Charlar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of charlar — “to chat” 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 charlar 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. Charlar means to chat, and it is the everyday verb for informal conversation: you chat with friends in a café, on the phone every night, with a neighbour in the doorway, about football in a bar. It is a regular -ar verb and a classic verb of social life. Charlar 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: Charlo con mis amigos en el café.

Present tense conjugation table: charlar

Every person of charlar in the present tense. The gerund is charlando and the past participle is charlado.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo charlo
tú charlas
él/ella/Ud. charla
nosotros/as charlamos
vosotros/as charláis
ellos/ellas/Uds. charlan

How the present of charlar is formed

The present of charlar is built from the stem charl- 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 charlo
tú -as charlas
él/ella/Ud. -a charla
nosotros/as -amos charlamos
vosotros/as -áis charláis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -an charlan

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

When to use the present tense with charlar

Habits and routines

Use the present for things you do regularly.

Yo charlo con mis amigos en el café. — I chat with my friends in the café.

General facts

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

Él/Ella charla por teléfono cada noche. — He chats on the phone every night.

What is happening right now

Use the present for what is happening at this moment.

Ahora, Nosotros/as charlamos con la vecina en el portal. — Right now, We chat with the neighbour in the doorway.

Near-future plans

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

Mañana, Tú charlas de fútbol en el bar. — Tomorrow, You chat about football in the bar.

Instructions and timeless statements

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

Él/Ella charla con mis amigos en el café. — He chats with my friends in the café.

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 charlar.

  1. Yo charlo con mis amigos en el café. — I chat with my friends in the café. / Ayer, Yo charlé con mis amigos en el café. — Yesterday, I chatted with my friends in the café.
  2. Yo charlo por teléfono cada noche. — I chat on the phone every night. / Ayer, Yo charlé por teléfono cada noche. — Yesterday, I chatted on the phone every night.
  3. Yo charlo con la vecina en el portal. — I chat with the neighbour in the doorway. / Ayer, Yo charlé con la vecina en el portal. — Yesterday, I chatted with the neighbour in the doorway.

Example sentences in the present tense

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

  1. Yo charlo con mis amigos en el café. — I chat with my friends in the café.
  2. Tú charlas por teléfono cada noche. — You chat on the phone every night.
  3. Él/Ella charla con la vecina en el portal. — He chats with the neighbour in the doorway.
  4. Nosotros/as charlamos de fútbol en el bar. — We chat about football in the bar.
  5. Vosotros/as charláis con mis amigos en el café. — You chat with my friends in the café.
  6. Ellos/as charlan por teléfono cada noche. — They chat on the phone every night.
  7. Yo charlo con la vecina en el portal. — I chat with the neighbour in the doorway.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo charla con mis amigos en el café. — Right: Yo charlo con mis amigos en el café. — The person matters: charla is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is charlo.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo charlo por teléfono cada noche. — Right: Ayer, yo charlé por teléfono cada noche. — With ayer, use the preterite (charlé), not the present. The present is for habits and for right now.
  3. Wrong: Using charlar where conversar belongs. — Right: Charlar means to chat, while conversar means to have a conversation. — Check the meaning before you choose: charlar fits Charlo con mis amigos en el café.
  4. Wrong: Espero que él charla por teléfono cada noche. — Right: Espero que él charle por teléfono cada noche. — After espero que, Spanish needs the subjunctive: charle, not the present indicative charla.

Quiz: the present tense of charlar

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

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ con mis amigos en el café. (present tense, yo) A. charlo B. charlas C. charla D. charlamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ por teléfono cada noche. (present tense, tú) A. charlo B. charla C. charlamos D. charlas

  3. Complete the sentence: Él/Ella ___ con la vecina en el portal. (present tense, él/ella/Ud.) A. charlas B. charlamos C. charla D. charlo

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros/as ___ de fútbol en el bar. (present tense, nosotros/as) A. charla B. charlamos C. charlo D. charlas

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros/as ___ con mis amigos en el café. (present tense, vosotros/as) A. charláis B. charlo C. charlas D. charla

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos/as ___ por teléfono cada noche. (present tense, ellos/ellas/Uds.) A. charlo B. charlas C. charla D. charlan

  7. Which is the gerund of charlar? A. charlo B. charlé C. charlando D. charlado

  8. Which is the past participle of charlar, used with haber in the perfect tenses? A. charlé B. charlado C. charlando D. charlo

Answer key

  1. charlo — The yo present form of charlar is charlo.
  2. charlas — The tú present form of charlar is charlas.
  3. charla — The él/ella/Ud. present form of charlar is charla.
  4. charlamos — The nosotros/as present form of charlar is charlamos.
  5. charláis — The vosotros/as present form of charlar is charláis.
  6. charlan — The ellos/ellas/Uds. present form of charlar is charlan.
  7. charlando — The gerund of charlar is charlando: estoy charlando.
  8. charlado — The past participle of charlar is charlado: he charlado, has charlado, ha charlado.

Frequently asked questions

How is the present tense of charlar formed?

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

When do I use the present tense of charlar?

Use the present for habits, facts and what is happening right now. For example: Charlo con mis amigos en el café.

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

The present (charlo) and the preterite (charlé) 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 charlar?

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

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