Divertir Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of divertir — "to amuse, to entertain" 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 divertir 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. Divertir means "to amuse" or "to entertain" — a film amuses you, a joke entertains the children, a party diverts the guests. It is also used in the gustar-like pattern: me divierte el cine, the cinema amuses me. It is an -ir stem-changing verb: the e becomes ie in yo, tú, él and ellos (divierto, diviertes, divierte, divierten) but stays e in nosotros and vosotros (divertimos, divertís). Its gerund is also irregular — divirtiendo, not divertiendo. Its reflexive partner divertirse (to have fun) is a separate verb with its own page, and the two are easy to confuse, so this page keeps them apart. To see it in a real sentence: El payaso divierte a los niños. — "The clown amuses the children.".
Present tense conjugation table: divertir
Every person of divertir in the present tense. The gerund is divirtiendo and the past participle is divertido.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | divierto |
| tú | diviertes |
| él/ella/Ud. | divierte |
| nosotros/as | divertimos |
| vosotros/as | divertís |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | divierten |
How the present indicative of divertir is formed
The present indicative of divertir is built from the stem divert- plus the present indicative 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 | divierto |
| tú | -es | diviertes |
| él/ella/Ud. | -e | divierte |
| nosotros/as | -imos | divertimos |
| vosotros/as | -ís | divertís |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -en | divierten |
divertir is an e → ie stem-changing verb. In the present indicative, the e of the stem becomes ie in four persons — yo, tú, él/ella and ellos/ellas — so you get divierto, diviertes, divierte and divierten. But nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: divertimos and divertís. That split is the whole pattern — four persons change, two do not — and it is the same pattern in every e → ie verb, so learning it here pays off across the whole group. The gerund keeps the change too: divirtiendo.
The gerund of divertir is divirtiendo — it keeps the stem change, so it is irregular, not the plain stem plus -iendo. The past participle is divertido. The participle itself is regular, and it is the form you need for all the perfect tenses with haber.
When to use the present tense of divertir
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and divertir 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.
Amusing someone
As an ordinary verb, divertir takes a person as its object: divertir a los niños.
"El payaso divierte a los niños." — "The clown amuses the children."
Something amusing you
In the gustar-like pattern, the thing is the subject: me divierte el cine.
"Me divierte el cine." — "The cinema amuses me."
Entertaining guests
The present describes entertaining that happens now or regularly.
"Tú diviertes a tus invitados." — "You entertain your guests."
A joke amusing everyone
The present states a general fact about something funny.
"El chiste divierte a todos." — "The joke amuses everyone."
Not amusing someone
The negative states that something fails to entertain.
"No me divierte esa película." — "That film doesn't amuse me."
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: Yo divierto a mis amigos con chistes. — "I amuse my friends with jokes."
- Preterite — one finished occasion: Yo divertí a mis amigos con chistes. — 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: Tú diviertes a los niños con juegos. — "You entertain the children with games."
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: Tú divertías a los niños con juegos. — 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: El mago divierte al público. — "The magician entertains the audience."
- Future — what will happen: El mago divertirá al público. — the same idea, placed in the future.
Examples: divertir in the present tense
Seven sentences that show divertir in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo divierto a mis amigos con chistes. — "I amuse my friends with jokes."
- Tú diviertes a los niños con juegos. — "You entertain the children with games."
- El mago divierte al público. — "The magician entertains the audience."
- Nosotros divertimos a nuestros invitados. — "We entertain our guests."
- Vosotros divertís a los abuelos. — "You entertain the grandparents."
- Ellos divierten a todo el mundo. — "They amuse everyone."
- Me divierte el teatro. — "The theatre amuses me."
Common mistakes with divertir in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with divertir in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ *Yo diverto a mis amigos con chistes (no stem change).
✓ Correct: Yo divierto a mis amigos con chistes.
Divertir is an e → ie stem-changing verb: yo divierto, not diverto. The change hits yo, tú, él and ellos.
✗ *Nosotros diviertimos a nuestros invitados.
✓ Correct: Nosotros divertimos a nuestros invitados.
Nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: divertimos, divertís. The ie change never reaches them.
✗ *El payaso divierte los niños (missing the personal a).
✓ Correct: El payaso divierte a los niños.
People take the personal a: divertir a los niños, not divertir los niños.
✗ *Yo divierto el cine (using divertir as a normal verb for "the cinema amuses me").
✓ Correct: Me divierte el cine.
For "the cinema amuses me", use the gustar-like pattern: me divierte el cine. Yo divierto means "I amuse (someone)".
Quiz: divertir in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of divertir. 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 divertir for tú?
- a) divierten
- b) divierte
- c) divierto
- d) diviertes
2. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ a mis amigos con chistes. — "I amuse my friends with jokes."
- a) divierten
- b) diviertes
- c) divierto
- d) divertí
3. Complete the sentence: Me ______ el cine. — "The cinema amuses me."
- a) divierte
- b) divirtió
- c) divertimos
- d) diviertes
4. Which is the correct present tense form of divertir for nosotros?
- a) diviertes
- b) divierten
- c) divierto
- d) divertimos
5. Which sentence uses divertir correctly in the present tense?
- a) El mago divierte al público.
- b) El mago diviertes al público.
- c) El mago divirtió al público.
6. Which is the correct present tense form of divertir for él/ella? Watch the stem.
- a) divierte
- b) divierto
- c) diverte
- d) divertimos
7. Complete the sentence: El chiste ______ a todos. — "The joke amuses everyone."
- a) divierten
- b) divierto
- c) divirtió
- d) divierte
8. What is the gerund of divertir?
- a) divirtiendo
- b) divertimos
- c) divertido
- d) divierto
Answer key
d) diviertes — The tú form is diviertes. The -s ending belongs to tú in the present; divierto is yo, divierte is él/ella and divierten is ellos/ellas.
c) divierto — The sentence needs the yo form in the present: divierto. The other options are the wrong person or the wrong tense.
a) divierte — The subject is él/ella/Ud., so the present form is divierte.
d) divertimos — Nosotros takes divertimos. In the present the nosotros ending for -ir verbs is -imos, attached to the stem divert-.
a) El mago divierte al público. — El mago divierte al público. is correct: the verb agrees with its subject. The other sentences use the wrong person or the wrong tense.
a) divierte — divertir is a stem-changing verb, so the él/ella form is divierte, with the changed stem. The nosotros form keeps the plain stem, and the form without the change is not Spanish.
d) divierte — The subject is él/ella/Ud., so the present form is divierte.
a) divirtiendo — The gerund is divirtiendo. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive (estar + gerund), and it is not the past participle divertido.
Frequently asked questions
Is divertir regular in the present tense?
No. divertir is a e → ie stem-changing verb, so the stem changes in yo, tú, él/ella and ellos/ellas — divierto, diviertes, divierte, divierten — but stays plain in nosotros and vosotros: divertimos and divertís.
What is the gerund and the past participle of divertir?
The gerund is divirtiendo and the past participle is divertido. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say "I to amuse, to entertain" in Spanish?
Say divierto. For example: Yo divierto a mis amigos con chistes. — "I amuse my friends with jokes.".
What is the difference between divertir and divertirse?
divertir means "to amuse, to entertain", while divertirse means "to have fun". They are related words that learners often meet together, but they are not interchangeable — use divertir when you mean "to amuse, to entertain" and divertirse when you mean "to have fun". The full conjugation of divertirse is on its own page.
Related links
- Full conjugation of divertir — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- divertir 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.