Colgar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb colgar means to hang up, and this page covers it in the present tense — the tense for habits, facts and what is happening now. If you want the whole picture, start with the full colgar conjugation, which has every tense on one page. Here we go deep on one tense only: the full table, how it is formed, when to use it, how it differs from the closest tense, examples, the mistakes learners actually make, a quiz and answers to the questions people ask most. One example to start: Yo cuelgo el teléfono. — "I hang up the phone."

No pronunciation is given on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for colgar, so no pronunciation is shown rather than an invented one. All the forms below come from the verified conjugation tables, so you can trust every form you see here.

Watch out for one thing before you start: colgar is a stem-changing verb (o → ue). The stem vowel changes in four of the six present forms, and the table below shows exactly which ones.

The colgar present tense table

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for colgar. The gerund is colgando and the past participle is colgado.

Person Form
yo cuelgo
tú cuelgas
él/ella/Ud. cuelga
nosotros/as colgamos
vosotros/as colgáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. cuelgan

The gerund colgando is used with estar for the progressive (estoy colgando, I am hanging up), and the past participle colgado is used with haber for the perfect tenses (he colgado, I have hung up).

How the present tense of colgar is formed

Start with the infinitive colgar. Take off the -ar ending and you are left with the stem colg-. Then add the present endings for -ar verbs: -o (yo), -as (tú), -a (él/ella/Ud.), -amos (nosotros/as), -áis (vosotros/as) and -an (ellos/ellas/Uds.). That gives you the six forms in the table above, and for most verbs in this group that is the whole story.

colgar is a stem-changing verb: the stem vowel changes from o → ue in the four stressed forms of the present. You say cuelgo (yo), cuelgas (tú), cuelga (él/ella) and cuelgan (ellos/ellas), but the nosotros and vosotros forms are unstressed, so they keep the plain stem: colgamos and colgáis. This is the single most important thing to learn about colgar, because the change appears in the present, in the present subjunctive and in the imperative too. Learn the four changed forms as a set, and the two unchanged forms as a pair, and the pattern becomes automatic.

Two details are worth fixing early. First, the vosotros form carries a written accent on the ending: colgáis. Second, the present tense in Spanish has no auxiliary verb: cuelgo on its own means both "I hang up" and "I am hanging up" in English, so you do not need a separate word for the progressive unless you want to stress that something is happening right now.

When to use the present tense of colgar

Habits and routines

The present is the tense of what you do regularly. Talking about hanging up the phone at the end of a call.

  • Yo cuelgo el teléfono. — "I hang up the phone."
  • Tú cuelgas el abrigo en el perchero. — "you hang up my coat on the hook."

Facts and general truths

The present also states facts that are true in general, not just today. Talking about hanging clothes, a coat or a picture on a wall or a hook.

  • Él cuelga un cuadro en la pared. — "he/she hangs up a picture on the wall."
  • Nosotros colgamos la ropa en el tendedero. — "we hang up the washing on the line."

What is happening now

The present describes what is happening at this moment. Talking about hanging the washing on the line to dry.

  • Vosotros colgáis rápidamente. — "you (all) hang up quickly."
  • Ellos cuelgan sin despedirse. — "they hang up without saying goodbye."

Plans in the near future

Spanish also uses the present for fixed plans in the near future, especially with a time expression. A plan you have already decided on can be stated in the present, and it sounds more certain than the future tense.

  • Él cuelga un cuadro en la pared. — "he/she hangs up a picture on the wall."
  • Nosotros colgamos la ropa en el tendedero. — "we hang up the washing on the line."

Colgar present vs present progressive

The present tense and the present progressive (estar + gerund) are close neighbours, and learners mix them up. The present describes a habit, a fact or a routine. The progressive describes something in progress right now, at this very moment. Compare the three pairs below: the first sentence in each pair is a habit, the second is happening now.

  • Present (habit): Yo cuelgo el teléfono. — "I hang up the phone."

  • Progressive (right now): Yo estoy colgando el teléfono. — "I am hanging up the phone."

  • Present (habit): Tú cuelgas el abrigo en el perchero. — "you hang up my coat on the hook."

  • Progressive (right now): Tú estás colgando el abrigo en el perchero. — "you are hanging up my coat on the hook."

  • Present (habit): Él cuelga un cuadro en la pared. — "he/she hangs up a picture on the wall."

  • Progressive (right now): Él está colgando un cuadro en la pared. — "he/she is hanging up a picture on the wall."

Use the present when you talk about what you usually do, and the progressive when you want to stress that it is happening as you speak. If you say cuelgo every day, that is a routine. If you say Estoy colgando, you are doing it at this moment.

Examples of colgar in the present

Eight sentences in the present tense, so you can see the forms in real use. Read the Spanish first, guess the meaning, then check the translation.

  1. Cuelgo el teléfono rápidamente. — "I hang up the phone quickly."
  2. Mi abuela cuelga el abrigo en el perchero. — "My grandmother hangs her coat on the hook."
  3. Ayer colgué un cuadro en la pared. — "Yesterday I hung a picture on the wall."
  4. De niña, colgaba la ropa en el tendedero con mi madre. — "As a girl, I used to hang the washing on the line with my mother."
  5. Mañana colgaré el cuadro nuevo en el salón. — "Tomorrow I will hang the new picture in the living room."
  6. Si tuviera un perchero, colgaría el abrigo allí. — "If I had a coat hook, I would hang my coat there."
  7. Él cuelga rápidamente. — "he/she hangs up quickly."
  8. Nosotros colgamos sin despedirse. — "we hang up without saying goodbye."

