Cepillar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of cepillar — “to brush” 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 cepillar 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. Cepillar means to brush, and it is used for brushing teeth, hair, a jacket and a dog: you brush your teeth after eating, you brush your daughter's hair, you brush a jacket before going out. To brush yourself, Spanish uses the reflexive cepillarse. Cepillar 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: Cepillo mis dientes después de comer.

Present tense conjugation table: cepillar

Every person of cepillar in the present tense. The gerund is cepillando and the past participle is cepillado.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo cepillo
tú cepillas
él/ella/Ud. cepilla
nosotros/as cepillamos
vosotros/as cepilláis
ellos/ellas/Uds. cepillan

How the present of cepillar is formed

The present of cepillar is built from the stem cepill- 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 cepillo
tú -as cepillas
él/ella/Ud. -a cepilla
nosotros/as -amos cepillamos
vosotros/as -áis cepilláis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -an cepillan

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

When to use the present tense with cepillar

Habits and routines

Use the present for things you do regularly.

Yo cepillo mis dientes después de comer. — I brush my teeth after eating.

General facts

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

Él/Ella cepilla el pelo de mi hija. — He brushes my daughter's hair.

What is happening right now

Use the present for what is happening at this moment.

Ahora, Nosotros/as cepillamos la chaqueta antes de salir. — Right now, We brush the jacket before going out.

Near-future plans

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

Mañana, Tú cepillas al perro en el jardín. — Tomorrow, You brush the dog in the garden.

Instructions and timeless statements

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

Él/Ella cepilla mis dientes después de comer. — He brushes my teeth after eating.

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 cepillar.

  1. Yo cepillo mis dientes después de comer. — I brush my teeth after eating. / Ayer, Yo cepillé mis dientes después de comer. — Yesterday, I brushed my teeth after eating.
  2. Yo cepillo el pelo de mi hija. — I brush my daughter's hair. / Ayer, Yo cepillé el pelo de mi hija. — Yesterday, I brushed my daughter's hair.
  3. Yo cepillo la chaqueta antes de salir. — I brush the jacket before going out. / Ayer, Yo cepillé la chaqueta antes de salir. — Yesterday, I brushed the jacket before going out.

Example sentences in the present tense

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

  1. Yo cepillo mis dientes después de comer. — I brush my teeth after eating.
  2. Tú cepillas el pelo de mi hija. — You brush my daughter's hair.
  3. Él/Ella cepilla la chaqueta antes de salir. — He brushes the jacket before going out.
  4. Nosotros/as cepillamos al perro en el jardín. — We brush the dog in the garden.
  5. Vosotros/as cepilláis mis dientes después de comer. — You brush my teeth after eating.
  6. Ellos/as cepillan el pelo de mi hija. — They brush my daughter's hair.
  7. Yo cepillo la chaqueta antes de salir. — I brush the jacket before going out.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo cepilla mis dientes después de comer. — Right: Yo cepillo mis dientes después de comer. — The person matters: cepilla is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is cepillo.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo cepillo el pelo de mi hija. — Right: Ayer, yo cepillé el pelo de mi hija. — With ayer, use the preterite (cepillé), not the present. The present is for habits and for right now.
  3. Wrong: Using cepillar where cepillarse belongs. — Right: Cepillar means to brush, while cepillarse means to brush your own teeth or hair. — Check the meaning before you choose: cepillar fits Cepillo mis dientes después de comer.
  4. Wrong: Espero que él cepilla el pelo de mi hija. — Right: Espero que él cepille el pelo de mi hija. — After espero que, Spanish needs the subjunctive: cepille, not the present indicative cepilla.

Quiz: the present tense of cepillar

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

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ mis dientes después de comer. (present tense, yo) A. cepillo B. cepillas C. cepilla D. cepillamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ el pelo de mi hija. (present tense, tú) A. cepillo B. cepilla C. cepillamos D. cepillas

  3. Complete the sentence: Él/Ella ___ la chaqueta antes de salir. (present tense, él/ella/Ud.) A. cepillas B. cepillamos C. cepilla D. cepillo

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros/as ___ al perro en el jardín. (present tense, nosotros/as) A. cepilla B. cepillamos C. cepillo D. cepillas

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros/as ___ mis dientes después de comer. (present tense, vosotros/as) A. cepilláis B. cepillo C. cepillas D. cepilla

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos/as ___ el pelo de mi hija. (present tense, ellos/ellas/Uds.) A. cepillo B. cepillas C. cepilla D. cepillan

  7. Which is the gerund of cepillar? A. cepillo B. cepillé C. cepillando D. cepillado

  8. Which is the past participle of cepillar, used with haber in the perfect tenses? A. cepillé B. cepillado C. cepillando D. cepillo

Answer key

  1. cepillo — The yo present form of cepillar is cepillo.
  2. cepillas — The tú present form of cepillar is cepillas.
  3. cepilla — The él/ella/Ud. present form of cepillar is cepilla.
  4. cepillamos — The nosotros/as present form of cepillar is cepillamos.
  5. cepilláis — The vosotros/as present form of cepillar is cepilláis.
  6. cepillan — The ellos/ellas/Uds. present form of cepillar is cepillan.
  7. cepillando — The gerund of cepillar is cepillando: estoy cepillando.
  8. cepillado — The past participle of cepillar is cepillado: he cepillado, has cepillado, ha cepillado.

Frequently asked questions

How is the present tense of cepillar formed?

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

When do I use the present tense of cepillar?

Use the present for habits, facts and what is happening right now. For example: Cepillo mis dientes después de comer.

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

The present (cepillo) and the preterite (cepillé) 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 cepillar?

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

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