Espiar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of espiar — "to spy on" 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 espiar 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. Espiar means to spy on someone: espiar a su vecino por la ventana. It takes a person as its object and often adds por or desde for how the spying happens. To see it in a real sentence: Yo espío a su vecino por la ventana — "I spy on his neighbour through the window".
Present tense conjugation table: espiar
Every person of espiar in the present tense. The gerund is espiando and the past participle is espiado.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | espío |
| tú | espías |
| él/ella/Ud. | espía |
| nosotros/as | espiamos |
| vosotros/as | espiáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | espían |
How the present of espiar is formed
The present of espiar is built from the stem espi- 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 | espío |
| tú | -as | espías |
| él/ella/Ud. | -a | espía |
| nosotros/as | -amos | espiamos |
| vosotros/as | -áis | espiáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -an | espían |
The gerund of espiar is espiando and the past participle is espiado. Both are the forms you need with estar and haber respectively.
When to use the present tense of espiar
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and espiar 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 espío a su vecino por la ventana" — "Every day, I spy on his neighbour through the window"
General truths
The present states facts that are always true, not just true today.
"Mi amigo espía a su rival en el trabajo" — "My friend spies on his rival at work"
What is happening now
The present describes an action in progress right now.
"Ahora, yo espío al enemigo desde la colina" — "Right now, I spy on the enemy from the hill"
Near-future plans
Spanish often uses the present for a plan that is already fixed.
"Mañana, nosotros espiamos a su hermano en el jardín" — "Tomorrow, we spy on his brother in the garden"
Timetables and scheduled events
The present is the tense for timetables, programmes and things that happen on a schedule.
"Ellos espían las conversaciones de sus hijos" — "They spy on his children's conversations"
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 espío a su vecino por la ventana — "I spy on his neighbour through the window"
- Preterite — one finished occasion: {'pre_es': 'Ayer, ', 'pre_en': 'Yesterday, '}yo espié a su vecino por la ventana — "I spied on his neighbour through the window"
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 espías a su rival en el trabajo — "You spy on his rival at work"
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: {}tú espiabas a su rival en el trabajo — "You used to spy on his rival at work"
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 espía al enemigo desde la colina — "He spies on the enemy from the hill"
- Future — what will happen: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él espiará al enemigo desde la colina — "He will spy on the enemy from the hill"
Examples: espiar in the present tense
Seven sentences that show espiar in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo espío a su vecino por la ventana — "I spy on his neighbour through the window"
- Tú espías a su rival en el trabajo — "You spy on his rival at work"
- Él espía al enemigo desde la colina — "He spies on the enemy from the hill"
- Nosotros espiamos a su hermano en el jardín — "We spy on his brother in the garden"
- Vosotros espiáis las conversaciones de sus hijos — "You spy on his children's conversations"
- Ellos espían a su vecino por la ventana — "They spy on his neighbour through the window"
- Yo espío a su rival en el trabajo — "I spy on his rival at work"
Common mistakes with espiar in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with espiar in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ *Yo espío su vecino por la ventana.
✓ Correct: Yo espío a su vecino por la ventana.
espiar takes a before this complement: Yo espío a su vecino por la ventana. Dropping the preposition is a common learner error.
✗ *Tú espía a su rival en el trabajo.
✓ Correct: Tú espías a su rival en el trabajo.
The tú form and the él form are different: tú takes espías, él takes espía.
✗ *Cada día, yo espié al enemigo desde la colina
✓ Correct: Cada día, yo espío al enemigo desde la colina
Cada día describes a habit, so it needs the present, not the preterite.
✗ *Vosotros espiais a su hermano en el jardín.
✓ Correct: Vosotros espiáis a su hermano en el jardín.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: espiáis, not espiais.
Quiz: espiar in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of espiar. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
Which is the correct present form of espiar for tú? A. espías B. espío C. espía D. espiamos
Complete the sentence: Yo ______ a su vecino por la ventana — "I spy on his neighbour through the window" (present) A. espío B. espías C. espía D. espiamos
Complete the sentence: Él ______ a su rival en el trabajo — "He spies on his rival at work" (present) A. espía B. espío C. espías D. espiamos
Which is the correct present form of espiar for nosotros? A. espías B. espía C. espían D. espiamos
Which sentence uses espiar correctly in the present? A. Mi amigo espiamos al enemigo desde la colina B. Mi amigo espía al enemigo desde la colina C. Mi amigo espías al enemigo desde la colina D. Mi amigo espiaba al enemigo desde la colina
Complete the sentence: Vosotros ______ a su hermano en el jardín — "You spy on his brother in the garden" (present) A. espiáis B. espío C. espías D. espía
Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ las conversaciones de sus hijos — "They spy on his children's conversations" (present) A. espía B. espían C. espío D. espías
What is the gerund of espiar? A. espío B. espié C. espiando D. espiado
Answer key
- espías — The tú form in the present is espías.
- espío — The present form for yo is espío.
- espía — The present form for él/ella/Ud. is espía.
- espiamos — The nosotros form in the present is espiamos.
- Mi amigo espía al enemigo desde la colina — Mi amigo espía al enemigo desde la colina is correct: the verb agrees with its subject and the tense is the present.
- espiáis — The present form for vosotros/as is espiáis.
- espían — The present form for ellos/ellas/Uds. is espían.
- espiando — The gerund is espiando. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive, and it is not the past participle espiado.
Frequently asked questions
Is espiar regular in the present tense?
Yes — in the present tense espiar follows the regular endings for -ar verbs, as the table above shows.
What is the gerund and the past participle of espiar?
The gerund is espiando and the past participle is espiado. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say "I spy on" in the present tense?
Say espío. For example: Yo espío a su vecino por la ventana — "I spy on his neighbour through the window".
What is the difference between the present and the preterite of espiar?
The present describes a habit or what happens now: Yo espío a su vecino por la ventana — "I spy on his neighbour through the window". The preterite reports one finished occasion: Ayer, yo espié a su vecino por la ventana — "Yesterday, I spied on his neighbour through the window". 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 espiar — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- espiar 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.