Cercar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of cercar — “to fence in, to surround” 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 cercar 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. Cercar means to fence in or to surround, to put a fence around a place or to surround someone or something. It is used for fields, houses and police operations, and it is a spelling-change verb: c becomes qu before e. It is a spelling-change verb (c becomes qu before e), but the present tense itself is regular — the spelling change shows up in the subjunctive and the preterite. To see it in a real sentence: Cerco el jardín con una valla. — “I fence in the garden with a fence.” Learn the six forms in the table below, and the present tense of cercar will be ready for everyday conversation.
Present tense conjugation table: cercar
Every person of cercar in the present tense. The gerund is cercando and the past participle is cercado.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | cerco |
| tú | cercas |
| él/ella/Ud. | cerca |
| nosotros/as | cercamos |
| vosotros/as | cercáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | cercan |
How the present indicative of cercar is formed
The present indicative of cercar is built from the stem plus the present indicative 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 | cerco |
| tú | -as | cercas |
| él/ella/Ud. | -a | cerca |
| nosotros/as | -amos | cercamos |
| vosotros/as | -áis | cercáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -an | cercan |
Cercar is a spelling-change verb. In the present tense the forms are regular, so the table above follows the normal -ar endings. The spelling change appears when the ending starts with e: the present subjunctive is cerque and the preterite first person is cerqué. The sound stays the same; only the spelling changes to keep it.
The gerund of cercar is cercando and the past participle is cercado. 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 cercar
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and cercar 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.
Routines and habits
Use the present for things you do regularly, every day or every week. The present is the tense of routine, and cercar fits naturally into daily life.
“Yo cerco el jardín con una valla todos los días.” — “I fence in the garden with a fence every day.”
General facts
Use the present for facts that are true in general, not just today. When you state how something is, the present is the tense to use.
“Él cerca la casa con un muro.” — “He/she fences in the house with a wall.”
What is happening right now
Use the present for what is happening at this moment. Spanish often uses the simple present where English uses the progressive, so cerco can mean both “I fence in” and “I am fence ining”.
“Ahora mismo, yo cerco al sospechoso en la plaza.” — “Right now, I fence in the suspect in the square.”
Fixed plans in the near future
Use the present for a plan that is already fixed, such as something arranged for tomorrow. Spanish uses the present for near-future plans much more freely than English does.
“Mañana, yo cerco el campo con alambre.” — “Tomorrow, I will fence in the field with wire.”
Questions and negatives
Use the present to ask about habits and to say what does not happen. The question and the negative use exactly the same forms as the statement.
“¿Tú cercas el jardín con una valla?” — “Do you fence in the garden with a fence?”
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: Cerca la casa con un muro. — “He/she fences in the house with a wall.”
- Preterite — one finished occasion: Cercó la casa con un muro. — the same idea, placed in the preterite.
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: Cercan al sospechoso en la plaza. — “They fence in the suspect in the square.”
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: Cercaban al sospechoso en la plaza. — the same idea, placed in the imperfect.
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: Cercas el campo con alambre. — “You fence in the field with wire.”
- Future — what will happen: Cercarás el campo con alambre. — the same idea, placed in the future.
Examples: cercar in the present tense
Seven sentences that show cercar in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo cerco el jardín con una valla. — “I fence in the garden with a fence.”
- Tú cercas la casa con un muro. — “You fence in the house with a wall.”
- Él cerca al sospechoso en la plaza. — “He fences in the suspect in the square.”
- Nosotros cercamos el campo con alambre. — “We fence in the field with wire.”
- Vosotros cercáis el jardín con una valla. — “You (plural) fence in the garden with a fence.”
- Ellos cercan la casa con un muro. — “They fence in the house with a wall.”
- ¿Tú cercas al sospechoso en la plaza? — “Do you fence in the suspect in the square?”
Common mistakes with cercar in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with cercar in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ Yo cercar el jardín con una valla. (using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form).
✓ Correct: Yo cerco el jardín con una valla.
The infinitive is not a conjugated form. With yo, the present tense of cercar is cerco, not the infinitive cercar.
