Aullar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of aullar — “to howl” 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 aullar 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. Aullar means to howl, the long cry of a wolf or a dog. It is an animal-sound verb used at night, in stories and in the countryside, and it is fully regular. To see it in a real sentence: Aullo toda la noche en el bosque. — “I howl all night in the forest.” Learn the six forms in the table below, and the present tense of aullar will be ready for everyday conversation.
Present tense conjugation table: aullar
Every person of aullar in the present tense. The gerund is aullando and the past participle is aullado.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | aullo |
| tú | aullas |
| él/ella/Ud. | aulla |
| nosotros/as | aullamos |
| vosotros/as | aulláis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | aullan |
How the present indicative of aullar is formed
The present indicative of aullar 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 | aullo |
| tú | -as | aullas |
| él/ella/Ud. | -a | aulla |
| nosotros/as | -amos | aullamos |
| vosotros/as | -áis | aulláis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -an | aullan |
Aullar is a regular -ar verb in the present tense, so the table above is completely regular. The stem is aull- 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 aullar is aullando and the past participle is aullado. 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 aullar
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and aullar 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 aullar fits naturally into daily life.
“Yo aullo toda la noche en el bosque todos los días.” — “I howl all night in the forest 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 aulla a la luna llena.” — “He/she howls at the full moon.”
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 aullo can mean both “I howl” and “I am howling”.
“Ahora mismo, yo aullo cuando oye una sirena.” — “Right now, I howl when it hears a siren.”
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 aullo en el campo con la manada.” — “Tomorrow, I will howl in the fields with the pack.”
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 aullas toda la noche en el bosque?” — “Do you howl all night in the forest?”
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: Aulla a la luna llena. — “He/she howls at the full moon.”
- Preterite — one finished occasion: Aulló a la luna llena. — 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: Aullan cuando oye una sirena. — “They howl when it hears a siren.”
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: Aullaban cuando oye una sirena. — 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: Aullas en el campo con la manada. — “You howl in the fields with the pack.”
- Future — what will happen: Aullarás en el campo con la manada. — the same idea, placed in the future.
Examples: aullar in the present tense
Seven sentences that show aullar in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo aullo toda la noche en el bosque. — “I howl all night in the forest.”
- Tú aullas a la luna llena. — “You howl at the full moon.”
- Él aulla cuando oye una sirena. — “He howls when it hears a siren.”
- Nosotros aullamos en el campo con la manada. — “We howl in the fields with the pack.”
- Vosotros aulláis toda la noche en el bosque. — “You (plural) howl all night in the forest.”
- Ellos aullan a la luna llena. — “They howl at the full moon.”
- ¿Tú aullas cuando oye una sirena? — “Do you howl when it hears a siren?”
Common mistakes with aullar in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with aullar in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ Yo aullar toda la noche en el bosque. (using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form).
✓ Correct: Yo aullo toda la noche en el bosque.
The infinitive is not a conjugated form. With yo, the present tense of aullar is aullo, not the infinitive aullar.
✗ Vosotros aullais toda la noche en el bosque. (forgetting the accent on the vosotros form).
✓ Correct: Vosotros aulláis toda la noche en el bosque.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: aulláis, not aullais. The accent marks the stressed vowel, and leaving it out is a spelling mistake.
✗ Ayer, yo aullo a la luna llena. (using the present for a finished past action).
✓ Correct: Ayer, yo aullé a la luna llena.
The present and the preterite are different tenses: aullo is happening now, while aullé is a finished action in the past. Use the preterite with ayer.
✗ Treating aullar and ladrar as identical in every context. (confusing aullar with ladrar).
✓ Correct: Aullar means to howl, while ladrar means to bark.
They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: aullar fits sentences such as Aullo toda la noche en el bosque, while ladrar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
Quiz: aullar in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of aullar. 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 aullar for tú?
- a) aullas
- b) aullo
- c) aulla
- d) aullan
2. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ toda la noche en el bosque. — “I howl all night in the forest.”
- a) aulla
- b) aullamos
- c) aullas
- d) aullo
3. Complete the sentence: Él ______ a la luna llena. — “He/she howls at the full moon.” (present tense)
- a) aullaba
- b) aullará
- c) aulla
- d) aulló
4. Which is the correct present tense form of aullar for nosotros?
- a) aullan
- b) aullamos
- c) aullo
- d) aulla
5. Which sentence uses aullar correctly in the present tense?
- a) Él aulló a la luna llena.
- b) Él aulla a la luna llena.
- c) Él aullará a la luna llena.
- d) Ellos aulla a la luna llena.
6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ cuando oye una sirena. — “They howl when it hears a siren.”
- a) aullo
- b) aulla
- c) aullamos
- d) aullan
7. Complete the question: ¿Tú ______ en el campo con la manada? — “Do you howl in the fields with the pack?”
- a) aulla
- b) aullarás
- c) aullas
- d) aullo
8. What is the gerund of aullar?
- a) aullé
- b) aullando
- c) aullado
- d) aullo
Answer key
a) aullas — The tú form is aullas. The -s ending belongs to tú in the present; aullo is yo, aulla is él/ella and aullan is ellos/ellas.
d) aullo — The sentence needs the yo form in the present: aullo. The other options are the wrong person.
c) aulla — The sentence needs the él/ella/Ud. form in the present: aulla. The other options are the preterite, the imperfect and the future.
b) aullamos — Nosotros takes aullamos. In the present the nosotros ending for -ar verbs is -amos, attached to the stem.
b) Él aulla a la luna llena. — Él aulla a la luna llena. is correct: the verb agrees with its subject. The other sentences use the wrong person or the wrong tense.
d) aullan — The subject is ellos/ellas/Uds., so the present form is aullan.
c) aullas — The question needs the tú form in the present: aullas.
b) aullando — The gerund is aullando. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive (estar + gerund), and it is not the past participle aullado.
Frequently asked questions
Is aullar regular in the present tense?
Yes. Aullar is a regular -ar verb in the present tense, so the forms follow the standard endings: aullo, aullas, aulla, aullamos, aulláis and aullan.
What is the gerund and the past participle of aullar?
The gerund is aullando and the past participle is aullado. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say “I howl” in Spanish?
Say aullo. For example: Aullo toda la noche en el bosque. — “I howl all night in the forest.”
What is the difference between aullar and ladrar?
Aullar means “to howl”, while ladrar means “to bark”. They are related words that learners often meet together, but they are not interchangeable — use aullar when you mean “to howl” and ladrar when you mean “to bark”. The full conjugation of aullar is on its own page.
Related links
- Full conjugation of aullar — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- aullar 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.
- Graznar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with aullar.
- Relinchar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with aullar.
- Piar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with aullar.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise this verb in the interactive tool.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — test yourself on Spanish verbs.