Borrar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of borrar — “to erase” 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 borrar 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. Borrar means to erase, and it is used for erasing a blackboard, deleting a message, removing a name from a list and wiping a photo. It is a regular -ar verb, common in school and in computing. Borrar 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: Borro la pizarra después de clase.

Present tense conjugation table: borrar

Every person of borrar in the present tense. The gerund is borrando and the past participle is borrado.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo borro
tú borras
él/ella/Ud. borra
nosotros/as borramos
vosotros/as borráis
ellos/ellas/Uds. borran

How the present of borrar is formed

The present of borrar is built from the stem borr- 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 borro
tú -as borras
él/ella/Ud. -a borra
nosotros/as -amos borramos
vosotros/as -áis borráis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -an borran

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

When to use the present tense with borrar

Habits and routines

Use the present for things you do regularly.

Yo borro la pizarra después de clase. — I erase the blackboard after class.

General facts

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

Él/Ella borra el mensaje del móvil. — He erases the message on the phone.

What is happening right now

Use the present for what is happening at this moment.

Ahora, Nosotros/as borramos mi nombre de la lista. — Right now, We erase my name from the list.

Near-future plans

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

Mañana, Tú borras la foto del álbum. — Tomorrow, You erase the photo from the album.

Instructions and timeless statements

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

Él/Ella borra la pizarra después de clase. — He erases the blackboard after class.

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 borrar.

  1. Yo borro la pizarra después de clase. — I erase the blackboard after class. / Ayer, Yo borré la pizarra después de clase. — Yesterday, I erased the blackboard after class.
  2. Yo borro el mensaje del móvil. — I erase the message on the phone. / Ayer, Yo borré el mensaje del móvil. — Yesterday, I erased the message on the phone.
  3. Yo borro mi nombre de la lista. — I erase my name from the list. / Ayer, Yo borré mi nombre de la lista. — Yesterday, I erased my name from the list.

Example sentences in the present tense

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

  1. Yo borro la pizarra después de clase. — I erase the blackboard after class.
  2. Tú borras el mensaje del móvil. — You erase the message on the phone.
  3. Él/Ella borra mi nombre de la lista. — He erases my name from the list.
  4. Nosotros/as borramos la foto del álbum. — We erase the photo from the album.
  5. Vosotros/as borráis la pizarra después de clase. — You erase the blackboard after class.
  6. Ellos/as borran el mensaje del móvil. — They erase the message on the phone.
  7. Yo borro mi nombre de la lista. — I erase my name from the list.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo borra la pizarra después de clase. — Right: Yo borro la pizarra después de clase. — The person matters: borra is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is borro.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo borro el mensaje del móvil. — Right: Ayer, yo borré el mensaje del móvil. — With ayer, use the preterite (borré), not the present. The present is for habits and for right now.
  3. Wrong: Using borrar where eliminar belongs. — Right: Borrar means to erase, while eliminar means to delete or remove something. — Check the meaning before you choose: borrar fits Borro la pizarra después de clase.
  4. Wrong: Espero que él borra el mensaje del móvil. — Right: Espero que él borre el mensaje del móvil. — After espero que, Spanish needs the subjunctive: borre, not the present indicative borra.

Quiz: the present tense of borrar

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

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ la pizarra después de clase. (present tense, yo) A. borro B. borras C. borra D. borramos

  2. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ el mensaje del móvil. (present tense, tú) A. borro B. borra C. borramos D. borras

  3. Complete the sentence: Él/Ella ___ mi nombre de la lista. (present tense, él/ella/Ud.) A. borras B. borramos C. borra D. borro

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros/as ___ la foto del álbum. (present tense, nosotros/as) A. borra B. borramos C. borro D. borras

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros/as ___ la pizarra después de clase. (present tense, vosotros/as) A. borráis B. borro C. borras D. borra

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos/as ___ el mensaje del móvil. (present tense, ellos/ellas/Uds.) A. borro B. borras C. borra D. borran

  7. Which is the gerund of borrar? A. borro B. borré C. borrando D. borrado

  8. Which is the past participle of borrar, used with haber in the perfect tenses? A. borré B. borrado C. borrando D. borro

Answer key

  1. borro — The yo present form of borrar is borro.
  2. borras — The tú present form of borrar is borras.
  3. borra — The él/ella/Ud. present form of borrar is borra.
  4. borramos — The nosotros/as present form of borrar is borramos.
  5. borráis — The vosotros/as present form of borrar is borráis.
  6. borran — The ellos/ellas/Uds. present form of borrar is borran.
  7. borrando — The gerund of borrar is borrando: estoy borrando.
  8. borrado — The past participle of borrar is borrado: he borrado, has borrado, ha borrado.

Frequently asked questions

How is the present tense of borrar formed?

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

When do I use the present tense of borrar?

Use the present for habits, facts and what is happening right now. For example: Borro la pizarra después de clase.

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

The present (borro) and the preterite (borré) 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 borrar?

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

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