Contender Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of contender — "to contend, to compete" 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 contender 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. Contender means to contend or compete for something: contender por el título, contender con su rival. It takes por for the prize and con for the opponent. To see it in a real sentence: Yo contiendo por el título de campeón — "I contend for the championship title".
Present tense conjugation table: contender
Every person of contender in the present tense. The gerund is contendiendo and the past participle is contendido.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | contiendo |
| tú | contiendes |
| él/ella/Ud. | contiende |
| nosotros/as | contendemos |
| vosotros/as | contendéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | contienden |
How the present of contender is formed
The present of contender is built from the stem contend- 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 | contiendo |
| tú | -es | contiendes |
| él/ella/Ud. | -e | contiende |
| nosotros/as | -emos | contendemos |
| vosotros/as | -éis | contendéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -en | contienden |
The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: contiendo, contiendes, contiende and contienden — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: contendemos, contendéis.
The gerund of contender is contendiendo and the past participle is contendido. Both are the forms you need with estar and haber respectively.
When to use the present tense of contender
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and contender 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 contiendo por el título de campeón" — "Every day, I contend for the championship title"
General truths
The present states facts that are always true, not just true today.
"Mi amigo contiende con su rival en la final" — "My friend contends with his rival in the final"
What is happening now
The present describes an action in progress right now.
"Ahora, yo contiendo por un puesto en el equipo" — "Right now, I contend for a place in the team"
Near-future plans
Spanish often uses the present for a plan that is already fixed.
"Mañana, nosotros contendemos en las elecciones locales" — "Tomorrow, we contend in the local elections"
Timetables and scheduled events
The present is the tense for timetables, programmes and things that happen on a schedule.
"Ellos contienden por el premio mayor" — "They contend for the top prize"
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 contiendo por el título de campeón — "I contend for the championship title"
- Preterite — one finished occasion: {'pre_es': 'Ayer, ', 'pre_en': 'Yesterday, '}yo contendí por el título de campeón — "I contended for the championship title"
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 contiendes con su rival en la final — "You contend with his rival in the final"
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: {}tú contendías con su rival en la final — "You used to contend with his rival in the final"
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 contiende por un puesto en el equipo — "He contends for a place in the team"
- Future — what will happen: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él contenderá por un puesto en el equipo — "He will contend for a place in the team"
Examples: contender in the present tense
Seven sentences that show contender in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo contiendo por el título de campeón — "I contend for the championship title"
- Tú contiendes con su rival en la final — "You contend with his rival in the final"
- Él contiende por un puesto en el equipo — "He contends for a place in the team"
- Nosotros contendemos en las elecciones locales — "We contend in the local elections"
- Vosotros contendéis por el premio mayor — "You contend for the top prize"
- Ellos contienden por el título de campeón — "They contend for the championship title"
- Yo contiendo con su rival en la final — "I contend with his rival in the final"
Common mistakes with contender in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with contender in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ *Yo contendo por el título de campeón.
✓ Correct: Yo contiendo por el título de campeón.
contender is a stem-changing verb (e → ie): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is contiendo, not contendo.
✗ *Tú contiende con su rival en la final.
✓ Correct: Tú contiendes con su rival en la final.
The tú form and the él form are different: tú takes contiendes, él takes contiende.
✗ *Cada día, yo contendí por un puesto en el equipo
✓ Correct: Cada día, yo contiendo por un puesto en el equipo
Cada día describes a habit, so it needs the present, not the preterite.
✗ *Vosotros contendeis en las elecciones locales.
✓ Correct: Vosotros contendéis en las elecciones locales.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: contendéis, not contendeis.
Quiz: contender in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of contender. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
Which is the correct present form of contender for tú? A. contiende B. contendemos C. contiendes D. contiendo
Complete the sentence: Yo ______ por el título de campeón — "I contend for the championship title" (present) A. contiendes B. contiende C. contendemos D. contiendo
Complete the sentence: Él ______ con su rival en la final — "He contends with his rival in the final" (present) A. contiendo B. contiendes C. contendemos D. contiende
Which is the correct present form of contender for nosotros? A. contienden B. contendemos C. contiendes D. contiende
Which sentence uses contender correctly in the present? A. Mi amigo contiendes por un puesto en el equipo B. Mi amigo contendía por un puesto en el equipo C. Mi amigo contendemos por un puesto en el equipo D. Mi amigo contiende por un puesto en el equipo
Complete the sentence: Vosotros ______ en las elecciones locales — "You contend in the local elections" (present) A. contiendo B. contiendes C. contiende D. contendéis
Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ por el premio mayor — "They contend for the top prize" (present) A. contienden B. contiendo C. contiendes D. contiende
What is the gerund of contender? A. contendiendo B. contendido C. contiendo D. contendí
Answer key
- contiendes — The tú form in the present is contiendes.
- contiendo — The present form for yo is contiendo.
- contiende — The present form for él/ella/Ud. is contiende.
- contendemos — The nosotros form in the present is contendemos.
- Mi amigo contiende por un puesto en el equipo — Mi amigo contiende por un puesto en el equipo is correct: the verb agrees with its subject and the tense is the present.
- contendéis — The present form for vosotros/as is contendéis.
- contienden — The present form for ellos/ellas/Uds. is contienden.
- contendiendo — The gerund is contendiendo. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive, and it is not the past participle contendido.
Frequently asked questions
Is contender regular in the present tense?
No — in the present the stem changes: The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: contiendo, contiendes, contiende and contienden — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: contendemos, contendéis. The nosotros and vosotros forms keep the plain stem.
What is the gerund and the past participle of contender?
The gerund is contendiendo and the past participle is contendido. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say "I contend" in the present tense?
Say contiendo. For example: Yo contiendo por el título de campeón — "I contend for the championship title".
What is the difference between the present and the preterite of contender?
The present describes a habit or what happens now: Yo contiendo por el título de campeón — "I contend for the championship title". The preterite reports one finished occasion: Ayer, yo contendí por el título de campeón — "Yesterday, I contended for the championship title". 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 contender — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- contender 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.