Fiar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of fiar — "to trust, to sell on credit" 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 fiar 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. Fiarse de means to trust someone or something: me fío de su amigo, me fío de su palabra. Without se, fiar means to sell on credit: fiar la mercancía a sus clientes. To see it in a real sentence: Yo fío de su amigo en todo — "I trust his friend in everything".
Present tense conjugation table: fiar
Every person of fiar in the present tense. The gerund is fiando and the past participle is fiado.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | fío |
| tú | fías |
| él/ella/Ud. | fía |
| nosotros/as | fiamos |
| vosotros/as | fiáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | fían |
How the present of fiar is formed
The present of fiar is built from the stem fi- 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 | fío |
| tú | -as | fías |
| él/ella/Ud. | -a | fía |
| nosotros/as | -amos | fiamos |
| vosotros/as | -áis | fiáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -an | fían |
The gerund of fiar is fiando and the past participle is fiado. Both are the forms you need with estar and haber respectively.
When to use the present tense of fiar
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and fiar 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 fío de su amigo en todo" — "Every day, I trust his friend in everything"
General truths
The present states facts that are always true, not just true today.
"Mi amigo fía de su instinto en el examen" — "My friend trusts his instinct in the exam"
What is happening now
The present describes an action in progress right now.
"Ahora, yo fío de la palabra de su jefe" — "Right now, I trust his boss's word"
Near-future plans
Spanish often uses the present for a plan that is already fixed.
"Mañana, nosotros fiamos de su hermano con el coche" — "Tomorrow, we trust his brother with the car"
Timetables and scheduled events
The present is the tense for timetables, programmes and things that happen on a schedule.
"Ellos fían de su memoria en la prueba" — "They trust his memory in the test"
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 fío de su amigo en todo — "I trust his friend in everything"
- Preterite — one finished occasion: {'pre_es': 'Ayer, ', 'pre_en': 'Yesterday, '}yo fie de su amigo en todo — "I trusted his friend in everything"
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 fías de su instinto en el examen — "You trust his instinct in the exam"
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: {}tú fiabas de su instinto en el examen — "You used to trust his instinct in the exam"
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 fía de la palabra de su jefe — "He trusts his boss's word"
- Future — what will happen: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él fiará de la palabra de su jefe — "He will trust his boss's word"
Examples: fiar in the present tense
Seven sentences that show fiar in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo fío de su amigo en todo — "I trust his friend in everything"
- Tú fías de su instinto en el examen — "You trust his instinct in the exam"
- Él fía de la palabra de su jefe — "He trusts his boss's word"
- Nosotros fiamos de su hermano con el coche — "We trust his brother with the car"
- Vosotros fiáis de su memoria en la prueba — "You trust his memory in the test"
- Ellos fían de su amigo en todo — "They trust his friend in everything"
- Yo fío de su instinto en el examen — "I trust his instinct in the exam"
Common mistakes with fiar in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with fiar in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ *Yo fío su amigo en todo.
✓ Correct: Yo fío de su amigo en todo.
fiar takes de before this complement: Yo fío de su amigo en todo. Dropping the preposition is a common learner error.
✗ *Tú fía de su instinto en el examen.
✓ Correct: Tú fías de su instinto en el examen.
The tú form and the él form are different: tú takes fías, él takes fía.
✗ *Cada día, yo fie de la palabra de su jefe
✓ Correct: Cada día, yo fío de la palabra de su jefe
Cada día describes a habit, so it needs the present, not the preterite.
✗ *Vosotros fiais de su hermano con el coche.
✓ Correct: Vosotros fiáis de su hermano con el coche.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: fiáis, not fiais.
Quiz: fiar in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of fiar. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
Which is the correct present form of fiar for tú? A. fía B. fiamos C. fías D. fío
Complete the sentence: Yo ______ de su amigo en todo — "I trust his friend in everything" (present) A. fiamos B. fío C. fías D. fía
Complete the sentence: Él ______ de su instinto en el examen — "He trusts his instinct in the exam" (present) A. fías B. fiamos C. fía D. fío
Which is the correct present form of fiar for nosotros? A. fían B. fiamos C. fías D. fía
Which sentence uses fiar correctly in the present? A. Mi amigo fías de la palabra de su jefe B. Mi amigo fiaba de la palabra de su jefe C. Mi amigo fiamos de la palabra de su jefe D. Mi amigo fía de la palabra de su jefe
Complete the sentence: Vosotros ______ de su hermano con el coche — "You trust his brother with the car" (present) A. fías B. fía C. fiáis D. fío
Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ de su memoria en la prueba — "They trust his memory in the test" (present) A. fía B. fían C. fío D. fías
What is the gerund of fiar? A. fiando B. fiado C. fío D. fie
Answer key
- fías — The tú form in the present is fías.
- fío — The present form for yo is fío.
- fía — The present form for él/ella/Ud. is fía.
- fiamos — The nosotros form in the present is fiamos.
- Mi amigo fía de la palabra de su jefe — Mi amigo fía de la palabra de su jefe is correct: the verb agrees with its subject and the tense is the present.
- fiáis — The present form for vosotros/as is fiáis.
- fían — The present form for ellos/ellas/Uds. is fían.
- fiando — The gerund is fiando. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive, and it is not the past participle fiado.
Frequently asked questions
Is fiar regular in the present tense?
Yes — in the present tense fiar follows the regular endings for -ar verbs, as the table above shows.
What is the gerund and the past participle of fiar?
The gerund is fiando and the past participle is fiado. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say "I trust" in the present tense?
Say fío. For example: Yo fío de su amigo en todo — "I trust his friend in everything".
What is the difference between the present and the preterite of fiar?
The present describes a habit or what happens now: Yo fío de su amigo en todo — "I trust his friend in everything". The preterite reports one finished occasion: Ayer, yo fie de su amigo en todo — "Yesterday, I trusted his friend in everything". 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 fiar — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- fiar 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.