Helar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of helar — "to freeze" 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 helar 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. Helar is a weather verb, used almost only in the third person singular: hiela, heló, helaba. It means to freeze — the streets, the water, the plants. As a reflexive verb, helarse means for food or a person to freeze. To see it in a real sentence: Hiela toda la noche en enero — "It freezes all night in January".
Present tense conjugation table: helar
Every person of helar in the present tense. The gerund is helando and the past participle is helado.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | hielo |
| tú | hielas |
| él/ella/Ud. | hiela |
| nosotros/as | helamos |
| vosotros/as | heláis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | hielan |
How the present of helar is formed
The present of helar is built from the stem hel- 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 | hielo |
| tú | -as | hielas |
| él/ella/Ud. | -a | hiela |
| nosotros/as | -amos | helamos |
| vosotros/as | -áis | heláis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -an | hielan |
The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: hielo, hielas, hiela and hielan — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: helamos, heláis. helar is a weather verb, so in practice you will meet it in the third person singular: hiela. The other persons exist in the table above, but everyday Spanish keeps weather verbs impersonal.
The gerund of helar is helando and the past participle is helado. Both are the forms you need with estar and haber respectively.
When to use the present tense of helar
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and helar 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, hiela toda la noche en enero" — "Every day, It freezes all night in January"
General truths
The present states facts that are always true, not just true today.
"Hiela las calles de madrugada" — "It freezes the streets at dawn"
What is happening now
The present describes an action in progress right now.
"Ahora, hiela en la sierra en invierno" — "Right now, It freezes in the mountains in winter"
Near-future plans
Spanish often uses the present for a plan that is already fixed.
"Mañana, hiela el agua del lago" — "Tomorrow, It freezes the water in the lake"
Timetables and scheduled events
The present is the tense for timetables, programmes and things that happen on a schedule.
"Hiela las plantas del jardín" — "It freezes the garden plants"
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, '}hiela toda la noche en enero — "It freezes all night in January"
- Preterite — one finished occasion: {'pre_es': 'Ayer, ', 'pre_en': 'Yesterday, '}heló toda la noche en enero — "It froze all night in January"
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: {}hiela las calles de madrugada — "It freezes the streets at dawn"
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: {}helaba las calles de madrugada — "It used to freeze the streets at dawn"
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'}hiela en la sierra en invierno — "It freezes in the mountains in winter"
- Future — what will happen: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}helará en la sierra en invierno — "It will freeze in the mountains in winter"
Examples: helar in the present tense
Seven sentences that show helar in the present tense. Weather verbs are used in the third person singular, so each sentence uses that form with a different time or place phrase. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Hiela toda la noche en enero — "It freezes all night in January"
- Hiela las calles de madrugada — "It freezes the streets at dawn"
- Hiela en la sierra en invierno — "It freezes in the mountains in winter"
- Hiela el agua del lago — "It freezes the water in the lake"
- Hiela las plantas del jardín — "It freezes the garden plants"
- Hiela toda la noche en enero — "It freezes all night in January"
- Hiela las calles de madrugada — "It freezes the streets at dawn"
Common mistakes with helar in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with helar in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ *Yo helo toda la noche en enero.
✓ Correct: Yo hielo toda la noche en enero.
helar is a stem-changing verb (e → ie): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is hielo, not helo.
✗ *Tú hiela las calles de madrugada.
✓ Correct: Tú hielas las calles de madrugada.
The tú form and the él form are different: tú takes hielas, él takes hiela.
✗ *Cada día, heló en la sierra en invierno
✓ Correct: Cada día, hiela en la sierra en invierno
Cada día describes a habit, so it needs the present, not the preterite.
✗ *Espero que hiela el agua del lago
✓ Correct: Espero que hiele el agua del lago
After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: Espero que hiele el agua del lago — not the indicative Espero que hiela el agua del lago.
Quiz: helar in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of helar. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
Which is the correct present form of helar for tú? A. hielas B. hielo C. hiela D. helamos
Complete the sentence: ______ toda la noche en enero — "It freezes all night in January" (present) A. hiela B. heló C. helaba D. helará
Complete the sentence: ______ las calles de madrugada — "It freezes the streets at dawn" (present) A. helará B. hiela C. heló D. helaba
Which is the correct present form of helar for nosotros? A. hielas B. hiela C. hielan D. helamos
Which sentence uses helar correctly in the present? A. Helará en la sierra en invierno B. Hiela en la sierra en invierno C. Heló en la sierra en invierno D. Helaba en la sierra en invierno
Complete the sentence: ______ el agua del lago — "It freezes the water in the lake" (present) A. helaba B. helará C. hiela D. heló
Complete the sentence: ______ las plantas del jardín — "It freezes the garden plants" (present) A. helaba B. helará C. hiela D. heló
What is the gerund of helar? A. hielo B. helé C. helando D. helado
Answer key
- hielas — The tú form in the present is hielas.
- hiela — The present form is hiela.
- hiela — The present form is hiela.
- helamos — The nosotros form in the present is helamos.
- Hiela en la sierra en invierno — Hiela en la sierra en invierno is correct: the verb agrees with its subject and the tense is the present.
- hiela — The present form is hiela.
- hiela — The present form is hiela.
- helando — The gerund is helando. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive, and it is not the past participle helado.
Frequently asked questions
Is helar regular in the present tense?
No — in the present the stem changes: The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: hielo, hielas, hiela and hielan — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: helamos, heláis. The nosotros and vosotros forms keep the plain stem.
What is the gerund and the past participle of helar?
The gerund is helando and the past participle is helado. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say "I freeze" in the present tense?
Say hielo. For example: Hiela toda la noche en enero — "It freezes all night in January".
What is the difference between the present and the preterite of helar?
The present describes a habit or what happens now: Hiela toda la noche en enero — "It freezes all night in January". The preterite reports one finished occasion: Ayer, heló toda la noche en enero — "Yesterday, It froze all night in January". 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 helar — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- helar 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.