Condescender Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of condescender — "to condescend" 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 condescender 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. Condescender is a formal verb meaning to condescend or to agree graciously to something: condescender a hablar, condescender en aceptar. It takes a or en before the infinitive. To see it in a real sentence: Yo condesciendo a hablar con su empleado — "I condescend to talk to his employee".
Present tense conjugation table: condescender
Every person of condescender in the present tense. The gerund is condescendiendo and the past participle is condescendido.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | condesciendo |
| tú | condesciendes |
| él/ella/Ud. | condesciende |
| nosotros/as | condescendemos |
| vosotros/as | condescendéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | condescienden |
How the present of condescender is formed
The present of condescender is built from the stem condescend- plus the present endings for -er verbs. Take the infinitive, drop the -er 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 | condesciendo |
| tú | -es | condesciendes |
| él/ella/Ud. | -e | condesciende |
| nosotros/as | -emos | condescendemos |
| vosotros/as | -éis | condescendéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -en | condescienden |
The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: condesciendo, condesciendes, condesciende and condescienden — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: condescendemos, condescendéis.
The gerund of condescender is condescendiendo and the past participle is condescendido. Both are the forms you need with estar and haber respectively.
When to use the present tense of condescender
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and condescender 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 describes things that happen regularly, as a habit or routine.
"Cada día, yo condesciendo a hablar con su empleado" — "Every day, I condescend to talk to his employee"
General truths
The present states facts that are always true, not just true today.
"Mi amigo condesciende en aceptar la invitación" — "My friend condescends to accept the invitation"
What is happening now
The present describes an action in progress right now.
"Ahora, yo condesciendo a escuchar sus quejas" — "Right now, I condescend to listen to their complaints"
Near-future plans
Spanish often uses the present for a plan that is already fixed.
"Mañana, nosotros condescendemos en bajar el precio" — "Tomorrow, we condescend to lower the price"
Timetables and scheduled events
The present is the tense for timetables, programmes and things that happen on a schedule.
"Ellos condescienden a responder sus cartas" — "They condescend to answer their letters"
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: {'pre_es': 'Cada día, ', 'pre_en': 'Every day, '}yo condesciendo a hablar con su empleado — "I condescend to talk to his employee"
- Preterite — one finished occasion: {'pre_es': 'Ayer, ', 'pre_en': 'Yesterday, '}yo condescendí a hablar con su empleado — "I condescended to talk to his employee"
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: {}tú condesciendes en aceptar la invitación — "You condescend to accept the invitation"
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: {}tú condescendías en aceptar la invitación — "You used to condescend to accept the invitation"
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: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él condesciende a escuchar sus quejas — "He condescends to listen to their complaints"
- Future — what will happen: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él condescenderá a escuchar sus quejas — "He will condescend to listen to their complaints"
Examples: condescender in the present tense
Seven sentences that show condescender in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo condesciendo a hablar con su empleado — "I condescend to talk to his employee"
- Tú condesciendes en aceptar la invitación — "You condescend to accept the invitation"
- Él condesciende a escuchar sus quejas — "He condescends to listen to their complaints"
- Nosotros condescendemos en bajar el precio — "We condescend to lower the price"
- Vosotros condescendéis a responder sus cartas — "You condescend to answer their letters"
- Ellos condescienden a hablar con su empleado — "They condescend to talk to his employee"
- Yo condesciendo en aceptar la invitación — "I condescend to accept the invitation"
Common mistakes with condescender in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with condescender in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ *Yo condescendo a hablar con su empleado.
✓ Correct: Yo condesciendo a hablar con su empleado.
condescender is a stem-changing verb (e → ie): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is condesciendo, not condescendo.
✗ *Tú condesciende en aceptar la invitación.
✓ Correct: Tú condesciendes en aceptar la invitación.
The tú form and the él form are different: tú takes condesciendes, él takes condesciende.
✗ *Cada día, yo condescendí a escuchar sus quejas
✓ Correct: Cada día, yo condesciendo a escuchar sus quejas
Cada día describes a habit, so it needs the present, not the preterite.
✗ *Vosotros condescendeis en bajar el precio.
✓ Correct: Vosotros condescendéis en bajar el precio.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: condescendéis, not condescendeis.
Quiz: condescender in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of condescender. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
Which is the correct present form of condescender for tú? A. condesciendo B. condesciende C. condescendemos D. condesciendes
Complete the sentence: Yo ______ a hablar con su empleado — "I condescend to talk to his employee" (present) A. condesciendo B. condesciendes C. condesciende D. condescendemos
Complete the sentence: Él ______ en aceptar la invitación — "He condescends to accept the invitation" (present) A. condesciendo B. condesciendes C. condescendemos D. condesciende
Which is the correct present form of condescender for nosotros? A. condesciende B. condescienden C. condescendemos D. condesciendes
Which sentence uses condescender correctly in the present? A. Mi amigo condesciende a escuchar sus quejas B. Mi amigo condesciendes a escuchar sus quejas C. Mi amigo condescendía a escuchar sus quejas D. Mi amigo condescendemos a escuchar sus quejas
Complete the sentence: Vosotros ______ en bajar el precio — "You condescend to lower the price" (present) A. condesciendo B. condesciendes C. condesciende D. condescendéis
Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ a responder sus cartas — "They condescend to answer their letters" (present) A. condesciendes B. condesciende C. condescienden D. condesciendo
What is the gerund of condescender? A. condescendí B. condescendiendo C. condescendido D. condesciendo
Answer key
- condesciendes — The tú form in the present is condesciendes.
- condesciendo — The present form for yo is condesciendo.
- condesciende — The present form for él/ella/Ud. is condesciende.
- condescendemos — The nosotros form in the present is condescendemos.
- Mi amigo condesciende a escuchar sus quejas — Mi amigo condesciende a escuchar sus quejas is correct: the verb agrees with its subject and the tense is the present.
- condescendéis — The present form for vosotros/as is condescendéis.
- condescienden — The present form for ellos/ellas/Uds. is condescienden.
- condescendiendo — The gerund is condescendiendo. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive, and it is not the past participle condescendido.
Frequently asked questions
Is condescender regular in the present tense?
No — in the present the stem changes: The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: condesciendo, condesciendes, condesciende and condescienden — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: condescendemos, condescendéis. The nosotros and vosotros forms keep the plain stem.
What is the gerund and the past participle of condescender?
The gerund is condescendiendo and the past participle is condescendido. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say "I condescend" in the present tense?
Say condesciendo. For example: Yo condesciendo a hablar con su empleado — "I condescend to talk to his employee".
What is the difference between the present and the preterite of condescender?
The present describes a habit or what happens now: Yo condesciendo a hablar con su empleado — "I condescend to talk to his employee". The preterite reports one finished occasion: Ayer, yo condescendí a hablar con su empleado — "Yesterday, I condescended to talk to his employee". Use the present when the action repeats or is still true, and the preterite when you are telling what happened once.
Related links
- Full conjugation of condescender — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- condescender 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.