Bautizar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of bautizar — "to baptise" 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 bautizar 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. Bautizar means to baptise, and it is used for baptising a child in church, naming a child after a grandfather and, figuratively, naming a boat in the harbour. It is a spelling-change verb: the z becomes c before e, so the preterite is bauticé. To see it in a real sentence: Él bautiza al niño en la iglesia. — "He/she baptises the child in church." 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: bautizar

Every person of bautizar in the present tense. The gerund is bautizando and the past participle is bautizado.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo bautizo
tú bautizas
él/ella/Ud. bautiza
nosotros/as bautizamos
vosotros/as bautizáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. bautizan

How the present indicative of bautizar is formed

The present indicative of bautizar is built from the stem bautiz- 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 bautizo
tú -as bautizas
él/ella/Ud. -a bautiza
nosotros/as -amos bautizamos
vosotros/as -áis bautizáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -an bautizan

bautizar is a spelling-change verb: z becomes c before e. That is why the written form changes in some persons — the sound stays the same, and only the spelling adapts. In this tense, watch the first-person form bautizo in particular.

The gerund of bautizar is bautizando and the past participle is bautizado. 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 bautizar

The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and bautizar 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 bautizar, this use looks like this: "Yo bautizo al niño en la iglesia." — "I baptise the child in church." 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 bautizar, this use looks like this: "Él bautiza con el nombre de su abuelo." — "He/she baptises with his grandfather's name." 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 bautizar, this use looks like this: "Nosotros bautizamos el barco en el puerto." — "We baptise the boat in the harbour." 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 bautizar, this use looks like this: "Ellos bautizan a su hija en primavera." — "They baptise his daughter in spring." 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 bautizar, this use looks like this: "Tú bautizas al niño en la iglesia." — "You baptise the child in church." 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 bautizar. 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 bautizo al niño en la iglesia." — "I baptise the child in church."
  • Preterite: "Yo bauticé al niño en la iglesia." — "I baptised the child in church." 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 bautiza con el nombre de su abuelo." — "He/she baptises with his grandfather's name."
  • Preterite: "Él bautizó con el nombre de su abuelo." — "He/she baptised with his grandfather's name." 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 bautizamos el barco en el puerto." — "We baptise the boat in the harbour."
  • Preterite: "Nosotros bautizamos el barco en el puerto." — "We baptised the boat in the harbour." 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 bautizar in the present tense only. Each one uses a form from the table above.

  1. Yo bautizo al niño en la iglesia. — I baptise the child in church.
  2. Tú bautizas con el nombre de su abuelo. — You baptise with his grandfather's name.
  3. Él bautiza el barco en el puerto. — He/she baptises the boat in the harbour.
  4. Nosotros bautizamos a su hija en primavera. — We baptise his daughter in spring.
  5. Vosotros bautizáis al niño en la iglesia. — You all baptise the child in church.
  6. Ellos bautizan con el nombre de su abuelo. — They baptise with his grandfather's name.
  7. Yo bautizo el barco en el puerto. — I baptise the boat in the harbour.
  8. Él bautiza a su hija en primavera. — He/she baptises his daughter in spring.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Vosotros bautizais con el nombre de su abuelo. — Right: Vosotros bautizáis con el nombre de su abuelo. — The vosotros present form carries a written accent: bautizáis, not bautizais.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo bautizo el barco en el puerto. — Right: Ayer, yo bauticé el barco en el puerto. — Ayer means yesterday, so it needs the preterite (bauticé), not the present (bautizo). The present is for now, not for yesterday.
  3. Wrong: Yo bautiza al niño en la iglesia. — Right: Yo bautizo al niño en la iglesia. — The person matters: bautiza is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is bautizo.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy bautizado con el nombre de su abuelo. — Right: Yo he bautizado con el nombre de su abuelo. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he bautizado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.

Quiz: test yourself

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

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ al niño en la iglesia. (present tense) A. bautizo B. bautizas C. bautiza D. bautizamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ con el nombre de su abuelo. (present tense) A. bautizas B. bautizo C. bautiza D. bautizamos

  3. Complete the sentence: Él ___ el barco en el puerto. (present tense) A. bautiza B. bautizo C. bautizas D. bautizamos

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ a su hija en primavera. (present tense) A. bautizamos B. bautizo C. bautizas D. bautiza

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros ___ al niño en la iglesia. (present tense) A. bautizáis B. bautizo C. bautizas D. bautiza

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ___ con el nombre de su abuelo. (present tense) A. bautizan B. bautizo C. bautizas D. bautiza

  7. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ el barco en el puerto. (present tense) A. bautizo B. bautizas C. bautiza D. bautizamos

  8. Complete the sentence: Él ___ a su hija en primavera. (present tense) A. bautiza B. bautizo C. bautizas D. bautizamos

Answer key

  1. bautizo — The yo present form of bautizar is bautizo. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  2. bautizas — The tu present form of bautizar is bautizas. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  3. bautiza — The el present form of bautizar is bautiza. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  4. bautizamos — The nosotros present form of bautizar is bautizamos. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  5. bautizáis — The vosotros present form of bautizar is bautizáis. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  6. bautizan — The ellos present form of bautizar is bautizan. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  7. bautizo — The yo present form of bautizar is bautizo. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  8. bautiza — The el present form of bautizar is bautiza. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the present tense of bautizar?

Use the present tense of bautizar for habits, facts and what is happening now. For example: Yo bautizo al niño en la iglesia. — "I baptise the child in church." The usage rules above give five situations with examples.

How is the present tense of bautizar formed?

Take the stem bautiz- and add the present endings for -ar verbs. The full table is at the top of this page. Remember the spelling change: z becomes c before e.

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

The present describes a habit or a present fact, while the preterite describes a finished action. Compare Yo bautizo con el nombre de su abuelo. with Yo bauticé con el nombre de su abuelo. — the verb is the same, but the time meaning changes.

How do I practise the present tense of bautizar?

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

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