Exigir Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of exigir — "to demand" 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 exigir 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. Exigir means to demand, and it is used for demanding an answer, demanding payment, demanding respect and demanding too much of someone. It is stronger than pedir, and it is a spelling-change verb: the g becomes j before o and a, as in exijo and exija. To see it in a real sentence: Él exige una respuesta inmediata. — "He/she demands an immediate answer." Work through the table below, then the formation notes, the usage rules and the contrast with the preterite, and test yourself at the end.

Present tense conjugation table: exigir

Every person of exigir in the present tense. The gerund is exigiendo and the past participle is exigido.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo exijo
tú exiges
él/ella/Ud. exige
nosotros/as exigimos
vosotros/as exigís
ellos/ellas/Uds. exigen

How the present indicative of exigir is formed

The present indicative of exigir is built from the stem exig- plus the present endings for -ir verbs. Take the infinitive, drop the -ir 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 exijo
tú -es exiges
él/ella/Ud. -e exige
nosotros/as -imos exigimos
vosotros/as -ís exigís
ellos/ellas/Uds. -en exigen

exigir is a spelling-change verb: g becomes j before o and a. That is why the written form changes in some persons — the sound stays the same, and only the spelling adapts. In this tense, watch the first-person form exijo in particular.

The gerund of exigir is exigiendo and the past participle is exigido. 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 exigir

The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and exigir 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 tense describes things you do regularly. If you do it every day, every week or every morning, the present is the tense to use. For exigir, this use looks like this: "Yo exijo una respuesta inmediata." — "I demand an immediate answer." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

General facts

The present tense states facts that are generally true, not tied to one moment. It is the tense for definitions and permanent situations. For exigir, this use looks like this: "Él exige el pago antes del viernes." — "He/she demands payment before Friday." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

What is happening now

The present tense also covers what is happening at this moment, especially with verbs that describe an action in progress. For exigir, this use looks like this: "Nosotros exigimos respeto en el trabajo." — "We demand respect at work." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

Timetables and schedules

The present tense is used for fixed plans and timetables, such as trains, classes and opening times, even when they refer to the future. For exigir, this use looks like this: "Ellos exigen demasiado a sus alumnos." — "They demand too much of her students." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

Instructions and requests

The present tense appears in instructions and polite requests, where it sounds softer than a direct command. For exigir, this use looks like this: "Tú exiges una respuesta inmediata." — "You demand an immediate answer." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

The present tense vs the preterite

Learners often mix up the present and the preterite with exigir. The rule is simple: the present is for habits, facts and what is happening now, while the preterite is for one finished action in the past. The three pairs below show the same idea in both tenses, so you can feel the difference.

Pair 1: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Yo exijo una respuesta inmediata." — "I demand an immediate answer."
  • Preterite: "Yo exigí una respuesta inmediata." — "I demanded an immediate answer." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Pair 2: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Él exige el pago antes del viernes." — "He/she demands payment before Friday."
  • Preterite: "Él exigió el pago antes del viernes." — "He/she demanded payment before Friday." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Pair 3: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Nosotros exigimos respeto en el trabajo." — "We demand respect at work."
  • Preterite: "Nosotros exigimos respeto en el trabajo." — "We demanded respect at work." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Example sentences in the present tense

Eight natural sentences with exigir in the present tense only. Each one uses a form from the table above.

  1. Yo exijo una respuesta inmediata. — I demand an immediate answer.
  2. Tú exiges el pago antes del viernes. — You demand payment before Friday.
  3. Él exige respeto en el trabajo. — He/she demands respect at work.
  4. Nosotros exigimos demasiado a sus alumnos. — We demand too much of her students.
  5. Vosotros exigís una respuesta inmediata. — You all demand an immediate answer.
  6. Ellos exigen el pago antes del viernes. — They demand payment before Friday.
  7. Yo exijo respeto en el trabajo. — I demand respect at work.
  8. Él exige demasiado a sus alumnos. — He/she demands too much of her students.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo exigo el pago antes del viernes. — Right: Yo exijo el pago antes del viernes. — In the present, the correct first-person form is exijo, not exigo. exigir is a spelling-change verb: g becomes j before o and a, so the written form changes to keep the same sound. The regular-looking form is wrong.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo exijo respeto en el trabajo. — Right: Ayer, yo exigí respeto en el trabajo. — Ayer means yesterday, so it needs the preterite (exigí), not the present (exijo). The present is for now, not for yesterday.
  3. Wrong: Yo exige una respuesta inmediata. — Right: Yo exijo una respuesta inmediata. — The person matters: exige is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is exijo.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy exigido el pago antes del viernes. — Right: Yo he exigido el pago antes del viernes. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he exigido. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.

Quiz: test yourself

Eight questions on the present tense of exigir. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ una respuesta inmediata. (present tense) A. exijo B. exiges C. exige D. exigimos

  2. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ el pago antes del viernes. (present tense) A. exiges B. exijo C. exige D. exigimos

  3. Complete the sentence: Él ___ respeto en el trabajo. (present tense) A. exige B. exijo C. exiges D. exigimos

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ demasiado a sus alumnos. (present tense) A. exigimos B. exijo C. exiges D. exige

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros ___ una respuesta inmediata. (present tense) A. exigís B. exijo C. exiges D. exige

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ___ el pago antes del viernes. (present tense) A. exigen B. exijo C. exiges D. exige

  7. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ respeto en el trabajo. (present tense) A. exijo B. exiges C. exige D. exigimos

  8. Complete the sentence: Él ___ demasiado a sus alumnos. (present tense) A. exige B. exijo C. exiges D. exigimos

Answer key

  1. exijo — The yo present form of exigir is exijo. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  2. exiges — The tu present form of exigir is exiges. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  3. exige — The el present form of exigir is exige. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  4. exigimos — The nosotros present form of exigir is exigimos. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  5. exigís — The vosotros present form of exigir is exigís. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  6. exigen — The ellos present form of exigir is exigen. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  7. exijo — The yo present form of exigir is exijo. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  8. exige — The el present form of exigir is exige. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the present tense of exigir?

Use the present tense of exigir for habits, facts and what is happening now. For example: Yo exijo una respuesta inmediata. — "I demand an immediate answer." The usage rules above give five situations with examples.

How is the present tense of exigir formed?

Take the stem exig- and add the present endings for -ir verbs. The full table is at the top of this page. Remember the spelling change: g becomes j before o and a.

What is the difference between the present and the preterite of exigir?

The present describes a habit or a present fact, while the preterite describes a finished action. Compare Yo exijo el pago antes del viernes. with Yo exigí el pago antes del viernes. — the verb is the same, but the time meaning changes.

How do I practise the present tense of exigir?

Drill the six forms in the table above until you can say them without looking, then use the exigir examples and quiz page for more sentences, and test yourself with the Exigir conjugation page for the full picture across all tenses.

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