Envidiar in the Present Tense

Introduction

The present tense of envidiar — «to envy» — is the form you will reach for most often. It talks about habits, facts and what is happening right now, and it is the first tense to master for this verb. envidiar is a regular -ar verb verb, so the present follows the -ar endings. On this page you will find the full present-tense table, how the forms are built, five usage rules with examples, a comparison with the preterite, more example sentences, the mistakes learners make in this tense, an eight-question quiz and answers to common questions. A good first sentence is «Yo envidio todos los días» — I envy every day.

Envidiar in the Present Tense — full table

Person Form
yo envidio
tú envidias
él/ella/Ud. envidia
nosotros/as envidiamos
vosotros/as envidiáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. envidian

Gerund: envidiando · Past participle: envidiado

How the present tense of envidiar is formed

Take the stem envidi — the infinitive envidiar without its -ar ending — and add the present endings. The table below shows the build for every person, using the actual stem of each form:

Person Stem Ending Form
yo envidi -o envidio
tú envidi -as envidias
él/ella/Ud. envidi -a envidia
nosotros/as envidi -amos envidiamos
vosotros/as envidi -áis envidiáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. envidi -an envidian

The present is the only tense where the yo form ends in -o for all three verb classes, which makes it a useful anchor: if you know envidio, you can build the rest of the table from the stem and the endings above.

When to use the present tense of envidiar

1. Daily routines and habits

The most common use: things you do regularly. Time words like todos los días, siempre and a veces are the giveaway.

Yo envidio todos los días. — I envy every day.

2. General truths and facts

Use the present for things that are true in general, not just today. No time expression is needed — the statement stands on its own.

Él envidia con mi familia. — He envies with my family.

3. What is happening right now

For an action in progress, the present works on its own in Spanish, and you can also use estar + the gerund envidiando for emphasis. Both are correct; the gerund version stresses that it is happening this very moment.

Nosotros envidiamos por la mañana. — We envy in the morning.

4. Scheduled near-future plans

Spanish often uses the present for a fixed plan in the near future, where English would say «going to». A time expression such as mañana or la semana que viene makes the future meaning clear.

Tú envidias en el trabajo. — You envy at work.

5. Narrating and commenting

The present is the tense of live commentary and of stories told as if they were happening now. It keeps the listener in the moment, and it is the tense of instructions and explanations.

Ellos envidian a veces. — They envy sometimes.

Present Tense vs Preterite: how to choose

The present and the preterite answer different questions. The present says what happens in general or what is happening now; the preterite says what happened once and is over. Compare the pairs below — same verb, different time frame:

  • Present: Yo envidio todos los días. — I envy every day.

  • Preterite: Ayer yo envidié por la tarde. — Yesterday I envied in the afternoon.

  • A routine against a single finished event. The present describes the habit; the preterite reports the one time it happened.

  • Present: Él envidia por la mañana. — He envies in the morning.

  • Preterite: Ayer él envidió por la tarde. — Yesterday He envied in the afternoon.

  • What happens in the morning in general, against what happened yesterday afternoon. The time expression decides the tense.

  • Present: Nosotros envidiamos con mi familia. — We envy with my family.

  • Preterite: La semana pasada nosotros envidiamos dos veces. — Last week We envied twice.

  • A shared habit against a shared finished event. If the action repeats, use the present; if it happened once and ended, use the preterite.

Example sentences: envidiar in the present

  1. Yo envidio todos los días. — I envy every day.
  2. Tú envidias en el trabajo. — You envy at work.
  3. Él envidia con mi familia. — He envies with my family.
  4. Nosotros envidiamos por la mañana. — We envy in the morning.
  5. Vosotros envidiáis cuando hay tiempo. — You envy when there is time.
  6. Ellos envidian a veces. — They envy sometimes.
  7. Yo envidio en el trabajo. — I envy at work.
  8. Él envidia todos los días. — He envies every day.

Common mistakes with envidiar in the present

1. Forgetting the accent on the vosotros form

Wrong: Vosotros envidiais.

Right: Vosotros envidiáis.

The vosotros form envidiáis carries a written accent on the ending. Without it the word is misspelled, and in speech the stress falls in the wrong place.

2. Using the present for a finished event

Wrong: Ayer yo envidio.

Right: Ayer yo envidié.

Ayer belongs with the preterite. The present envidio talks about now or about a habit; a finished yesterday needs envidié.

3. Using the yo form for every person

Wrong: Ellos envidio.

Right: Ellos envidian.

Each person has its own form: ellos take envidian, not the yo form envidio. The -n ending on envidian is what marks the third-person plural.

4. Using the present instead of the progressive

Wrong: Estoy envidio.

Right: Estoy envidiando.

After estar, Spanish needs the gerund: estoy envidiando. The conjugated present envidio never follows estar.

Quiz: envidiar in the present

Test yourself on the present tense of envidiar. Choose the correct answer, then check the key below.

1. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of envidiar in the present indicative?

- (a) envidiamos
- (b) envidia
- (c) envidias
- (d) envidio

2. What is the nosotros/as form of envidiar in the present indicative?

- (a) envidias
- (b) envidio
- (c) envidiamos
- (d) envidia

3. What is the vosotros/as form of envidiar in the present indicative?

- (a) envidias
- (b) envidiáis
- (c) envidia
- (d) envidio

4. What is the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of envidiar in the present indicative?

- (a) envidio
- (b) envidia
- (c) envidian
- (d) envidias

5. What is the yo form of envidiar in the present indicative?

- (a) envidio
- (b) envidiamos
- (c) envidias
- (d) envidia

6. What is the tú form of envidiar in the present indicative?

- (a) envidiamos
- (b) envidia
- (c) envidio
- (d) envidias

7. What is the gerund of envidiar?

- (a) envidiar
- (b) envidio
- (c) envidiado
- (d) envidiando

8. What is the past participle of envidiar?

- (a) envidiando
- (b) envidiar
- (c) envidiado
- (d) envidié

Answer key

1. (b) — In the present indicative, the él/ella/Ud. form of envidiar is envidia. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 2. (c) — In the present indicative, the nosotros/as form of envidiar is envidiamos. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 3. (b) — In the present indicative, the vosotros/as form of envidiar is envidiáis. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 4. (c) — In the present indicative, the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of envidiar is envidian. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 5. (a) — In the present indicative, the yo form of envidiar is envidio. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 6. (d) — In the present indicative, the tú form of envidiar is envidias. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 7. (d) — The gerund of envidiar is envidiando. It is used with estar for the progressive: «Estoy envidiando». 8. (c) — The past participle of envidiar is envidiado. It follows haber in all the perfect tenses: «he envidiado».

Frequently asked questions

Is envidiar regular in the present?

Yes — envidiar is regular in the present. The stem envidi never changes and the endings are -o, -as, -a, -amos, -áis, -an for -ar verbs (with the matching sets for -er and -ir verbs).

What is the yo form of envidiar in the present?

It is envidio. Use it for talking about yourself right now.

How is the present different from the preterite for envidiar?

The present (envidio) describes habits and what is happening now; the preterite (envidié) reports a single finished event. «Yo envidio todos los días» is a habit, while «Ayer yo envidié» is one event that ended yesterday.

Can I use the present of envidiar with estar and the gerund?

Yes — «Estoy envidiando» means «I am envying right now», with the emphasis on the action in progress. The plain present «Yo envidio» is also correct for what is happening now; the gerund version simply stresses the moment.

Related pages