Herir Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of herir — "to wound, to hurt" 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 herir 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. Herir means to wound someone physically, or to hurt their feelings: herir a un soldado, herir los sentimientos. The stem changes e to ie in the present and e to i in the preterite third person and the gerund. To see it in a real sentence: Yo hiero a su amigo con sus palabras — "I hurt his friend with his words".
Present tense conjugation table: herir
Every person of herir in the present tense. The gerund is hiriendo and the past participle is herido.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | hiero |
| tú | hieres |
| él/ella/Ud. | hiere |
| nosotros/as | herimos |
| vosotros/as | herís |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | hieren |
How the present of herir is formed
The present of herir is built from the stem her- 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 | hiero |
| tú | -es | hieres |
| él/ella/Ud. | -e | hiere |
| nosotros/as | -imos | herimos |
| vosotros/as | -ís | herís |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -en | hieren |
The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: hiero, hieres, hiere and hieren — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: herimos, herís. In the preterite the third-person forms change too: hirió, hirieron, and the gerund is hiriendo.
The gerund of herir is hiriendo and the past participle is herido. Both are the forms you need with estar and haber respectively.
When to use the present tense of herir
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and herir 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 hiero a su amigo con sus palabras" — "Every day, I hurt his friend with his words"
General truths
The present states facts that are always true, not just true today.
"Mi amigo hiere el orgullo de su hermano" — "My friend hurts his brother's pride"
What is happening now
The present describes an action in progress right now.
"Ahora, yo hiero a un soldado en la batalla" — "Right now, I hurt a soldier in battle"
Near-future plans
Spanish often uses the present for a plan that is already fixed.
"Mañana, nosotros herimos los sentimientos de su novia" — "Tomorrow, we hurt his girlfriend's feelings"
Timetables and scheduled events
The present is the tense for timetables, programmes and things that happen on a schedule.
"Ellos hieren a un peatón en el accidente" — "They hurt a pedestrian in the accident"
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 hiero a su amigo con sus palabras — "I hurt his friend with his words"
- Preterite — one finished occasion: {'pre_es': 'Ayer, ', 'pre_en': 'Yesterday, '}yo herí a su amigo con sus palabras — "I hurt his friend with his words"
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 hieres el orgullo de su hermano — "You hurt his brother's pride"
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: {}tú herías el orgullo de su hermano — "You used to hurt his brother's pride"
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 hiere a un soldado en la batalla — "He hurts a soldier in battle"
- Future — what will happen: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él herirá a un soldado en la batalla — "He will hurt a soldier in battle"
Examples: herir in the present tense
Seven sentences that show herir in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo hiero a su amigo con sus palabras — "I hurt his friend with his words"
- Tú hieres el orgullo de su hermano — "You hurt his brother's pride"
- Él hiere a un soldado en la batalla — "He hurts a soldier in battle"
- Nosotros herimos los sentimientos de su novia — "We hurt his girlfriend's feelings"
- Vosotros herís a un peatón en el accidente — "You hurt a pedestrian in the accident"
- Ellos hieren a su amigo con sus palabras — "They hurt his friend with his words"
- Yo hiero el orgullo de su hermano — "I hurt his brother's pride"
Common mistakes with herir in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with herir in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ *Yo hero a su amigo con sus palabras.
✓ Correct: Yo hiero a su amigo con sus palabras.
herir is a stem-changing verb (e → ie): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is hiero, not hero.
✗ *Tú hiere el orgullo de su hermano.
✓ Correct: Tú hieres el orgullo de su hermano.
The tú form and the él form are different: tú takes hieres, él takes hiere.
✗ *Cada día, yo herí a un soldado en la batalla
✓ Correct: Cada día, yo hiero a un soldado en la batalla
Cada día describes a habit, so it needs the present, not the preterite.
✗ *Vosotros heris los sentimientos de su novia.
✓ Correct: Vosotros herís los sentimientos de su novia.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: herís, not heris.
Quiz: herir in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of herir. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
Which is the correct present form of herir for tú? A. hiere B. herimos C. hieres D. hiero
Complete the sentence: Yo ______ a su amigo con sus palabras — "I hurt his friend with his words" (present) A. herimos B. hiero C. hieres D. hiere
Complete the sentence: Él ______ el orgullo de su hermano — "He hurts his brother's pride" (present) A. hiero B. hieres C. herimos D. hiere
Which is the correct present form of herir for nosotros? A. hieren B. herimos C. hieres D. hiere
Which sentence uses herir correctly in the present? A. Mi amigo hieres a un soldado en la batalla B. Mi amigo hería a un soldado en la batalla C. Mi amigo herimos a un soldado en la batalla D. Mi amigo hiere a un soldado en la batalla
Complete the sentence: Vosotros ______ los sentimientos de su novia — "You hurt his girlfriend's feelings" (present) A. hiere B. herís C. hiero D. hieres
Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ a un peatón en el accidente — "They hurt a pedestrian in the accident" (present) A. hiere B. hieren C. hiero D. hieres
What is the gerund of herir? A. hiriendo B. herido C. hiero D. herí
Answer key
- hieres — The tú form in the present is hieres.
- hiero — The present form for yo is hiero.
- hiere — The present form for él/ella/Ud. is hiere.
- herimos — The nosotros form in the present is herimos.
- Mi amigo hiere a un soldado en la batalla — Mi amigo hiere a un soldado en la batalla is correct: the verb agrees with its subject and the tense is the present.
- herís — The present form for vosotros/as is herís.
- hieren — The present form for ellos/ellas/Uds. is hieren.
- hiriendo — The gerund is hiriendo. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive, and it is not the past participle herido.
Frequently asked questions
Is herir regular in the present tense?
No — in the present the stem changes: The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: hiero, hieres, hiere and hieren — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: herimos, herís. In the preterite the third-person forms change too: hirió, hirieron, and the gerund is hiriendo. The nosotros and vosotros forms keep the plain stem.
What is the gerund and the past participle of herir?
The gerund is hiriendo and the past participle is herido. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say "I hurt" in the present tense?
Say hiero. For example: Yo hiero a su amigo con sus palabras — "I hurt his friend with his words".
What is the difference between the present and the preterite of herir?
The present describes a habit or what happens now: Yo hiero a su amigo con sus palabras — "I hurt his friend with his words". The preterite reports one finished occasion: Ayer, yo herí a su amigo con sus palabras — "Yesterday, I hurt his friend with his words". 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 herir — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- herir 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.