Common mistakes with colgar in the present

These are the errors learners actually make with this verb. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why it is wrong.

1. Yo colgo el teléfono.

Wrong: Yo colgo el teléfono.

Right: Yo cuelgo el teléfono.

Colgar is an o → ue stem-changing verb: yo cuelgo, tú cuelgas, él cuelga, ellos cuelgan. Colgamos and colgáis keep the plain o.

2. Ayer yo cuelgo un cuadro.

Wrong: Ayer yo cuelgo un cuadro.

Right: Ayer yo colgué un cuadro.

A finished action yesterday needs the preterite, and the yo preterite changes g to gu: colgué, to keep the hard g sound.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

Wrong: Ayer yo cuelgo el teléfono.

Right: Ayer yo colgué el teléfono.

Ayer (yesterday) signals a finished action, so it needs the preterite: colgué. The present cuelgo describes what you do now or usually, not what you did yesterday.

4. Forgetting the accent on the vosotros form

Wrong: Vosotros colgais el teléfono.

Right: Vosotros colgáis el teléfono.

The vosotros ending carries a written accent: colgáis. Without it, the spelling is wrong, even though the pronunciation is close.

Quiz: test yourself on colgar in the present

Choose the right form for each sentence. The answers are at the end of this section, with an explanation for every question.

  1. Yo ___ el teléfono
    • a) cuelgo
    • b) cuelgas
    • c) cuelga
    • d) colgamos
  2. Tú ___ el abrigo en el perchero
    • a) cuelgo
    • b) cuelga
    • c) colgamos
    • d) cuelgas
  3. Él ___ un cuadro en la pared
    • a) cuelgas
    • b) colgamos
    • c) cuelga
    • d) cuelgo
  4. Nosotros ___ la ropa en el tendedero
    • a) cuelga
    • b) colgamos
    • c) cuelgo
    • d) cuelgas
  5. Vosotros ___ rápidamente
    • a) colgáis
    • b) cuelgo
    • c) cuelgas
    • d) cuelga
  6. Ellos ___ sin despedirse
    • a) cuelgo
    • b) cuelgas
    • c) cuelga
    • d) cuelgan
  7. Yo ___ el teléfono
    • a) cuelga
    • b) colgamos
    • c) cuelgo
    • d) cuelgas
  8. Tú ___ el abrigo en el perchero
    • a) colgamos
    • b) cuelgas
    • c) cuelgo
    • d) cuelga

Answers

  1. a) cuelgo — The sentence needs the yo form, because the subject is yo.
  2. d) cuelgas — The sentence needs the tú form, because the subject is tú.
  3. c) cuelga — The sentence needs the él/ella/Ud. form, because the subject is él/ella/Ud..
  4. b) colgamos — The sentence needs the nosotros/as form, because the subject is nosotros/as.
  5. a) colgáis — The sentence needs the vosotros/as form, because the subject is vosotros/as.
  6. d) cuelgan — The sentence needs the ellos/ellas/Uds. form, because the subject is ellos/ellas/Uds..
  7. c) cuelgo — The sentence needs the yo form, because the subject is yo.
  8. b) cuelgas — The sentence needs the tú form, because the subject is tú.

Frequently asked questions about colgar in the present

Why is it cuelgo and not colgo?

Colgar changes o to ue in the stressed forms of the present: cuelgo, cuelgas, cuelga, cuelgan. Nosotros and vosotros are unstressed: colgamos, colgáis.

Why is the yo preterite colgué?

Verbs ending in -gar change g to gu before e: yo colgué, but tú colgaste, él colgó. The change keeps the hard g sound of colgar.

Is colgar a stem-changing verb in the present?

Yes. In the present the stem vowel changes o → ue in the yo, tú, él and ellos forms: cuelgo, cuelgas, cuelga and cuelgan. The nosotros form (colgamos) and the vosotros form (colgáis) keep the plain stem.

What are the gerund and the past participle of colgar?

The gerund is colgando, used with estar for the progressive (estoy colgando), and the past participle is colgado, used with haber for the perfect tenses (he colgado).

How to remember colgar

Four small habits will fix colgar in your memory. First, say the present tense out loud, in order, three times: cuelgo, cuelgas, cuelga, colgamos, colgáis, cuelgan. Saying the forms is far more effective than reading them silently, because you hear the endings and the stem at the same time. Second, write three sentences about your own life: one about today with the present (cuelgo), one about yesterday with the preterite (colgué), and one about tomorrow with the future (colgaré). Personal sentences stick because they are about you, not about a textbook. Third, remember the difference from contestar: Colgar is hanging up, ending a call; contestar is answering one. You contestas el teléfono al principio y lo cuelgas al final. Finally, learn the two key forms by heart: the gerund colgando and the past participle colgado. With those two and the present tense, you can already build the progressive (estoy colgando) and the present perfect (he colgado), which covers most everyday conversation.

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