Bordar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of bordar — "to embroider" 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 bordar 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. Bordar means to embroider, and it is used for embroidering a name on a shirt, a pattern on a tablecloth and decorative stitching in general. It is a fully regular -ar verb, and it is the most decorative of the craft verbs. To see it in a real sentence: Él borda un nombre en la camisa. — "He/she embroiders a name on the shirt." 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: bordar

Every person of bordar in the present tense. The gerund is bordando and the past participle is bordado.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo bordo
tú bordas
él/ella/Ud. borda
nosotros/as bordamos
vosotros/as bordáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. bordan

How the present indicative of bordar is formed

The present indicative of bordar is built from the stem bord- 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 bordo
tú -as bordas
él/ella/Ud. -a borda
nosotros/as -amos bordamos
vosotros/as -áis bordáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -an bordan

The gerund of bordar is bordando and the past participle is bordado. 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 bordar

The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and bordar 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 bordar, this use looks like this: "Yo bordo un nombre en la camisa." — "I embroider a name on the shirt." 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 bordar, this use looks like this: "Él borda flores en el mantel." — "He/she embroiders flowers on the tablecloth." 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 bordar, this use looks like this: "Nosotros bordamos con hilo de colores." — "We embroider with coloured thread." 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 bordar, this use looks like this: "Ellos bordan a mano por las tardes." — "They embroider by hand in the afternoons." 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 bordar, this use looks like this: "Tú bordas un nombre en la camisa." — "You embroider a name on the shirt." 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 bordar. 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 bordo un nombre en la camisa." — "I embroider a name on the shirt."
  • Preterite: "Yo bordé un nombre en la camisa." — "I embroidered a name on the shirt." 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 borda flores en el mantel." — "He/she embroiders flowers on the tablecloth."
  • Preterite: "Él bordó flores en el mantel." — "He/she embroidered flowers on the tablecloth." 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 bordamos con hilo de colores." — "We embroider with coloured thread."
  • Preterite: "Nosotros bordamos con hilo de colores." — "We embroidered with coloured thread." 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 bordar in the present tense only. Each one uses a form from the table above.

  1. Yo bordo un nombre en la camisa. — I embroider a name on the shirt.
  2. Tú bordas flores en el mantel. — You embroider flowers on the tablecloth.
  3. Él borda con hilo de colores. — He/she embroiders with coloured thread.
  4. Nosotros bordamos a mano por las tardes. — We embroider by hand in the afternoons.
  5. Vosotros bordáis un nombre en la camisa. — You all embroider a name on the shirt.
  6. Ellos bordan flores en el mantel. — They embroider flowers on the tablecloth.
  7. Yo bordo con hilo de colores. — I embroider with coloured thread.
  8. Él borda a mano por las tardes. — He/she embroiders by hand in the afternoons.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Vosotros bordais flores en el mantel. — Right: Vosotros bordáis flores en el mantel. — The vosotros present form carries a written accent: bordáis, not bordais.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo bordo con hilo de colores. — Right: Ayer, yo bordé con hilo de colores. — Ayer means yesterday, so it needs the preterite (bordé), not the present (bordo). The present is for now, not for yesterday.
  3. Wrong: Yo borda un nombre en la camisa. — Right: Yo bordo un nombre en la camisa. — The person matters: borda is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is bordo.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy bordado flores en el mantel. — Right: Yo he bordado flores en el mantel. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he bordado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.

Quiz: test yourself

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

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ un nombre en la camisa. (present tense) A. bordo B. bordas C. borda D. bordamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ flores en el mantel. (present tense) A. bordas B. bordo C. borda D. bordamos

  3. Complete the sentence: Él ___ con hilo de colores. (present tense) A. borda B. bordo C. bordas D. bordamos

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ a mano por las tardes. (present tense) A. bordamos B. bordo C. bordas D. borda

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros ___ un nombre en la camisa. (present tense) A. bordáis B. bordo C. bordas D. borda

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ___ flores en el mantel. (present tense) A. bordan B. bordo C. bordas D. borda

  7. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ con hilo de colores. (present tense) A. bordo B. bordas C. borda D. bordamos

  8. Complete the sentence: Él ___ a mano por las tardes. (present tense) A. borda B. bordo C. bordas D. bordamos

Answer key

  1. bordo — The yo present form of bordar is bordo. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  2. bordas — The tu present form of bordar is bordas. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  3. borda — The el present form of bordar is borda. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  4. bordamos — The nosotros present form of bordar is bordamos. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  5. bordáis — The vosotros present form of bordar is bordáis. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  6. bordan — The ellos present form of bordar is bordan. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  7. bordo — The yo present form of bordar is bordo. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  8. borda — The el present form of bordar is borda. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the present tense of bordar?

Use the present tense of bordar for habits, facts and what is happening now. For example: Yo bordo un nombre en la camisa. — "I embroider a name on the shirt." The usage rules above give five situations with examples.

How is the present tense of bordar formed?

Take the stem bord- 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 bordar?

The present describes a habit or a present fact, while the preterite describes a finished action. Compare Yo bordo flores en el mantel. with Yo bordé flores en el mantel. — the verb is the same, but the time meaning changes.

How do I practise the present tense of bordar?

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

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