Citar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of citar — “to quote, to summon” 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 citar 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. Citar means to quote or to summon, and the two senses share the idea of calling something up: you quote Shakespeare in an essay, you quote a poet's words, a doctor summons a patient for tomorrow, a court summons witnesses. It is a formal verb of writing and of law. Citar 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: Cito a Shakespeare en mi trabajo.

Present tense conjugation table: citar

Every person of citar in the present tense. The gerund is citando and the past participle is citado.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo cito
tú citas
él/ella/Ud. cita
nosotros/as citamos
vosotros/as citáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. citan

How the present of citar is formed

The present of citar is built from the stem cit- 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 cito
tú -as citas
él/ella/Ud. -a cita
nosotros/as -amos citamos
vosotros/as -áis citáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -an citan

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

When to use the present tense with citar

Habits and routines

Use the present for things you do regularly.

Yo cito a Shakespeare en mi trabajo. — I quote Shakespeare in my essay.

General facts

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

Él/Ella cita las palabras del poeta en mi trabajo. — He quotes the poet's words in my essay.

What is happening right now

Use the present for what is happening at this moment.

Ahora, Nosotros/as citamos una frase famosa en el discurso. — Right now, We quote a famous phrase in the speech.

Near-future plans

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

Mañana, Tú citas las palabras del autor en el artículo. — Tomorrow, You quote the author's words in the article.

Instructions and timeless statements

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

Él/Ella cita a Shakespeare en mi trabajo. — He quotes Shakespeare in my essay.

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 citar.

  1. Yo cito a Shakespeare en mi trabajo. — I quote Shakespeare in my essay. / Ayer, Yo cité a Shakespeare en mi trabajo. — Yesterday, I quoted Shakespeare in my essay.
  2. Yo cito las palabras del poeta en mi trabajo. — I quote the poet's words in my essay. / Ayer, Yo cité las palabras del poeta en mi trabajo. — Yesterday, I quoted the poet's words in my essay.
  3. Yo cito una frase famosa en el discurso. — I quote a famous phrase in the speech. / Ayer, Yo cité una frase famosa en el discurso. — Yesterday, I quoted a famous phrase in the speech.

Example sentences in the present tense

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

  1. Yo cito a Shakespeare en mi trabajo. — I quote Shakespeare in my essay.
  2. Tú citas las palabras del poeta en mi trabajo. — You quote the poet's words in my essay.
  3. Él/Ella cita una frase famosa en el discurso. — He quotes a famous phrase in the speech.
  4. Nosotros/as citamos las palabras del autor en el artículo. — We quote the author's words in the article.
  5. Vosotros/as citáis a Shakespeare en mi trabajo. — You quote Shakespeare in my essay.
  6. Ellos/as citan las palabras del poeta en mi trabajo. — They quote the poet's words in my essay.
  7. Yo cito una frase famosa en el discurso. — I quote a famous phrase in the speech.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo cita a Shakespeare en mi trabajo. — Right: Yo cito a Shakespeare en mi trabajo. — The person matters: cita is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is cito.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo cito las palabras del poeta en mi trabajo. — Right: Ayer, yo cité las palabras del poeta en mi trabajo. — With ayer, use the preterite (cité), not the present. The present is for habits and for right now.
  3. Wrong: Using citar where mencionar belongs. — Right: Citar means to quote, to summon, while mencionar means to mention something. — Check the meaning before you choose: citar fits Cito a Shakespeare en mi trabajo.
  4. Wrong: Espero que él cita las palabras del poeta en mi trabajo. — Right: Espero que él cite las palabras del poeta en mi trabajo. — After espero que, Spanish needs the subjunctive: cite, not the present indicative cita.

Quiz: the present tense of citar

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

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ a Shakespeare en mi trabajo. (present tense, yo) A. cito B. citas C. cita D. citamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ las palabras del poeta en mi trabajo. (present tense, tú) A. cito B. cita C. citamos D. citas

  3. Complete the sentence: Él/Ella ___ una frase famosa en el discurso. (present tense, él/ella/Ud.) A. citas B. citamos C. cita D. cito

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros/as ___ las palabras del autor en el artículo. (present tense, nosotros/as) A. cita B. citamos C. cito D. citas

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros/as ___ a Shakespeare en mi trabajo. (present tense, vosotros/as) A. citáis B. cito C. citas D. cita

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos/as ___ las palabras del poeta en mi trabajo. (present tense, ellos/ellas/Uds.) A. cito B. citas C. cita D. citan

  7. Which is the gerund of citar? A. cito B. cité C. citando D. citado

  8. Which is the past participle of citar, used with haber in the perfect tenses? A. cité B. citado C. citando D. cito

Answer key

  1. cito — The yo present form of citar is cito.
  2. citas — The tú present form of citar is citas.
  3. cita — The él/ella/Ud. present form of citar is cita.
  4. citamos — The nosotros/as present form of citar is citamos.
  5. citáis — The vosotros/as present form of citar is citáis.
  6. citan — The ellos/ellas/Uds. present form of citar is citan.
  7. citando — The gerund of citar is citando: estoy citando.
  8. citado — The past participle of citar is citado: he citado, has citado, ha citado.

Frequently asked questions

How is the present tense of citar formed?

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

When do I use the present tense of citar?

Use the present for habits, facts and what is happening right now. For example: Cito a Shakespeare en mi trabajo.

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

The present (cito) and the preterite (cité) 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 citar?

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

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