Capturar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of capturar — “to capture” 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 capturar 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. Capturar means to capture, and it is used for the police capturing a thief, a camera capturing an image, a fisherman catching a fish and a speaker capturing everyone's attention. It is a regular -ar verb, common in news and in photography. Capturar 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: Capturo al ladrón en la calle.

Present tense conjugation table: capturar

Every person of capturar in the present tense. The gerund is capturando and the past participle is capturado.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo capturo
tú capturas
él/ella/Ud. captura
nosotros/as capturamos
vosotros/as capturáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. capturan

How the present of capturar is formed

The present of capturar is built from the stem captur- 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 capturo
tú -as capturas
él/ella/Ud. -a captura
nosotros/as -amos capturamos
vosotros/as -áis capturáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -an capturan

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

When to use the present tense with capturar

Habits and routines

Use the present for things you do regularly.

Yo capturo al ladrón en la calle. — I capture the thief in the street.

General facts

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

Él/Ella captura la imagen con la cámara. — He captures the image with the camera.

What is happening right now

Use the present for what is happening at this moment.

Ahora, Nosotros/as capturamos un pez en el río. — Right now, We capture a fish in the river.

Near-future plans

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

Mañana, Tú capturas la atención de todos. — Tomorrow, You capture everyone's attention.

Instructions and timeless statements

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

Él/Ella captura al ladrón en la calle. — He captures the thief in the street.

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 capturar.

  1. Yo capturo al ladrón en la calle. — I capture the thief in the street. / Ayer, Yo capturé al ladrón en la calle. — Yesterday, I captured the thief in the street.
  2. Yo capturo la imagen con la cámara. — I capture the image with the camera. / Ayer, Yo capturé la imagen con la cámara. — Yesterday, I captured the image with the camera.
  3. Yo capturo un pez en el río. — I capture a fish in the river. / Ayer, Yo capturé un pez en el río. — Yesterday, I captured a fish in the river.

Example sentences in the present tense

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

  1. Yo capturo al ladrón en la calle. — I capture the thief in the street.
  2. Tú capturas la imagen con la cámara. — You capture the image with the camera.
  3. Él/Ella captura un pez en el río. — He captures a fish in the river.
  4. Nosotros/as capturamos la atención de todos. — We capture everyone's attention.
  5. Vosotros/as capturáis al ladrón en la calle. — You capture the thief in the street.
  6. Ellos/as capturan la imagen con la cámara. — They capture the image with the camera.
  7. Yo capturo un pez en el río. — I capture a fish in the river.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo captura al ladrón en la calle. — Right: Yo capturo al ladrón en la calle. — The person matters: captura is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is capturo.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo capturo la imagen con la cámara. — Right: Ayer, yo capturé la imagen con la cámara. — With ayer, use the preterite (capturé), not the present. The present is for habits and for right now.
  3. Wrong: Using capturar where atrapar belongs. — Right: Capturar means to capture, while atrapar means to catch or trap something. — Check the meaning before you choose: capturar fits Capturo al ladrón en la calle.
  4. Wrong: Espero que él captura la imagen con la cámara. — Right: Espero que él capture la imagen con la cámara. — After espero que, Spanish needs the subjunctive: capture, not the present indicative captura.

Quiz: the present tense of capturar

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

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ al ladrón en la calle. (present tense, yo) A. capturo B. capturas C. captura D. capturamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ la imagen con la cámara. (present tense, tú) A. capturo B. captura C. capturamos D. capturas

  3. Complete the sentence: Él/Ella ___ un pez en el río. (present tense, él/ella/Ud.) A. capturas B. capturamos C. captura D. capturo

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros/as ___ la atención de todos. (present tense, nosotros/as) A. captura B. capturamos C. capturo D. capturas

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros/as ___ al ladrón en la calle. (present tense, vosotros/as) A. capturáis B. capturo C. capturas D. captura

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos/as ___ la imagen con la cámara. (present tense, ellos/ellas/Uds.) A. capturo B. capturas C. captura D. capturan

  7. Which is the gerund of capturar? A. capturo B. capturé C. capturando D. capturado

  8. Which is the past participle of capturar, used with haber in the perfect tenses? A. capturé B. capturado C. capturando D. capturo

Answer key

  1. capturo — The yo present form of capturar is capturo.
  2. capturas — The tú present form of capturar is capturas.
  3. captura — The él/ella/Ud. present form of capturar is captura.
  4. capturamos — The nosotros/as present form of capturar is capturamos.
  5. capturáis — The vosotros/as present form of capturar is capturáis.
  6. capturan — The ellos/ellas/Uds. present form of capturar is capturan.
  7. capturando — The gerund of capturar is capturando: estoy capturando.
  8. capturado — The past participle of capturar is capturado: he capturado, has capturado, ha capturado.

Frequently asked questions

How is the present tense of capturar formed?

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

When do I use the present tense of capturar?

Use the present for habits, facts and what is happening right now. For example: Capturo al ladrón en la calle.

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

The present (capturo) and the preterite (capturé) 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 capturar?

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

Related links