Digerir Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of digerir — "to digest" 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 digerir 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. Digerir means to digest food, and figuratively to digest an idea or bad news: digerir las malas noticias poco a poco. The stem changes e to ie in the present. To see it in a real sentence: Yo digiero la comida con dificultad — "I digest food with difficulty".
Present tense conjugation table: digerir
Every person of digerir in the present tense. The gerund is digiriendo and the past participle is digerido.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | digiero |
| tú | digieres |
| él/ella/Ud. | digiere |
| nosotros/as | digerimos |
| vosotros/as | digerís |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | digieren |
How the present of digerir is formed
The present of digerir is built from the stem diger- 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 | digiero |
| tú | -es | digieres |
| él/ella/Ud. | -e | digiere |
| nosotros/as | -imos | digerimos |
| vosotros/as | -ís | digerís |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -en | digieren |
The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: digiero, digieres, digiere and digieren — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: digerimos, digerís. In the preterite the third-person forms change too: digirió, digirieron, and the gerund is digiriendo.
The gerund of digerir is digiriendo and the past participle is digerido. Both are the forms you need with estar and haber respectively.
When to use the present tense of digerir
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and digerir 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 digiero la comida con dificultad" — "Every day, I digest food with difficulty"
General truths
The present states facts that are always true, not just true today.
"Mi amigo digiere las malas noticias poco a poco" — "My friend digests the bad news little by little"
What is happening now
The present describes an action in progress right now.
"Ahora, yo digiero la cena antes de dormir" — "Right now, I digest dinner before sleeping"
Near-future plans
Spanish often uses the present for a plan that is already fixed.
"Mañana, nosotros digerimos una idea nueva" — "Tomorrow, we digest a new idea"
Timetables and scheduled events
The present is the tense for timetables, programmes and things that happen on a schedule.
"Ellos digieren el almuerzo en una hora" — "They digest lunch in an hour"
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 digiero la comida con dificultad — "I digest food with difficulty"
- Preterite — one finished occasion: {'pre_es': 'Ayer, ', 'pre_en': 'Yesterday, '}yo digerí la comida con dificultad — "I digested food with difficulty"
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 digieres las malas noticias poco a poco — "You digest the bad news little by little"
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: {}tú digerías las malas noticias poco a poco — "You used to digest the bad news little by little"
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 digiere la cena antes de dormir — "He digests dinner before sleeping"
- Future — what will happen: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él digerirá la cena antes de dormir — "He will digest dinner before sleeping"
Examples: digerir in the present tense
Seven sentences that show digerir in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo digiero la comida con dificultad — "I digest food with difficulty"
- Tú digieres las malas noticias poco a poco — "You digest the bad news little by little"
- Él digiere la cena antes de dormir — "He digests dinner before sleeping"
- Nosotros digerimos una idea nueva — "We digest a new idea"
- Vosotros digerís el almuerzo en una hora — "You digest lunch in an hour"
- Ellos digieren la comida con dificultad — "They digest food with difficulty"
- Yo digiero las malas noticias poco a poco — "I digest the bad news little by little"
Common mistakes with digerir in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with digerir in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ *Yo digero la comida con dificultad.
✓ Correct: Yo digiero la comida con dificultad.
digerir is a stem-changing verb (e → ie): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is digiero, not digero.
✗ *Tú digiere las malas noticias poco a poco.
✓ Correct: Tú digieres las malas noticias poco a poco.
The tú form and the él form are different: tú takes digieres, él takes digiere.
✗ *Cada día, yo digerí la cena antes de dormir
✓ Correct: Cada día, yo digiero la cena antes de dormir
Cada día describes a habit, so it needs the present, not the preterite.
✗ *Vosotros digeris una idea nueva.
✓ Correct: Vosotros digerís una idea nueva.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: digerís, not digeris.
Quiz: digerir in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of digerir. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
Which is the correct present form of digerir for tú? A. digiere B. digerimos C. digieres D. digiero
Complete the sentence: Yo ______ la comida con dificultad — "I digest food with difficulty" (present) A. digiero B. digieres C. digiere D. digerimos
Complete the sentence: Él ______ las malas noticias poco a poco — "He digests the bad news little by little" (present) A. digiero B. digieres C. digerimos D. digiere
Which is the correct present form of digerir for nosotros? A. digieren B. digerimos C. digieres D. digiere
Which sentence uses digerir correctly in the present? A. Mi amigo digieres la cena antes de dormir B. Mi amigo digería la cena antes de dormir C. Mi amigo digerimos la cena antes de dormir D. Mi amigo digiere la cena antes de dormir
Complete the sentence: Vosotros ______ una idea nueva — "You digest a new idea" (present) A. digiero B. digieres C. digiere D. digerís
Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ el almuerzo en una hora — "They digest lunch in an hour" (present) A. digiero B. digieres C. digiere D. digieren
What is the gerund of digerir? A. digiriendo B. digerido C. digiero D. digerí
Answer key
- digieres — The tú form in the present is digieres.
- digiero — The present form for yo is digiero.
- digiere — The present form for él/ella/Ud. is digiere.
- digerimos — The nosotros form in the present is digerimos.
- Mi amigo digiere la cena antes de dormir — Mi amigo digiere la cena antes de dormir is correct: the verb agrees with its subject and the tense is the present.
- digerís — The present form for vosotros/as is digerís.
- digieren — The present form for ellos/ellas/Uds. is digieren.
- digiriendo — The gerund is digiriendo. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive, and it is not the past participle digerido.
Frequently asked questions
Is digerir regular in the present tense?
No — in the present the stem changes: The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: digiero, digieres, digiere and digieren — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: digerimos, digerís. In the preterite the third-person forms change too: digirió, digirieron, and the gerund is digiriendo. The nosotros and vosotros forms keep the plain stem.
What is the gerund and the past participle of digerir?
The gerund is digiriendo and the past participle is digerido. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say "I digest" in the present tense?
Say digiero. For example: Yo digiero la comida con dificultad — "I digest food with difficulty".
What is the difference between the present and the preterite of digerir?
The present describes a habit or what happens now: Yo digiero la comida con dificultad — "I digest food with difficulty". The preterite reports one finished occasion: Ayer, yo digerí la comida con dificultad — "Yesterday, I digested food with difficulty". 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 digerir — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- digerir 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.