Conquistar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of conquistar — “to conquer” 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 conquistar 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. Conquistar means to conquer, and it is used for conquering a mountain top, a market, a castle and, figuratively, a person's heart. It is a verb of effort and victory, common in history, sport and romance. Conquistar 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: Conquisto la cima de la montaña.

Present tense conjugation table: conquistar

Every person of conquistar in the present tense. The gerund is conquistando and the past participle is conquistado.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo conquisto
tú conquistas
él/ella/Ud. conquista
nosotros/as conquistamos
vosotros/as conquistáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. conquistan

How the present of conquistar is formed

The present of conquistar is built from the stem conquist- 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 conquisto
tú -as conquistas
él/ella/Ud. -a conquista
nosotros/as -amos conquistamos
vosotros/as -áis conquistáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -an conquistan

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

When to use the present tense with conquistar

Habits and routines

Use the present for things you do regularly.

Yo conquisto la cima de la montaña. — I conquer the top of the mountain.

General facts

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

Él/Ella conquista el corazón de María. — He conquers María's heart.

What is happening right now

Use the present for what is happening at this moment.

Ahora, Nosotros/as conquistamos el mercado extranjero. — Right now, We conquer the foreign market.

Near-future plans

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

Mañana, Tú conquistas el castillo al amanecer. — Tomorrow, You conquer the castle at dawn.

Instructions and timeless statements

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

Él/Ella conquista la cima de la montaña. — He conquers the top of the mountain.

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 conquistar.

  1. Yo conquisto la cima de la montaña. — I conquer the top of the mountain. / Ayer, Yo conquisté la cima de la montaña. — Yesterday, I conquered the top of the mountain.
  2. Yo conquisto el corazón de María. — I conquer María's heart. / Ayer, Yo conquisté el corazón de María. — Yesterday, I conquered María's heart.
  3. Yo conquisto el mercado extranjero. — I conquer the foreign market. / Ayer, Yo conquisté el mercado extranjero. — Yesterday, I conquered the foreign market.

Example sentences in the present tense

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

  1. Yo conquisto la cima de la montaña. — I conquer the top of the mountain.
  2. Tú conquistas el corazón de María. — You conquer María's heart.
  3. Él/Ella conquista el mercado extranjero. — He conquers the foreign market.
  4. Nosotros/as conquistamos el castillo al amanecer. — We conquer the castle at dawn.
  5. Vosotros/as conquistáis la cima de la montaña. — You conquer the top of the mountain.
  6. Ellos/as conquistan el corazón de María. — They conquer María's heart.
  7. Yo conquisto el mercado extranjero. — I conquer the foreign market.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo conquista la cima de la montaña. — Right: Yo conquisto la cima de la montaña. — The person matters: conquista is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is conquisto.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo conquisto el corazón de María. — Right: Ayer, yo conquisté el corazón de María. — With ayer, use the preterite (conquisté), not the present. The present is for habits and for right now.
  3. Wrong: Using conquistar where vencer belongs. — Right: Conquistar means to conquer, while vencer means to defeat someone or something. — Check the meaning before you choose: conquistar fits Conquisto la cima de la montaña.
  4. Wrong: Espero que él conquista el corazón de María. — Right: Espero que él conquiste el corazón de María. — After espero que, Spanish needs the subjunctive: conquiste, not the present indicative conquista.

Quiz: the present tense of conquistar

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

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ la cima de la montaña. (present tense, yo) A. conquisto B. conquistas C. conquista D. conquistamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ el corazón de María. (present tense, tú) A. conquisto B. conquista C. conquistamos D. conquistas

  3. Complete the sentence: Él/Ella ___ el mercado extranjero. (present tense, él/ella/Ud.) A. conquistas B. conquistamos C. conquista D. conquisto

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros/as ___ el castillo al amanecer. (present tense, nosotros/as) A. conquista B. conquistamos C. conquisto D. conquistas

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros/as ___ la cima de la montaña. (present tense, vosotros/as) A. conquistáis B. conquisto C. conquistas D. conquista

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos/as ___ el corazón de María. (present tense, ellos/ellas/Uds.) A. conquisto B. conquistas C. conquista D. conquistan

  7. Which is the gerund of conquistar? A. conquisto B. conquisté C. conquistando D. conquistado

  8. Which is the past participle of conquistar, used with haber in the perfect tenses? A. conquisté B. conquistado C. conquistando D. conquisto

Answer key

  1. conquisto — The yo present form of conquistar is conquisto.
  2. conquistas — The tú present form of conquistar is conquistas.
  3. conquista — The él/ella/Ud. present form of conquistar is conquista.
  4. conquistamos — The nosotros/as present form of conquistar is conquistamos.
  5. conquistáis — The vosotros/as present form of conquistar is conquistáis.
  6. conquistan — The ellos/ellas/Uds. present form of conquistar is conquistan.
  7. conquistando — The gerund of conquistar is conquistando: estoy conquistando.
  8. conquistado — The past participle of conquistar is conquistado: he conquistado, has conquistado, ha conquistado.

Frequently asked questions

How is the present tense of conquistar formed?

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

When do I use the present tense of conquistar?

Use the present for habits, facts and what is happening right now. For example: Conquisto la cima de la montaña.

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

The present (conquisto) and the preterite (conquisté) 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 conquistar?

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

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