Atracar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of atracar — “to dock” 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 atracar 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. Atracar means to dock, for a ship coming alongside the quay, and it also means to rob someone in the street. The docking sense is the nautical one, and it is a spelling-change verb: c becomes qu before e. It is a spelling-change verb (c becomes qu before e), but the present tense itself is regular — the spelling change shows up in the subjunctive and the preterite. To see it in a real sentence: Atraco en el puerto al mediodía. — “I dock in the port at midday.” Learn the six forms in the table below, and the present tense of atracar will be ready for everyday conversation.
Present tense conjugation table: atracar
Every person of atracar in the present tense. The gerund is atracando and the past participle is atracado.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | atraco |
| tú | atracas |
| él/ella/Ud. | atraca |
| nosotros/as | atracamos |
| vosotros/as | atracáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | atracan |
How the present indicative of atracar is formed
The present indicative of atracar 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 | atraco |
| tú | -as | atracas |
| él/ella/Ud. | -a | atraca |
| nosotros/as | -amos | atracamos |
| vosotros/as | -áis | atracáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -an | atracan |
Atracar is a spelling-change verb. In the present tense the forms are regular, so the table above follows the normal -ar endings. The spelling change appears when the ending starts with e: the present subjunctive is atraque and the preterite first person is atraqué. The sound stays the same; only the spelling changes to keep it.
The gerund of atracar is atracando and the past participle is atracado. 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 atracar
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and atracar 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 atracar fits naturally into daily life.
“Yo atraco en el puerto al mediodía todos los días.” — “I dock in the port at midday 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 atraca junto al muelle con cuidado.” — “He/she docks alongside the quay carefully.”
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 atraco can mean both “I dock” and “I am docking”.
“Ahora mismo, yo atraco el barco en el puerto pequeño.” — “Right now, I dock the boat in the small port.”
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 atraco tras una travesía larga.” — “Tomorrow, I will dock after a long crossing.”
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 atracas en el puerto al mediodía?” — “Do you dock in the port at midday?”
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: Atraca junto al muelle con cuidado. — “He/she docks alongside the quay carefully.”
- Preterite — one finished occasion: Atracó junto al muelle con cuidado. — 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: Atracan el barco en el puerto pequeño. — “They dock the boat in the small port.”
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: Atracaban el barco en el puerto pequeño. — 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: Atracas tras una travesía larga. — “You dock after a long crossing.”
- Future — what will happen: Atracarás tras una travesía larga. — the same idea, placed in the future.
Examples: atracar in the present tense
Seven sentences that show atracar in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo atraco en el puerto al mediodía. — “I dock in the port at midday.”
- Tú atracas junto al muelle con cuidado. — “You dock alongside the quay carefully.”
- Él atraca el barco en el puerto pequeño. — “He docks the boat in the small port.”
- Nosotros atracamos tras una travesía larga. — “We dock after a long crossing.”
- Vosotros atracáis en el puerto al mediodía. — “You (plural) dock in the port at midday.”
- Ellos atracan junto al muelle con cuidado. — “They dock alongside the quay carefully.”
- ¿Tú atracas el barco en el puerto pequeño? — “Do you dock the boat in the small port?”
Common mistakes with atracar in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with atracar in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ Yo atracar en el puerto al mediodía. (using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form).
✓ Correct: Yo atraco en el puerto al mediodía.
The infinitive is not a conjugated form. With yo, the present tense of atracar is atraco, not the infinitive atracar.
✗ Vosotros atracais en el puerto al mediodía. (forgetting the accent on the vosotros form).
✓ Correct: Vosotros atracáis en el puerto al mediodía.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: atracáis, not atracais. The accent marks the stressed vowel, and leaving it out is a spelling mistake.
✗ Ayer, yo atraco junto al muelle con cuidado. (using the present for a finished past action).
✓ Correct: Ayer, yo atraqué junto al muelle con cuidado.
The present and the preterite are different tenses: atraco is happening now, while atraqué is a finished action in the past. Use the preterite with ayer.
✗ Treating atracar and amarrar as identical in every context. (confusing atracar with amarrar).
✓ Correct: Atracar means to dock, while amarrar means to moor a boat.
They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: atracar fits sentences such as Atraco en el puerto al mediodía, while amarrar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
Quiz: atracar in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of atracar. 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 atracar for tú?
- a) atracas
- b) atraco
- c) atraca
- d) atracan
2. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ en el puerto al mediodía. — “I dock in the port at midday.”
- a) atraca
- b) atracamos
- c) atracas
- d) atraco
3. Complete the sentence: Él ______ junto al muelle con cuidado. — “He/she docks alongside the quay carefully.” (present tense)
- a) atracaba
- b) atracará
- c) atraca
- d) atracó
4. Which is the correct present tense form of atracar for nosotros?
- a) atracan
- b) atracamos
- c) atraco
- d) atraca
5. Which sentence uses atracar correctly in the present tense?
- a) Él atracó junto al muelle con cuidado.
- b) Él atraca junto al muelle con cuidado.
- c) Él atracará junto al muelle con cuidado.
- d) Ellos atraca junto al muelle con cuidado.
6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ el barco en el puerto pequeño. — “They dock the boat in the small port.”
- a) atraco
- b) atraca
- c) atracamos
- d) atracan
7. Complete the question: ¿Tú ______ tras una travesía larga? — “Do you dock after a long crossing?”
- a) atraca
- b) atracarás
- c) atracas
- d) atraco
8. What is the gerund of atracar?
- a) atraqué
- b) atracando
- c) atracado
- d) atraco
Answer key
a) atracas — The tú form is atracas. The -s ending belongs to tú in the present; atraco is yo, atraca is él/ella and atracan is ellos/ellas.
d) atraco — The sentence needs the yo form in the present: atraco. The other options are the wrong person.
c) atraca — The sentence needs the él/ella/Ud. form in the present: atraca. The other options are the preterite, the imperfect and the future.
b) atracamos — Nosotros takes atracamos. In the present the nosotros ending for -ar verbs is -amos, attached to the stem.
b) Él atraca junto al muelle con cuidado. — Él atraca junto al muelle con cuidado. is correct: the verb agrees with its subject. The other sentences use the wrong person or the wrong tense.
d) atracan — The subject is ellos/ellas/Uds., so the present form is atracan.
c) atracas — The question needs the tú form in the present: atracas.
b) atracando — The gerund is atracando. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive (estar + gerund), and it is not the past participle atracado.
Frequently asked questions
Is atracar regular in the present tense?
Yes. Atracar is a regular -ar verb in the present tense, so the forms follow the standard endings: atraco, atracas, atraca, atracamos, atracáis and atracan.
What is the gerund and the past participle of atracar?
The gerund is atracando and the past participle is atracado. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say “I dock” in Spanish?
Say atraco. For example: Atraco en el puerto al mediodía. — “I dock in the port at midday.”
What is the difference between atracar and amarrar?
Atracar means “to dock”, while amarrar means “to moor a boat”. They are related words that learners often meet together, but they are not interchangeable — use atracar when you mean “to dock” and amarrar when you mean “to moor a boat”. The full conjugation of atracar is on its own page.
Related links
- Full conjugation of atracar — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- atracar 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.
- Pedalear conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with atracar.
- Zarpar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with atracar.
- Cabalgar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with atracar.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise this verb in the interactive tool.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — test yourself on Spanish verbs.