Ceñir Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of ceñir — "to gird, to encircle" 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 ceñir 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. Ceñir means to gird or to fit closely around something: ceñir la cintura con un cinturón, ceñir el vestido a su cuerpo. It is a formal, slightly literary verb, and ceñirse a means to stick to a topic. To see it in a real sentence: Yo ciño la cintura con un cinturón — "I encircle his waist with a belt".
Present tense conjugation table: ceñir
Every person of ceñir in the present tense. The gerund is ciñiendo and the past participle is ceñido.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | ciño |
| tú | ciñes |
| él/ella/Ud. | ciñe |
| nosotros/as | ceñimos |
| vosotros/as | ceñís |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | ciñen |
How the present of ceñir is formed
The present of ceñir is built from the stem ceñ- plus the present endings for -ir verbs. Take the infinitive, drop the -ir 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 | ciño |
| tú | -es | ciñes |
| él/ella/Ud. | -e | ciñe |
| nosotros/as | -imos | ceñimos |
| vosotros/as | -ís | ceñís |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -en | ciñen |
The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: ciño, ciñes, ciñe and ciñen — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: ceñimos, ceñís. In the preterite the third-person forms change too: ciñió, ciñieron, and the gerund is ciñiendo.
The gerund of ceñir is ciñiendo and the past participle is ceñido. Both are the forms you need with estar and haber respectively.
When to use the present tense of ceñir
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and ceñir 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 ciño la cintura con un cinturón" — "Every day, I encircle his waist with a belt"
General truths
The present states facts that are always true, not just true today.
"Mi amigo ciñe la corona a su cabeza" — "My friend encircles the crown on his head"
What is happening now
The present describes an action in progress right now.
"Ahora, yo ciño el vestido a su cuerpo" — "Right now, I encircle the dress to her body"
Near-future plans
Spanish often uses the present for a plan that is already fixed.
"Mañana, nosotros ceñimos la ciudad con una muralla" — "Tomorrow, we encircle the city with a wall"
Timetables and scheduled events
The present is the tense for timetables, programmes and things that happen on a schedule.
"Ellos ciñen el anillo a su dedo" — "They encircle the ring on her finger"
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 ciño la cintura con un cinturón — "I encircle his waist with a belt"
- Preterite — one finished occasion: {'pre_es': 'Ayer, ', 'pre_en': 'Yesterday, '}yo ceñí la cintura con un cinturón — "I encircled his waist with a belt"
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 ciñes la corona a su cabeza — "You encircle the crown on his head"
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: {}tú ceñías la corona a su cabeza — "You used to encircle the crown on his head"
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 ciñe el vestido a su cuerpo — "He encircles the dress to her body"
- Future — what will happen: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él ceñirá el vestido a su cuerpo — "He will encircle the dress to her body"
Examples: ceñir in the present tense
Seven sentences that show ceñir in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo ciño la cintura con un cinturón — "I encircle his waist with a belt"
- Tú ciñes la corona a su cabeza — "You encircle the crown on his head"
- Él ciñe el vestido a su cuerpo — "He encircles the dress to her body"
- Nosotros ceñimos la ciudad con una muralla — "We encircle the city with a wall"
- Vosotros ceñís el anillo a su dedo — "You encircle the ring on her finger"
- Ellos ciñen la cintura con un cinturón — "They encircle his waist with a belt"
- Yo ciño la corona a su cabeza — "I encircle the crown on his head"
Common mistakes with ceñir in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with ceñir in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ *Yo ceño la cintura con un cinturón.
✓ Correct: Yo ciño la cintura con un cinturón.
ceñir is a stem-changing verb (e → i): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is ciño, not ceño.
✗ *Tú ciñe la corona a su cabeza.
✓ Correct: Tú ciñes la corona a su cabeza.
The tú form and the él form are different: tú takes ciñes, él takes ciñe.
✗ *Cada día, yo ceñí el vestido a su cuerpo
✓ Correct: Cada día, yo ciño el vestido a su cuerpo
Cada día describes a habit, so it needs the present, not the preterite.
✗ *Vosotros ceñis la ciudad con una muralla.
✓ Correct: Vosotros ceñís la ciudad con una muralla.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: ceñís, not ceñis.
Quiz: ceñir in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of ceñir. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
Which is the correct present form of ceñir for tú? A. ciñes B. ciño C. ciñe D. ceñimos
Complete the sentence: Yo ______ la cintura con un cinturón — "I encircle his waist with a belt" (present) A. ceñimos B. ciño C. ciñes D. ciñe
Complete the sentence: Él ______ la corona a su cabeza — "He encircles the crown on his head" (present) A. ciñes B. ceñimos C. ciñe D. ciño
Which is the correct present form of ceñir for nosotros? A. ciñes B. ciñe C. ciñen D. ceñimos
Which sentence uses ceñir correctly in the present? A. Mi amigo ceñimos el vestido a su cuerpo B. Mi amigo ciñe el vestido a su cuerpo C. Mi amigo ciñes el vestido a su cuerpo D. Mi amigo ceñía el vestido a su cuerpo
Complete the sentence: Vosotros ______ la ciudad con una muralla — "You encircle the city with a wall" (present) A. ciñes B. ciñe C. ceñís D. ciño
Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ el anillo a su dedo — "They encircle the ring on her finger" (present) A. ciñen B. ciño C. ciñes D. ciñe
What is the gerund of ceñir? A. ciño B. ceñí C. ciñiendo D. ceñido
Answer key
- ciñes — The tú form in the present is ciñes.
- ciño — The present form for yo is ciño.
- ciñe — The present form for él/ella/Ud. is ciñe.
- ceñimos — The nosotros form in the present is ceñimos.
- Mi amigo ciñe el vestido a su cuerpo — Mi amigo ciñe el vestido a su cuerpo is correct: the verb agrees with its subject and the tense is the present.
- ceñís — The present form for vosotros/as is ceñís.
- ciñen — The present form for ellos/ellas/Uds. is ciñen.
- ciñiendo — The gerund is ciñiendo. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive, and it is not the past participle ceñido.
Frequently asked questions
Is ceñir regular in the present tense?
No — in the present the stem changes: The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: ciño, ciñes, ciñe and ciñen — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: ceñimos, ceñís. In the preterite the third-person forms change too: ciñió, ciñieron, and the gerund is ciñiendo. The nosotros and vosotros forms keep the plain stem.
What is the gerund and the past participle of ceñir?
The gerund is ciñiendo and the past participle is ceñido. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say "I encircle" in the present tense?
Say ciño. For example: Yo ciño la cintura con un cinturón — "I encircle his waist with a belt".
What is the difference between the present and the preterite of ceñir?
The present describes a habit or what happens now: Yo ciño la cintura con un cinturón — "I encircle his waist with a belt". The preterite reports one finished occasion: Ayer, yo ceñí la cintura con un cinturón — "Yesterday, I encircled his waist with a belt". 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 ceñir — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- ceñir 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.