Encerrar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of encerrar — "to lock up" 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 encerrar 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. Encerrar means to lock something or someone up: encerrar al perro en el jardín, encerrar las llaves en el cajón. With se it means to shut yourself in: encerrarse en su habitación. To see it in a real sentence: Yo encierro al perro en el jardín — "I lock up the dog in the garden".
Present tense conjugation table: encerrar
Every person of encerrar in the present tense. The gerund is encerrando and the past participle is encerrado.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | encierro |
| tú | encierras |
| él/ella/Ud. | encierra |
| nosotros/as | encerramos |
| vosotros/as | encerráis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | encierran |
How the present of encerrar is formed
The present of encerrar is built from the stem encerr- 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 | encierro |
| tú | -as | encierras |
| él/ella/Ud. | -a | encierra |
| nosotros/as | -amos | encerramos |
| vosotros/as | -áis | encerráis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -an | encierran |
The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: encierro, encierras, encierra and encierran — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: encerramos, encerráis.
The gerund of encerrar is encerrando and the past participle is encerrado. Both are the forms you need with estar and haber respectively.
When to use the present tense of encerrar
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and encerrar 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, yo encierro al perro en el jardín" — "Every day, I lock up the dog in the garden"
General truths
The present states facts that are always true, not just true today.
"Mi amigo encierra las llaves en el cajón" — "My friend locks up the keys in the drawer"
What is happening now
The present describes an action in progress right now.
"Ahora, yo encierro al prisionero en su celda" — "Right now, I lock up the prisoner in his cell"
Near-future plans
Spanish often uses the present for a plan that is already fixed.
"Mañana, nosotros encerramos el secreto en su corazón" — "Tomorrow, we lock up the secret in his heart"
Timetables and scheduled events
The present is the tense for timetables, programmes and things that happen on a schedule.
"Ellos encierran a los niños en la habitación" — "They lock up the children in the room"
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, '}yo encierro al perro en el jardín — "I lock up the dog in the garden"
- Preterite — one finished occasion: {'pre_es': 'Ayer, ', 'pre_en': 'Yesterday, '}yo encerré al perro en el jardín — "I locked up the dog in the garden"
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 encierras las llaves en el cajón — "You lock up the keys in the drawer"
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: {}tú encerrabas las llaves en el cajón — "You used to lock up the keys in the drawer"
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'}él encierra al prisionero en su celda — "He locks up the prisoner in his cell"
- Future — what will happen: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él encerrará al prisionero en su celda — "He will lock up the prisoner in his cell"
Examples: encerrar in the present tense
Seven sentences that show encerrar in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo encierro al perro en el jardín — "I lock up the dog in the garden"
- Tú encierras las llaves en el cajón — "You lock up the keys in the drawer"
- Él encierra al prisionero en su celda — "He locks up the prisoner in his cell"
- Nosotros encerramos el secreto en su corazón — "We lock up the secret in his heart"
- Vosotros encerráis a los niños en la habitación — "You lock up the children in the room"
- Ellos encierran al perro en el jardín — "They lock up the dog in the garden"
- Yo encierro las llaves en el cajón — "I lock up the keys in the drawer"
Common mistakes with encerrar in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with encerrar in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ *Yo encerro al perro en el jardín.
✓ Correct: Yo encierro al perro en el jardín.
encerrar is a stem-changing verb (e → ie): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is encierro, not encerro.
✗ *Tú encierra las llaves en el cajón.
✓ Correct: Tú encierras las llaves en el cajón.
The tú form and the él form are different: tú takes encierras, él takes encierra.
✗ *Cada día, yo encerré al prisionero en su celda
✓ Correct: Cada día, yo encierro al prisionero en su celda
Cada día describes a habit, so it needs the present, not the preterite.
✗ *Vosotros encerrais el secreto en su corazón.
✓ Correct: Vosotros encerráis el secreto en su corazón.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: encerráis, not encerrais.
Quiz: encerrar in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of encerrar. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
Which is the correct present form of encerrar for tú? A. encierra B. encerramos C. encierras D. encierro
Complete the sentence: Yo ______ al perro en el jardín — "I lock up the dog in the garden" (present) A. encierras B. encierra C. encerramos D. encierro
Complete the sentence: Él ______ las llaves en el cajón — "He locks up the keys in the drawer" (present) A. encierra B. encierro C. encierras D. encerramos
Which is the correct present form of encerrar for nosotros? A. encierran B. encerramos C. encierras D. encierra
Which sentence uses encerrar correctly in the present? A. Mi amigo encierras al prisionero en su celda B. Mi amigo encerraba al prisionero en su celda C. Mi amigo encerramos al prisionero en su celda D. Mi amigo encierra al prisionero en su celda
Complete the sentence: Vosotros ______ el secreto en su corazón — "You lock up the secret in his heart" (present) A. encierras B. encierra C. encerráis D. encierro
Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ a los niños en la habitación — "They lock up the children in the room" (present) A. encierras B. encierra C. encierran D. encierro
What is the gerund of encerrar? A. encerrando B. encerrado C. encierro D. encerré
Answer key
- encierras — The tú form in the present is encierras.
- encierro — The present form for yo is encierro.
- encierra — The present form for él/ella/Ud. is encierra.
- encerramos — The nosotros form in the present is encerramos.
- Mi amigo encierra al prisionero en su celda — Mi amigo encierra al prisionero en su celda is correct: the verb agrees with its subject and the tense is the present.
- encerráis — The present form for vosotros/as is encerráis.
- encierran — The present form for ellos/ellas/Uds. is encierran.
- encerrando — The gerund is encerrando. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive, and it is not the past participle encerrado.
Frequently asked questions
Is encerrar regular in the present tense?
No — in the present the stem changes: The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: encierro, encierras, encierra and encierran — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: encerramos, encerráis. The nosotros and vosotros forms keep the plain stem.
What is the gerund and the past participle of encerrar?
The gerund is encerrando and the past participle is encerrado. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say "I lock up" in the present tense?
Say encierro. For example: Yo encierro al perro en el jardín — "I lock up the dog in the garden".
What is the difference between the present and the preterite of encerrar?
The present describes a habit or what happens now: Yo encierro al perro en el jardín — "I lock up the dog in the garden". The preterite reports one finished occasion: Ayer, yo encerré al perro en el jardín — "Yesterday, I locked up the dog in the garden". 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 encerrar — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- encerrar 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.