Comentar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of comentar — "to comment" 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 comentar 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. Comentar means to comment, and it is used for commenting on the news, a match, a photo and a book. It suggests a fuller opinion than mencionar, which is a brief mention, and it is a fully regular -ar verb. To see it in a real sentence: Él comenta la noticia con los compañeros. — "He/she comments the news with colleagues." Work through the table below, then the formation notes, the usage rules and the contrast with the preterite, and test yourself at the end.
Present tense conjugation table: comentar
Every person of comentar in the present tense. The gerund is comentando and the past participle is comentado.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | comento |
| tú | comentas |
| él/ella/Ud. | comenta |
| nosotros/as | comentamos |
| vosotros/as | comentáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | comentan |
How the present indicative of comentar is formed
The present indicative of comentar is built from the stem coment- 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 | comento |
| tú | -as | comentas |
| él/ella/Ud. | -a | comenta |
| nosotros/as | -amos | comentamos |
| vosotros/as | -áis | comentáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -an | comentan |
The gerund of comentar is comentando and the past participle is comentado. 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 comentar
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and comentar 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.
Habits and routines
The present tense describes things you do regularly. If you do it every day, every week or every morning, the present is the tense to use. For comentar, this use looks like this: "Yo comento la noticia con los compañeros." — "I comment the news with colleagues." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.
General facts
The present tense states facts that are generally true, not tied to one moment. It is the tense for definitions and permanent situations. For comentar, this use looks like this: "Él comenta el partido después del juego." — "He/she comments the match after the game." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.
What is happening now
The present tense also covers what is happening at this moment, especially with verbs that describe an action in progress. For comentar, this use looks like this: "Nosotros comentamos la foto en las redes sociales." — "We comment the photo on social media." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.
Timetables and schedules
The present tense is used for fixed plans and timetables, such as trains, classes and opening times, even when they refer to the future. For comentar, this use looks like this: "Ellos comentan el libro en el club de lectura." — "They comment the book at the book club." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.
Instructions and requests
The present tense appears in instructions and polite requests, where it sounds softer than a direct command. For comentar, this use looks like this: "Tú comentas la noticia con los compañeros." — "You comment the news with colleagues." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.
The present tense vs the preterite
Learners often mix up the present and the preterite with comentar. The rule is simple: the present is for habits, facts and what is happening now, while the preterite is for one finished action in the past. The three pairs below show the same idea in both tenses, so you can feel the difference.
Pair 1: present vs preterite
- Present: "Yo comento la noticia con los compañeros." — "I comment the news with colleagues."
- Preterite: "Yo comenté la noticia con los compañeros." — "I commented the news with colleagues." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.
Pair 2: present vs preterite
- Present: "Él comenta el partido después del juego." — "He/she comments the match after the game."
- Preterite: "Él comentó el partido después del juego." — "He/she commented the match after the game." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.
Pair 3: present vs preterite
- Present: "Nosotros comentamos la foto en las redes sociales." — "We comment the photo on social media."
- Preterite: "Nosotros comentamos la foto en las redes sociales." — "We commented the photo on social media." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.
Example sentences in the present tense
Eight natural sentences with comentar in the present tense only. Each one uses a form from the table above.
- Yo comento la noticia con los compañeros. — I comment the news with colleagues.
- Tú comentas el partido después del juego. — You comment the match after the game.
- Él comenta la foto en las redes sociales. — He/she comments the photo on social media.
- Nosotros comentamos el libro en el club de lectura. — We comment the book at the book club.
- Vosotros comentáis la noticia con los compañeros. — You all comment the news with colleagues.
- Ellos comentan el partido después del juego. — They comment the match after the game.
- Yo comento la foto en las redes sociales. — I comment the photo on social media.
- Él comenta el libro en el club de lectura. — He/she comments the book at the book club.
Common mistakes
- Wrong: Vosotros comentais el partido después del juego. — Right: Vosotros comentáis el partido después del juego. — The vosotros present form carries a written accent: comentáis, not comentais.
- Wrong: Ayer, yo comento la foto en las redes sociales. — Right: Ayer, yo comenté la foto en las redes sociales. — Ayer means yesterday, so it needs the preterite (comenté), not the present (comento). The present is for now, not for yesterday.
- Wrong: Yo comenta la noticia con los compañeros. — Right: Yo comento la noticia con los compañeros. — The person matters: comenta is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is comento.
- Wrong: Yo soy comentado el partido después del juego. — Right: Yo he comentado el partido después del juego. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he comentado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
Quiz: test yourself
Eight questions on the present tense of comentar. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
Complete the sentence: Yo ___ la noticia con los compañeros. (present tense) A. comento B. comentas C. comenta D. comentamos
Complete the sentence: Tú ___ el partido después del juego. (present tense) A. comentas B. comento C. comenta D. comentamos
Complete the sentence: Él ___ la foto en las redes sociales. (present tense) A. comenta B. comento C. comentas D. comentamos
Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ el libro en el club de lectura. (present tense) A. comentamos B. comento C. comentas D. comenta
Complete the sentence: Vosotros ___ la noticia con los compañeros. (present tense) A. comentáis B. comento C. comentas D. comenta
Complete the sentence: Ellos ___ el partido después del juego. (present tense) A. comentan B. comento C. comentas D. comenta
Complete the sentence: Yo ___ la foto en las redes sociales. (present tense) A. comento B. comentas C. comenta D. comentamos
Complete the sentence: Él ___ el libro en el club de lectura. (present tense) A. comenta B. comento C. comentas D. comentamos
Answer key
- comento — The yo present form of comentar is comento. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
- comentas — The tu present form of comentar is comentas. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
- comenta — The el present form of comentar is comenta. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
- comentamos — The nosotros present form of comentar is comentamos. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
- comentáis — The vosotros present form of comentar is comentáis. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
- comentan — The ellos present form of comentar is comentan. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
- comento — The yo present form of comentar is comento. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
- comenta — The el present form of comentar is comenta. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
Frequently asked questions
When do I use the present tense of comentar?
Use the present tense of comentar for habits, facts and what is happening now. For example: Yo comento la noticia con los compañeros. — "I comment the news with colleagues." The usage rules above give five situations with examples.
How is the present tense of comentar formed?
Take the stem coment- and add the present endings for -ar verbs. The full table is at the top of this page.
What is the difference between the present and the preterite of comentar?
The present describes a habit or a present fact, while the preterite describes a finished action. Compare Yo comento el partido después del juego. with Yo comenté el partido después del juego. — the verb is the same, but the time meaning changes.
How do I practise the present tense of comentar?
Drill the six forms in the table above until you can say them without looking, then use the comentar examples and quiz page for more sentences, and test yourself with the Comentar conjugation page for the full picture across all tenses.
Related links
- Comentar conjugation — the full conjugation of comentar in every tense.
- Comentar examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice for comentar.
- Spanish Present tense guide — the full guide to the present tense in Spanish.
- Spanish verbs — the Spanish hub, with every verb and tense guide.
- Spanish Verb Conjugator — conjugate any Spanish verb in every tense.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise the present tense on any verb.