Derretir Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of derretir — "to melt" 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 derretir 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. Derretir means to melt something with heat: derretir el chocolate, derretir la mantequilla. With se it means to melt by itself: el hielo se derrite al sol. To see it in a real sentence: Yo derrito el chocolate en el microondas — "I melt the chocolate in the microwave".
Present tense conjugation table: derretir
Every person of derretir in the present tense. The gerund is derritiendo and the past participle is derretido.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | derrito |
| tú | derrites |
| él/ella/Ud. | derrite |
| nosotros/as | derretimos |
| vosotros/as | derretís |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | derriten |
How the present of derretir is formed
The present of derretir is built from the stem derret- plus the present endings for -ir verbs. Take the infinitive, drop the -ir 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 | derrito |
| tú | -es | derrites |
| él/ella/Ud. | -e | derrite |
| nosotros/as | -imos | derretimos |
| vosotros/as | -ís | derretís |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -en | derriten |
The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: derrito, derrites, derrite and derriten — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: derretimos, derretís. In the preterite the third-person forms change too: derritió, derritieron, and the gerund is derritiendo.
The gerund of derretir is derritiendo and the past participle is derretido. Both are the forms you need with estar and haber respectively.
When to use the present tense of derretir
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and derretir 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 derrito el chocolate en el microondas" — "Every day, I melt the chocolate in the microwave"
General truths
The present states facts that are always true, not just true today.
"Mi amigo derrite la mantequilla en la sartén" — "My friend melts the butter in the pan"
What is happening now
The present describes an action in progress right now.
"Ahora, yo derrito el hielo al sol" — "Right now, I melt the ice in the sun"
Near-future plans
Spanish often uses the present for a plan that is already fixed.
"Mañana, nosotros derretimos el queso sobre la pizza" — "Tomorrow, we melt the cheese on the pizza"
Timetables and scheduled events
The present is the tense for timetables, programmes and things that happen on a schedule.
"Ellos derriten la nieve en primavera" — "They melt the snow in spring"
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 derrito el chocolate en el microondas — "I melt the chocolate in the microwave"
- Preterite — one finished occasion: {'pre_es': 'Ayer, ', 'pre_en': 'Yesterday, '}yo derretí el chocolate en el microondas — "I melted the chocolate in the microwave"
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 derrites la mantequilla en la sartén — "You melt the butter in the pan"
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: {}tú derretías la mantequilla en la sartén — "You used to melt the butter in the pan"
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 derrite el hielo al sol — "He melts the ice in the sun"
- Future — what will happen: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él derretirá el hielo al sol — "He will melt the ice in the sun"
Examples: derretir in the present tense
Seven sentences that show derretir in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo derrito el chocolate en el microondas — "I melt the chocolate in the microwave"
- Tú derrites la mantequilla en la sartén — "You melt the butter in the pan"
- Él derrite el hielo al sol — "He melts the ice in the sun"
- Nosotros derretimos el queso sobre la pizza — "We melt the cheese on the pizza"
- Vosotros derretís la nieve en primavera — "You melt the snow in spring"
- Ellos derriten el chocolate en el microondas — "They melt the chocolate in the microwave"
- Yo derrito la mantequilla en la sartén — "I melt the butter in the pan"
Common mistakes with derretir in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with derretir in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ *Yo derreto el chocolate en el microondas.
✓ Correct: Yo derrito el chocolate en el microondas.
derretir is a stem-changing verb (e → i): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is derrito, not derreto.
✗ *Tú derrite la mantequilla en la sartén.
✓ Correct: Tú derrites la mantequilla en la sartén.
The tú form and the él form are different: tú takes derrites, él takes derrite.
✗ *Cada día, yo derretí el hielo al sol
✓ Correct: Cada día, yo derrito el hielo al sol
Cada día describes a habit, so it needs the present, not the preterite.
✗ *Vosotros derretis el queso sobre la pizza.
✓ Correct: Vosotros derretís el queso sobre la pizza.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: derretís, not derretis.
Quiz: derretir in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of derretir. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
Which is the correct present form of derretir for tú? A. derrito B. derrite C. derretimos D. derrites
Complete the sentence: Yo ______ el chocolate en el microondas — "I melt the chocolate in the microwave" (present) A. derrite B. derretimos C. derrito D. derrites
Complete the sentence: Él ______ la mantequilla en la sartén — "He melts the butter in the pan" (present) A. derrito B. derrites C. derretimos D. derrite
Which is the correct present form of derretir for nosotros? A. derrite B. derriten C. derretimos D. derrites
Which sentence uses derretir correctly in the present? A. Mi amigo derrite el hielo al sol B. Mi amigo derrites el hielo al sol C. Mi amigo derretía el hielo al sol D. Mi amigo derretimos el hielo al sol
Complete the sentence: Vosotros ______ el queso sobre la pizza — "You melt the cheese on the pizza" (present) A. derrito B. derrites C. derrite D. derretís
Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ la nieve en primavera — "They melt the snow in spring" (present) A. derriten B. derrito C. derrites D. derrite
What is the gerund of derretir? A. derretí B. derritiendo C. derretido D. derrito
Answer key
- derrites — The tú form in the present is derrites.
- derrito — The present form for yo is derrito.
- derrite — The present form for él/ella/Ud. is derrite.
- derretimos — The nosotros form in the present is derretimos.
- Mi amigo derrite el hielo al sol — Mi amigo derrite el hielo al sol is correct: the verb agrees with its subject and the tense is the present.
- derretís — The present form for vosotros/as is derretís.
- derriten — The present form for ellos/ellas/Uds. is derriten.
- derritiendo — The gerund is derritiendo. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive, and it is not the past participle derretido.
Frequently asked questions
Is derretir regular in the present tense?
No — in the present the stem changes: The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: derrito, derrites, derrite and derriten — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: derretimos, derretís. In the preterite the third-person forms change too: derritió, derritieron, and the gerund is derritiendo. The nosotros and vosotros forms keep the plain stem.
What is the gerund and the past participle of derretir?
The gerund is derritiendo and the past participle is derretido. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say "I melt" in the present tense?
Say derrito. For example: Yo derrito el chocolate en el microondas — "I melt the chocolate in the microwave".
What is the difference between the present and the preterite of derretir?
The present describes a habit or what happens now: Yo derrito el chocolate en el microondas — "I melt the chocolate in the microwave". The preterite reports one finished occasion: Ayer, yo derretí el chocolate en el microondas — "Yesterday, I melted the chocolate in the microwave". 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 derretir — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- derretir 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.