Gobernar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of gobernar — "to govern" 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 gobernar 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. Gobernar means to govern a country, a region or a city: gobernar el país, gobernar la ciudad. It is the everyday verb for governing, used in news and history. To see it in a real sentence: Yo gobierno el país con mano firme — "I govern the country with a firm hand".
Present tense conjugation table: gobernar
Every person of gobernar in the present tense. The gerund is gobernando and the past participle is gobernado.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | gobierno |
| tú | gobiernas |
| él/ella/Ud. | gobierna |
| nosotros/as | gobernamos |
| vosotros/as | gobernáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | gobiernan |
How the present of gobernar is formed
The present of gobernar is built from the stem gobern- 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 | gobierno |
| tú | -as | gobiernas |
| él/ella/Ud. | -a | gobierna |
| nosotros/as | -amos | gobernamos |
| vosotros/as | -áis | gobernáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -an | gobiernan |
The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: gobierno, gobiernas, gobierna and gobiernan — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: gobernamos, gobernáis.
The gerund of gobernar is gobernando and the past participle is gobernado. Both are the forms you need with estar and haber respectively.
When to use the present tense of gobernar
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and gobernar 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 gobierno el país con mano firme" — "Every day, I govern the country with a firm hand"
General truths
The present states facts that are always true, not just true today.
"Mi amigo gobierna la región desde la capital" — "My friend governs the region from the capital"
What is happening now
The present describes an action in progress right now.
"Ahora, yo gobierno la ciudad durante diez años" — "Right now, I govern the city for ten years"
Near-future plans
Spanish often uses the present for a plan that is already fixed.
"Mañana, nosotros gobernamos con justicia y prudencia" — "Tomorrow, we govern with justice and prudence"
Timetables and scheduled events
The present is the tense for timetables, programmes and things that happen on a schedule.
"Ellos gobiernan la isla desde el palacio" — "They govern the island from the palace"
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 gobierno el país con mano firme — "I govern the country with a firm hand"
- Preterite — one finished occasion: {'pre_es': 'Ayer, ', 'pre_en': 'Yesterday, '}yo goberné el país con mano firme — "I governed the country with a firm hand"
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 gobiernas la región desde la capital — "You govern the region from the capital"
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: {}tú gobernabas la región desde la capital — "You used to govern the region from the capital"
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 gobierna la ciudad durante diez años — "He governs the city for ten years"
- Future — what will happen: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él gobernará la ciudad durante diez años — "He will govern the city for ten years"
Examples: gobernar in the present tense
Seven sentences that show gobernar in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo gobierno el país con mano firme — "I govern the country with a firm hand"
- Tú gobiernas la región desde la capital — "You govern the region from the capital"
- Él gobierna la ciudad durante diez años — "He governs the city for ten years"
- Nosotros gobernamos con justicia y prudencia — "We govern with justice and prudence"
- Vosotros gobernáis la isla desde el palacio — "You govern the island from the palace"
- Ellos gobiernan el país con mano firme — "They govern the country with a firm hand"
- Yo gobierno la región desde la capital — "I govern the region from the capital"
Common mistakes with gobernar in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with gobernar in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ *Yo goberno el país con mano firme.
✓ Correct: Yo gobierno el país con mano firme.
gobernar is a stem-changing verb (e → ie): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is gobierno, not goberno.
✗ *Tú gobierna la región desde la capital.
✓ Correct: Tú gobiernas la región desde la capital.
The tú form and the él form are different: tú takes gobiernas, él takes gobierna.
✗ *Cada día, yo goberné la ciudad durante diez años
✓ Correct: Cada día, yo gobierno la ciudad durante diez años
Cada día describes a habit, so it needs the present, not the preterite.
✗ *Vosotros gobernais con justicia y prudencia.
✓ Correct: Vosotros gobernáis con justicia y prudencia.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: gobernáis, not gobernais.
Quiz: gobernar in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of gobernar. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
Which is the correct present form of gobernar for tú? A. gobiernas B. gobierno C. gobierna D. gobernamos
Complete the sentence: Yo ______ el país con mano firme — "I govern the country with a firm hand" (present) A. gobierna B. gobernamos C. gobierno D. gobiernas
Complete the sentence: Él ______ la región desde la capital — "He governs the region from the capital" (present) A. gobierna B. gobierno C. gobiernas D. gobernamos
Which is the correct present form of gobernar for nosotros? A. gobiernas B. gobierna C. gobiernan D. gobernamos
Which sentence uses gobernar correctly in the present? A. Mi amigo gobernamos la ciudad durante diez años B. Mi amigo gobierna la ciudad durante diez años C. Mi amigo gobiernas la ciudad durante diez años D. Mi amigo gobernaba la ciudad durante diez años
Complete the sentence: Vosotros ______ con justicia y prudencia — "You govern with justice and prudence" (present) A. gobiernas B. gobierna C. gobernáis D. gobierno
Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ la isla desde el palacio — "They govern the island from the palace" (present) A. gobierna B. gobiernan C. gobierno D. gobiernas
What is the gerund of gobernar? A. gobierno B. goberné C. gobernando D. gobernado
Answer key
- gobiernas — The tú form in the present is gobiernas.
- gobierno — The present form for yo is gobierno.
- gobierna — The present form for él/ella/Ud. is gobierna.
- gobernamos — The nosotros form in the present is gobernamos.
- Mi amigo gobierna la ciudad durante diez años — Mi amigo gobierna la ciudad durante diez años is correct: the verb agrees with its subject and the tense is the present.
- gobernáis — The present form for vosotros/as is gobernáis.
- gobiernan — The present form for ellos/ellas/Uds. is gobiernan.
- gobernando — The gerund is gobernando. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive, and it is not the past participle gobernado.
Frequently asked questions
Is gobernar regular in the present tense?
No — in the present the stem changes: The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: gobierno, gobiernas, gobierna and gobiernan — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: gobernamos, gobernáis. The nosotros and vosotros forms keep the plain stem.
What is the gerund and the past participle of gobernar?
The gerund is gobernando and the past participle is gobernado. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say "I govern" in the present tense?
Say gobierno. For example: Yo gobierno el país con mano firme — "I govern the country with a firm hand".
What is the difference between the present and the preterite of gobernar?
The present describes a habit or what happens now: Yo gobierno el país con mano firme — "I govern the country with a firm hand". The preterite reports one finished occasion: Ayer, yo goberné el país con mano firme — "Yesterday, I governed the country with a firm hand". 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 gobernar — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- gobernar 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.