Bromear Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of bromear — “to joke” 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 bromear 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. Bromear means to joke, to say something funny without being serious. It is used among friends, family and colleagues, and it is a fully regular verb. To see it in a real sentence: Bromeo con sus amigos en el bar. — “I joke with his friends in the bar.” Learn the six forms in the table below, and the present tense of bromear will be ready for everyday conversation.
Present tense conjugation table: bromear
Every person of bromear in the present tense. The gerund is bromeando and the past participle is bromeado.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | bromeo |
| tú | bromeas |
| él/ella/Ud. | bromea |
| nosotros/as | bromeamos |
| vosotros/as | bromeáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | bromean |
How the present indicative of bromear is formed
The present indicative of bromear is built from the stem plus the present indicative 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 | bromeo |
| tú | -as | bromeas |
| él/ella/Ud. | -a | bromea |
| nosotros/as | -amos | bromeamos |
| vosotros/as | -áis | bromeáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -an | bromean |
Bromear is a regular -ar verb in the present tense, so the table above is completely regular. The stem is brome- and the endings are the normal -ar endings, so once you know the pattern you can produce every form on this page.
The gerund of bromear is bromeando and the past participle is bromeado. 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 bromear
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and bromear 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.
Routines and habits
Use the present for things you do regularly, every day or every week. The present is the tense of routine, and bromear fits naturally into daily life.
“Yo bromeo con sus amigos en el bar todos los días.” — “I joke with his friends in the bar every day.”
General facts
Use the present for facts that are true in general, not just today. When you state how something is, the present is the tense to use.
“Él bromea sobre el jefe en la oficina.” — “He/she jokes about the boss in the office.”
What is happening right now
Use the present for what is happening at this moment. Spanish often uses the simple present where English uses the progressive, so bromeo can mean both “I joke” and “I am jokeing”.
“Ahora mismo, yo bromeo con su hermano por teléfono.” — “Right now, I joke with his brother on the phone.”
Fixed plans in the near future
Use the present for a plan that is already fixed, such as something arranged for tomorrow. Spanish uses the present for near-future plans much more freely than English does.
“Mañana, yo bromeo en clase para romper el hielo.” — “Tomorrow, I will joke in class to break the ice.”
Questions and negatives
Use the present to ask about habits and to say what does not happen. The question and the negative use exactly the same forms as the statement.
“¿Tú bromeas con sus amigos en el bar?” — “Do you joke with his friends in the bar?”
The present tense vs the closest tenses
Present — habit or general fact vs Preterite — one finished occasion
The present describes a habit, a routine or a general fact — something that happens again and again or that is true in general. The preterite reports one finished occasion in the past. Use the present when the action repeats or is still true, and the preterite when you are telling what happened once, on a specific day.
- Present — habit or general fact: Bromea sobre el jefe en la oficina. — “He/she jokes about the boss in the office.”
- Preterite — one finished occasion: Bromeó sobre el jefe en la oficina. — the same idea, placed in the preterite.
Present — now vs Imperfect — a past habit or background
The present talks about now. The imperfect talks about the past as a background — a repeated habit, an ongoing situation, something that used to happen. If you can add “used to” in English, the imperfect is usually the right choice; if it is happening now or always, use the present.
- Present — now: Bromean con su hermano por teléfono. — “They joke with his brother on the phone.”
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: Bromeaban con su hermano por teléfono. — the same idea, placed in the imperfect.
Present — now or a fixed plan vs Future — what will happen
The present describes what happens now, what you do regularly, or a plan that is already fixed. The future describes what will happen later — a promise, a prediction, a plan that is not yet under way. Spanish often uses the present for near-future plans, but the future is the form for a clear statement about tomorrow.
- Present — now or a fixed plan: Bromeas en clase para romper el hielo. — “You joke in class to break the ice.”
- Future — what will happen: Bromearás en clase para romper el hielo. — the same idea, placed in the future.
Examples: bromear in the present tense
Seven sentences that show bromear in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo bromeo con sus amigos en el bar. — “I joke with his friends in the bar.”
- Tú bromeas sobre el jefe en la oficina. — “You joke about the boss in the office.”
- Él bromea con su hermano por teléfono. — “He jokes with his brother on the phone.”
- Nosotros bromeamos en clase para romper el hielo. — “We joke in class to break the ice.”
- Vosotros bromeáis con sus amigos en el bar. — “You (plural) joke with his friends in the bar.”
- Ellos bromean sobre el jefe en la oficina. — “They joke about the boss in the office.”
- ¿Tú bromeas con su hermano por teléfono? — “Do you joke with his brother on the phone?”
