Avisar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of avisar — "to warn, to notify" 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 avisar 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. Avisar means to warn or to notify, and it covers telling someone about a meeting, a water cut or a change of plan in advance. It takes de for the thing warned about, and it is a fully regular -ar verb. It is lighter than advertir, which warns of danger. To see it in a real sentence: Él avisa a María de la reunión. — "He/she notifies María about the meeting." Work through the table below, then the formation notes, the usage rules and the contrast with the preterite, and test yourself at the end.

Present tense conjugation table: avisar

Every person of avisar in the present tense. The gerund is avisando and the past participle is avisado.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo aviso
tú avisas
él/ella/Ud. avisa
nosotros/as avisamos
vosotros/as avisáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. avisan

How the present indicative of avisar is formed

The present indicative of avisar is built from the stem avis- 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 aviso
tú -as avisas
él/ella/Ud. -a avisa
nosotros/as -amos avisamos
vosotros/as -áis avisáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -an avisan

The gerund of avisar is avisando and the past participle is avisado. 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 avisar

The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and avisar 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 tense describes things you do regularly. If you do it every day, every week or every morning, the present is the tense to use. For avisar, this use looks like this: "Yo aviso a María de la reunión." — "I notify María about the meeting." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

General facts

The present tense states facts that are generally true, not tied to one moment. It is the tense for definitions and permanent situations. For avisar, this use looks like this: "Él avisa al médico del dolor." — "He/she notifies the doctor about the pain." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

What is happening now

The present tense also covers what is happening at this moment, especially with verbs that describe an action in progress. For avisar, this use looks like this: "Nosotros avisamos a los vecinos del corte de agua." — "We notify the neighbours about the water cut." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

Timetables and schedules

The present tense is used for fixed plans and timetables, such as trains, classes and opening times, even when they refer to the future. For avisar, this use looks like this: "Ellos avisan con tiempo antes de salir." — "They notify in good time before leaving." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

Instructions and requests

The present tense appears in instructions and polite requests, where it sounds softer than a direct command. For avisar, this use looks like this: "Tú avisas a María de la reunión." — "You notify María about the meeting." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

The present tense vs the preterite

Learners often mix up the present and the preterite with avisar. The rule is simple: the present is for habits, facts and what is happening now, while the preterite is for one finished action in the past. The three pairs below show the same idea in both tenses, so you can feel the difference.

Pair 1: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Yo aviso a María de la reunión." — "I notify María about the meeting."
  • Preterite: "Yo avisé a María de la reunión." — "I notified María about the meeting." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Pair 2: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Él avisa al médico del dolor." — "He/she notifies the doctor about the pain."
  • Preterite: "Él avisó al médico del dolor." — "He/she notified the doctor about the pain." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Pair 3: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Nosotros avisamos a los vecinos del corte de agua." — "We notify the neighbours about the water cut."
  • Preterite: "Nosotros avisamos a los vecinos del corte de agua." — "We notified the neighbours about the water cut." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Example sentences in the present tense

Eight natural sentences with avisar in the present tense only. Each one uses a form from the table above.

  1. Yo aviso a María de la reunión. — I notify María about the meeting.
  2. Tú avisas al médico del dolor. — You notify the doctor about the pain.
  3. Él avisa a los vecinos del corte de agua. — He/she notifies the neighbours about the water cut.
  4. Nosotros avisamos con tiempo antes de salir. — We notify in good time before leaving.
  5. Vosotros avisáis a María de la reunión. — You all notify María about the meeting.
  6. Ellos avisan al médico del dolor. — They notify the doctor about the pain.
  7. Yo aviso a los vecinos del corte de agua. — I notify the neighbours about the water cut.
  8. Él avisa con tiempo antes de salir. — He/she notifies in good time before leaving.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Vosotros avisais al médico del dolor. — Right: Vosotros avisáis al médico del dolor. — The vosotros present form carries a written accent: avisáis, not avisais.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo aviso a los vecinos del corte de agua. — Right: Ayer, yo avisé a los vecinos del corte de agua. — Ayer means yesterday, so it needs the preterite (avisé), not the present (aviso). The present is for now, not for yesterday.
  3. Wrong: Yo avisa a María de la reunión. — Right: Yo aviso a María de la reunión. — The person matters: avisa is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is aviso.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy avisado al médico del dolor. — Right: Yo he avisado al médico del dolor. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he avisado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.

Quiz: test yourself

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

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ a María de la reunión. (present tense) A. aviso B. avisas C. avisa D. avisamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ al médico del dolor. (present tense) A. avisas B. aviso C. avisa D. avisamos

  3. Complete the sentence: Él ___ a los vecinos del corte de agua. (present tense) A. avisa B. aviso C. avisas D. avisamos

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ con tiempo antes de salir. (present tense) A. avisamos B. aviso C. avisas D. avisa

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros ___ a María de la reunión. (present tense) A. avisáis B. aviso C. avisas D. avisa

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ___ al médico del dolor. (present tense) A. avisan B. aviso C. avisas D. avisa

  7. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ a los vecinos del corte de agua. (present tense) A. aviso B. avisas C. avisa D. avisamos

  8. Complete the sentence: Él ___ con tiempo antes de salir. (present tense) A. avisa B. aviso C. avisas D. avisamos

Answer key

  1. aviso — The yo present form of avisar is aviso. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  2. avisas — The tu present form of avisar is avisas. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  3. avisa — The el present form of avisar is avisa. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  4. avisamos — The nosotros present form of avisar is avisamos. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  5. avisáis — The vosotros present form of avisar is avisáis. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  6. avisan — The ellos present form of avisar is avisan. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  7. aviso — The yo present form of avisar is aviso. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  8. avisa — The el present form of avisar is avisa. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the present tense of avisar?

Use the present tense of avisar for habits, facts and what is happening now. For example: Yo aviso a María de la reunión. — "I notify María about the meeting." The usage rules above give five situations with examples.

How is the present tense of avisar formed?

Take the stem avis- and add the present endings for -ar verbs. The full table is at the top of this page.

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

The present describes a habit or a present fact, while the preterite describes a finished action. Compare Yo aviso al médico del dolor. with Yo avisé al médico del dolor. — the verb is the same, but the time meaning changes.

How do I practise the present tense of avisar?

Drill the six forms in the table above until you can say them without looking, then use the avisar examples and quiz page for more sentences, and test yourself with the Avisar conjugation page for the full picture across all tenses.

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