Contestar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb contestar means to answer (the phone), 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 contestar 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 contesto el teléfono. — "I answer the phone."

No pronunciation is given on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for contestar, 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.

The contestar present tense table

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for contestar. The gerund is contestando and the past participle is contestado.

Person Form
yo contesto
tú contestas
él/ella/Ud. contesta
nosotros/as contestamos
vosotros/as contestáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. contestan

The gerund contestando is used with estar for the progressive (estoy contestando, I am answering), and the past participle contestado is used with haber for the perfect tenses (he contestado, I have answered).

How the present tense of contestar is formed

Start with the infinitive contestar. Take off the -ar ending and you are left with the stem contest-. 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.

contestar is regular in the present: every form is exactly the stem plus the ending above, with no stem change and no spelling change. If you know the stem and the six endings, you can build the whole tense without memorising anything extra.

Two details are worth fixing early. First, the vosotros form carries a written accent on the ending: contestáis. Second, the present tense in Spanish has no auxiliary verb: contesto on its own means both "I answer" and "I am answering" 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 contestar

Habits and routines

The present is the tense of what you do regularly. Talking about answering the phone, a message or an email.

  • Yo contesto el teléfono. — "I answer the phone."
  • Tú contestas a mi madre. — "you answer my mother."

Facts and general truths

The present also states facts that are true in general, not just today. Talking about answering a question in class or in an exam.

  • Él contesta un mensaje. — "he/she answers a message."
  • Nosotros contestamos a la pregunta. — "we answer the question."

What is happening now

The present describes what is happening at this moment. Talking about replying to someone: contestar a una persona needs the preposition a.

  • Vosotros contestáis rápidamente. — "you (all) answer quickly."
  • Ellos contestan en clase. — "they answer in class."

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 contesta un mensaje. — "he/she answers a message."
  • Nosotros contestamos a la pregunta. — "we answer the question."

Contestar 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 contesto el teléfono. — "I answer the phone."

  • Progressive (right now): Yo estoy contestando el teléfono. — "I am answering the phone."

  • Present (habit): Tú contestas a mi madre. — "you answer my mother."

  • Progressive (right now): Tú estás contestando a mi madre. — "you are answering my mother."

  • Present (habit): Él contesta un mensaje. — "he/she answers a message."

  • Progressive (right now): Él está contestando un mensaje. — "he/she is answering a message."

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 contesto every day, that is a routine. If you say Estoy contestando, you are doing it at this moment.

Examples of contestar 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. Contesto el teléfono rápidamente. — "I answer the phone quickly."
  2. Mi hermana contesta todas las preguntas en clase. — "My sister answers all the questions in class."
  3. Ayer contesté un mensaje de mi amigo. — "Yesterday I answered a message from my friend."
  4. De estudiante, contestaba a todas las preguntas en clase. — "As a student, I used to answer all the questions in class."
  5. Mañana contestaré a la pregunta del profesor. — "Tomorrow I will answer the teacher's question."
  6. Si tuviera el teléfono, contestaría el mensaje ahora mismo. — "If I had the phone, I would answer the message right now."
  7. Él contesta rápidamente. — "he/she answers quickly."
  8. Nosotros contestamos en clase. — "we answer in class."

Common mistakes with contestar 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 contesta el teléfono.

Wrong: Yo contesta el teléfono.

Right: Yo contesto el teléfono.

The yo form ends in -o: contesto. Contesta is the él/ella form.

2. Contesto mi madre.

Wrong: Contesto mi madre.

Right: Contesto a mi madre.

When the object is a person, contestar needs the preposition a: contesto a mi madre. Contesto mi madre is wrong.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

Wrong: Ayer yo contesto el teléfono.

Right: Ayer yo contesté el teléfono.

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

4. Forgetting the accent on the vosotros form

Wrong: Vosotros contestais el teléfono.

Right: Vosotros contestáis el teléfono.

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

Quiz: test yourself on contestar 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) contesto
    • b) contestas
    • c) contesta
    • d) contestamos
  2. Tú ___ a mi madre
    • a) contesto
    • b) contesta
    • c) contestamos
    • d) contestas
  3. Él ___ un mensaje
    • a) contestas
    • b) contestamos
    • c) contesta
    • d) contesto
  4. Nosotros ___ a la pregunta
    • a) contesta
    • b) contestamos
    • c) contesto
    • d) contestas
  5. Vosotros ___ rápidamente
    • a) contestáis
    • b) contesto
    • c) contestas
    • d) contesta
  6. Ellos ___ en clase
    • a) contesto
    • b) contestas
    • c) contesta
    • d) contestan
  7. Yo ___ el teléfono
    • a) contesta
    • b) contestamos
    • c) contesto
    • d) contestas
  8. Tú ___ a mi madre
    • a) contestamos
    • b) contestas
    • c) contesto
    • d) contesta

Answers

  1. a) contesto — The sentence needs the yo form, because the subject is yo.
  2. d) contestas — The sentence needs the tú form, because the subject is tú.
  3. c) contesta — The sentence needs the él/ella/Ud. form, because the subject is él/ella/Ud..
  4. b) contestamos — The sentence needs the nosotros/as form, because the subject is nosotros/as.
  5. a) contestáis — The sentence needs the vosotros/as form, because the subject is vosotros/as.
  6. d) contestan — The sentence needs the ellos/ellas/Uds. form, because the subject is ellos/ellas/Uds..
  7. c) contesto — The sentence needs the yo form, because the subject is yo.
  8. b) contestas — The sentence needs the tú form, because the subject is tú.

Frequently asked questions about contestar in the present

Is contestar regular?

Yes, contestar is a regular -ar verb: contesto, contestas, contesta, contestamos, contestáis, contestan.

What is the difference between contestar and responder?

They are near synonyms. Contestar is more common for answering the phone or replying to a person; responder is more common for answering a question. In most contexts you can use either.

Is contestar regular in the present?

Yes. contestar is regular in the present: the six forms are the stem contest- plus the regular endings, with no stem change. The only thing to watch is the written accent on the stressed endings, for example contesto.

What are the gerund and the past participle of contestar?

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

How to remember contestar

Four small habits will fix contestar in your memory. First, say the present tense out loud, in order, three times: contesto, contestas, contesta, contestamos, contestáis, contestan. 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 (contesto), one about yesterday with the preterite (contesté), and one about tomorrow with the future (contestaré). Personal sentences stick because they are about you, not about a textbook. Third, remember the difference from preguntar: Contestar is answering; preguntar is asking. You preguntas and the other person contesta. They are the two halves of a conversation. Finally, learn the two key forms by heart: the gerund contestando and the past participle contestado. With those two and the present tense, you can already build the progressive (estoy contestando) and the present perfect (he contestado), which covers most everyday conversation.

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