Cansarse Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of cansarse — "to get tired" 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 cansarse 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. Cansarse means "to get tired", and it is the reflexive partner of cansar (to tire someone out). The difference matters: el trabajo me cansa (the work tires me) versus me canso (I get tired). In the present tense, cansarse describes getting tired right now, getting tired easily, or getting tired of something — me canso de esperar, I get tired of waiting. It is a regular -ar verb underneath, so the only extra work is the reflexive pronoun: me canso, te cansas, se cansa, nos cansamos, os cansáis, se cansan. To see it in a real sentence: Yo me canso después de subir las escaleras. — "I get tired after climbing the stairs.".
Present tense conjugation table: cansarse
Every person of cansarse in the present tense. The gerund is cansándose and the past participle is cansado.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | me canso |
| tú | te cansas |
| él/ella/Ud. | se cansa |
| nosotros/as | nos cansamos |
| vosotros/as | os cansáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | se cansan |
How the present indicative of cansarse is formed
The present indicative of cansarse is built from the stem cans- 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 | me canso |
| tú | -as | te cansas |
| él/ella/Ud. | -a | se cansa |
| nosotros/as | -amos | nos cansamos |
| vosotros/as | -áis | os cansáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -an | se cansan |
cansarse is a reflexive verb, so every form carries a reflexive pronoun in front of it: me, te, se, nos, os, se. The verb itself is a regular -ar verb built on the stem cans-, so the only extra work is matching the pronoun to the person — me canso for yo, te cansas for tú, se cansa for él/ella, nos cansamos for nosotros, os cansáis for vosotros and se cansan for ellos/ellas. The pronoun always goes before the conjugated verb in the present tense. The gerund is cansándose, with the pronoun attached to the end, and the past participle is cansado.
The gerund of cansarse is cansándose and the past participle is cansado. 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 cansarse
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and cansarse 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.
Getting tired right now
The present describes tiredness setting in at this moment.
"Yo me canso después de subir las escaleras." — "I get tired after climbing the stairs."
Getting tired easily
The present states a general fact about how quickly someone tires.
"Mi abuelo se cansa muy pronto." — "My grandfather gets tired very quickly."
Getting tired of something
Cansarse de + infinitive or noun means to get fed up with something.
"Tú te cansas de esperar siempre." — "You get tired of always waiting."
Getting tired at work
The present describes a repeated pattern of tiredness at work.
"Nosotros nos cansamos mucho en el trabajo." — "We get very tired at work."
Getting tired of studying
Students use cansarse de estudiar for the feeling of having had enough.
"Los estudiantes se cansan de estudiar por la noche." — "The students get tired of studying at night."
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: Yo me canso con el calor. — "I get tired in the heat."
- Preterite — one finished occasion: Yo me cansé con el calor. — 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: Tú te cansas de tanto caminar. — "You get tired from so much walking."
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: Tú te cansabas de tanto caminar. — 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: Ella se cansa de limpiar la casa. — "She gets tired of cleaning the house."
- Future — what will happen: Ella se cansará de limpiar la casa. — the same idea, placed in the future.
Examples: cansarse in the present tense
Seven sentences that show cansarse in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo me canso con el calor. — "I get tired in the heat."
- Tú te cansas de tanto caminar. — "You get tired from so much walking."
- Ella se cansa de limpiar la casa. — "She gets tired of cleaning the house."
- Nosotros nos cansamos en las vacaciones de esquí. — "We get tired on skiing holidays."
- Vosotros os cansáis de jugar al fútbol. — "You get tired of playing football."
- Ellos se cansan de tanto ruido. — "They get tired of so much noise."
- El bebé se cansa y se duerme. — "The baby gets tired and falls asleep."
Common mistakes with cansarse in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with cansarse in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ *Yo canso después de subir las escaleras (dropping the pronoun).
✓ Correct: Yo me canso después de subir las escaleras.
Cansarse is reflexive: me canso is obligatory. Yo canso means "I tire (someone else) out".
✗ *El trabajo cansa me (pronoun after the conjugated verb).
✓ Correct: El trabajo me cansa, y yo me canso pronto.
Pronouns go before a conjugated verb: me canso, not canso me. The pronoun only attaches to infinitives, gerunds and affirmative commands.
✗ *Tú cansas de esperar.
✓ Correct: Tú te cansas de esperar siempre.
Again, the pronoun is part of the verb: te cansas, not cansas.
✗ *Vosotros cansáis de jugar al fútbol.
✓ Correct: Vosotros os cansáis de jugar al fútbol.
Vosotros needs os: os cansáis. And cansáis carries the written accent on the á.
Quiz: cansarse in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of cansarse. 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 cansarse for tú?
- a) te cansas
- b) me canso
- c) se cansan
- d) se cansa
2. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ con el calor. — "I get tired in the heat."
- a) me cansé
- b) me canso
- c) te cansas
- d) se cansan
3. Complete the sentence: Mi abuelo ______ muy pronto. — "My grandfather gets tired very quickly."
- a) nos cansamos
- b) te cansas
- c) se cansa
- d) se cansó
4. Which is the correct present tense form of cansarse for nosotros?
- a) te cansas
- b) nos cansamos
- c) se cansan
- d) me canso
5. Which sentence uses cansarse correctly in the present tense?
- a) Ella te cansas de limpiar la casa.
- b) Ella se cansó de limpiar la casa.
- c) Ella se cansa de limpiar la casa.
6. Which is the correct present tense form of cansarse for yo, including the reflexive pronoun?
- a) canso
- b) se cansa
- c) me canso
- d) te cansas
7. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ______ mucho en el trabajo. — "We get very tired at work."
- a) me canso
- b) nos cansamos
- c) nos cansamos
- d) se cansan
8. What is the gerund of cansarse?
- a) cansandose
- b) cansamos
- c) cansándose
- d) cansado
Answer key
a) te cansas — The tú form is te cansas. The -s ending belongs to tú in the present; me canso is yo, se cansa is él/ella and se cansan is ellos/ellas.
b) me canso — The sentence needs the yo form in the present: me canso. The other options are the wrong person or the wrong tense.
c) se cansa — The subject is él/ella/Ud., so the present form is se cansa.
b) nos cansamos — Nosotros takes nos cansamos. In the present the nosotros ending for -ar verbs is -amos, attached to the stem cans-.
c) Ella se cansa de limpiar la casa. — Ella se cansa de limpiar la casa. is correct: the verb agrees with its subject. The other sentences use the wrong person or the wrong tense.
c) me canso — Reflexive verbs need the pronoun: me canso. Without me the verb means something else, and the other options belong to different persons.
b) nos cansamos — The subject is nosotros/as, so the present form is nos cansamos.
c) cansándose — The gerund is cansándose. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive (estar + gerund), and it is not the past participle cansado.
Frequently asked questions
Is cansarse regular in the present tense?
The verb itself is regular — it is a normal -ar verb — but it is reflexive, so every form carries a pronoun: me canso, te cansas, se cansa, nos cansamos, os cansáis and se cansan. The pronoun is part of the verb, not an optional extra.
What is the gerund and the past participle of cansarse?
The gerund is cansándose and the past participle is cansado. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say "I to get tired" in Spanish?
Say me canso. For example: Yo me canso con el calor. — "I get tired in the heat.".
What is the difference between cansarse and descansar?
cansarse means "to get tired", while descansar means "to rest". They are related words that learners often meet together, but they are not interchangeable — use cansarse when you mean "to get tired" and descansar when you mean "to rest". The full conjugation of descansar is on its own page.
Related links
- Full conjugation of cansarse — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- cansarse 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.