Gemir Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of gemir — "to groan, to moan" 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 gemir 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. Gemir means to groan or moan, from pain, pleasure or despair: gemir de dolor, gemir de placer. It takes de before the cause of the groan. To see it in a real sentence: Yo gimo de dolor en el hospital — "I groan with pain in hospital".
Present tense conjugation table: gemir
Every person of gemir in the present tense. The gerund is gimiendo and the past participle is gemido.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | gimo |
| tú | gimes |
| él/ella/Ud. | gime |
| nosotros/as | gemimos |
| vosotros/as | gemís |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | gimen |
How the present of gemir is formed
The present of gemir is built from the stem gem- 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 | gimo |
| tú | -es | gimes |
| él/ella/Ud. | -e | gime |
| nosotros/as | -imos | gemimos |
| vosotros/as | -ís | gemís |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -en | gimen |
The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: gimo, gimes, gime and gimen — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: gemimos, gemís. In the preterite the third-person forms change too: gimió, gimieron, and the gerund is gimiendo.
The gerund of gemir is gimiendo and the past participle is gemido. Both are the forms you need with estar and haber respectively.
When to use the present tense of gemir
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and gemir 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 gimo de dolor en el hospital" — "Every day, I groan with pain in hospital"
General truths
The present states facts that are always true, not just true today.
"Mi amigo gime toda la noche por la fiebre" — "My friend groans all night with the fever"
What is happening now
The present describes an action in progress right now.
"Ahora, yo gimo de placer al comer" — "Right now, I groan with pleasure while eating"
Near-future plans
Spanish often uses the present for a plan that is already fixed.
"Mañana, nosotros gemimos bajo el peso de la carga" — "Tomorrow, we groan under the weight of the load"
Timetables and scheduled events
The present is the tense for timetables, programmes and things that happen on a schedule.
"Ellos gimen de desesperación en la celda" — "They groan in despair in the cell"
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 gimo de dolor en el hospital — "I groan with pain in hospital"
- Preterite — one finished occasion: {'pre_es': 'Ayer, ', 'pre_en': 'Yesterday, '}yo gemí de dolor en el hospital — "I groaned with pain in hospital"
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 gimes toda la noche por la fiebre — "You groan all night with the fever"
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: {}tú gemías toda la noche por la fiebre — "You used to groan all night with the fever"
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 gime de placer al comer — "He groans with pleasure while eating"
- Future — what will happen: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él gemirá de placer al comer — "He will groan with pleasure while eating"
Examples: gemir in the present tense
Seven sentences that show gemir in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo gimo de dolor en el hospital — "I groan with pain in hospital"
- Tú gimes toda la noche por la fiebre — "You groan all night with the fever"
- Él gime de placer al comer — "He groans with pleasure while eating"
- Nosotros gemimos bajo el peso de la carga — "We groan under the weight of the load"
- Vosotros gemís de desesperación en la celda — "You groan in despair in the cell"
- Ellos gimen de dolor en el hospital — "They groan with pain in hospital"
- Yo gimo toda la noche por la fiebre — "I groan all night with the fever"
Common mistakes with gemir in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with gemir in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ *Yo gemo de dolor en el hospital.
✓ Correct: Yo gimo de dolor en el hospital.
gemir is a stem-changing verb (e → i): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is gimo, not gemo.
✗ *Tú gime toda la noche por la fiebre.
✓ Correct: Tú gimes toda la noche por la fiebre.
The tú form and the él form are different: tú takes gimes, él takes gime.
✗ *Cada día, yo gemí de placer al comer
✓ Correct: Cada día, yo gimo de placer al comer
Cada día describes a habit, so it needs the present, not the preterite.
✗ *Vosotros gemis bajo el peso de la carga.
✓ Correct: Vosotros gemís bajo el peso de la carga.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: gemís, not gemis.
Quiz: gemir in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of gemir. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
Which is the correct present form of gemir for tú? A. gimes B. gimo C. gime D. gemimos
Complete the sentence: Yo ______ de dolor en el hospital — "I groan with pain in hospital" (present) A. gimes B. gime C. gemimos D. gimo
Complete the sentence: Él ______ toda la noche por la fiebre — "He groans all night with the fever" (present) A. gimes B. gemimos C. gime D. gimo
Which is the correct present form of gemir for nosotros? A. gimes B. gime C. gimen D. gemimos
Which sentence uses gemir correctly in the present? A. Mi amigo gemimos de placer al comer B. Mi amigo gime de placer al comer C. Mi amigo gimes de placer al comer D. Mi amigo gemía de placer al comer
Complete the sentence: Vosotros ______ bajo el peso de la carga — "You groan under the weight of the load" (present) A. gimo B. gimes C. gime D. gemís
Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ de desesperación en la celda — "They groan in despair in the cell" (present) A. gime B. gimen C. gimo D. gimes
What is the gerund of gemir? A. gimo B. gemí C. gimiendo D. gemido
Answer key
- gimes — The tú form in the present is gimes.
- gimo — The present form for yo is gimo.
- gime — The present form for él/ella/Ud. is gime.
- gemimos — The nosotros form in the present is gemimos.
- Mi amigo gime de placer al comer — Mi amigo gime de placer al comer is correct: the verb agrees with its subject and the tense is the present.
- gemís — The present form for vosotros/as is gemís.
- gimen — The present form for ellos/ellas/Uds. is gimen.
- gimiendo — The gerund is gimiendo. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive, and it is not the past participle gemido.
Frequently asked questions
Is gemir regular in the present tense?
No — in the present the stem changes: The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: gimo, gimes, gime and gimen — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: gemimos, gemís. In the preterite the third-person forms change too: gimió, gimieron, and the gerund is gimiendo. The nosotros and vosotros forms keep the plain stem.
What is the gerund and the past participle of gemir?
The gerund is gimiendo and the past participle is gemido. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say "I groan" in the present tense?
Say gimo. For example: Yo gimo de dolor en el hospital — "I groan with pain in hospital".
What is the difference between the present and the preterite of gemir?
The present describes a habit or what happens now: Yo gimo de dolor en el hospital — "I groan with pain in hospital". The preterite reports one finished occasion: Ayer, yo gemí de dolor en el hospital — "Yesterday, I groaned with pain in hospital". 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 gemir — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- gemir 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.