Empujar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of empujar — "to push" 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 empujar 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. Empujar means to push, and it is used for pushing a door, a shopping trolley, a car that will not start and, figuratively, pushing someone to do something. It is the everyday opposite of tirar in the pulling sense, and it is a fully regular -ar verb. To see it in a real sentence: Él empuja la puerta con el hombro. — "He/she pushes the door with my shoulder." Work through the table below, then the formation notes, the usage rules and the contrast with the preterite, and test yourself at the end.

Present tense conjugation table: empujar

Every person of empujar in the present tense. The gerund is empujando and the past participle is empujado.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo empujo
tú empujas
él/ella/Ud. empuja
nosotros/as empujamos
vosotros/as empujáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. empujan

How the present indicative of empujar is formed

The present indicative of empujar is built from the stem empuj- plus the present endings for -ar verbs. Take the infinitive, drop the -ar 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 empujo
tú -as empujas
él/ella/Ud. -a empuja
nosotros/as -amos empujamos
vosotros/as -áis empujáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -an empujan

The gerund of empujar is empujando and the past participle is empujado. Both are regular for this verb, and the participle is the form you need for all the perfect tenses with haber.

When to use the present tense of empujar

The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and empujar 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 tense describes things you do regularly. If you do it every day, every week or every morning, the present is the tense to use. For empujar, this use looks like this: "Yo empujo la puerta con el hombro." — "I push the door with my shoulder." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

General facts

The present tense states facts that are generally true, not tied to one moment. It is the tense for definitions and permanent situations. For empujar, this use looks like this: "Él empuja el carrito por el supermercado." — "He/she pushes the trolley round the supermarket." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

What is happening now

The present tense also covers what is happening at this moment, especially with verbs that describe an action in progress. For empujar, this use looks like this: "Nosotros empujamos el coche hasta el taller." — "We push the car to the garage." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

Timetables and schedules

The present tense is used for fixed plans and timetables, such as trains, classes and opening times, even when they refer to the future. For empujar, this use looks like this: "Ellos empujan la silla hacia la mesa." — "They push the chair towards the table." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

Instructions and requests

The present tense appears in instructions and polite requests, where it sounds softer than a direct command. For empujar, this use looks like this: "Tú empujas la puerta con el hombro." — "You push the door with my shoulder." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

The present tense vs the preterite

Learners often mix up the present and the preterite with empujar. The rule is simple: the present is for habits, facts and what is happening now, while the preterite is for one finished action in the past. The three pairs below show the same idea in both tenses, so you can feel the difference.

Pair 1: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Yo empujo la puerta con el hombro." — "I push the door with my shoulder."
  • Preterite: "Yo empujé la puerta con el hombro." — "I pushed the door with my shoulder." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Pair 2: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Él empuja el carrito por el supermercado." — "He/she pushes the trolley round the supermarket."
  • Preterite: "Él empujó el carrito por el supermercado." — "He/she pushed the trolley round the supermarket." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Pair 3: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Nosotros empujamos el coche hasta el taller." — "We push the car to the garage."
  • Preterite: "Nosotros empujamos el coche hasta el taller." — "We pushed the car to the garage." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Example sentences in the present tense

Eight natural sentences with empujar in the present tense only. Each one uses a form from the table above.

  1. Yo empujo la puerta con el hombro. — I push the door with my shoulder.
  2. Tú empujas el carrito por el supermercado. — You push the trolley round the supermarket.
  3. Él empuja el coche hasta el taller. — He/she pushes the car to the garage.
  4. Nosotros empujamos la silla hacia la mesa. — We push the chair towards the table.
  5. Vosotros empujáis la puerta con el hombro. — You all push the door with my shoulder.
  6. Ellos empujan el carrito por el supermercado. — They push the trolley round the supermarket.
  7. Yo empujo el coche hasta el taller. — I push the car to the garage.
  8. Él empuja la silla hacia la mesa. — He/she pushes the chair towards the table.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Vosotros empujais el carrito por el supermercado. — Right: Vosotros empujáis el carrito por el supermercado. — The vosotros present form carries a written accent: empujáis, not empujais.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo empujo el coche hasta el taller. — Right: Ayer, yo empujé el coche hasta el taller. — Ayer means yesterday, so it needs the preterite (empujé), not the present (empujo). The present is for now, not for yesterday.
  3. Wrong: Yo empuja la puerta con el hombro. — Right: Yo empujo la puerta con el hombro. — The person matters: empuja is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is empujo.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy empujado el carrito por el supermercado. — Right: Yo he empujado el carrito por el supermercado. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he empujado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.

Quiz: test yourself

Eight questions on the present tense of empujar. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ la puerta con el hombro. (present tense) A. empujo B. empujas C. empuja D. empujamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ el carrito por el supermercado. (present tense) A. empujas B. empujo C. empuja D. empujamos

  3. Complete the sentence: Él ___ el coche hasta el taller. (present tense) A. empuja B. empujo C. empujas D. empujamos

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ la silla hacia la mesa. (present tense) A. empujamos B. empujo C. empujas D. empuja

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros ___ la puerta con el hombro. (present tense) A. empujáis B. empujo C. empujas D. empuja

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ___ el carrito por el supermercado. (present tense) A. empujan B. empujo C. empujas D. empuja

  7. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ el coche hasta el taller. (present tense) A. empujo B. empujas C. empuja D. empujamos

  8. Complete the sentence: Él ___ la silla hacia la mesa. (present tense) A. empuja B. empujo C. empujas D. empujamos

Answer key

  1. empujo — The yo present form of empujar is empujo. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  2. empujas — The tu present form of empujar is empujas. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  3. empuja — The el present form of empujar is empuja. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  4. empujamos — The nosotros present form of empujar is empujamos. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  5. empujáis — The vosotros present form of empujar is empujáis. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  6. empujan — The ellos present form of empujar is empujan. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  7. empujo — The yo present form of empujar is empujo. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  8. empuja — The el present form of empujar is empuja. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the present tense of empujar?

Use the present tense of empujar for habits, facts and what is happening now. For example: Yo empujo la puerta con el hombro. — "I push the door with my shoulder." The usage rules above give five situations with examples.

How is the present tense of empujar formed?

Take the stem empuj- and add the present endings for -ar verbs. The full table is at the top of this page.

What is the difference between the present and the preterite of empujar?

The present describes a habit or a present fact, while the preterite describes a finished action. Compare Yo empujo el carrito por el supermercado. with Yo empujé el carrito por el supermercado. — the verb is the same, but the time meaning changes.

How do I practise the present tense of empujar?

Drill the six forms in the table above until you can say them without looking, then use the empujar examples and quiz page for more sentences, and test yourself with the Empujar conjugation page for the full picture across all tenses.

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