Hervir Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of hervir — "to boil" 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 hervir 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. Hervir means to boil: hierve el agua, hierve la leche. The stem changes e to ie in the present and e to i in the preterite third person and the gerund: hirvió, hirvieron, hirviendo. To see it in a real sentence: Yo hiervo el agua para el té — "I boil the water for the tea".
Present tense conjugation table: hervir
Every person of hervir in the present tense. The gerund is hirviendo and the past participle is hervido.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | hiervo |
| tú | hierves |
| él/ella/Ud. | hierve |
| nosotros/as | hervimos |
| vosotros/as | hervís |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | hierven |
How the present of hervir is formed
The present of hervir is built from the stem herv- 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 | hiervo |
| tú | -es | hierves |
| él/ella/Ud. | -e | hierve |
| nosotros/as | -imos | hervimos |
| vosotros/as | -ís | hervís |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -en | hierven |
The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: hiervo, hierves, hierve and hierven — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: hervimos, hervís. In the preterite the third-person forms change too: hirvió, hirvieron, and the gerund is hirviendo.
The gerund of hervir is hirviendo and the past participle is hervido. Both are the forms you need with estar and haber respectively.
When to use the present tense of hervir
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and hervir 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 hiervo el agua para el té" — "Every day, I boil the water for the tea"
General truths
The present states facts that are always true, not just true today.
"Mi amigo hierve la leche en la cacerola" — "My friend boils the milk in the saucepan"
What is happening now
The present describes an action in progress right now.
"Ahora, yo hiervo las patatas con sal" — "Right now, I boil the potatoes with salt"
Near-future plans
Spanish often uses the present for a plan that is already fixed.
"Mañana, nosotros hervimos el caldo a fuego fuerte" — "Tomorrow, we boil the stock over a high heat"
Timetables and scheduled events
The present is the tense for timetables, programmes and things that happen on a schedule.
"Ellos hierven el agua de la tetera" — "They boil the water in the kettle"
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 hiervo el agua para el té — "I boil the water for the tea"
- Preterite — one finished occasion: {'pre_es': 'Ayer, ', 'pre_en': 'Yesterday, '}yo herví el agua para el té — "I boiled the water for the tea"
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 hierves la leche en la cacerola — "You boil the milk in the saucepan"
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: {}tú hervías la leche en la cacerola — "You used to boil the milk in the saucepan"
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 hierve las patatas con sal — "He boils the potatoes with salt"
- Future — what will happen: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él hervirá las patatas con sal — "He will boil the potatoes with salt"
Examples: hervir in the present tense
Seven sentences that show hervir in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo hiervo el agua para el té — "I boil the water for the tea"
- Tú hierves la leche en la cacerola — "You boil the milk in the saucepan"
- Él hierve las patatas con sal — "He boils the potatoes with salt"
- Nosotros hervimos el caldo a fuego fuerte — "We boil the stock over a high heat"
- Vosotros hervís el agua de la tetera — "You boil the water in the kettle"
- Ellos hierven el agua para el té — "They boil the water for the tea"
- Yo hiervo la leche en la cacerola — "I boil the milk in the saucepan"
Common mistakes with hervir in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with hervir in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ *Yo hervo el agua para el té.
✓ Correct: Yo hiervo el agua para el té.
hervir is a stem-changing verb (e → ie): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is hiervo, not hervo.
✗ *Tú hierve la leche en la cacerola.
✓ Correct: Tú hierves la leche en la cacerola.
The tú form and the él form are different: tú takes hierves, él takes hierve.
✗ *Cada día, yo herví las patatas con sal
✓ Correct: Cada día, yo hiervo las patatas con sal
Cada día describes a habit, so it needs the present, not the preterite.
✗ *Vosotros hervis el caldo a fuego fuerte.
✓ Correct: Vosotros hervís el caldo a fuego fuerte.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: hervís, not hervis.
Quiz: hervir in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of hervir. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
Which is the correct present form of hervir for tú? A. hierves B. hiervo C. hierve D. hervimos
Complete the sentence: Yo ______ el agua para el té — "I boil the water for the tea" (present) A. hervimos B. hiervo C. hierves D. hierve
Complete the sentence: Él ______ la leche en la cacerola — "He boils the milk in the saucepan" (present) A. hierves B. hervimos C. hierve D. hiervo
Which is the correct present form of hervir for nosotros? A. hierves B. hierve C. hierven D. hervimos
Which sentence uses hervir correctly in the present? A. Mi amigo hervimos las patatas con sal B. Mi amigo hierve las patatas con sal C. Mi amigo hierves las patatas con sal D. Mi amigo hervía las patatas con sal
Complete the sentence: Vosotros ______ el caldo a fuego fuerte — "You boil the stock over a high heat" (present) A. hiervo B. hierves C. hierve D. hervís
Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ el agua de la tetera — "They boil the water in the kettle" (present) A. hierve B. hierven C. hiervo D. hierves
What is the gerund of hervir? A. hiervo B. herví C. hirviendo D. hervido
Answer key
- hierves — The tú form in the present is hierves.
- hiervo — The present form for yo is hiervo.
- hierve — The present form for él/ella/Ud. is hierve.
- hervimos — The nosotros form in the present is hervimos.
- Mi amigo hierve las patatas con sal — Mi amigo hierve las patatas con sal is correct: the verb agrees with its subject and the tense is the present.
- hervís — The present form for vosotros/as is hervís.
- hierven — The present form for ellos/ellas/Uds. is hierven.
- hirviendo — The gerund is hirviendo. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive, and it is not the past participle hervido.
Frequently asked questions
Is hervir regular in the present tense?
No — in the present the stem changes: The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: hiervo, hierves, hierve and hierven — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: hervimos, hervís. In the preterite the third-person forms change too: hirvió, hirvieron, and the gerund is hirviendo. The nosotros and vosotros forms keep the plain stem.
What is the gerund and the past participle of hervir?
The gerund is hirviendo and the past participle is hervido. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say "I boil" in the present tense?
Say hiervo. For example: Yo hiervo el agua para el té — "I boil the water for the tea".
What is the difference between the present and the preterite of hervir?
The present describes a habit or what happens now: Yo hiervo el agua para el té — "I boil the water for the tea". The preterite reports one finished occasion: Ayer, yo herví el agua para el té — "Yesterday, I boiled the water for the tea". 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 hervir — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- hervir 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.