Burlarse Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of burlarse — “to mock, to make fun of” 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 burlarse 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. Burlarse means to mock or to make fun of someone, to laugh at a person in an unkind way. It is reflexive and takes de for the person mocked, and it is fully regular. It is reflexive, so every form takes a reflexive pronoun that matches the person: me, te, se, nos, os or se. To see it in a real sentence: Me burlo de su compañero en clase. — “I mock his classmate in class.” Learn the six forms in the table below, and the present tense of burlarse will be ready for everyday conversation.
Present tense conjugation table: burlarse
Every person of burlarse in the present tense. The gerund is burlando and the past participle is burlado.
Present indicative
| Person | Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|---|
| yo | me | burlo |
| tú | te | burlas |
| él/ella/Ud. | se | burla |
| nosotros/as | nos | burlamos |
| vosotros/as | os | burláis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | se | burlan |
How the present indicative of burlarse is formed
The present indicative of burlarse 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 | Pronoun | Ending | Form |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | me | -o | burlo |
| tú | te | -as | burlas |
| él/ella/Ud. | se | -a | burla |
| nosotros/as | nos | -amos | burlamos |
| vosotros/as | os | -áis | burláis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | se | -an | burlan |
Burlarse is reflexive, so the pronoun is part of every form: me burlo, te burlas, se burla. The pronoun always comes before the conjugated verb, and it changes with the person. Without it, the verb means something else, or nothing at all.
The gerund of burlarse is burlando and the past participle is burlado. 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 burlarse
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and burlarse 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 burlarse fits naturally into daily life.
“Yo me burlo de su compañero en clase todos los días.” — “I mock his classmate in class 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 se burla de su jefe a sus espaldas.” — “He/she mocks his boss behind his back.”
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 me burlo can mean both “I mock” and “I am mocking”.
“Ahora mismo, yo me burlo de los turistas en la calle.” — “Right now, I mock the tourists in the street.”
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 me burlo de su hermano menor.” — “Tomorrow, I will mock his younger brother.”
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 te burlas de su compañero en clase?” — “Do you mock his classmate in class?”
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: Se burla de su jefe a sus espaldas. — “He/she mocks his boss behind his back.”
- Preterite — one finished occasion: Se burló de su jefe a sus espaldas. — 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: Se burlan de los turistas en la calle. — “They mock the tourists in the street.”
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: Se burlaban de los turistas en la calle. — 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: Te burlas de su hermano menor. — “You mock his younger brother.”
- Future — what will happen: Te burlarás de su hermano menor. — the same idea, placed in the future.
Examples: burlarse in the present tense
Seven sentences that show burlarse in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo me burlo de su compañero en clase. — “I mock his classmate in class.”
- Tú te burlas de su jefe a sus espaldas. — “You mock his boss behind his back.”
- Él se burla de los turistas en la calle. — “He mocks the tourists in the street.”
- Nosotros nos burlamos de su hermano menor. — “We mock his younger brother.”
- Vosotros os burláis de su compañero en clase. — “You (plural) mock his classmate in class.”
- Ellos se burlan de su jefe a sus espaldas. — “They mock his boss behind his back.”
- ¿Tú te burlas de los turistas en la calle? — “Do you mock the tourists in the street?”
Common mistakes with burlarse in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with burlarse in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ Yo burlarse de su compañero en clase. (using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form).
✓ Correct: Yo me burlo de su compañero en clase.
The infinitive is not a conjugated form. With yo, the present tense of burlarse is me burlo, not the infinitive burlarse.
✗ Vosotros burlais de su compañero en clase. (forgetting the accent on the vosotros form).
✓ Correct: Vosotros burláis de su compañero en clase.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: burláis, not burlais. The accent marks the stressed vowel, and leaving it out is a spelling mistake.
✗ Yo burlo de su compañero en clase. (leaving out the reflexive pronoun).
✓ Correct: Yo me burlo de su compañero en clase.
Burlarse is reflexive, so the pronoun me is required: without it the verb means something else, or nothing at all.
✗ Treating burlarse and reírse as identical in every context. (confusing burlarse with reírse).
✓ Correct: Burlarse means to mock, to make fun of, while reírse means to laugh, in general.
They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: burlarse fits sentences such as Me burlo de su compañero en clase, while reírse belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
Quiz: burlarse in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of burlarse. 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 burlarse for tú?
- a) burlas
- b) burlo
- c) burla
- d) burlan
2. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ de su compañero en clase. — “I mock his classmate in class.”
- a) burla
- b) burlamos
- c) burlas
- d) burlo
3. Complete the sentence: Él ______ de su jefe a sus espaldas. — “He/she mocks his boss behind his back.” (present tense)
- a) burlaba
- b) burlará
- c) burla
- d) burló
4. Which is the correct present tense form of burlarse for nosotros?
- a) burlan
- b) burlamos
- c) burlo
- d) burla
5. Which sentence uses burlarse correctly in the present tense?
- a) Él se burló de su jefe a sus espaldas.
- b) Él se burla de su jefe a sus espaldas.
- c) Él se burlará de su jefe a sus espaldas.
- d) Ellos se burla de su jefe a sus espaldas.
6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ de los turistas en la calle. — “They mock the tourists in the street.”
- a) burlo
- b) burla
- c) burlamos
- d) burlan
7. Complete the question: ¿Tú ______ de su hermano menor? — “Do you mock his younger brother?”
- a) burla
- b) burlarás
- c) burlas
- d) burlo
8. What is the gerund of burlarse?
- a) burlé
- b) burlando
- c) burlado
- d) burlo
Answer key
a) burlas — The tú form is burlas. The -s ending belongs to tú in the present; burlo is yo, burla is él/ella and burlan is ellos/ellas.
d) burlo — The sentence needs the yo form in the present: burlo. The other options are the wrong person.
c) burla — The sentence needs the él/ella/Ud. form in the present: burla. The other options are the preterite, the imperfect and the future.
b) burlamos — Nosotros takes burlamos. In the present the nosotros ending for -ar verbs is -amos, attached to the stem.
b) Él se burla de su jefe a sus espaldas. — Él se burla de su jefe a sus espaldas. is correct: the verb agrees with its subject. The other sentences use the wrong person or the wrong tense.
d) burlan — The subject is ellos/ellas/Uds., so the present form is burlan.
c) burlas — The question needs the tú form in the present: burlas.
b) burlando — The gerund is burlando. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive (estar + gerund), and it is not the past participle burlado.
Frequently asked questions
Is burlarse regular in the present tense?
Yes, the forms are regular — the only thing to watch is the reflexive pronoun. Burlarse takes me, te, se, nos, os or se before every form: me burlo, te burlas, se burla. Without the pronoun, the verb changes meaning or stops making sense.
What is the gerund and the past participle of burlarse?
The gerund is burlando and the past participle is burlado. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say “I mock” in Spanish?
Say me burlo. For example: Me burlo de su compañero en clase. — “I mock his classmate in class.”
What is the difference between burlarse and reírse?
Burlarse means “to mock, to make fun of”, while reírse means “to laugh, in general”. They are related words that learners often meet together, but they are not interchangeable — use burlarse when you mean “to mock, to make fun of” and reírse when you mean “to laugh, in general”. The full conjugation of burlarse is on its own page.
Related links
- Full conjugation of burlarse — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- burlarse 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.
- Centrarse conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with burlarse.
- Asentarse conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with burlarse.
- Apearse conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with burlarse.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise this verb in the interactive tool.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — test yourself on Spanish verbs.