Divorciarse Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb divorciarse means to get divorced, and this page covers it in the present tense — the tense for habits, facts and what is happening now. If you want the whole picture, start with the full divorciarse conjugation, which has every tense on one page. Here we go deep on one tense only: the full table, how it is formed, when to use it, how it differs from the closest tense, examples, the mistakes learners actually make, a quiz and answers to the questions people ask most. One example to start: Yo me divorcio después de diez años. — "I get divorced after ten years."

No pronunciation is given on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for divorciarse, so no pronunciation is shown rather than an invented one. All the forms below come from the verified conjugation tables, so you can trust every form you see here.

divorciarse is reflexive, so every form below is shown with its reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se). The pronoun is part of the verb, not an optional extra.

The divorciarse present tense table

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for divorciarse. The gerund is divorciando and the past participle is divorciado.

Person Pronoun Form
yo me divorcio
tú te divorcias
él/ella/Ud. se divorcia
nosotros/as nos divorciamos
vosotros/as os divorciáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se divorcian

The gerund divorciando is used with estar for the progressive (estoy divorciando, I am getting divorced), and the past participle divorciado is used with haber for the perfect tenses (he divorciado, I have got divorced).

How the present tense of divorciarse is formed

Start with the infinitive divorciar. Take off the -ar ending and you are left with the stem divorci-. Then add the present endings for -ar verbs: -o (yo), -as (tú), -a (él/ella/Ud.), -amos (nosotros/as), -áis (vosotros/as) and -an (ellos/ellas/Uds.). That gives you the six forms in the table above, and for most verbs in this group that is the whole story.

divorciarse is regular in the present: every form is exactly the stem plus the ending above, with no stem change and no spelling change. If you know the stem and the six endings, you can build the whole tense without memorising anything extra.

divorciarse is reflexive, so every form needs its reflexive pronoun in front of it: me, te, se, nos, os, se, matching the person. In the table above the pronoun is shown in its own column, and in a sentence it goes before the conjugated verb: Me divorcio después de diez años.. Do not drop the pronoun: without it, you are talking about a different verb. In the infinitive the pronoun is attached to the end (divorciarse), and in the gerund it can go before the auxiliary or attached to the gerund: estoy divorciando or divorciándome.

Two details are worth fixing early. First, the vosotros form carries a written accent on the ending: divorciáis. Second, the present tense in Spanish has no auxiliary verb: me divorcio on its own means both "I get divorced" and "I am getting divorced" in English, so you do not need a separate word for the progressive unless you want to stress that something is happening right now.

When to use the present tense of divorciarse

Habits and routines

The present is the tense of what you do regularly. Talking about divorce: after ten years of marriage, in court, by mutual agreement.

  • Yo me divorcio después de diez años. — "I get divorced after ten years."
  • Tú te divorcias por fin. — "you get divorced at last."

Facts and general truths

The present also states facts that are true in general, not just today. Talking about the process: lawyers, papers, and the decision.

  • Él se divorcia sin problemas. — "he/she gets divorced without problems."
  • Nosotros nos divorciamos en el juzgado. — "we get divorced in court."

What is happening now

The present describes what is happening at this moment. Talking about life after divorce, a sensitive topic learners should handle with care.

  • Vosotros os divorciáis de mutuo acuerdo. — "you (all) get divorced by mutual agreement."
  • Ellos se divorcian con la ayuda de un abogado. — "they get divorced with the help of a lawyer."

Plans in the near future

Spanish also uses the present for fixed plans in the near future, especially with a time expression. A plan you have already decided on can be stated in the present, and it sounds more certain than the future tense.

  • Él se divorcia sin problemas. — "he/she gets divorced without problems."
  • Nosotros nos divorciamos en el juzgado. — "we get divorced in court."

Divorciarse present vs present progressive

The present tense and the present progressive (estar + gerund) are close neighbours, and learners mix them up. The present describes a habit, a fact or a routine. The progressive describes something in progress right now, at this very moment. Compare the three pairs below: the first sentence in each pair is a habit, the second is happening now.

  • Present (habit): Yo me divorcio después de diez años. — "I get divorced after ten years."

  • Progressive (right now): Yo estoy divorciando después de diez años. — "I am getting divorced after ten years."

  • Present (habit): Tú te divorcias por fin. — "you get divorced at last."

  • Progressive (right now): Tú estás divorciando por fin. — "you are getting divorced at last."

  • Present (habit): Él se divorcia sin problemas. — "he/she gets divorced without problems."

  • Progressive (right now): Él está divorciando sin problemas. — "he/she is getting divorced without problems."

Use the present when you talk about what you usually do, and the progressive when you want to stress that it is happening as you speak. If you say me divorcio every day, that is a routine. If you say Estoy divorciando, you are doing it at this moment.

Examples of divorciarse in the present

Eight sentences in the present tense, so you can see the forms in real use. Read the Spanish first, guess the meaning, then check the translation.

  1. Me divorcio de mi marido después de diez años. — "I am getting divorced from my husband after ten years."
  2. Mi tía se divorcia de su marido después de diez años. — "My aunt is getting divorced from her husband after ten years."
  3. Ayer me divorcié de mi marido por fin. — "Yesterday I got divorced from my husband at last."
  4. Mis padres se divorciaban cuando yo era pequeña. — "My parents were getting divorced when I was little."
  5. Mañana me divorciaré de mi marido en el juzgado. — "Tomorrow I will get divorced from my husband in court."
  6. Si no tuviéramos hijos, me divorciaría de mi marido. — "If we had no children, I would divorce my husband."
  7. Él se divorcia de mutuo acuerdo. — "he/she gets divorced by mutual agreement."
  8. Nosotros nos divorciamos con la ayuda de un abogado. — "we get divorced with the help of a lawyer."

