | asesinan |
How the present indicative of asesinar is formed
The present indicative of asesinar 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 table below shows the endings, and the full table above shows them attached to the stem.
| Person | Ending | Form |
|---|---|---|
| yo | -o | asesino |
| tú | -as | asesinas |
| él/ella/Ud. | -a | asesina |
| nosotros/as | -amos | asesinamos |
| vosotros/as | -áis | asesináis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -an | asesinan |
Asesinar is a regular -ar verb in the present tense, so the table above is completely regular. The stem is asesin- and the endings are the normal -ar endings, so once you know the pattern you can produce every form on this page.
The gerund of asesinar is asesinando and the past participle is asesinado. 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 asesinar
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and asesinar 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 asesinar fits naturally into daily life.
“Yo asesino a su rival por venganza todos los días.” — “I murder his rival out of revenge 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 asesina al presidente en un atentado.” — “He/she murders the president in an attack.”
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 asesino can mean both “I murder” and “I am murdering”.
“Ahora mismo, yo asesino a sangre fría en la novela.” — “Right now, I murder in cold blood in the novel.”
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 asesino al testigo antes del juicio.” — “Tomorrow, I will murder the witness before the trial.”
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 asesinas a su rival por venganza?” — “Do you murder his rival out of revenge?”
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: Asesina al presidente en un atentado. — “He/she murders the president in an attack.”
- Preterite — one finished occasion: Asesinó al presidente en un atentado. — 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: Asesinan a sangre fría en la novela. — “They murder in cold blood in the novel.”
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: Asesinaban a sangre fría en la novela. — 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: Asesinas al testigo antes del juicio. — “You murder the witness before the trial.”
- Future — what will happen: Asesinarás al testigo antes del juicio. — the same idea, placed in the future.
Examples: asesinar in the present tense
Seven sentences that show asesinar in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo asesino a su rival por venganza. — “I murder his rival out of revenge.”
- Tú asesinas al presidente en un atentado. — “You murder the president in an attack.”
- Él asesina a sangre fría en la novela. — “He murders in cold blood in the novel.”
- Nosotros asesinamos al testigo antes del juicio. — “We murder the witness before the trial.”
- Vosotros asesináis a su rival por venganza. — “You (plural) murder his rival out of revenge.”
- Ellos asesinan al presidente en un atentado. — “They murder the president in an attack.”
- ¿Tú asesinas a sangre fría en la novela? — “Do you murder in cold blood in the novel?”
Common mistakes with asesinar in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with asesinar in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ Yo asesinar a su rival por venganza. (using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form).
✓ Correct: Yo asesino a su rival por venganza.
The infinitive is not a conjugated form. With yo, the present tense of asesinar is asesino, not the infinitive asesinar.
✗ Vosotros asesinais a su rival por venganza. (forgetting the accent on the vosotros form).
✓ Correct: Vosotros asesináis a su rival por venganza.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: asesináis, not asesinais. The accent marks the stressed vowel, and leaving it out is a spelling mistake.
✗ Ayer, yo asesino al presidente en un atentado. (using the present for a finished past action).
✓ Correct: Ayer, yo asesiné al presidente en un atentado.
The present and the preterite are different tenses: asesino is happening now, while asesiné is a finished action in the past. Use the preterite with ayer.
✗ Treating asesinar and matar as identical in every context. (confusing asesinar with matar).
✓ Correct: Asesinar means to murder, while matar means to kill, in general.
They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: asesinar fits sentences such as Asesino a su rival por venganza, while matar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
Quiz: asesinar in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of asesinar. 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 asesinar for tú?
- a) asesinas
- b) asesino
- c) asesina
- d) asesinan
2. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ a su rival por venganza. — “I murder his rival out of revenge.”
- a) asesina
- b) asesinamos
- c) asesinas
- d) asesino
3. Complete the sentence: Él ______ al presidente en un atentado. — “He/she murders the president in an attack.” (present tense)
- a) asesinaba
- b) asesinará
- c) asesina
- d) asesinó
4. Which is the correct present tense form of asesinar for nosotros?
- a) asesinan
- b) asesinamos
- c) asesino
- d) asesina
5. Which sentence uses asesinar correctly in the present tense?
- a) Él asesinó al presidente en un atentado.
- b) Él asesina al presidente en un atentado.
- c) Él asesinará al presidente en un atentado.
- d) Ellos asesina al presidente en un atentado.
6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ a sangre fría en la novela. — “They murder in cold blood in the novel.”
- a) asesino
- b) asesina
- c) asesinamos
- d) asesinan
7. Complete the question: ¿Tú ______ al testigo antes del juicio? — “Do you murder the witness before the trial?”
- a) asesina
- b) asesinarás
- c) asesinas
- d) asesino
8. What is the gerund of asesinar?
- a) asesiné
- b) asesinando
- c) asesinado
- d) asesino
Answer key
a) asesinas — The tú form is asesinas. The -s ending belongs to tú in the present; asesino is yo, asesina is él/ella and asesinan is ellos/ellas.
d) asesino — The sentence needs the yo form in the present: asesino. The other options are the wrong person.
c) asesina — The sentence needs the él/ella/Ud. form in the present: asesina. The other options are the preterite, the imperfect and the future.
b) asesinamos — Nosotros takes asesinamos. In the present the nosotros ending for -ar verbs is -amos, attached to the stem.
b) Él asesina al presidente en un atentado. — Él asesina al presidente en un atentado. is correct: the verb agrees with its subject. The other sentences use the wrong person or the wrong tense.
d) asesinan — The subject is ellos/ellas/Uds., so the present form is asesinan.
c) asesinas — The question needs the tú form in the present: asesinas.
b) asesinando — The gerund is asesinando. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive (estar + gerund), and it is not the past participle asesinado.
Frequently asked questions
Is asesinar regular in the present tense?
Yes. Asesinar is a regular -ar verb in the present tense, so the forms follow the standard endings: asesino, asesinas, asesina, asesinamos, asesináis and asesinan.
What is the gerund and the past participle of asesinar?
The gerund is asesinando and the past participle is asesinado. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say “I murder” in Spanish?
Say asesino. For example: Asesino a su rival por venganza. — “I murder his rival out of revenge.”
What is the difference between asesinar and matar?
Asesinar means “to murder”, while matar means “to kill, in general”. They are related words that learners often meet together, but they are not interchangeable — use asesinar when you mean “to murder” and matar when you mean “to kill, in general”. The full conjugation of asesinar is on its own page.
Related links
- Full conjugation of asesinar — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- asesinar 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.
- Asesorar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with asesinar.
- Asentar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with asesinar.
- Asimilar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with asesinar.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise this verb in the interactive tool.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — test yourself on Spanish verbs.