Caerse Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of caerse — “to fall down” 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 caerse 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. Caerse means to fall down, and it is the reflexive partner of caer: you fall down on the ice, you fall off a bike, a child falls in the playground. It describes a person falling by accident, and it is one of the first reflexive verbs learners meet. Caerse is a reflexive irregular verb, so the notes below explain exactly where it follows the rules and where it breaks them. To see it in a real sentence: Me caigo al suelo por el hielo.

Present tense conjugation table: caerse

Every person of caerse in the present tense, with the reflexive pronoun. The gerund is cayendose with the pronoun attached, and the past participle is caído.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo me caigo
tú te caes
él/ella/Ud. se cae
nosotros/as nos caemos
vosotros/as os caéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se caen

How the present of caerse is formed

The present of caerse is built from the stem ca- plus the present endings for -er verbs. Take the infinitive, drop the -er ending and the reflexive -se, 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 me caigo
tú -es te caes
él/ella/Ud. -e se cae
nosotros/as -emos nos caemos
vosotros/as -éis os caéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -en se caen

Watch out for yo: the form is caigo, not the regular cao. The spelling changes here so the pronunciation stays the same.

Because caerse is reflexive, the pronoun goes before the verb in every form: me, te, se, nos, os, se. In the gerund the pronoun attaches to the end: cayendose.

When to use the present tense with caerse

Habits and routines

Use the present for things you do regularly.

Yo me caigo al suelo por el hielo. — I fall down to the ground on the ice.

General facts

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

Él/Ella se cae de la bicicleta en el parque. — He falls down off the bicycle in the park.

What is happening right now

Use the present for what is happening at this moment.

Ahora, Nosotros/as nos caemos por las escaleras en casa. — Right now, We fall down down the stairs at home.

Near-future plans

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

Mañana, Tú te caes en el barro después de la lluvia. — Tomorrow, You fall down in the mud after the rain.

Instructions and timeless statements

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

Él/Ella se cae al suelo por el hielo. — He falls down to the ground on the ice.

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 caerse.

  1. Yo me caigo al suelo por el hielo. — I fall down to the ground on the ice. / Ayer, Yo me caí al suelo por el hielo. — Yesterday, I fell down to the ground on the ice.
  2. Yo me caigo de la bicicleta en el parque. — I fall down off the bicycle in the park. / Ayer, Yo me caí de la bicicleta en el parque. — Yesterday, I fell down off the bicycle in the park.
  3. Yo me caigo por las escaleras en casa. — I fall down down the stairs at home. / Ayer, Yo me caí por las escaleras en casa. — Yesterday, I fell down down the stairs at home.

Example sentences in the present tense

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

  1. Yo me caigo al suelo por el hielo. — I fall down to the ground on the ice.
  2. Tú te caes de la bicicleta en el parque. — You fall down off the bicycle in the park.
  3. Él/Ella se cae por las escaleras en casa. — He falls down down the stairs at home.
  4. Nosotros/as nos caemos en el barro después de la lluvia. — We fall down in the mud after the rain.
  5. Vosotros/as os caéis al suelo por el hielo. — You fall down to the ground on the ice.
  6. Ellos/as se caen de la bicicleta en el parque. — They fall down off the bicycle in the park.
  7. Yo me caigo por las escaleras en casa. — I fall down down the stairs at home.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo cae al suelo por el hielo. — Right: Yo caigo al suelo por el hielo. — The person matters: cae is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is caigo.
  2. Wrong: Yo me cao de la bicicleta en el parque. — Right: Yo me caigo de la bicicleta en el parque. — Caerse is irregular: the present is me caigo, never me cao.
  3. Wrong: Yo caigo al suelo por el hielo. — Right: Yo me caigo al suelo por el hielo. — Caerse is reflexive, so the pronoun me is required in the present tense too.
  4. Wrong: Espero que él cae de la bicicleta en el parque. — Right: Espero que él caiga de la bicicleta en el parque. — After espero que, Spanish needs the subjunctive: caiga, not the present indicative cae.

Quiz: the present tense of caerse

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

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ al suelo por el hielo. (present tense, yo) A. me caigo B. te caes C. se cae D. nos caemos

  2. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ de la bicicleta en el parque. (present tense, tú) A. me caigo B. se cae C. nos caemos D. te caes

  3. Complete the sentence: Él/Ella ___ por las escaleras en casa. (present tense, él/ella/Ud.) A. te caes B. nos caemos C. se cae D. me caigo

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros/as ___ en el barro después de la lluvia. (present tense, nosotros/as) A. se cae B. nos caemos C. me caigo D. te caes

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros/as ___ al suelo por el hielo. (present tense, vosotros/as) A. os caéis B. me caigo C. te caes D. se cae

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos/as ___ de la bicicleta en el parque. (present tense, ellos/ellas/Uds.) A. me caigo B. te caes C. se cae D. se caen

  7. Which is the gerund of caerse? A. caigo B. caí C. cayendo D. caído

  8. Which is the past participle of caerse, used with haber in the perfect tenses? A. caí B. caído C. cayendo D. caigo

Answer key

  1. me caigo — The yo present form of caerse is me caigo.
  2. te caes — The tú present form of caerse is te caes.
  3. se cae — The él/ella/Ud. present form of caerse is se cae.
  4. nos caemos — The nosotros/as present form of caerse is nos caemos.
  5. os caéis — The vosotros/as present form of caerse is os caéis.
  6. se caen — The ellos/ellas/Uds. present form of caerse is se caen.
  7. cayendo — The gerund of caerse is cayendo: estoy cayendo.
  8. caído — The past participle of caerse is caído: he caído, has caído, ha caído.

Frequently asked questions

How is the present tense of caerse formed?

Take the infinitive caerse, drop the -er ending and the reflexive -se to get the stem ca-, then add the present endings: -o, -es, -e, -emos, -éis, -en. The full table is above, with every person. Yes, the present of caerse is irregular: learn the forms in the table above rather than deriving them from the infinitive.

When do I use the present tense of caerse?

Use the present for habits, facts and what is happening right now. For example: Me caigo al suelo por el hielo.

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

The present (caigo) and the preterite (caí) 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 caerse?

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

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