Fabricar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of fabricar — "to manufacture" 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 fabricar 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. Fabricar means to manufacture, and it covers manufacturing cars in a plant, making wooden furniture, making toys for Christmas and baking bread in a wood-fired oven. It is a spelling-change verb: the c becomes qu before e. To see it in a real sentence: Él fabrica coches en la planta de Valencia. — "He/she manufactures cars at the Valencia plant." 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: fabricar

Every person of fabricar in the present tense. The gerund is fabricando and the past participle is fabricado.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo fabrico
tú fabricas
él/ella/Ud. fabrica
nosotros/as fabricamos
vosotros/as fabricáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. fabrican

How the present indicative of fabricar is formed

The present indicative of fabricar is built from the stem fabric- 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 fabrico
tú -as fabricas
él/ella/Ud. -a fabrica
nosotros/as -amos fabricamos
vosotros/as -áis fabricáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -an fabrican

fabricar is a spelling-change verb: c becomes qu before e. 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 fabrico in particular.

The gerund of fabricar is fabricando and the past participle is fabricado. 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 fabricar

The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and fabricar 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 fabricar, this use looks like this: "Yo fabrico coches en la planta de Valencia." — "I manufacture cars at the Valencia plant." 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 fabricar, this use looks like this: "Él fabrica muebles de madera." — "He/she manufactures wooden furniture." 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 fabricar, this use looks like this: "Nosotros fabricamos juguetes para Navidad." — "We manufacture toys for Christmas." 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 fabricar, this use looks like this: "Ellos fabrican pan en el horno de leña." — "They manufacture bread in the wood-fired oven." 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 fabricar, this use looks like this: "Tú fabricas coches en la planta de Valencia." — "You manufacture cars at the Valencia plant." 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 fabricar. 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 fabrico coches en la planta de Valencia." — "I manufacture cars at the Valencia plant."
  • Preterite: "Yo fabriqué coches en la planta de Valencia." — "I manufactured cars at the Valencia plant." 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 fabrica muebles de madera." — "He/she manufactures wooden furniture."
  • Preterite: "Él fabricó muebles de madera." — "He/she manufactured wooden furniture." 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 fabricamos juguetes para Navidad." — "We manufacture toys for Christmas."
  • Preterite: "Nosotros fabricamos juguetes para Navidad." — "We manufactured toys for Christmas." 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 fabricar in the present tense only. Each one uses a form from the table above.

  1. Yo fabrico coches en la planta de Valencia. — I manufacture cars at the Valencia plant.
  2. Tú fabricas muebles de madera. — You manufacture wooden furniture.
  3. Él fabrica juguetes para Navidad. — He/she manufactures toys for Christmas.
  4. Nosotros fabricamos pan en el horno de leña. — We manufacture bread in the wood-fired oven.
  5. Vosotros fabricáis coches en la planta de Valencia. — You all manufacture cars at the Valencia plant.
  6. Ellos fabrican muebles de madera. — They manufacture wooden furniture.
  7. Yo fabrico juguetes para Navidad. — I manufacture toys for Christmas.
  8. Él fabrica pan en el horno de leña. — He/she manufactures bread in the wood-fired oven.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Vosotros fabricais muebles de madera. — Right: Vosotros fabricáis muebles de madera. — The vosotros present form carries a written accent: fabricáis, not fabricais.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo fabrico juguetes para Navidad. — Right: Ayer, yo fabriqué juguetes para Navidad. — Ayer means yesterday, so it needs the preterite (fabriqué), not the present (fabrico). The present is for now, not for yesterday.
  3. Wrong: Yo fabrica coches en la planta de Valencia. — Right: Yo fabrico coches en la planta de Valencia. — The person matters: fabrica is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is fabrico.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy fabricado muebles de madera. — Right: Yo he fabricado muebles de madera. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he fabricado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.

Quiz: test yourself

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

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ coches en la planta de Valencia. (present tense) A. fabrico B. fabricas C. fabrica D. fabricamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ muebles de madera. (present tense) A. fabricas B. fabrico C. fabrica D. fabricamos

  3. Complete the sentence: Él ___ juguetes para Navidad. (present tense) A. fabrica B. fabrico C. fabricas D. fabricamos

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ pan en el horno de leña. (present tense) A. fabricamos B. fabrico C. fabricas D. fabrica

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros ___ coches en la planta de Valencia. (present tense) A. fabricáis B. fabrico C. fabricas D. fabrica

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ___ muebles de madera. (present tense) A. fabrican B. fabrico C. fabricas D. fabrica

  7. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ juguetes para Navidad. (present tense) A. fabrico B. fabricas C. fabrica D. fabricamos

  8. Complete the sentence: Él ___ pan en el horno de leña. (present tense) A. fabrica B. fabrico C. fabricas D. fabricamos

Answer key

  1. fabrico — The yo present form of fabricar is fabrico. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  2. fabricas — The tu present form of fabricar is fabricas. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  3. fabrica — The el present form of fabricar is fabrica. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  4. fabricamos — The nosotros present form of fabricar is fabricamos. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  5. fabricáis — The vosotros present form of fabricar is fabricáis. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  6. fabrican — The ellos present form of fabricar is fabrican. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  7. fabrico — The yo present form of fabricar is fabrico. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  8. fabrica — The el present form of fabricar is fabrica. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the present tense of fabricar?

Use the present tense of fabricar for habits, facts and what is happening now. For example: Yo fabrico coches en la planta de Valencia. — "I manufacture cars at the Valencia plant." The usage rules above give five situations with examples.

How is the present tense of fabricar formed?

Take the stem fabric- and add the present endings for -ar verbs. The full table is at the top of this page. Remember the spelling change: c becomes qu before e.

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

The present describes a habit or a present fact, while the preterite describes a finished action. Compare Yo fabrico muebles de madera. with Yo fabriqué muebles de madera. — the verb is the same, but the time meaning changes.

How do I practise the present tense of fabricar?

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

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