Cegar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of cegar — "to blind" 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 cegar 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. Cegar means to blind someone, literally with light or dust, or figuratively: el amor ciega, la ambición ciega. It takes a person as its object and con for the cause. To see it in a real sentence: Yo ciego a su enemigo con el sol — "I blind his enemy with the sun".
Present tense conjugation table: cegar
Every person of cegar in the present tense. The gerund is cegando and the past participle is cegado.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | ciego |
| tú | ciegas |
| él/ella/Ud. | ciega |
| nosotros/as | cegamos |
| vosotros/as | cegáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | ciegan |
How the present of cegar is formed
The present of cegar is built from the stem ceg- 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 | ciego |
| tú | -as | ciegas |
| él/ella/Ud. | -a | ciega |
| nosotros/as | -amos | cegamos |
| vosotros/as | -áis | cegáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -an | ciegan |
The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: ciego, ciegas, ciega and ciegan — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: cegamos, cegáis.
The gerund of cegar is cegando and the past participle is cegado. Both are the forms you need with estar and haber respectively.
When to use the present tense of cegar
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and cegar 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 describes things that happen regularly, as a habit or routine.
"Cada día, yo ciego a su enemigo con el sol" — "Every day, I blind his enemy with the sun"
General truths
The present states facts that are always true, not just true today.
"Mi amigo ciega al conductor con las luces" — "My friend blinds the driver with the headlights"
What is happening now
The present describes an action in progress right now.
"Ahora, yo ciego a los espectadores con el flash" — "Right now, I blind the spectators with the flash"
Near-future plans
Spanish often uses the present for a plan that is already fixed.
"Mañana, nosotros cegamos la vista con el polvo" — "Tomorrow, we blind his sight with dust"
Timetables and scheduled events
The present is the tense for timetables, programmes and things that happen on a schedule.
"Ellos ciegan a su rival con arena" — "They blind his rival with sand"
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: {'pre_es': 'Cada día, ', 'pre_en': 'Every day, '}yo ciego a su enemigo con el sol — "I blind his enemy with the sun"
- Preterite — one finished occasion: {'pre_es': 'Ayer, ', 'pre_en': 'Yesterday, '}yo cegué a su enemigo con el sol — "I blinded his enemy with the sun"
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 ciegas al conductor con las luces — "You blind the driver with the headlights"
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: {}tú cegabas al conductor con las luces — "You used to blind the driver with the headlights"
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: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él ciega a los espectadores con el flash — "He blinds the spectators with the flash"
- Future — what will happen: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él cegará a los espectadores con el flash — "He will blind the spectators with the flash"
Examples: cegar in the present tense
Seven sentences that show cegar in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo ciego a su enemigo con el sol — "I blind his enemy with the sun"
- Tú ciegas al conductor con las luces — "You blind the driver with the headlights"
- Él ciega a los espectadores con el flash — "He blinds the spectators with the flash"
- Nosotros cegamos la vista con el polvo — "We blind his sight with dust"
- Vosotros cegáis a su rival con arena — "You blind his rival with sand"
- Ellos ciegan a su enemigo con el sol — "They blind his enemy with the sun"
- Yo ciego al conductor con las luces — "I blind the driver with the headlights"
Common mistakes with cegar in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with cegar in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ *Yo cego a su enemigo con el sol.
✓ Correct: Yo ciego a su enemigo con el sol.
cegar is a stem-changing verb (e → ie): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is ciego, not cego.
✗ *Tú ciega al conductor con las luces.
✓ Correct: Tú ciegas al conductor con las luces.
The tú form and the él form are different: tú takes ciegas, él takes ciega.
✗ *Cada día, yo cegué a los espectadores con el flash
✓ Correct: Cada día, yo ciego a los espectadores con el flash
Cada día describes a habit, so it needs the present, not the preterite.
✗ *Vosotros cegais la vista con el polvo.
✓ Correct: Vosotros cegáis la vista con el polvo.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: cegáis, not cegais.
Quiz: cegar in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of cegar. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
Which is the correct present form of cegar for tú? A. ciega B. cegamos C. ciegas D. ciego
Complete the sentence: Yo ______ a su enemigo con el sol — "I blind his enemy with the sun" (present) A. ciego B. ciegas C. ciega D. cegamos
Complete the sentence: Él ______ al conductor con las luces — "He blinds the driver with the headlights" (present) A. ciega B. ciego C. ciegas D. cegamos
Which is the correct present form of cegar for nosotros? A. ciegan B. cegamos C. ciegas D. ciega
Which sentence uses cegar correctly in the present? A. Mi amigo ciegas a los espectadores con el flash B. Mi amigo cegaba a los espectadores con el flash C. Mi amigo cegamos a los espectadores con el flash D. Mi amigo ciega a los espectadores con el flash
Complete the sentence: Vosotros ______ la vista con el polvo — "You blind his sight with dust" (present) A. ciegas B. ciega C. cegáis D. ciego
Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ a su rival con arena — "They blind his rival with sand" (present) A. ciego B. ciegas C. ciega D. ciegan
What is the gerund of cegar? A. cegando B. cegado C. ciego D. cegué
Answer key
- ciegas — The tú form in the present is ciegas.
- ciego — The present form for yo is ciego.
- ciega — The present form for él/ella/Ud. is ciega.
- cegamos — The nosotros form in the present is cegamos.
- Mi amigo ciega a los espectadores con el flash — Mi amigo ciega a los espectadores con el flash is correct: the verb agrees with its subject and the tense is the present.
- cegáis — The present form for vosotros/as is cegáis.
- ciegan — The present form for ellos/ellas/Uds. is ciegan.
- cegando — The gerund is cegando. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive, and it is not the past participle cegado.
Frequently asked questions
Is cegar regular in the present tense?
No — in the present the stem changes: The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: ciego, ciegas, ciega and ciegan — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: cegamos, cegáis. The nosotros and vosotros forms keep the plain stem.
What is the gerund and the past participle of cegar?
The gerund is cegando and the past participle is cegado. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say "I blind" in the present tense?
Say ciego. For example: Yo ciego a su enemigo con el sol — "I blind his enemy with the sun".
What is the difference between the present and the preterite of cegar?
The present describes a habit or what happens now: Yo ciego a su enemigo con el sol — "I blind his enemy with the sun". The preterite reports one finished occasion: Ayer, yo cegué a su enemigo con el sol — "Yesterday, I blinded his enemy with the sun". Use the present when the action repeats or is still true, and the preterite when you are telling what happened once.
Related links
- Full conjugation of cegar — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- cegar 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.