Esforzar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of esforzar — "to make an effort" 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 esforzar 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. Esforzar without a pronoun is transitive: you strain or push something to its limit, as in esforzar la voz or esforzar el motor. For making an effort yourself, Spanish normally uses the reflexive form esforzarse. To see it in a real sentence: Yo esfuerzo la voz en la reunión — "I strain his voice in the meeting".
Present tense conjugation table: esforzar
Every person of esforzar in the present tense. The gerund is esforzando and the past participle is esforzado.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | esfuerzo |
| tú | esfuerzas |
| él/ella/Ud. | esfuerza |
| nosotros/as | esforzamos |
| vosotros/as | esforzáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | esfuerzan |
How the present of esforzar is formed
The present of esforzar is built from the stem esforz- 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 | esfuerzo |
| tú | -as | esfuerzas |
| él/ella/Ud. | -a | esfuerza |
| nosotros/as | -amos | esforzamos |
| vosotros/as | -áis | esforzáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -an | esfuerzan |
The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: esfuerzo, esfuerzas, esfuerza and esfuerzan — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: esforzamos, esforzáis. The z of the stem becomes c before e: the preterite yo form is esforcé and the present subjunctive yo form is esfuerce.
The gerund of esforzar is esforzando and the past participle is esforzado. Both are the forms you need with estar and haber respectively.
When to use the present tense of esforzar
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and esforzar 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 esfuerzo la voz en la reunión" — "Every day, I strain his voice in the meeting"
General truths
The present states facts that are always true, not just true today.
"Mi amigo esfuerza la vista para leer" — "My friend strains his eyesight to read"
What is happening now
The present describes an action in progress right now.
"Ahora, yo esfuerzo el motor del coche" — "Right now, I strain the car engine"
Near-future plans
Spanish often uses the present for a plan that is already fixed.
"Mañana, nosotros esforzamos al máximo el equipo" — "Tomorrow, we strain the team to the utmost"
Timetables and scheduled events
The present is the tense for timetables, programmes and things that happen on a schedule.
"Ellos esfuerzan la memoria para recordar" — "They strain his memory to remember"
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 esfuerzo la voz en la reunión — "I strain his voice in the meeting"
- Preterite — one finished occasion: {'pre_es': 'Ayer, ', 'pre_en': 'Yesterday, '}yo esforcé la voz en la reunión — "I strained his voice in the meeting"
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 esfuerzas la vista para leer — "You strain his eyesight to read"
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: {}tú esforzabas la vista para leer — "You used to strain his eyesight to read"
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 esfuerza el motor del coche — "He strains the car engine"
- Future — what will happen: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él esforzará el motor del coche — "He will strain the car engine"
Examples: esforzar in the present tense
Seven sentences that show esforzar in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo esfuerzo la voz en la reunión — "I strain his voice in the meeting"
- Tú esfuerzas la vista para leer — "You strain his eyesight to read"
- Él esfuerza el motor del coche — "He strains the car engine"
- Nosotros esforzamos al máximo el equipo — "We strain the team to the utmost"
- Vosotros esforzáis la memoria para recordar — "You strain his memory to remember"
- Ellos esfuerzan la voz en la reunión — "They strain his voice in the meeting"
- Yo esfuerzo la vista para leer — "I strain his eyesight to read"
Common mistakes with esforzar in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with esforzar in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ *Yo esforzo la voz en la reunión.
✓ Correct: Yo esfuerzo la voz en la reunión.
esforzar is a stem-changing verb (o → ue): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is esfuerzo, not esforzo.
✗ *Tú esfuerza la vista para leer.
✓ Correct: Tú esfuerzas la vista para leer.
The tú form and the él form are different: tú takes esfuerzas, él takes esfuerza.
✗ *Cada día, yo esforcé el motor del coche
✓ Correct: Cada día, yo esfuerzo el motor del coche
Cada día describes a habit, so it needs the present, not the preterite.
✗ *Vosotros esforzais al máximo el equipo.
✓ Correct: Vosotros esforzáis al máximo el equipo.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: esforzáis, not esforzais.
Quiz: esforzar in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of esforzar. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
Which is the correct present form of esforzar for tú? A. esfuerzas B. esfuerzo C. esfuerza D. esforzamos
Complete the sentence: Yo ______ la voz en la reunión — "I strain his voice in the meeting" (present) A. esfuerza B. esforzamos C. esfuerzo D. esfuerzas
Complete the sentence: Él ______ la vista para leer — "He strains his eyesight to read" (present) A. esfuerza B. esfuerzo C. esfuerzas D. esforzamos
Which is the correct present form of esforzar for nosotros? A. esfuerzas B. esfuerza C. esfuerzan D. esforzamos
Which sentence uses esforzar correctly in the present? A. Mi amigo esforzamos el motor del coche B. Mi amigo esfuerza el motor del coche C. Mi amigo esfuerzas el motor del coche D. Mi amigo esforzaba el motor del coche
Complete the sentence: Vosotros ______ al máximo el equipo — "You strain the team to the utmost" (present) A. esfuerzas B. esfuerza C. esforzáis D. esfuerzo
Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ la memoria para recordar — "They strain his memory to remember" (present) A. esfuerza B. esfuerzan C. esfuerzo D. esfuerzas
What is the gerund of esforzar? A. esfuerzo B. esforcé C. esforzando D. esforzado
Answer key
- esfuerzas — The tú form in the present is esfuerzas.
- esfuerzo — The present form for yo is esfuerzo.
- esfuerza — The present form for él/ella/Ud. is esfuerza.
- esforzamos — The nosotros form in the present is esforzamos.
- Mi amigo esfuerza el motor del coche — Mi amigo esfuerza el motor del coche is correct: the verb agrees with its subject and the tense is the present.
- esforzáis — The present form for vosotros/as is esforzáis.
- esfuerzan — The present form for ellos/ellas/Uds. is esfuerzan.
- esforzando — The gerund is esforzando. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive, and it is not the past participle esforzado.
Frequently asked questions
Is esforzar regular in the present tense?
No — in the present the stem changes: The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: esfuerzo, esfuerzas, esfuerza and esfuerzan — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: esforzamos, esforzáis. The nosotros and vosotros forms keep the plain stem.
What is the gerund and the past participle of esforzar?
The gerund is esforzando and the past participle is esforzado. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say "I strain" in the present tense?
Say esfuerzo. For example: Yo esfuerzo la voz en la reunión — "I strain his voice in the meeting".
What is the difference between the present and the preterite of esforzar?
The present describes a habit or what happens now: Yo esfuerzo la voz en la reunión — "I strain his voice in the meeting". The preterite reports one finished occasion: Ayer, yo esforcé la voz en la reunión — "Yesterday, I strained his voice in the meeting". 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 esforzar — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- esforzar 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.