Impedir Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of impedir — "to prevent" 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 impedir 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. Impedir means to prevent something. With a que-clause it takes the subjunctive: impedir que su hijo salga. With a noun it is direct: impedir el progreso del proyecto. To see it in a real sentence: Yo impido el paso por la carretera — "I prevent passage along the road".
Present tense conjugation table: impedir
Every person of impedir in the present tense. The gerund is impidiendo and the past participle is impedido.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | impido |
| tú | impides |
| él/ella/Ud. | impide |
| nosotros/as | impedimos |
| vosotros/as | impedís |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | impiden |
How the present of impedir is formed
The present of impedir is built from the stem imped- 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 | impido |
| tú | -es | impides |
| él/ella/Ud. | -e | impide |
| nosotros/as | -imos | impedimos |
| vosotros/as | -ís | impedís |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -en | impiden |
The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: impido, impides, impide and impiden — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: impedimos, impedís. In the preterite the third-person forms change too: impidió, impidieron, and the gerund is impidiendo.
The gerund of impedir is impidiendo and the past participle is impedido. Both are the forms you need with estar and haber respectively.
When to use the present tense of impedir
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and impedir 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 impido el paso por la carretera" — "Every day, I prevent passage along the road"
General truths
The present states facts that are always true, not just true today.
"Mi amigo impide que su hijo salga de noche" — "My friend prevents his son from going out at night"
What is happening now
The present describes an action in progress right now.
"Ahora, yo impido la entrada a los visitantes" — "Right now, I prevent visitors from entering"
Near-future plans
Spanish often uses the present for a plan that is already fixed.
"Mañana, nosotros impedimos el progreso del proyecto" — "Tomorrow, we prevent the project's progress"
Timetables and scheduled events
The present is the tense for timetables, programmes and things that happen on a schedule.
"Ellos impiden que el agua entre en la casa" — "They prevent water from entering the house"
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 impido el paso por la carretera — "I prevent passage along the road"
- Preterite — one finished occasion: {'pre_es': 'Ayer, ', 'pre_en': 'Yesterday, '}yo impedí el paso por la carretera — "I prevented passage along the road"
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 impides que su hijo salga de noche — "You prevent his son from going out at night"
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: {}tú impedías que su hijo salga de noche — "You used to prevent his son from going out at night"
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 impide la entrada a los visitantes — "He prevents visitors from entering"
- Future — what will happen: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él impedirá la entrada a los visitantes — "He will prevent visitors from entering"
Examples: impedir in the present tense
Seven sentences that show impedir in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo impido el paso por la carretera — "I prevent passage along the road"
- Tú impides que su hijo salga de noche — "You prevent his son from going out at night"
- Él impide la entrada a los visitantes — "He prevents visitors from entering"
- Nosotros impedimos el progreso del proyecto — "We prevent the project's progress"
- Vosotros impedís que el agua entre en la casa — "You prevent water from entering the house"
- Ellos impiden el paso por la carretera — "They prevent passage along the road"
- Yo impido que su hijo salga de noche — "I prevent his son from going out at night"
Common mistakes with impedir in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with impedir in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ *Yo impedo el paso por la carretera.
✓ Correct: Yo impido el paso por la carretera.
impedir is a stem-changing verb (e → i): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is impido, not impedo.
✗ *Tú impide que su hijo salga de noche.
✓ Correct: Tú impides que su hijo salga de noche.
The tú form and the él form are different: tú takes impides, él takes impide.
✗ *Cada día, yo impedí la entrada a los visitantes
✓ Correct: Cada día, yo impido la entrada a los visitantes
Cada día describes a habit, so it needs the present, not the preterite.
✗ *Vosotros impedis el progreso del proyecto.
✓ Correct: Vosotros impedís el progreso del proyecto.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: impedís, not impedis.
Quiz: impedir in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of impedir. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
Which is the correct present form of impedir for tú? A. impide B. impedimos C. impides D. impido
Complete the sentence: Yo ______ el paso por la carretera — "I prevent passage along the road" (present) A. impides B. impide C. impedimos D. impido
Complete the sentence: Él ______ que su hijo salga de noche — "He prevents his son from going out at night" (present) A. impide B. impido C. impides D. impedimos
Which is the correct present form of impedir for nosotros? A. impiden B. impedimos C. impides D. impide
Which sentence uses impedir correctly in the present? A. Mi amigo impides la entrada a los visitantes B. Mi amigo impedía la entrada a los visitantes C. Mi amigo impedimos la entrada a los visitantes D. Mi amigo impide la entrada a los visitantes
Complete the sentence: Vosotros ______ el progreso del proyecto — "You prevent the project's progress" (present) A. impedís B. impido C. impides D. impide
Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ que el agua entre en la casa — "They prevent water from entering the house" (present) A. impides B. impide C. impiden D. impido
What is the gerund of impedir? A. impidiendo B. impedido C. impido D. impedí
Answer key
- impides — The tú form in the present is impides.
- impido — The present form for yo is impido.
- impide — The present form for él/ella/Ud. is impide.
- impedimos — The nosotros form in the present is impedimos.
- Mi amigo impide la entrada a los visitantes — Mi amigo impide la entrada a los visitantes is correct: the verb agrees with its subject and the tense is the present.
- impedís — The present form for vosotros/as is impedís.
- impiden — The present form for ellos/ellas/Uds. is impiden.
- impidiendo — The gerund is impidiendo. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive, and it is not the past participle impedido.
Frequently asked questions
Is impedir regular in the present tense?
No — in the present the stem changes: The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: impido, impides, impide and impiden — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: impedimos, impedís. In the preterite the third-person forms change too: impidió, impidieron, and the gerund is impidiendo. The nosotros and vosotros forms keep the plain stem.
What is the gerund and the past participle of impedir?
The gerund is impidiendo and the past participle is impedido. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say "I prevent" in the present tense?
Say impido. For example: Yo impido el paso por la carretera — "I prevent passage along the road".
What is the difference between the present and the preterite of impedir?
The present describes a habit or what happens now: Yo impido el paso por la carretera — "I prevent passage along the road". The preterite reports one finished occasion: Ayer, yo impedí el paso por la carretera — "Yesterday, I prevented passage along the road". 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 impedir — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- impedir 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.