Criar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of criar — "to raise, to breed" 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 criar 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. Criar means to raise children or to breed animals: criar a sus hijos, criar gallinas. It covers both bringing up a child and rearing animals for a purpose. To see it in a real sentence: Yo crío a sus hijos con cariño — "I raise his children lovingly".
Present tense conjugation table: criar
Every person of criar in the present tense. The gerund is criando and the past participle is criado.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | crío |
| tú | crías |
| él/ella/Ud. | cría |
| nosotros/as | criamos |
| vosotros/as | criáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | crían |
How the present of criar is formed
The present of criar is built from the stem cri- 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 | crío |
| tú | -as | crías |
| él/ella/Ud. | -a | cría |
| nosotros/as | -amos | criamos |
| vosotros/as | -áis | criáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -an | crían |
The gerund of criar is criando and the past participle is criado. Both are the forms you need with estar and haber respectively.
When to use the present tense of criar
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and criar 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 crío a sus hijos con cariño" — "Every day, I raise his children lovingly"
General truths
The present states facts that are always true, not just true today.
"Mi amigo cría gallinas en el campo" — "My friend raises chickens in the country"
What is happening now
The present describes an action in progress right now.
"Ahora, yo crío perros de raza" — "Right now, I raise pedigree dogs"
Near-future plans
Spanish often uses the present for a plan that is already fixed.
"Mañana, nosotros criamos a su hijo en el pueblo" — "Tomorrow, we raise his son in the village"
Timetables and scheduled events
The present is the tense for timetables, programmes and things that happen on a schedule.
"Ellos crían abejas para la miel" — "They raise bees for honey"
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 crío a sus hijos con cariño — "I raise his children lovingly"
- Preterite — one finished occasion: {'pre_es': 'Ayer, ', 'pre_en': 'Yesterday, '}yo crie a sus hijos con cariño — "I raised his children lovingly"
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 crías gallinas en el campo — "You raise chickens in the country"
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: {}tú criabas gallinas en el campo — "You used to raise chickens in the country"
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 cría perros de raza — "He raises pedigree dogs"
- Future — what will happen: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él criará perros de raza — "He will raise pedigree dogs"
Examples: criar in the present tense
Seven sentences that show criar in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo crío a sus hijos con cariño — "I raise his children lovingly"
- Tú crías gallinas en el campo — "You raise chickens in the country"
- Él cría perros de raza — "He raises pedigree dogs"
- Nosotros criamos a su hijo en el pueblo — "We raise his son in the village"
- Vosotros criáis abejas para la miel — "You raise bees for honey"
- Ellos crían a sus hijos con cariño — "They raise his children lovingly"
- Yo crío gallinas en el campo — "I raise chickens in the country"
Common mistakes with criar in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with criar in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ *Yo crío sus hijos con cariño.
✓ Correct: Yo crío a sus hijos con cariño.
criar takes a before this complement: Yo crío a sus hijos con cariño. Dropping the preposition is a common learner error.
✗ *Tú cría gallinas en el campo.
✓ Correct: Tú crías gallinas en el campo.
The tú form and the él form are different: tú takes crías, él takes cría.
✗ *Cada día, yo crie perros de raza
✓ Correct: Cada día, yo crío perros de raza
Cada día describes a habit, so it needs the present, not the preterite.
✗ *Vosotros criais a su hijo en el pueblo.
✓ Correct: Vosotros criáis a su hijo en el pueblo.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: criáis, not criais.
Quiz: criar in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of criar. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
Which is the correct present form of criar for tú? A. crío B. cría C. criamos D. crías
Complete the sentence: Yo ______ a sus hijos con cariño — "I raise his children lovingly" (present) A. criamos B. crío C. crías D. cría
Complete the sentence: Él ______ gallinas en el campo — "He raises chickens in the country" (present) A. crío B. crías C. criamos D. cría
Which is the correct present form of criar for nosotros? A. cría B. crían C. criamos D. crías
Which sentence uses criar correctly in the present? A. Mi amigo cría perros de raza B. Mi amigo crías perros de raza C. Mi amigo criaba perros de raza D. Mi amigo criamos perros de raza
Complete the sentence: Vosotros ______ a su hijo en el pueblo — "You raise his son in the village" (present) A. cría B. criáis C. crío D. crías
Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ abejas para la miel — "They raise bees for honey" (present) A. crío B. crías C. cría D. crían
What is the gerund of criar? A. crie B. criando C. criado D. crío
Answer key
- crías — The tú form in the present is crías.
- crío — The present form for yo is crío.
- cría — The present form for él/ella/Ud. is cría.
- criamos — The nosotros form in the present is criamos.
- Mi amigo cría perros de raza — Mi amigo cría perros de raza is correct: the verb agrees with its subject and the tense is the present.
- criáis — The present form for vosotros/as is criáis.
- crían — The present form for ellos/ellas/Uds. is crían.
- criando — The gerund is criando. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive, and it is not the past participle criado.
Frequently asked questions
Is criar regular in the present tense?
Yes — in the present tense criar follows the regular endings for -ar verbs, as the table above shows.
What is the gerund and the past participle of criar?
The gerund is criando and the past participle is criado. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say "I raise" in the present tense?
Say crío. For example: Yo crío a sus hijos con cariño — "I raise his children lovingly".
What is the difference between the present and the preterite of criar?
The present describes a habit or what happens now: Yo crío a sus hijos con cariño — "I raise his children lovingly". The preterite reports one finished occasion: Ayer, yo crie a sus hijos con cariño — "Yesterday, I raised his children lovingly". 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 criar — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- criar 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.