Enmarcar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of enmarcar — “to frame” 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 enmarcar 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. Enmarcar means to frame, to put a picture or a photo into a frame. It is used in homes, galleries and workshops, and it is a spelling-change verb: c becomes qu before e. It is a spelling-change verb (c becomes qu before e), but the present tense itself is regular — the spelling change shows up in the subjunctive and the preterite. To see it in a real sentence: Enmarco la foto de la familia. — “I frame the family photo.” Learn the six forms in the table below, and the present tense of enmarcar will be ready for everyday conversation.
Present tense conjugation table: enmarcar
Every person of enmarcar in the present tense. The gerund is enmarcando and the past participle is enmarcado.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | enmarco |
| tú | enmarcas |
| él/ella/Ud. | enmarca |
| nosotros/as | enmarcamos |
| vosotros/as | enmarcáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | enmarcan |
How the present indicative of enmarcar is formed
The present indicative of enmarcar 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 | enmarco |
| tú | -as | enmarcas |
| él/ella/Ud. | -a | enmarca |
| nosotros/as | -amos | enmarcamos |
| vosotros/as | -áis | enmarcáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -an | enmarcan |
Enmarcar is a spelling-change verb. In the present tense the forms are regular, so the table above follows the normal -ar endings. The spelling change appears when the ending starts with e: the present subjunctive is enmarque and the preterite first person is enmarqué. The sound stays the same; only the spelling changes to keep it.
The gerund of enmarcar is enmarcando and the past participle is enmarcado. 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 enmarcar
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and enmarcar 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 enmarcar fits naturally into daily life.
“Yo enmarco la foto de la familia todos los días.” — “I frame the family photo 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 enmarca el cuadro del salón.” — “He/she frames the picture in the living room.”
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 enmarco can mean both “I frame” and “I am frameing”.
“Ahora mismo, yo enmarco el diploma de la universidad.” — “Right now, I frame the university diploma.”
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 enmarco el póster de la película.” — “Tomorrow, I will frame the film poster.”
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 enmarcas la foto de la familia?” — “Do you frame the family photo?”
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: Enmarca el cuadro del salón. — “He/she frames the picture in the living room.”
- Preterite — one finished occasion: Enmarcó el cuadro del salón. — 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: Enmarcan el diploma de la universidad. — “They frame the university diploma.”
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: Enmarcaban el diploma de la universidad. — 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: Enmarcas el póster de la película. — “You frame the film poster.”
- Future — what will happen: Enmarcarás el póster de la película. — the same idea, placed in the future.
Examples: enmarcar in the present tense
Seven sentences that show enmarcar in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo enmarco la foto de la familia. — “I frame the family photo.”
- Tú enmarcas el cuadro del salón. — “You frame the picture in the living room.”
- Él enmarca el diploma de la universidad. — “He frames the university diploma.”
- Nosotros enmarcamos el póster de la película. — “We frame the film poster.”
- Vosotros enmarcáis la foto de la familia. — “You (plural) frame the family photo.”
- Ellos enmarcan el cuadro del salón. — “They frame the picture in the living room.”
- ¿Tú enmarcas el diploma de la universidad? — “Do you frame the university diploma?”
Common mistakes with enmarcar in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with enmarcar in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ Yo enmarcar la foto de la familia. (using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form).
✓ Correct: Yo enmarco la foto de la familia.
The infinitive is not a conjugated form. With yo, the present tense of enmarcar is enmarco, not the infinitive enmarcar.
✗ Vosotros enmarcais la foto de la familia. (forgetting the accent on the vosotros form).
✓ Correct: Vosotros enmarcáis la foto de la familia.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: enmarcáis, not enmarcais. The accent marks the stressed vowel, and leaving it out is a spelling mistake.
✗ Ayer, yo enmarco el cuadro del salón. (using the present for a finished past action).
✓ Correct: Ayer, yo enmarqué el cuadro del salón.
