Decorar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of decorar — “to decorate” 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 decorar 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. Decorar means to decorate, and it covers decorating a house, a room, a cake or a street for a party. It is a fully regular verb, used with the place or thing decorated and often with con for the decoration used. To see it in a real sentence: Decoro la casa para Navidad. — “I decorate the house for Christmas.” Learn the six forms in the table below, and the present tense of decorar will be ready for everyday conversation.
Present tense conjugation table: decorar
Every person of decorar in the present tense. The gerund is decorando and the past participle is decorado.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | decoro |
| tú | decoras |
| él/ella/Ud. | decora |
| nosotros/as | decoramos |
| vosotros/as | decoráis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | decoran |
How the present indicative of decorar is formed
The present indicative of decorar is built from the stem plus the present indicative 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 | decoro |
| tú | -as | decoras |
| él/ella/Ud. | -a | decora |
| nosotros/as | -amos | decoramos |
| vosotros/as | -áis | decoráis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -an | decoran |
Decorar is a regular -ar verb in the present tense, so the table above is completely regular. The stem is decor- and the endings are the normal -ar endings, so once you know the pattern you can produce every form on this page.
The gerund of decorar is decorando and the past participle is decorado. 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 decorar
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and decorar 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.
Routines and habits
Use the present for things you do regularly, every day or every week. The present is the tense of routine, and decorar fits naturally into daily life.
“Yo decoro la casa para Navidad todos los días.” — “I decorate the house for Christmas every day.”
General facts
Use the present for facts that are true in general, not just today. When you state how something is, the present is the tense to use.
“Él decora el salón con flores.” — “He/she decorates the living room with flowers.”
What is happening right now
Use the present for what is happening at this moment. Spanish often uses the simple present where English uses the progressive, so decoro can mean both “I decorate” and “I am decorateing”.
“Ahora mismo, yo decoro la tarta con nata y fresas.” — “Right now, I decorate the cake with cream and strawberries.”
Fixed plans in the near future
Use the present for a plan that is already fixed, such as something arranged for tomorrow. Spanish uses the present for near-future plans much more freely than English does.
“Mañana, yo decoro la calle para la fiesta.” — “Tomorrow, I will decorate the street for the party.”
Questions and negatives
Use the present to ask about habits and to say what does not happen. The question and the negative use exactly the same forms as the statement.
“¿Tú decoras la casa para Navidad?” — “Do you decorate the house for Christmas?”
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: Decora el salón con flores. — “He/she decorates the living room with flowers.”
- Preterite — one finished occasion: Decoró el salón con flores. — the same idea, placed in the preterite.
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: Decoran la tarta con nata y fresas. — “They decorate the cake with cream and strawberries.”
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: Decoraban la tarta con nata y fresas. — the same idea, placed in the imperfect.
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: Decoras la calle para la fiesta. — “You decorate the street for the party.”
- Future — what will happen: Decorarás la calle para la fiesta. — the same idea, placed in the future.
Examples: decorar in the present tense
Seven sentences that show decorar in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo decoro la casa para Navidad. — “I decorate the house for Christmas.”
- Tú decoras el salón con flores. — “You decorate the living room with flowers.”
- Él decora la tarta con nata y fresas. — “He decorates the cake with cream and strawberries.”
- Nosotros decoramos la calle para la fiesta. — “We decorate the street for the party.”
- Vosotros decoráis la casa para Navidad. — “You (plural) decorate the house for Christmas.”
- Ellos decoran el salón con flores. — “They decorate the living room with flowers.”
- ¿Tú decoras la tarta con nata y fresas? — “Do you decorate the cake with cream and strawberries?”
Common mistakes with decorar in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with decorar in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ Yo decorar la casa para Navidad. (using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form).
✓ Correct: Yo decoro la casa para Navidad.
The infinitive is not a conjugated form. With yo, the present tense of decorar is decoro, not the infinitive decorar.
✗ Vosotros decorais la casa para Navidad. (forgetting the accent on the vosotros form).
✓ Correct: Vosotros decoráis la casa para Navidad.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: decoráis, not decorais. The accent marks the stressed vowel, and leaving it out is a spelling mistake.
✗ Ayer, yo decoro el salón con flores. (using the present for a finished past action).
✓ Correct: Ayer, yo decoré el salón con flores.
The present and the preterite are different tenses: decoro is happening now, while decoré is a finished action in the past. Use the preterite with ayer.
✗ Treating decorar and pintar as identical in every context. (confusing decorar with pintar).
✓ Correct: Decorar means to decorate, while pintar means to paint.
They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: decorar fits sentences such as Decoro la casa para Navidad, while pintar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
Quiz: decorar in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of decorar. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
1. Which is the correct present tense form of decorar for tú?
- a) decoras
- b) decoro
- c) decora
- d) decoran
2. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ la casa para Navidad. — “I decorate the house for Christmas.”
- a) decora
- b) decoramos
- c) decoras
- d) decoro
3. Complete the sentence: Él ______ el salón con flores. — “He/she decorates the living room with flowers.” (present tense)
- a) decoraba
- b) decorará
- c) decora
- d) decoró
4. Which is the correct present tense form of decorar for nosotros?
- a) decoran
- b) decoramos
- c) decoro
- d) decora
5. Which sentence uses decorar correctly in the present tense?
- a) Él decoró el salón con flores.
- b) Él decora el salón con flores.
- c) Él decorará el salón con flores.
- d) Ellos decora el salón con flores.
6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ la tarta con nata y fresas. — “They decorate the cake with cream and strawberries.”
- a) decoro
- b) decora
- c) decoramos
- d) decoran
7. Complete the question: ¿Tú ______ la calle para la fiesta? — “Do you decorate the street for the party?”
- a) decora
- b) decorarás
- c) decoras
- d) decoro
8. What is the gerund of decorar?
- a) decoré
- b) decorando
- c) decorado
- d) decoro
Answer key
a) decoras — The tú form is decoras. The -s ending belongs to tú in the present; decoro is yo, decora is él/ella and decoran is ellos/ellas.
d) decoro — The sentence needs the yo form in the present: decoro. The other options are the wrong person.
c) decora — The sentence needs the él/ella/Ud. form in the present: decora. The other options are the preterite, the imperfect and the future.
b) decoramos — Nosotros takes decoramos. In the present the nosotros ending for -ar verbs is -amos, attached to the stem.
b) Él decora el salón con flores. — Él decora el salón con flores. is correct: the verb agrees with its subject. The other sentences use the wrong person or the wrong tense.
d) decoran — The subject is ellos/ellas/Uds., so the present form is decoran.
c) decoras — The question needs the tú form in the present: decoras.
b) decorando — The gerund is decorando. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive (estar + gerund), and it is not the past participle decorado.
Frequently asked questions
Is decorar regular in the present tense?
Yes. Decorar is a regular -ar verb in the present tense, so the forms follow the standard endings: decoro, decoras, decora, decoramos, decoráis and decoran.
What is the gerund and the past participle of decorar?
The gerund is decorando and the past participle is decorado. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say “I decorate” in Spanish?
Say decoro. For example: Decoro la casa para Navidad. — “I decorate the house for Christmas.”
What is the difference between decorar and pintar?
Decorar means “to decorate”, while pintar means “to paint”. They are related words that learners often meet together, but they are not interchangeable — use decorar when you mean “to decorate” and pintar when you mean “to paint”. The full conjugation of decorar is on its own page.
Related links
- Full conjugation of decorar — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- decorar 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.
- Ilustrar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with decorar.
- Tallar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with decorar.
- Filmar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with decorar.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise this verb in the interactive tool.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — test yourself on Spanish verbs.