Debilitar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of debilitar — "to weaken" 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 debilitar 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. Debilitar means to weaken something: debilitar su salud, debilitar al enemigo. It is the opposite of fortalecer, and it is used for health, structures, will and defences. To see it in a real sentence: Yo debilito su salud con el trabajo — "I weaken his health with work".
Present tense conjugation table: debilitar
Every person of debilitar in the present tense. The gerund is debilitando and the past participle is debilitado.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | debilito |
| tú | debilitas |
| él/ella/Ud. | debilita |
| nosotros/as | debilitamos |
| vosotros/as | debilitáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | debilitan |
How the present of debilitar is formed
The present of debilitar is built from the stem debilit- 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 | debilito |
| tú | -as | debilitas |
| él/ella/Ud. | -a | debilita |
| nosotros/as | -amos | debilitamos |
| vosotros/as | -áis | debilitáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -an | debilitan |
The gerund of debilitar is debilitando and the past participle is debilitado. Both are the forms you need with estar and haber respectively.
When to use the present tense of debilitar
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and debilitar 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 debilito su salud con el trabajo" — "Every day, I weaken his health with work"
General truths
The present states facts that are always true, not just true today.
"Mi amigo debilita al enemigo con el bloqueo" — "My friend weakens the enemy with the blockade"
What is happening now
The present describes an action in progress right now.
"Ahora, yo debilito la estructura del puente" — "Right now, I weaken the bridge's structure"
Near-future plans
Spanish often uses the present for a plan that is already fixed.
"Mañana, nosotros debilitamos su voluntad con las dudas" — "Tomorrow, we weaken his will with doubts"
Timetables and scheduled events
The present is the tense for timetables, programmes and things that happen on a schedule.
"Ellos debilitan las defensas con el estrés" — "They weaken his defences with stress"
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 debilito su salud con el trabajo — "I weaken his health with work"
- Preterite — one finished occasion: {'pre_es': 'Ayer, ', 'pre_en': 'Yesterday, '}yo debilité su salud con el trabajo — "I weakened his health with work"
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 debilitas al enemigo con el bloqueo — "You weaken the enemy with the blockade"
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: {}tú debilitabas al enemigo con el bloqueo — "You used to weaken the enemy with the blockade"
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 debilita la estructura del puente — "He weakens the bridge's structure"
- Future — what will happen: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él debilitará la estructura del puente — "He will weaken the bridge's structure"
Examples: debilitar in the present tense
Seven sentences that show debilitar in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo debilito su salud con el trabajo — "I weaken his health with work"
- Tú debilitas al enemigo con el bloqueo — "You weaken the enemy with the blockade"
- Él debilita la estructura del puente — "He weakens the bridge's structure"
- Nosotros debilitamos su voluntad con las dudas — "We weaken his will with doubts"
- Vosotros debilitáis las defensas con el estrés — "You weaken his defences with stress"
- Ellos debilitan su salud con el trabajo — "They weaken his health with work"
- Yo debilito al enemigo con el bloqueo — "I weaken the enemy with the blockade"
Common mistakes with debilitar in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with debilitar in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ *Yo debilito en su salud con el trabajo.
✓ Correct: Yo debilito su salud con el trabajo.
debilitar takes this complement directly, with no preposition: Yo debilito su salud con el trabajo.
✗ *Tú debilita al enemigo con el bloqueo.
✓ Correct: Tú debilitas al enemigo con el bloqueo.
The tú form and the él form are different: tú takes debilitas, él takes debilita.
✗ *Cada día, yo debilité la estructura del puente
✓ Correct: Cada día, yo debilito la estructura del puente
Cada día describes a habit, so it needs the present, not the preterite.
✗ *Vosotros debilitais su voluntad con las dudas.
✓ Correct: Vosotros debilitáis su voluntad con las dudas.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: debilitáis, not debilitais.
Quiz: debilitar in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of debilitar. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
Which is the correct present form of debilitar for tú? A. debilitas B. debilito C. debilita D. debilitamos
Complete the sentence: Yo ______ su salud con el trabajo — "I weaken his health with work" (present) A. debilitamos B. debilito C. debilitas D. debilita
Complete the sentence: Él ______ al enemigo con el bloqueo — "He weakens the enemy with the blockade" (present) A. debilitamos B. debilita C. debilito D. debilitas
Which is the correct present form of debilitar for nosotros? A. debilitas B. debilita C. debilitan D. debilitamos
Which sentence uses debilitar correctly in the present? A. Mi amigo debilitamos la estructura del puente B. Mi amigo debilita la estructura del puente C. Mi amigo debilitas la estructura del puente D. Mi amigo debilitaba la estructura del puente
Complete the sentence: Vosotros ______ su voluntad con las dudas — "You weaken his will with doubts" (present) A. debilita B. debilitáis C. debilito D. debilitas
Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ las defensas con el estrés — "They weaken his defences with stress" (present) A. debilitas B. debilita C. debilitan D. debilito
What is the gerund of debilitar? A. debilito B. debilité C. debilitando D. debilitado
Answer key
- debilitas — The tú form in the present is debilitas.
- debilito — The present form for yo is debilito.
- debilita — The present form for él/ella/Ud. is debilita.
- debilitamos — The nosotros form in the present is debilitamos.
- Mi amigo debilita la estructura del puente — Mi amigo debilita la estructura del puente is correct: the verb agrees with its subject and the tense is the present.
- debilitáis — The present form for vosotros/as is debilitáis.
- debilitan — The present form for ellos/ellas/Uds. is debilitan.
- debilitando — The gerund is debilitando. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive, and it is not the past participle debilitado.
Frequently asked questions
Is debilitar regular in the present tense?
Yes — in the present tense debilitar follows the regular endings for -ar verbs, as the table above shows.
What is the gerund and the past participle of debilitar?
The gerund is debilitando and the past participle is debilitado. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say "I weaken" in the present tense?
Say debilito. For example: Yo debilito su salud con el trabajo — "I weaken his health with work".
What is the difference between the present and the preterite of debilitar?
The present describes a habit or what happens now: Yo debilito su salud con el trabajo — "I weaken his health with work". The preterite reports one finished occasion: Ayer, yo debilité su salud con el trabajo — "Yesterday, I weakened his health with work". 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 debilitar — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- debilitar 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.