Cazar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of cazar — "to hunt" 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 cazar 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. Cazar means to hunt, and it covers hunting rabbits in the fields, hunting with a bow and, figuratively, hunting for bargains in the sales. It is a spelling-change verb: the z becomes c before e, so the preterite is cacé. To see it in a real sentence: Él caza conejos en el campo. — "He/she hunts rabbits in the fields." Work through the table below, then the formation notes, the usage rules and the contrast with the preterite, and test yourself at the end.

Present tense conjugation table: cazar

Every person of cazar in the present tense. The gerund is cazando and the past participle is cazado.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo cazo
tú cazas
él/ella/Ud. caza
nosotros/as cazamos
vosotros/as cazáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. cazan

How the present indicative of cazar is formed

The present indicative of cazar is built from the stem caz- 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 cazo
tú -as cazas
él/ella/Ud. -a caza
nosotros/as -amos cazamos
vosotros/as -áis cazáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -an cazan

cazar is a spelling-change verb: z becomes c before e. That is why the written form changes in some persons — the sound stays the same, and only the spelling adapts. In this tense, watch the first-person form cazo in particular.

The gerund of cazar is cazando and the past participle is cazado. 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 cazar

The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and cazar 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.

Habits and routines

The present tense describes things you do regularly. If you do it every day, every week or every morning, the present is the tense to use. For cazar, this use looks like this: "Yo cazo conejos en el campo." — "I hunt rabbits in the fields." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

General facts

The present tense states facts that are generally true, not tied to one moment. It is the tense for definitions and permanent situations. For cazar, this use looks like this: "Él caza con arco en el bosque." — "He/she hunts with a bow in the forest." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

What is happening now

The present tense also covers what is happening at this moment, especially with verbs that describe an action in progress. For cazar, this use looks like this: "Nosotros cazamos gangas en las rebajas." — "We hunt bargains in the sales." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

Timetables and schedules

The present tense is used for fixed plans and timetables, such as trains, classes and opening times, even when they refer to the future. For cazar, this use looks like this: "Ellos cazan mariposas con una red." — "They hunt butterflies with a net." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

Instructions and requests

The present tense appears in instructions and polite requests, where it sounds softer than a direct command. For cazar, this use looks like this: "Tú cazas conejos en el campo." — "You hunt rabbits in the fields." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

The present tense vs the preterite

Learners often mix up the present and the preterite with cazar. The rule is simple: the present is for habits, facts and what is happening now, while the preterite is for one finished action in the past. The three pairs below show the same idea in both tenses, so you can feel the difference.

Pair 1: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Yo cazo conejos en el campo." — "I hunt rabbits in the fields."
  • Preterite: "Yo cacé conejos en el campo." — "I hunted rabbits in the fields." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Pair 2: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Él caza con arco en el bosque." — "He/she hunts with a bow in the forest."
  • Preterite: "Él cazó con arco en el bosque." — "He/she hunted with a bow in the forest." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Pair 3: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Nosotros cazamos gangas en las rebajas." — "We hunt bargains in the sales."
  • Preterite: "Nosotros cazamos gangas en las rebajas." — "We hunted bargains in the sales." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Example sentences in the present tense

Eight natural sentences with cazar in the present tense only. Each one uses a form from the table above.

  1. Yo cazo conejos en el campo. — I hunt rabbits in the fields.
  2. Tú cazas con arco en el bosque. — You hunt with a bow in the forest.
  3. Él caza gangas en las rebajas. — He/she hunts bargains in the sales.
  4. Nosotros cazamos mariposas con una red. — We hunt butterflies with a net.
  5. Vosotros cazáis conejos en el campo. — You all hunt rabbits in the fields.
  6. Ellos cazan con arco en el bosque. — They hunt with a bow in the forest.
  7. Yo cazo gangas en las rebajas. — I hunt bargains in the sales.
  8. Él caza mariposas con una red. — He/she hunts butterflies with a net.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Vosotros cazais con arco en el bosque. — Right: Vosotros cazáis con arco en el bosque. — The vosotros present form carries a written accent: cazáis, not cazais.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo cazo gangas en las rebajas. — Right: Ayer, yo cacé gangas en las rebajas. — Ayer means yesterday, so it needs the preterite (cacé), not the present (cazo). The present is for now, not for yesterday.
  3. Wrong: Yo caza conejos en el campo. — Right: Yo cazo conejos en el campo. — The person matters: caza is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is cazo.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy cazado con arco en el bosque. — Right: Yo he cazado con arco en el bosque. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he cazado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.

Quiz: test yourself

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

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ conejos en el campo. (present tense) A. cazo B. cazas C. caza D. cazamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ con arco en el bosque. (present tense) A. cazas B. cazo C. caza D. cazamos

  3. Complete the sentence: Él ___ gangas en las rebajas. (present tense) A. caza B. cazo C. cazas D. cazamos

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ mariposas con una red. (present tense) A. cazamos B. cazo C. cazas D. caza

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros ___ conejos en el campo. (present tense) A. cazáis B. cazo C. cazas D. caza

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ___ con arco en el bosque. (present tense) A. cazan B. cazo C. cazas D. caza

  7. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ gangas en las rebajas. (present tense) A. cazo B. cazas C. caza D. cazamos

  8. Complete the sentence: Él ___ mariposas con una red. (present tense) A. caza B. cazo C. cazas D. cazamos

Answer key

  1. cazo — The yo present form of cazar is cazo. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  2. cazas — The tu present form of cazar is cazas. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  3. caza — The el present form of cazar is caza. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  4. cazamos — The nosotros present form of cazar is cazamos. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  5. cazáis — The vosotros present form of cazar is cazáis. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  6. cazan — The ellos present form of cazar is cazan. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  7. cazo — The yo present form of cazar is cazo. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  8. caza — The el present form of cazar is caza. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the present tense of cazar?

Use the present tense of cazar for habits, facts and what is happening now. For example: Yo cazo conejos en el campo. — "I hunt rabbits in the fields." The usage rules above give five situations with examples.

How is the present tense of cazar formed?

Take the stem caz- and add the present endings for -ar verbs. The full table is at the top of this page. Remember the spelling change: z becomes c before e.

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

The present describes a habit or a present fact, while the preterite describes a finished action. Compare Yo cazo con arco en el bosque. with Yo cacé con arco en el bosque. — the verb is the same, but the time meaning changes.

How do I practise the present tense of cazar?

Drill the six forms in the table above until you can say them without looking, then use the cazar examples and quiz page for more sentences, and test yourself with the Cazar conjugation page for the full picture across all tenses.

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