Averiguar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of averiguar — “to find out” 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 averiguar 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. Averiguar means to find out, and it is the verb of investigation: you find out the truth, the time of a train, who called, where someone lives. It takes que or a question word for the thing found out, as in averiguar quién llamó, and it is common in detective stories and in everyday curiosity. Averiguar 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: Averiguo la verdad del asunto.

Present tense conjugation table: averiguar

Every person of averiguar in the present tense. The gerund is averiguando and the past participle is averiguado.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo averiguo
tú averiguas
él/ella/Ud. averigua
nosotros/as averiguamos
vosotros/as averiguáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. averiguan

How the present of averiguar is formed

The present of averiguar is built from the stem averigu- 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 averiguo
tú -as averiguas
él/ella/Ud. -a averigua
nosotros/as -amos averiguamos
vosotros/as -áis averiguáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -an averiguan

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

When to use the present tense with averiguar

Habits and routines

Use the present for things you do regularly.

Yo averiguo la verdad del asunto. — I find out the truth of the matter.

General facts

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

Él/Ella averigua la hora del tren. — He finds out the time of the train.

What is happening right now

Use the present for what is happening at this moment.

Ahora, Nosotros/as averiguamos quién llamó ayer. — Right now, We find out who called yesterday.

Near-future plans

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

Mañana, Tú averiguas dónde vive ahora. — Tomorrow, You find out where he lives now.

Instructions and timeless statements

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

Él/Ella averigua la verdad del asunto. — He finds out the truth of the matter.

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 averiguar.

  1. Yo averiguo la verdad del asunto. — I find out the truth of the matter. / Ayer, Yo averigüé la verdad del asunto. — Yesterday, I found out the truth of the matter.
  2. Yo averiguo la hora del tren. — I find out the time of the train. / Ayer, Yo averigüé la hora del tren. — Yesterday, I found out the time of the train.
  3. Yo averiguo quién llamó ayer. — I find out who called yesterday. / Ayer, Yo averigüé quién llamó ayer. — Yesterday, I found out who called yesterday.

Example sentences in the present tense

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

  1. Yo averiguo la verdad del asunto. — I find out the truth of the matter.
  2. Tú averiguas la hora del tren. — You find out the time of the train.
  3. Él/Ella averigua quién llamó ayer. — He finds out who called yesterday.
  4. Nosotros/as averiguamos dónde vive ahora. — We find out where he lives now.
  5. Vosotros/as averiguáis la verdad del asunto. — You find out the truth of the matter.
  6. Ellos/as averiguan la hora del tren. — They find out the time of the train.
  7. Yo averiguo quién llamó ayer. — I find out who called yesterday.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo averigua la verdad del asunto. — Right: Yo averiguo la verdad del asunto. — The person matters: averigua is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is averiguo.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo averiguo la hora del tren. — Right: Ayer, yo averigüé la hora del tren. — With ayer, use the preterite (averigüé), not the present. The present is for habits and for right now.
  3. Wrong: Using averiguar where descubrir belongs. — Right: Averiguar means to find out, while descubrir means to discover something. — Check the meaning before you choose: averiguar fits Averiguo la verdad del asunto.
  4. Wrong: Espero que él averigua la hora del tren. — Right: Espero que él averigüe la hora del tren. — After espero que, Spanish needs the subjunctive: averigüe, not the present indicative averigua.

Quiz: the present tense of averiguar

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

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ la verdad del asunto. (present tense, yo) A. averiguo B. averiguas C. averigua D. averiguamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ la hora del tren. (present tense, tú) A. averiguo B. averigua C. averiguamos D. averiguas

  3. Complete the sentence: Él/Ella ___ quién llamó ayer. (present tense, él/ella/Ud.) A. averiguas B. averiguamos C. averigua D. averiguo

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros/as ___ dónde vive ahora. (present tense, nosotros/as) A. averigua B. averiguamos C. averiguo D. averiguas

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros/as ___ la verdad del asunto. (present tense, vosotros/as) A. averiguáis B. averiguo C. averiguas D. averigua

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos/as ___ la hora del tren. (present tense, ellos/ellas/Uds.) A. averiguo B. averiguas C. averigua D. averiguan

  7. Which is the gerund of averiguar? A. averiguo B. averigüé C. averiguando D. averiguado

  8. Which is the past participle of averiguar, used with haber in the perfect tenses? A. averigüé B. averiguado C. averiguando D. averiguo

Answer key

  1. averiguo — The yo present form of averiguar is averiguo.
  2. averiguas — The tú present form of averiguar is averiguas.
  3. averigua — The él/ella/Ud. present form of averiguar is averigua.
  4. averiguamos — The nosotros/as present form of averiguar is averiguamos.
  5. averiguáis — The vosotros/as present form of averiguar is averiguáis.
  6. averiguan — The ellos/ellas/Uds. present form of averiguar is averiguan.
  7. averiguando — The gerund of averiguar is averiguando: estoy averiguando.
  8. averiguado — The past participle of averiguar is averiguado: he averiguado, has averiguado, ha averiguado.

Frequently asked questions

How is the present tense of averiguar formed?

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

When do I use the present tense of averiguar?

Use the present for habits, facts and what is happening right now. For example: Averiguo la verdad del asunto.

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

The present (averiguo) and the preterite (averigüé) 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 averiguar?

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

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