Encerar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of encerar — “to wax” 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 encerar 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. Encerar means to wax, to cover a surface with wax to protect it and make it shine. It is used for floors, cars, skis and shoes, and it is a fully regular verb. To see it in a real sentence: Encero el suelo de madera. — “I wax the wooden floor.” Learn the six forms in the table below, and the present tense of encerar will be ready for everyday conversation.
Present tense conjugation table: encerar
Every person of encerar in the present tense. The gerund is encerando and the past participle is encerado.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | encero |
| tú | enceras |
| él/ella/Ud. | encera |
| nosotros/as | enceramos |
| vosotros/as | enceráis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | enceran |
How the present indicative of encerar is formed
The present indicative of encerar is built from the stem plus the present indicative 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 | encero |
| tú | -as | enceras |
| él/ella/Ud. | -a | encera |
| nosotros/as | -amos | enceramos |
| vosotros/as | -áis | enceráis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -an | enceran |
Encerar is a regular -ar verb in the present tense, so the table above is completely regular. The stem is encer- and the endings are the normal -ar endings, so once you know the pattern you can produce every form on this page.
The gerund of encerar is encerando and the past participle is encerado. 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 encerar
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and encerar 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.
Routines and habits
Use the present for things you do regularly, every day or every week. The present is the tense of routine, and encerar fits naturally into daily life.
“Yo encero el suelo de madera todos los días.” — “I wax the wooden floor every day.”
General facts
Use the present for facts that are true in general, not just today. When you state how something is, the present is the tense to use.
“Él encera el coche el sábado.” — “He/she waxes the car on Saturdays.”
What is happening right now
Use the present for what is happening at this moment. Spanish often uses the simple present where English uses the progressive, so encero can mean both “I wax” and “I am waxing”.
“Ahora mismo, yo encero los esquís antes de la temporada.” — “Right now, I wax the skis before the season.”
Fixed plans in the near future
Use the present for a plan that is already fixed, such as something arranged for tomorrow. Spanish uses the present for near-future plans much more freely than English does.
“Mañana, yo encero los zapatos de cuero.” — “Tomorrow, I will wax the leather shoes.”
Questions and negatives
Use the present to ask about habits and to say what does not happen. The question and the negative use exactly the same forms as the statement.
“¿Tú enceras el suelo de madera?” — “Do you wax the wooden floor?”
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: Encera el coche el sábado. — “He/she waxes the car on Saturdays.”
- Preterite — one finished occasion: Enceró el coche el sábado. — 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: Enceran los esquís antes de la temporada. — “They wax the skis before the season.”
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: Enceraban los esquís antes de la temporada. — 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: Enceras los zapatos de cuero. — “You wax the leather shoes.”
- Future — what will happen: Encerarás los zapatos de cuero. — the same idea, placed in the future.
Examples: encerar in the present tense
Seven sentences that show encerar in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo encero el suelo de madera. — “I wax the wooden floor.”
- Tú enceras el coche el sábado. — “You wax the car on Saturdays.”
- Él encera los esquís antes de la temporada. — “He waxes the skis before the season.”
- Nosotros enceramos los zapatos de cuero. — “We wax the leather shoes.”
- Vosotros enceráis el suelo de madera. — “You (plural) wax the wooden floor.”
- Ellos enceran el coche el sábado. — “They wax the car on Saturdays.”
- ¿Tú enceras los esquís antes de la temporada? — “Do you wax the skis before the season?”
Common mistakes with encerar in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with encerar in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ Yo encerar el suelo de madera. (using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form).
✓ Correct: Yo encero el suelo de madera.
The infinitive is not a conjugated form. With yo, the present tense of encerar is encero, not the infinitive encerar.
✗ Vosotros encerais el suelo de madera. (forgetting the accent on the vosotros form).
✓ Correct: Vosotros enceráis el suelo de madera.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: enceráis, not encerais. The accent marks the stressed vowel, and leaving it out is a spelling mistake.
✗ Ayer, yo encero el coche el sábado. (using the present for a finished past action).
✓ Correct: Ayer, yo enceré el coche el sábado.
The present and the preterite are different tenses: encero is happening now, while enceré is a finished action in the past. Use the preterite with ayer.
✗ Treating encerar and pulir as identical in every context. (confusing encerar with pulir).
✓ Correct: Encerar means to wax, while pulir means to polish.
They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: encerar fits sentences such as Encero el suelo de madera, while pulir belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
Quiz: encerar in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of encerar. 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 encerar for tú?
- a) enceras
- b) encero
- c) encera
- d) enceran
2. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ el suelo de madera. — “I wax the wooden floor.”
- a) encera
- b) enceramos
- c) enceras
- d) encero
3. Complete the sentence: Él ______ el coche el sábado. — “He/she waxes the car on Saturdays.” (present tense)
- a) enceraba
- b) encerará
- c) encera
- d) enceró
4. Which is the correct present tense form of encerar for nosotros?
- a) enceran
- b) enceramos
- c) encero
- d) encera
5. Which sentence uses encerar correctly in the present tense?
- a) Él enceró el coche el sábado.
- b) Él encera el coche el sábado.
- c) Él encerará el coche el sábado.
- d) Ellos encera el coche el sábado.
6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ los esquís antes de la temporada. — “They wax the skis before the season.”
- a) encero
- b) encera
- c) enceramos
- d) enceran
7. Complete the question: ¿Tú ______ los zapatos de cuero? — “Do you wax the leather shoes?”
- a) encera
- b) encerarás
- c) enceras
- d) encero
8. What is the gerund of encerar?
- a) enceré
- b) encerando
- c) encerado
- d) encero
Answer key
a) enceras — The tú form is enceras. The -s ending belongs to tú in the present; encero is yo, encera is él/ella and enceran is ellos/ellas.
d) encero — The sentence needs the yo form in the present: encero. The other options are the wrong person.
c) encera — The sentence needs the él/ella/Ud. form in the present: encera. The other options are the preterite, the imperfect and the future.
b) enceramos — Nosotros takes enceramos. In the present the nosotros ending for -ar verbs is -amos, attached to the stem.
b) Él encera el coche el sábado. — Él encera el coche el sábado. is correct: the verb agrees with its subject. The other sentences use the wrong person or the wrong tense.
d) enceran — The subject is ellos/ellas/Uds., so the present form is enceran.
c) enceras — The question needs the tú form in the present: enceras.
b) encerando — The gerund is encerando. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive (estar + gerund), and it is not the past participle encerado.
Frequently asked questions
Is encerar regular in the present tense?
Yes. Encerar is a regular -ar verb in the present tense, so the forms follow the standard endings: encero, enceras, encera, enceramos, enceráis and enceran.
What is the gerund and the past participle of encerar?
The gerund is encerando and the past participle is encerado. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say “I wax” in Spanish?
Say encero. For example: Encero el suelo de madera. — “I wax the wooden floor.”
What is the difference between encerar and pulir?
Encerar means “to wax”, while pulir means “to polish”. They are related words that learners often meet together, but they are not interchangeable — use encerar when you mean “to wax” and pulir when you mean “to polish”. The full conjugation of encerar is on its own page.
Related links
- Full conjugation of encerar — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- encerar 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.
- Cabalgar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with encerar.
- Ventilar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with encerar.
- Airear conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with encerar.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise this verb in the interactive tool.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — test yourself on Spanish verbs.