Demorar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of demorar — “to delay” 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 demorar 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. Demorar means to delay, to make something take longer or to take a long time doing something. It is used for flights, work and replies, and it is fully regular. To see it in a real sentence: Demoro el vuelo por la niebla. — “I delay the flight because of the fog.” Learn the six forms in the table below, and the present tense of demorar will be ready for everyday conversation.
Present tense conjugation table: demorar
Every person of demorar in the present tense. The gerund is demorando and the past participle is demorado.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | demoro |
| tú | demoras |
| él/ella/Ud. | demora |
| nosotros/as | demoramos |
| vosotros/as | demoráis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | demoran |
How the present indicative of demorar is formed
The present indicative of demorar 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 | demoro |
| tú | -as | demoras |
| él/ella/Ud. | -a | demora |
| nosotros/as | -amos | demoramos |
| vosotros/as | -áis | demoráis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -an | demoran |
Demorar is a regular -ar verb in the present tense, so the table above is completely regular. The stem is demor- 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 demorar is demorando and the past participle is demorado. 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 demorar
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and demorar 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 demorar fits naturally into daily life.
“Yo demoro el vuelo por la niebla todos los días.” — “I delay the flight because of the fog 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 demora la respuesta una semana.” — “He/she delays the reply by a week.”
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 demoro can mean both “I delay” and “I am delaying”.
“Ahora mismo, yo demoro la entrega del pedido.” — “Right now, I delay the delivery of the order.”
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 demoro mucho en contestar el mensaje.” — “Tomorrow, I will delay a long time answering the message.”
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 demoras el vuelo por la niebla?” — “Do you delay the flight because of the fog?”
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: Demora la respuesta una semana. — “He/she delays the reply by a week.”
- Preterite — one finished occasion: Demoró la respuesta una semana. — 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: Demoran la entrega del pedido. — “They delay the delivery of the order.”
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: Demoraban la entrega del pedido. — 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: Demoras mucho en contestar el mensaje. — “You delay a long time answering the message.”
- Future — what will happen: Demorarás mucho en contestar el mensaje. — the same idea, placed in the future.
Examples: demorar in the present tense
Seven sentences that show demorar in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo demoro el vuelo por la niebla. — “I delay the flight because of the fog.”
- Tú demoras la respuesta una semana. — “You delay the reply by a week.”
- Él demora la entrega del pedido. — “He delays the delivery of the order.”
- Nosotros demoramos mucho en contestar el mensaje. — “We delay a long time answering the message.”
- Vosotros demoráis el vuelo por la niebla. — “You (plural) delay the flight because of the fog.”
- Ellos demoran la respuesta una semana. — “They delay the reply by a week.”
- ¿Tú demoras la entrega del pedido? — “Do you delay the delivery of the order?”
Common mistakes with demorar in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with demorar in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ Yo demorar el vuelo por la niebla. (using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form).
✓ Correct: Yo demoro el vuelo por la niebla.
The infinitive is not a conjugated form. With yo, the present tense of demorar is demoro, not the infinitive demorar.
✗ Vosotros demorais el vuelo por la niebla. (forgetting the accent on the vosotros form).
✓ Correct: Vosotros demoráis el vuelo por la niebla.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: demoráis, not demorais. The accent marks the stressed vowel, and leaving it out is a spelling mistake.
✗ Ayer, yo demoro la respuesta una semana. (using the present for a finished past action).
✓ Correct: Ayer, yo demoré la respuesta una semana.
The present and the preterite are different tenses: demoro is happening now, while demoré is a finished action in the past. Use the preterite with ayer.
✗ Treating demorar and retrasar as identical in every context. (confusing demorar with retrasar).
✓ Correct: Demorar means to delay, while retrasar means to delay, a close synonym.
They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: demorar fits sentences such as Demoro el vuelo por la niebla, while retrasar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
Quiz: demorar in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of demorar. 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 demorar for tú?
- a) demoras
- b) demoro
- c) demora
- d) demoran
2. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ el vuelo por la niebla. — “I delay the flight because of the fog.”
- a) demora
- b) demoramos
- c) demoras
- d) demoro
3. Complete the sentence: Él ______ la respuesta una semana. — “He/she delays the reply by a week.” (present tense)
- a) demoraba
- b) demorará
- c) demora
- d) demoró
4. Which is the correct present tense form of demorar for nosotros?
- a) demoran
- b) demoramos
- c) demoro
- d) demora
5. Which sentence uses demorar correctly in the present tense?
- a) Él demoró la respuesta una semana.
- b) Él demora la respuesta una semana.
- c) Él demorará la respuesta una semana.
- d) Ellos demora la respuesta una semana.
6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ la entrega del pedido. — “They delay the delivery of the order.”
- a) demoro
- b) demora
- c) demoramos
- d) demoran
7. Complete the question: ¿Tú ______ mucho en contestar el mensaje? — “Do you delay a long time answering the message?”
- a) demora
- b) demorarás
- c) demoras
- d) demoro
8. What is the gerund of demorar?
- a) demoré
- b) demorando
- c) demorado
- d) demoro
Answer key
a) demoras — The tú form is demoras. The -s ending belongs to tú in the present; demoro is yo, demora is él/ella and demoran is ellos/ellas.
d) demoro — The sentence needs the yo form in the present: demoro. The other options are the wrong person.
c) demora — The sentence needs the él/ella/Ud. form in the present: demora. The other options are the preterite, the imperfect and the future.
b) demoramos — Nosotros takes demoramos. In the present the nosotros ending for -ar verbs is -amos, attached to the stem.
b) Él demora la respuesta una semana. — Él demora la respuesta una semana. is correct: the verb agrees with its subject. The other sentences use the wrong person or the wrong tense.
d) demoran — The subject is ellos/ellas/Uds., so the present form is demoran.
c) demoras — The question needs the tú form in the present: demoras.
b) demorando — The gerund is demorando. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive (estar + gerund), and it is not the past participle demorado.
Frequently asked questions
Is demorar regular in the present tense?
Yes. Demorar is a regular -ar verb in the present tense, so the forms follow the standard endings: demoro, demoras, demora, demoramos, demoráis and demoran.
What is the gerund and the past participle of demorar?
The gerund is demorando and the past participle is demorado. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say “I delay” in Spanish?
Say demoro. For example: Demoro el vuelo por la niebla. — “I delay the flight because of the fog.”
What is the difference between demorar and retrasar?
Demorar means “to delay”, while retrasar means “to delay, a close synonym”. They are related words that learners often meet together, but they are not interchangeable — use demorar when you mean “to delay” and retrasar when you mean “to delay, a close synonym”. The full conjugation of demorar is on its own page.
Related links
- Full conjugation of demorar — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- demorar 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.
- Denunciar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with demorar.
- Cobijar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with demorar.
- Derivar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with demorar.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise this verb in the interactive tool.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — test yourself on Spanish verbs.