✗ Vosotros cercais el jardín con una valla. (forgetting the accent on the vosotros form).
✓ Correct: Vosotros cercáis el jardín con una valla.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: cercáis, not cercais. The accent marks the stressed vowel, and leaving it out is a spelling mistake.
✗ Ayer, yo cerco la casa con un muro. (using the present for a finished past action).
✓ Correct: Ayer, yo cerqué la casa con un muro.
The present and the preterite are different tenses: cerco is happening now, while cerqué is a finished action in the past. Use the preterite with ayer.
✗ Treating cercar and rodear as identical in every context. (confusing cercar with rodear).
✓ Correct: Cercar means to fence in, to surround, while rodear means to surround.
They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: cercar fits sentences such as Cerco el jardín con una valla, while rodear belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
Quiz: cercar in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of cercar. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
1. Which is the correct present tense form of cercar for tú?
- a) cercas
- b) cerco
- c) cerca
- d) cercan
2. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ el jardín con una valla. — “I fence in the garden with a fence.”
- a) cerca
- b) cercamos
- c) cercas
- d) cerco
3. Complete the sentence: Él ______ la casa con un muro. — “He/she fences in the house with a wall.” (present tense)
- a) cercaba
- b) cercará
- c) cerca
- d) cercó
4. Which is the correct present tense form of cercar for nosotros?
- a) cercan
- b) cercamos
- c) cerco
- d) cerca
5. Which sentence uses cercar correctly in the present tense?
- a) Él cercó la casa con un muro.
- b) Él cerca la casa con un muro.
- c) Él cercará la casa con un muro.
- d) Ellos cerca la casa con un muro.
6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ al sospechoso en la plaza. — “They fence in the suspect in the square.”
- a) cerco
- b) cerca
- c) cercamos
- d) cercan
7. Complete the question: ¿Tú ______ el campo con alambre? — “Do you fence in the field with wire?”
- a) cerca
- b) cercarás
- c) cercas
- d) cerco
8. What is the gerund of cercar?
- a) cerqué
- b) cercando
- c) cercado
- d) cerco
Answer key
a) cercas — The tú form is cercas. The -s ending belongs to tú in the present; cerco is yo, cerca is él/ella and cercan is ellos/ellas.
d) cerco — The sentence needs the yo form in the present: cerco. The other options are the wrong person.
c) cerca — The sentence needs the él/ella/Ud. form in the present: cerca. The other options are the preterite, the imperfect and the future.
b) cercamos — Nosotros takes cercamos. In the present the nosotros ending for -ar verbs is -amos, attached to the stem.
b) Él cerca la casa con un muro. — Él cerca la casa con un muro. is correct: the verb agrees with its subject. The other sentences use the wrong person or the wrong tense.
d) cercan — The subject is ellos/ellas/Uds., so the present form is cercan.
c) cercas — The question needs the tú form in the present: cercas.
b) cercando — The gerund is cercando. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive (estar + gerund), and it is not the past participle cercado.
Frequently asked questions
Is cercar regular in the present tense?
Yes. Cercar is a regular -ar verb in the present tense, so the forms follow the standard endings: cerco, cercas, cerca, cercamos, cercáis and cercan.
What is the gerund and the past participle of cercar?
The gerund is cercando and the past participle is cercado. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say “I fence in” in Spanish?
Say cerco. For example: Cerco el jardín con una valla. — “I fence in the garden with a fence.”
What is the difference between cercar and rodear?
Cercar means “to fence in, to surround”, while rodear means “to surround”. They are related words that learners often meet together, but they are not interchangeable — use cercar when you mean “to fence in, to surround” and rodear when you mean “to surround”. The full conjugation of cercar is on its own page.
Related links
- Full conjugation of cercar — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- cercar 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.
- Complete list of Spanish irregular verbs — where this verb's pattern is listed.
- Chatear conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with cercar.
- Centrar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with cercar.
- Chequear conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with cercar.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise this verb in the interactive tool.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — test yourself on Spanish verbs.