Common mistakes with divorciarse in the present

These are the errors learners actually make with this verb. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why it is wrong.

1. Yo divorcio de mi marido.

Wrong: Yo divorcio de mi marido.

Right: Yo me divorcio de mi marido.

Divorciarse is reflexive. Divorcio on its own is not used for getting divorced yourself.

2. Me divorcia de mi marido.

Wrong: Me divorcia de mi marido.

Right: Me divorcio de mi marido.

Me pairs with the yo form divorcio. Divorcia is the él/ella form.

3. Dropping the reflexive pronoun

Wrong: Yo divorcio después de diez años.

Right: Me divorcio después de diez años.

Without the pronoun you are using the non-reflexive verb, which means something else. The pronoun is part of divorciarse: me divorcio.

4. Using the present for a finished past action

Wrong: Ayer yo me divorcio después de diez años.

Right: Ayer yo me divorcié después de diez años.

Ayer (yesterday) signals a finished action, so it needs the preterite: me divorcié. The present me divorcio describes what you do now or usually, not what you did yesterday.

5. Forgetting the accent on the vosotros form

Wrong: Vosotros divorciais después de diez años.

Right: Vosotros divorciáis después de diez años.

The vosotros ending carries a written accent: divorciáis. Without it, the spelling is wrong, even though the pronunciation is close.

Quiz: test yourself on divorciarse in the present

Choose the right form for each sentence. The answers are at the end of this section, with an explanation for every question.

  1. Yo ___ después de diez años
    • a) me divorcio
    • b) te divorcias
    • c) se divorcia
    • d) nos divorciamos
  2. Tú ___ por fin
    • a) me divorcio
    • b) se divorcia
    • c) nos divorciamos
    • d) te divorcias
  3. Él ___ sin problemas
    • a) te divorcias
    • b) nos divorciamos
    • c) se divorcia
    • d) me divorcio
  4. Nosotros ___ en el juzgado
    • a) se divorcia
    • b) nos divorciamos
    • c) me divorcio
    • d) te divorcias
  5. Vosotros ___ de mutuo acuerdo
    • a) os divorciáis
    • b) me divorcio
    • c) te divorcias
    • d) se divorcia
  6. Ellos ___ con la ayuda de un abogado
    • a) me divorcio
    • b) te divorcias
    • c) se divorcia
    • d) se divorcian
  7. Yo ___ después de diez años
    • a) se divorcia
    • b) nos divorciamos
    • c) me divorcio
    • d) te divorcias
  8. Tú ___ por fin
    • a) nos divorciamos
    • b) te divorcias
    • c) me divorcio
    • d) se divorcia

Answers

  1. a) me divorcio — The sentence needs the yo form, because the subject is yo.
  2. d) te divorcias — The sentence needs the tú form, because the subject is tú.
  3. c) se divorcia — The sentence needs the él/ella/Ud. form, because the subject is él/ella/Ud..
  4. b) nos divorciamos — The sentence needs the nosotros/as form, because the subject is nosotros/as.
  5. a) os divorciáis — The sentence needs the vosotros/as form, because the subject is vosotros/as.
  6. d) se divorcian — The sentence needs the ellos/ellas/Uds. form, because the subject is ellos/ellas/Uds..
  7. c) me divorcio — The sentence needs the yo form, because the subject is yo.
  8. b) te divorcias — The sentence needs the tú form, because the subject is tú.

Frequently asked questions about divorciarse in the present

What is the difference between separarse and divorciarse?

Separarse is splitting up; divorciarse is the legal ending of a marriage. A couple se separa first and later se divorcia.

Is divorciarse regular?

Yes, it is a regular -ar reflexive verb: me divorcio, te divorcias, se divorcia, nos divorciamos, os divorciáis, se divorcian.

Is divorciarse regular in the present?

Yes. divorciarse is regular in the present: the six forms are the stem divorci- plus the regular endings, with no stem change. The only thing to watch is the written accent on the stressed endings, for example divorcio.

What are the gerund and the past participle of divorciarse?

The gerund is divorciando, used with estar for the progressive (estoy divorciando), and the past participle is divorciado, used with haber for the perfect tenses (he divorciado).

How to remember divorciarse

Four small habits will fix divorciarse in your memory. First, say the present tense out loud, in order, three times: me divorcio, te divorcias, se divorcia, nos divorciamos, os divorciáis, se divorcian. Saying the forms is far more effective than reading them silently, because you hear the endings and the stem at the same time. Second, write three sentences about your own life: one about today with the present (me divorcio), one about yesterday with the preterite (me divorcié), and one about tomorrow with the future (me divorciaré). Personal sentences stick because they are about you, not about a textbook. Third, remember the difference from separarse: Divorciarse is the legal divorce; separarse is splitting up. Not every separation ends in divorce, and divorce is the formal step that ends a marriage. Finally, learn the two key forms by heart: the gerund divorciando and the past participle divorciado. With those two and the present tense, you can already build the progressive (estoy divorciando) and the present perfect (he divorciado), which covers most everyday conversation.

Related pages