Atravesar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of atravesar — "to cross, to go through" 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 atravesar 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. Atravesar means to cross or go through something: atravesar la calle, atravesar el bosque. It also works figuratively: atravesar una crisis means to go through a difficult period. To see it in a real sentence: Yo atravieso la calle por el paso de peatones — "I cross the street at the zebra crossing".
Present tense conjugation table: atravesar
Every person of atravesar in the present tense. The gerund is atravesando and the past participle is atravesado.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | atravieso |
| tú | atraviesas |
| él/ella/Ud. | atraviesa |
| nosotros/as | atravesamos |
| vosotros/as | atravesáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | atraviesan |
How the present of atravesar is formed
The present of atravesar is built from the stem atraves- 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 | atravieso |
| tú | -as | atraviesas |
| él/ella/Ud. | -a | atraviesa |
| nosotros/as | -amos | atravesamos |
| vosotros/as | -áis | atravesáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -an | atraviesan |
The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: atravieso, atraviesas, atraviesa and atraviesan — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: atravesamos, atravesáis.
The gerund of atravesar is atravesando and the past participle is atravesado. Both are the forms you need with estar and haber respectively.
When to use the present tense of atravesar
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and atravesar 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.
Habits and routines
The present describes things that happen regularly, as a habit or routine.
"Cada día, yo atravieso la calle por el paso de peatones" — "Every day, I cross the street at the zebra crossing"
General truths
The present states facts that are always true, not just true today.
"Mi amigo atraviesa el bosque en una hora" — "My friend crosses the forest in an hour"
What is happening now
The present describes an action in progress right now.
"Ahora, yo atravieso el desierto con camellos" — "Right now, I cross the desert by camel"
Near-future plans
Spanish often uses the present for a plan that is already fixed.
"Mañana, nosotros atravesamos una crisis difícil" — "Tomorrow, we cross a difficult crisis"
Timetables and scheduled events
The present is the tense for timetables, programmes and things that happen on a schedule.
"Ellos atraviesan el río por el puente" — "They cross the river by the bridge"
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: {'pre_es': 'Cada día, ', 'pre_en': 'Every day, '}yo atravieso la calle por el paso de peatones — "I cross the street at the zebra crossing"
- Preterite — one finished occasion: {'pre_es': 'Ayer, ', 'pre_en': 'Yesterday, '}yo atravesé la calle por el paso de peatones — "I crossed the street at the zebra crossing"
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: {}tú atraviesas el bosque en una hora — "You cross the forest in an hour"
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: {}tú atravesabas el bosque en una hora — "You used to cross the forest in an hour"
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: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él atraviesa el desierto con camellos — "He crosses the desert by camel"
- Future — what will happen: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él atravesará el desierto con camellos — "He will cross the desert by camel"
Examples: atravesar in the present tense
Seven sentences that show atravesar in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo atravieso la calle por el paso de peatones — "I cross the street at the zebra crossing"
- Tú atraviesas el bosque en una hora — "You cross the forest in an hour"
- Él atraviesa el desierto con camellos — "He crosses the desert by camel"
- Nosotros atravesamos una crisis difícil — "We cross a difficult crisis"
- Vosotros atravesáis el río por el puente — "You cross the river by the bridge"
- Ellos atraviesan la calle por el paso de peatones — "They cross the street at the zebra crossing"
- Yo atravieso el bosque en una hora — "I cross the forest in an hour"
Common mistakes with atravesar in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with atravesar in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ *Yo atraveso la calle por el paso de peatones.
✓ Correct: Yo atravieso la calle por el paso de peatones.
atravesar is a stem-changing verb (e → ie): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is atravieso, not atraveso.
✗ *Tú atraviesa el bosque en una hora.
✓ Correct: Tú atraviesas el bosque en una hora.
The tú form and the él form are different: tú takes atraviesas, él takes atraviesa.
✗ *Cada día, yo atravesé el desierto con camellos
✓ Correct: Cada día, yo atravieso el desierto con camellos
Cada día describes a habit, so it needs the present, not the preterite.
✗ *Vosotros atravesais una crisis difícil.
✓ Correct: Vosotros atravesáis una crisis difícil.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: atravesáis, not atravesais.
Quiz: atravesar in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of atravesar. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
Which is the correct present form of atravesar for tú? A. atravieso B. atraviesa C. atravesamos D. atraviesas
Complete the sentence: Yo ______ la calle por el paso de peatones — "I cross the street at the zebra crossing" (present) A. atraviesas B. atraviesa C. atravesamos D. atravieso
Complete the sentence: Él ______ el bosque en una hora — "He crosses the forest in an hour" (present) A. atraviesas B. atravesamos C. atraviesa D. atravieso
Which is the correct present form of atravesar for nosotros? A. atraviesa B. atraviesan C. atravesamos D. atraviesas
Which sentence uses atravesar correctly in the present? A. Mi amigo atraviesa el desierto con camellos B. Mi amigo atraviesas el desierto con camellos C. Mi amigo atravesaba el desierto con camellos D. Mi amigo atravesamos el desierto con camellos
Complete the sentence: Vosotros ______ una crisis difícil — "You cross a difficult crisis" (present) A. atravesáis B. atravieso C. atraviesas D. atraviesa
Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ el río por el puente — "They cross the river by the bridge" (present) A. atraviesan B. atravieso C. atraviesas D. atraviesa
What is the gerund of atravesar? A. atravesé B. atravesando C. atravesado D. atravieso
Answer key
- atraviesas — The tú form in the present is atraviesas.
- atravieso — The present form for yo is atravieso.
- atraviesa — The present form for él/ella/Ud. is atraviesa.
- atravesamos — The nosotros form in the present is atravesamos.
- Mi amigo atraviesa el desierto con camellos — Mi amigo atraviesa el desierto con camellos is correct: the verb agrees with its subject and the tense is the present.
- atravesáis — The present form for vosotros/as is atravesáis.
- atraviesan — The present form for ellos/ellas/Uds. is atraviesan.
- atravesando — The gerund is atravesando. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive, and it is not the past participle atravesado.
Frequently asked questions
Is atravesar regular in the present tense?
No — in the present the stem changes: The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: atravieso, atraviesas, atraviesa and atraviesan — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: atravesamos, atravesáis. The nosotros and vosotros forms keep the plain stem.
What is the gerund and the past participle of atravesar?
The gerund is atravesando and the past participle is atravesado. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say "I cross" in the present tense?
Say atravieso. For example: Yo atravieso la calle por el paso de peatones — "I cross the street at the zebra crossing".
What is the difference between the present and the preterite of atravesar?
The present describes a habit or what happens now: Yo atravieso la calle por el paso de peatones — "I cross the street at the zebra crossing". The preterite reports one finished occasion: Ayer, yo atravesé la calle por el paso de peatones — "Yesterday, I crossed the street at the zebra crossing". Use the present when the action repeats or is still true, and the preterite when you are telling what happened once.
Related links
- Full conjugation of atravesar — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- atravesar 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.