Expedir Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of expedir — "to dispatch, to issue" 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 expedir 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. Expedir is a formal verb for issuing official documents: expedir un pasaporte, expedir un certificado. It is the verb you meet in administrative Spanish. To see it in a real sentence: Yo expido un pasaporte nuevo — "I issue a new passport".
Present tense conjugation table: expedir
Every person of expedir in the present tense. The gerund is expidiendo and the past participle is expedido.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | expido |
| tú | expides |
| él/ella/Ud. | expide |
| nosotros/as | expedimos |
| vosotros/as | expedís |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | expiden |
How the present of expedir is formed
The present of expedir is built from the stem exped- 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 | expido |
| tú | -es | expides |
| él/ella/Ud. | -e | expide |
| nosotros/as | -imos | expedimos |
| vosotros/as | -ís | expedís |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -en | expiden |
The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: expido, expides, expide and expiden — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: expedimos, expedís. In the preterite the third-person forms change too: expidió, expidieron, and the gerund is expidiendo.
The gerund of expedir is expidiendo and the past participle is expedido. Both are the forms you need with estar and haber respectively.
When to use the present tense of expedir
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and expedir 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 expido un pasaporte nuevo" — "Every day, I issue a new passport"
General truths
The present states facts that are always true, not just true today.
"Mi amigo expide una factura al cliente" — "My friend issues an invoice to the client"
What is happening now
The present describes an action in progress right now.
"Ahora, yo expido un certificado oficial" — "Right now, I issue an official certificate"
Near-future plans
Spanish often uses the present for a plan that is already fixed.
"Mañana, nosotros expedimos un visado urgente" — "Tomorrow, we issue an urgent visa"
Timetables and scheduled events
The present is the tense for timetables, programmes and things that happen on a schedule.
"Ellos expiden una licencia de conducir" — "They issue a driving licence"
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 expido un pasaporte nuevo — "I issue a new passport"
- Preterite — one finished occasion: {'pre_es': 'Ayer, ', 'pre_en': 'Yesterday, '}yo expedí un pasaporte nuevo — "I issued a new passport"
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 expides una factura al cliente — "You issue an invoice to the client"
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: {}tú expedías una factura al cliente — "You used to issue an invoice to the client"
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 expide un certificado oficial — "He issues an official certificate"
- Future — what will happen: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él expedirá un certificado oficial — "He will issue an official certificate"
Examples: expedir in the present tense
Seven sentences that show expedir in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo expido un pasaporte nuevo — "I issue a new passport"
- Tú expides una factura al cliente — "You issue an invoice to the client"
- Él expide un certificado oficial — "He issues an official certificate"
- Nosotros expedimos un visado urgente — "We issue an urgent visa"
- Vosotros expedís una licencia de conducir — "You issue a driving licence"
- Ellos expiden un pasaporte nuevo — "They issue a new passport"
- Yo expido una factura al cliente — "I issue an invoice to the client"
Common mistakes with expedir in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with expedir in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ *Yo expedo un pasaporte nuevo.
✓ Correct: Yo expido un pasaporte nuevo.
expedir is a stem-changing verb (e → i): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is expido, not expedo.
✗ *Tú expide una factura al cliente.
✓ Correct: Tú expides una factura al cliente.
The tú form and the él form are different: tú takes expides, él takes expide.
✗ *Cada día, yo expedí un certificado oficial
✓ Correct: Cada día, yo expido un certificado oficial
Cada día describes a habit, so it needs the present, not the preterite.
✗ *Vosotros expedis un visado urgente.
✓ Correct: Vosotros expedís un visado urgente.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: expedís, not expedis.
Quiz: expedir in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of expedir. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
Which is the correct present form of expedir for tú? A. expido B. expide C. expedimos D. expides
Complete the sentence: Yo ______ un pasaporte nuevo — "I issue a new passport" (present) A. expides B. expide C. expedimos D. expido
Complete the sentence: Él ______ una factura al cliente — "He issues an invoice to the client" (present) A. expido B. expides C. expedimos D. expide
Which is the correct present form of expedir for nosotros? A. expide B. expiden C. expedimos D. expides
Which sentence uses expedir correctly in the present? A. Mi amigo expide un certificado oficial B. Mi amigo expides un certificado oficial C. Mi amigo expedía un certificado oficial D. Mi amigo expedimos un certificado oficial
Complete the sentence: Vosotros ______ un visado urgente — "You issue an urgent visa" (present) A. expedís B. expido C. expides D. expide
Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ una licencia de conducir — "They issue a driving licence" (present) A. expides B. expide C. expiden D. expido
What is the gerund of expedir? A. expedí B. expidiendo C. expedido D. expido
Answer key
- expides — The tú form in the present is expides.
- expido — The present form for yo is expido.
- expide — The present form for él/ella/Ud. is expide.
- expedimos — The nosotros form in the present is expedimos.
- Mi amigo expide un certificado oficial — Mi amigo expide un certificado oficial is correct: the verb agrees with its subject and the tense is the present.
- expedís — The present form for vosotros/as is expedís.
- expiden — The present form for ellos/ellas/Uds. is expiden.
- expidiendo — The gerund is expidiendo. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive, and it is not the past participle expedido.
Frequently asked questions
Is expedir regular in the present tense?
No — in the present the stem changes: The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: expido, expides, expide and expiden — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: expedimos, expedís. In the preterite the third-person forms change too: expidió, expidieron, and the gerund is expidiendo. The nosotros and vosotros forms keep the plain stem.
What is the gerund and the past participle of expedir?
The gerund is expidiendo and the past participle is expedido. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say "I issue" in the present tense?
Say expido. For example: Yo expido un pasaporte nuevo — "I issue a new passport".
What is the difference between the present and the preterite of expedir?
The present describes a habit or what happens now: Yo expido un pasaporte nuevo — "I issue a new passport". The preterite reports one finished occasion: Ayer, yo expedí un pasaporte nuevo — "Yesterday, I issued a new passport". 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 expedir — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- expedir 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.