Aspirar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of aspirar — “to aspire, to inhale” 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 aspirar 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. Aspirar means to aspire or to inhale, and the two senses share the idea of drawing something in: you aspire to a better job, you inhale air, a vacuum cleaner sucks up dust. It takes a for the goal aspired to, as in aspirar a ser médico. Aspirar 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: Aspiro a ser médico algún día.

Present tense conjugation table: aspirar

Every person of aspirar in the present tense. The gerund is aspirando and the past participle is aspirado.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo aspiro
tú aspiras
él/ella/Ud. aspira
nosotros/as aspiramos
vosotros/as aspiráis
ellos/ellas/Uds. aspiran

How the present of aspirar is formed

The present of aspirar is built from the stem aspir- 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 aspiro
tú -as aspiras
él/ella/Ud. -a aspira
nosotros/as -amos aspiramos
vosotros/as -áis aspiráis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -an aspiran

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

When to use the present tense with aspirar

Habits and routines

Use the present for things you do regularly.

Yo aspiro a ser médico algún día. — I aspire to be a doctor one day.

General facts

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

Él/Ella aspira a un puesto mejor en la empresa. — He aspires to a better job in the company.

What is happening right now

Use the present for what is happening at this moment.

Ahora, Nosotros/as aspiramos a ganar el premio este año. — Right now, We aspire to win the prize this year.

Near-future plans

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

Mañana, Tú aspiras a una vida sin preocupaciones. — Tomorrow, You aspire to a life without worries.

Instructions and timeless statements

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

Él/Ella aspira a ser médico algún día. — He aspires to be a doctor one day.

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 aspirar.

  1. Yo aspiro a ser médico algún día. — I aspire to be a doctor one day. / Ayer, Yo aspiré a ser médico algún día. — Yesterday, I aspired to be a doctor one day.
  2. Yo aspiro a un puesto mejor en la empresa. — I aspire to a better job in the company. / Ayer, Yo aspiré a un puesto mejor en la empresa. — Yesterday, I aspired to a better job in the company.
  3. Yo aspiro a ganar el premio este año. — I aspire to win the prize this year. / Ayer, Yo aspiré a ganar el premio este año. — Yesterday, I aspired to win the prize this year.

Example sentences in the present tense

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

  1. Yo aspiro a ser médico algún día. — I aspire to be a doctor one day.
  2. Tú aspiras a un puesto mejor en la empresa. — You aspire to a better job in the company.
  3. Él/Ella aspira a ganar el premio este año. — He aspires to win the prize this year.
  4. Nosotros/as aspiramos a una vida sin preocupaciones. — We aspire to a life without worries.
  5. Vosotros/as aspiráis a ser médico algún día. — You aspire to be a doctor one day.
  6. Ellos/as aspiran a un puesto mejor en la empresa. — They aspire to a better job in the company.
  7. Yo aspiro a ganar el premio este año. — I aspire to win the prize this year.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo aspira a ser médico algún día. — Right: Yo aspiro a ser médico algún día. — The person matters: aspira is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is aspiro.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo aspiro a un puesto mejor en la empresa. — Right: Ayer, yo aspiré a un puesto mejor en la empresa. — With ayer, use the preterite (aspiré), not the present. The present is for habits and for right now.
  3. Wrong: Using aspirar where desear belongs. — Right: Aspirar means to aspire, to inhale, while desear means to wish for something. — Check the meaning before you choose: aspirar fits Aspiro a ser médico algún día.
  4. Wrong: Espero que él aspira a un puesto mejor en la empresa. — Right: Espero que él aspire a un puesto mejor en la empresa. — After espero que, Spanish needs the subjunctive: aspire, not the present indicative aspira.

Quiz: the present tense of aspirar

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

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ a ser médico algún día. (present tense, yo) A. aspiro B. aspiras C. aspira D. aspiramos

  2. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ a un puesto mejor en la empresa. (present tense, tú) A. aspiro B. aspira C. aspiramos D. aspiras

  3. Complete the sentence: Él/Ella ___ a ganar el premio este año. (present tense, él/ella/Ud.) A. aspiras B. aspiramos C. aspira D. aspiro

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros/as ___ a una vida sin preocupaciones. (present tense, nosotros/as) A. aspira B. aspiramos C. aspiro D. aspiras

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros/as ___ a ser médico algún día. (present tense, vosotros/as) A. aspiráis B. aspiro C. aspiras D. aspira

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos/as ___ a un puesto mejor en la empresa. (present tense, ellos/ellas/Uds.) A. aspiro B. aspiras C. aspira D. aspiran

  7. Which is the gerund of aspirar? A. aspiro B. aspiré C. aspirando D. aspirado

  8. Which is the past participle of aspirar, used with haber in the perfect tenses? A. aspiré B. aspirado C. aspirando D. aspiro

Answer key

  1. aspiro — The yo present form of aspirar is aspiro.
  2. aspiras — The tú present form of aspirar is aspiras.
  3. aspira — The él/ella/Ud. present form of aspirar is aspira.
  4. aspiramos — The nosotros/as present form of aspirar is aspiramos.
  5. aspiráis — The vosotros/as present form of aspirar is aspiráis.
  6. aspiran — The ellos/ellas/Uds. present form of aspirar is aspiran.
  7. aspirando — The gerund of aspirar is aspirando: estoy aspirando.
  8. aspirado — The past participle of aspirar is aspirado: he aspirado, has aspirado, ha aspirado.

Frequently asked questions

How is the present tense of aspirar formed?

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

When do I use the present tense of aspirar?

Use the present for habits, facts and what is happening right now. For example: Aspiro a ser médico algún día.

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

The present (aspiro) and the preterite (aspiré) 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 aspirar?

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

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