Escanear Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of escanear — “to scan” 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 escanear 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. Escanear means to scan, and it covers scanning documents into a computer, scanning a QR code with a phone and scanning a ticket at the entrance. It is a modern, fully regular verb borrowed from English, and it appears in offices, airports and everyday phone use. To see it in a real sentence: Escaneo el documento para enviarlo por correo. — “I scan the document to send it by email.” Learn the six forms in the table below, and the present tense of escanear will be ready for everyday conversation.
Present tense conjugation table: escanear
Every person of escanear in the present tense. The gerund is escaneando and the past participle is escaneado.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | escaneo |
| tú | escaneas |
| él/ella/Ud. | escanea |
| nosotros/as | escaneamos |
| vosotros/as | escaneáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | escanean |
How the present indicative of escanear is formed
The present indicative of escanear 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 | escaneo |
| tú | -as | escaneas |
| él/ella/Ud. | -a | escanea |
| nosotros/as | -amos | escaneamos |
| vosotros/as | -áis | escaneáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -an | escanean |
Escanear is a regular -ar verb in the present tense, so the table above is completely regular. The stem is escane- 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 escanear is escaneando and the past participle is escaneado. 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 escanear
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and escanear 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 escanear fits naturally into daily life.
“Yo escaneo el documento para enviarlo por correo todos los días.” — “I scan the document to send it by email 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 escanea el código QR con el móvil.” — “He/she scans the QR code with my phone.”
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 escaneo can mean both “I scan” and “I am scaning”.
“Ahora mismo, yo escaneo las fotos antiguas de la familia.” — “Right now, I scan the family's old photos.”
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 escaneo el billete en la entrada del cine.” — “Tomorrow, I will scan the ticket at the cinema entrance.”
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 escaneas el documento para enviarlo por correo?” — “Do you scan the document to send it by email?”
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: Escanea el código QR con el móvil. — “He/she scans the QR code with my phone.”
- Preterite — one finished occasion: Escaneó el código QR con el móvil. — 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: Escanean las fotos antiguas de la familia. — “They scan the family's old photos.”
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: Escaneaban las fotos antiguas de la familia. — 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: Escaneas el billete en la entrada del cine. — “You scan the ticket at the cinema entrance.”
- Future — what will happen: Escanearás el billete en la entrada del cine. — the same idea, placed in the future.
Examples: escanear in the present tense
Seven sentences that show escanear in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo escaneo el documento para enviarlo por correo. — “I scan the document to send it by email.”
- Tú escaneas el código QR con el móvil. — “You scan the QR code with my phone.”
- Él escanea las fotos antiguas de la familia. — “He scans the family's old photos.”
- Nosotros escaneamos el billete en la entrada del cine. — “We scan the ticket at the cinema entrance.”
- Vosotros escaneáis el documento para enviarlo por correo. — “You (plural) scan the document to send it by email.”
- Ellos escanean el código QR con el móvil. — “They scan the QR code with my phone.”
- ¿Tú escaneas las fotos antiguas de la familia? — “Do you scan the family's old photos?”
Common mistakes with escanear in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with escanear in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ Yo escanear el documento para enviarlo por correo. (using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form).
✓ Correct: Yo escaneo el documento para enviarlo por correo.
The infinitive is not a conjugated form. With yo, the present tense of escanear is escaneo, not the infinitive escanear.
✗ Vosotros escaneais el documento para enviarlo por correo. (forgetting the accent on the vosotros form).
✓ Correct: Vosotros escaneáis el documento para enviarlo por correo.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: escaneáis, not escaneais. The accent marks the stressed vowel, and leaving it out is a spelling mistake.
✗ Ayer, yo escaneo el código QR con el móvil. (using the present for a finished past action).
✓ Correct: Ayer, yo escaneé el código QR con el móvil.
The present and the preterite are different tenses: escaneo is happening now, while escaneé is a finished action in the past. Use the preterite with ayer.
✗ Treating escanear and imprimir as identical in every context. (confusing escanear with imprimir).
✓ Correct: Escanear means to scan, while imprimir means to print.
They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: escanear fits sentences such as Escaneo el documento para enviarlo por correo, while imprimir belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
Quiz: escanear in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of escanear. 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 escanear for tú?
- a) escaneas
- b) escaneo
- c) escanea
- d) escanean
2. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ el documento para enviarlo por correo. — “I scan the document to send it by email.”
- a) escanea
- b) escaneamos
- c) escaneas
- d) escaneo
3. Complete the sentence: Él ______ el código QR con el móvil. — “He/she scans the QR code with my phone.” (present tense)
- a) escaneaba
- b) escaneará
- c) escanea
- d) escaneó
4. Which is the correct present tense form of escanear for nosotros?
- a) escanean
- b) escaneamos
- c) escaneo
- d) escanea
5. Which sentence uses escanear correctly in the present tense?
- a) Él escaneó el código QR con el móvil.
- b) Él escanea el código QR con el móvil.
- c) Él escaneará el código QR con el móvil.
- d) Ellos escanea el código QR con el móvil.
6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ las fotos antiguas de la familia. — “They scan the family's old photos.”
- a) escaneo
- b) escanea
- c) escaneamos
- d) escanean
7. Complete the question: ¿Tú ______ el billete en la entrada del cine? — “Do you scan the ticket at the cinema entrance?”
- a) escanea
- b) escanearás
- c) escaneas
- d) escaneo
8. What is the gerund of escanear?
- a) escaneé
- b) escaneando
- c) escaneado
- d) escaneo
Answer key
a) escaneas — The tú form is escaneas. The -s ending belongs to tú in the present; escaneo is yo, escanea is él/ella and escanean is ellos/ellas.
d) escaneo — The sentence needs the yo form in the present: escaneo. The other options are the wrong person.
c) escanea — The sentence needs the él/ella/Ud. form in the present: escanea. The other options are the preterite, the imperfect and the future.
b) escaneamos — Nosotros takes escaneamos. In the present the nosotros ending for -ar verbs is -amos, attached to the stem.
b) Él escanea el código QR con el móvil. — Él escanea el código QR con el móvil. is correct: the verb agrees with its subject. The other sentences use the wrong person or the wrong tense.
d) escanean — The subject is ellos/ellas/Uds., so the present form is escanean.
c) escaneas — The question needs the tú form in the present: escaneas.
b) escaneando — The gerund is escaneando. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive (estar + gerund), and it is not the past participle escaneado.
Frequently asked questions
Is escanear regular in the present tense?
Yes. Escanear is a regular -ar verb in the present tense, so the forms follow the standard endings: escaneo, escaneas, escanea, escaneamos, escaneáis and escanean.
What is the gerund and the past participle of escanear?
The gerund is escaneando and the past participle is escaneado. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say “I scan” in Spanish?
Say escaneo. For example: Escaneo el documento para enviarlo por correo. — “I scan the document to send it by email.”
What is the difference between escanear and imprimir?
Escanear means “to scan”, while imprimir means “to print”. They are related words that learners often meet together, but they are not interchangeable — use escanear when you mean “to scan” and imprimir when you mean “to print”. The full conjugation of escanear is on its own page.
Related links
- Full conjugation of escanear — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- escanear 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.
- Pausar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with escanear.
- Reiniciar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with escanear.
- Legislar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with escanear.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise this verb in the interactive tool.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — test yourself on Spanish verbs.