The present and the preterite are different tenses: enmarco is happening now, while enmarqué is a finished action in the past. Use the preterite with ayer.
✗ Treating enmarcar and colgar as identical in every context. (confusing enmarcar with colgar).
✓ Correct: Enmarcar means to frame, while colgar means to hang something up.
They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: enmarcar fits sentences such as Enmarco la foto de la familia, while colgar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
Quiz: enmarcar in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of enmarcar. 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 enmarcar for tú?
- a) enmarcas
- b) enmarco
- c) enmarca
- d) enmarcan
2. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ la foto de la familia. — “I frame the family photo.”
- a) enmarca
- b) enmarcamos
- c) enmarcas
- d) enmarco
3. Complete the sentence: Él ______ el cuadro del salón. — “He/she frames the picture in the living room.” (present tense)
- a) enmarcaba
- b) enmarcará
- c) enmarca
- d) enmarcó
4. Which is the correct present tense form of enmarcar for nosotros?
- a) enmarcan
- b) enmarcamos
- c) enmarco
- d) enmarca
5. Which sentence uses enmarcar correctly in the present tense?
- a) Él enmarcó el cuadro del salón.
- b) Él enmarca el cuadro del salón.
- c) Él enmarcará el cuadro del salón.
- d) Ellos enmarca el cuadro del salón.
6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ el diploma de la universidad. — “They frame the university diploma.”
- a) enmarco
- b) enmarca
- c) enmarcamos
- d) enmarcan
7. Complete the question: ¿Tú ______ el póster de la película? — “Do you frame the film poster?”
- a) enmarca
- b) enmarcarás
- c) enmarcas
- d) enmarco
8. What is the gerund of enmarcar?
- a) enmarqué
- b) enmarcando
- c) enmarcado
- d) enmarco
Answer key
a) enmarcas — The tú form is enmarcas. The -s ending belongs to tú in the present; enmarco is yo, enmarca is él/ella and enmarcan is ellos/ellas.
d) enmarco — The sentence needs the yo form in the present: enmarco. The other options are the wrong person.
c) enmarca — The sentence needs the él/ella/Ud. form in the present: enmarca. The other options are the preterite, the imperfect and the future.
b) enmarcamos — Nosotros takes enmarcamos. In the present the nosotros ending for -ar verbs is -amos, attached to the stem.
b) Él enmarca el cuadro del salón. — Él enmarca el cuadro del salón. is correct: the verb agrees with its subject. The other sentences use the wrong person or the wrong tense.
d) enmarcan — The subject is ellos/ellas/Uds., so the present form is enmarcan.
c) enmarcas — The question needs the tú form in the present: enmarcas.
b) enmarcando — The gerund is enmarcando. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive (estar + gerund), and it is not the past participle enmarcado.
Frequently asked questions
Is enmarcar regular in the present tense?
Yes. Enmarcar is a regular -ar verb in the present tense, so the forms follow the standard endings: enmarco, enmarcas, enmarca, enmarcamos, enmarcáis and enmarcan.
What is the gerund and the past participle of enmarcar?
The gerund is enmarcando and the past participle is enmarcado. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say “I frame” in Spanish?
Say enmarco. For example: Enmarco la foto de la familia. — “I frame the family photo.”
What is the difference between enmarcar and colgar?
Enmarcar means “to frame”, while colgar means “to hang something up”. They are related words that learners often meet together, but they are not interchangeable — use enmarcar when you mean “to frame” and colgar when you mean “to hang something up”. The full conjugation of enmarcar is on its own page.
Related links
- Full conjugation of enmarcar — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- enmarcar 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.
- Complete list of Spanish irregular verbs — where this verb's pattern is listed.
- Barnizar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with enmarcar.
- Desembarcar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with enmarcar.
- Aterrizar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with enmarcar.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise this verb in the interactive tool.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — test yourself on Spanish verbs.