Doler Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of doler — "to hurt, to ache" 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 doler 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. Doler works like gustar: the person is an indirect object and the body part is the subject. You say me duele la cabeza, not yo duelo la cabeza, and me duelen los pies when the subject is plural. To see it in a real sentence: Me duele la cabeza — "My head hurts".
Present tense conjugation table: doler
Every person of doler in the present tense. The gerund is doliendo and the past participle is dolido.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | duelo |
| tú | dueles |
| él/ella/Ud. | duele |
| nosotros/as | dolemos |
| vosotros/as | doléis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | duelen |
How the present of doler is formed
The present of doler is built from the stem dol- plus the present endings for -er verbs. Take the infinitive, drop the -er 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 | duelo |
| tú | -es | dueles |
| él/ella/Ud. | -e | duele |
| nosotros/as | -emos | dolemos |
| vosotros/as | -éis | doléis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -en | duelen |
The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: duelo, dueles, duele and duelen — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: dolemos, doléis. doler works like gustar: the person is an indirect object pronoun and the body part is the subject, so the verb agrees with the body part: me duele la cabeza, me duelen los pies.
The gerund of doler is doliendo and the past participle is dolido. Both are the forms you need with estar and haber respectively.
When to use the present tense of doler
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and doler 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, me duele la cabeza" — "Every day, my head hurts"
General truths
The present states facts that are always true, not just true today.
"Le duele la espalda" — "His back hurts"
What is happening now
The present describes an action in progress right now.
"Ahora, me duele el estómago" — "Right now, my stomach hurts"
Near-future plans
Spanish often uses the present for a plan that is already fixed.
"Mañana, nos duelen los pies" — "Tomorrow, our feet hurt"
Timetables and scheduled events
The present is the tense for timetables, programmes and things that happen on a schedule.
"Les duele la garganta" — "Their throat hurts"
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, '}me duele la cabeza — "My head hurts"
- Preterite — one finished occasion: {'pre_es': 'Ayer, ', 'pre_en': 'Yesterday, '}me dolió la cabeza — "My head hurt"
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: {}Te duele la espalda — "Your back hurts"
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: {}Te dolía la espalda — "Your back used to hurt"
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'}le duele el estómago — "His stomach hurts"
- Future — what will happen: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}le dolerá el estómago — "His stomach will hurt"
Examples: doler in the present tense
Seven sentences that show doler in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Me duele la cabeza — "My head hurts"
- Te duele la espalda — "Your back hurts"
- Le duele el estómago — "His stomach hurts"
- Nos duelen los pies — "Our feet hurt"
- Os duele la garganta — "Your throat hurts"
- Les duele la cabeza — "Their head hurts"
- Me duele la espalda — "My back hurts"
Common mistakes with doler in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with doler in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ *Yo dolo la cabeza.
✓ Correct: Yo duelo la cabeza.
doler is a stem-changing verb (o → ue): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is duelo, not dolo.
✗ *Tú duele la espalda.
✓ Correct: Tú dueles la espalda.
The tú form and the él form are different: tú takes dueles, él takes duele.
✗ *Cada día, me dolió el estómago
✓ Correct: Cada día, me duele el estómago
Cada día describes a habit, so it needs the present, not the preterite.
✗ *Espero que le duelen los pies
✓ Correct: Espero que le duelan los pies
After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: Espero que le duelan los pies — not the indicative Espero que le duelen los pies.
Quiz: doler in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of doler. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
Which is the correct present form of doler for tú? A. duele B. dolemos C. dueles D. duelo
Complete the sentence: Me ______ la cabeza — "My head hurts" (present) A. duele B. duelen C. dolió D. dolieron
Complete the sentence: Le ______ la espalda — "His back hurts" (present) A. duele B. duelen C. dolió D. dolieron
Which is the correct present form of doler for nosotros? A. duelen B. dolemos C. dueles D. duele
Which sentence uses doler correctly in the present? A. Me duele los pies. B. Le dolía el estómago C. Le dolerá el estómago D. Le duele el estómago
Complete the sentence: Os ______ los pies — "Your feet hurt" (present) A. duelen B. duele C. dolieron D. dolió
Complete the sentence: Les ______ la garganta — "Their throat hurts" (present) A. dolieron B. duele C. duelen D. dolió
What is the gerund of doler? A. doliendo B. dolido C. duelo D. dolí
Answer key
- dueles — The tú form in the present is dueles.
- duele — The present form is duele.
- duele — The present form is duele.
- dolemos — The nosotros form in the present is dolemos.
- Le duele el estómago — Le duele el estómago is correct: the verb agrees with its subject and the tense is the present.
- duelen — The present form is duelen.
- duele — The present form is duele.
- doliendo — The gerund is doliendo. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive, and it is not the past participle dolido.
Frequently asked questions
Is doler regular in the present tense?
No — in the present the stem changes: The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: duelo, dueles, duele and duelen — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: dolemos, doléis. The nosotros and vosotros forms keep the plain stem.
What is the gerund and the past participle of doler?
The gerund is doliendo and the past participle is dolido. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say "I hurt" in the present tense?
Say duelo. For example: Me duele la cabeza — "My head hurts".
What is the difference between the present and the preterite of doler?
The present describes a habit or what happens now: Me duele la cabeza — "My head hurts". The preterite reports one finished occasion: Ayer, me dolió la cabeza — "Yesterday, my head hurt". 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 doler — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- doler 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.