Common mistakes with bromear in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with bromear in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ Yo bromear con sus amigos en el bar. (using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form).
✓ Correct: Yo bromeo con sus amigos en el bar.
The infinitive is not a conjugated form. With yo, the present tense of bromear is bromeo, not the infinitive bromear.
✗ Vosotros bromeais con sus amigos en el bar. (forgetting the accent on the vosotros form).
✓ Correct: Vosotros bromeáis con sus amigos en el bar.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: bromeáis, not bromeais. The accent marks the stressed vowel, and leaving it out is a spelling mistake.
✗ Ayer, yo bromeo sobre el jefe en la oficina. (using the present for a finished past action).
✓ Correct: Ayer, yo bromeé sobre el jefe en la oficina.
The present and the preterite are different tenses: bromeo is happening now, while bromeé is a finished action in the past. Use the preterite with ayer.
✗ Treating bromear and reír as identical in every context. (confusing bromear with reír).
✓ Correct: Bromear means to joke, while reír means to laugh.
They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: bromear fits sentences such as Bromeo con sus amigos en el bar, while reír belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
Quiz: bromear in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of bromear. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
1. Which is the correct present tense form of bromear for tú?
- a) bromeas
- b) bromeo
- c) bromea
- d) bromean
2. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ con sus amigos en el bar. — “I joke with his friends in the bar.”
- a) bromea
- b) bromeamos
- c) bromeas
- d) bromeo
3. Complete the sentence: Él ______ sobre el jefe en la oficina. — “He/she jokes about the boss in the office.” (present tense)
- a) bromeaba
- b) bromeará
- c) bromea
- d) bromeó
4. Which is the correct present tense form of bromear for nosotros?
- a) bromean
- b) bromeamos
- c) bromeo
- d) bromea
5. Which sentence uses bromear correctly in the present tense?
- a) Él bromeó sobre el jefe en la oficina.
- b) Él bromea sobre el jefe en la oficina.
- c) Él bromeará sobre el jefe en la oficina.
- d) Ellos bromea sobre el jefe en la oficina.
6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ con su hermano por teléfono. — “They joke with his brother on the phone.”
- a) bromeo
- b) bromea
- c) bromeamos
- d) bromean
7. Complete the question: ¿Tú ______ en clase para romper el hielo? — “Do you joke in class to break the ice?”
- a) bromea
- b) bromearás
- c) bromeas
- d) bromeo
8. What is the gerund of bromear?
- a) bromeé
- b) bromeando
- c) bromeado
- d) bromeo
Answer key
a) bromeas — The tú form is bromeas. The -s ending belongs to tú in the present; bromeo is yo, bromea is él/ella and bromean is ellos/ellas.
d) bromeo — The sentence needs the yo form in the present: bromeo. The other options are the wrong person.
c) bromea — The sentence needs the él/ella/Ud. form in the present: bromea. The other options are the preterite, the imperfect and the future.
b) bromeamos — Nosotros takes bromeamos. In the present the nosotros ending for -ar verbs is -amos, attached to the stem.
b) Él bromea sobre el jefe en la oficina. — Él bromea sobre el jefe en la oficina. is correct: the verb agrees with its subject. The other sentences use the wrong person or the wrong tense.
d) bromean — The subject is ellos/ellas/Uds., so the present form is bromean.
c) bromeas — The question needs the tú form in the present: bromeas.
b) bromeando — The gerund is bromeando. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive (estar + gerund), and it is not the past participle bromeado.
Frequently asked questions
Is bromear regular in the present tense?
Yes. Bromear is a regular -ar verb in the present tense, so the forms follow the standard endings: bromeo, bromeas, bromea, bromeamos, bromeáis and bromean.
What is the gerund and the past participle of bromear?
The gerund is bromeando and the past participle is bromeado. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say “I joke” in Spanish?
Say bromeo. For example: Bromeo con sus amigos en el bar. — “I joke with his friends in the bar.”
What is the difference between bromear and reír?
Bromear means “to joke”, while reír means “to laugh”. They are related words that learners often meet together, but they are not interchangeable — use bromear when you mean “to joke” and reír when you mean “to laugh”. The full conjugation of bromear is on its own page.
Related links
- Full conjugation of bromear — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- bromear examples and quiz — more sentences, dialogues and a longer quiz.
- Spanish Present tense guide — how the present tense works for all Spanish verbs.
- Spanish verbs — the full list of Spanish verbs on VerbFlow.
- Azotar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with bromear.
- Botar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with bromear.
- Asimilar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with bromear.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise this verb in the interactive tool.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — test yourself on Spanish verbs.