Coser Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of coser — "to sew" 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 coser 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. Coser means to sew, and it covers sewing a button back on, sewing a dress, mending a tear and sewing by hand or by machine. It is a regular -er verb, and it is not to be confused with cocer, to cook or boil, which is spelled with a c. To see it in a real sentence: Él cose un botón de la camisa. — "He/she sews a button on the shirt." 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: coser

Every person of coser in the present tense. The gerund is cosiendo and the past participle is cosido.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo coso
tú coses
él/ella/Ud. cose
nosotros/as cosemos
vosotros/as coséis
ellos/ellas/Uds. cosen

How the present indicative of coser is formed

The present indicative of coser is built from the stem cos- 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 coso
tú -es coses
él/ella/Ud. -e cose
nosotros/as -emos cosemos
vosotros/as -éis coséis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -en cosen

The gerund of coser is cosiendo and the past participle is cosido. 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 coser

The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and coser 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 coser, this use looks like this: "Yo coso un botón de la camisa." — "I sew a button on the shirt." 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 coser, this use looks like this: "Él cose un vestido para la boda." — "He/she sews a dress for the wedding." 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 coser, this use looks like this: "Nosotros cosemos a mano en el taller." — "We sew by hand in the workshop." 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 coser, this use looks like this: "Ellos cosen la ropa rota de los niños." — "They sew the children's torn clothes." 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 coser, this use looks like this: "Tú coses un botón de la camisa." — "You sew a button on the shirt." 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 coser. 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 coso un botón de la camisa." — "I sew a button on the shirt."
  • Preterite: "Yo cosí un botón de la camisa." — "I sewed a button on the shirt." 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 cose un vestido para la boda." — "He/she sews a dress for the wedding."
  • Preterite: "Él cosió un vestido para la boda." — "He/she sewed a dress for the wedding." 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 cosemos a mano en el taller." — "We sew by hand in the workshop."
  • Preterite: "Nosotros cosimos a mano en el taller." — "We sewed by hand in the workshop." 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 coser in the present tense only. Each one uses a form from the table above.

  1. Yo coso un botón de la camisa. — I sew a button on the shirt.
  2. Tú coses un vestido para la boda. — You sew a dress for the wedding.
  3. Él cose a mano en el taller. — He/she sews by hand in the workshop.
  4. Nosotros cosemos la ropa rota de los niños. — We sew the children's torn clothes.
  5. Vosotros coséis un botón de la camisa. — You all sew a button on the shirt.
  6. Ellos cosen un vestido para la boda. — They sew a dress for the wedding.
  7. Yo coso a mano en el taller. — I sew by hand in the workshop.
  8. Él cose la ropa rota de los niños. — He/she sews the children's torn clothes.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Vosotros coseis un vestido para la boda. — Right: Vosotros coséis un vestido para la boda. — The vosotros present form carries a written accent: coséis, not coseis.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo coso a mano en el taller. — Right: Ayer, yo cosí a mano en el taller. — Ayer means yesterday, so it needs the preterite (cosí), not the present (coso). The present is for now, not for yesterday.
  3. Wrong: Yo cose un botón de la camisa. — Right: Yo coso un botón de la camisa. — The person matters: cose is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is coso.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy cosido un vestido para la boda. — Right: Yo he cosido un vestido para la boda. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he cosido. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.

Quiz: test yourself

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

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ un botón de la camisa. (present tense) A. coso B. coses C. cose D. cosemos

  2. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ un vestido para la boda. (present tense) A. coses B. coso C. cose D. cosemos

  3. Complete the sentence: Él ___ a mano en el taller. (present tense) A. cose B. coso C. coses D. cosemos

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ la ropa rota de los niños. (present tense) A. cosemos B. coso C. coses D. cose

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros ___ un botón de la camisa. (present tense) A. coséis B. coso C. coses D. cose

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ___ un vestido para la boda. (present tense) A. cosen B. coso C. coses D. cose

  7. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ a mano en el taller. (present tense) A. coso B. coses C. cose D. cosemos

  8. Complete the sentence: Él ___ la ropa rota de los niños. (present tense) A. cose B. coso C. coses D. cosemos

Answer key

  1. coso — The yo present form of coser is coso. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  2. coses — The tu present form of coser is coses. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  3. cose — The el present form of coser is cose. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  4. cosemos — The nosotros present form of coser is cosemos. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  5. coséis — The vosotros present form of coser is coséis. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  6. cosen — The ellos present form of coser is cosen. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  7. coso — The yo present form of coser is coso. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  8. cose — The el present form of coser is cose. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the present tense of coser?

Use the present tense of coser for habits, facts and what is happening now. For example: Yo coso un botón de la camisa. — "I sew a button on the shirt." The usage rules above give five situations with examples.

How is the present tense of coser formed?

Take the stem cos- and add the present endings for -er verbs. The full table is at the top of this page.

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

The present describes a habit or a present fact, while the preterite describes a finished action. Compare Yo coso un vestido para la boda. with Yo cosí un vestido para la boda. — the verb is the same, but the time meaning changes.

How do I practise the present tense of coser?

Drill the six forms in the table above until you can say them without looking, then use the coser examples and quiz page for more sentences, and test yourself with the Coser conjugation page for the full picture across all tenses.

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