Impresionar in the Present Tense

Introduction

The present tense of impresionar — «to impress» — is the form you will reach for most often. It talks about habits, facts and what is happening right now, and it is the first tense to master for this verb. impresionar is a regular -ar verb verb, so the present follows the -ar endings. On this page you will find the full present-tense table, how the forms are built, five usage rules with examples, a comparison with the preterite, more example sentences, the mistakes learners make in this tense, an eight-question quiz and answers to common questions. A good first sentence is «Yo impresiono todos los días» — I impress every day.

Impresionar in the Present Tense — full table

Person Form
yo impresiono
tú impresionas
él/ella/Ud. impresiona
nosotros/as impresionamos
vosotros/as impresionáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. impresionan

Gerund: impresionando · Past participle: impresionado

How the present tense of impresionar is formed

Take the stem impresion — the infinitive impresionar without its -ar ending — and add the present endings. The table below shows the build for every person, using the actual stem of each form:

Person Stem Ending Form
yo impresion -o impresiono
tú impresion -as impresionas
él/ella/Ud. impresion -a impresiona
nosotros/as impresion -amos impresionamos
vosotros/as impresion -áis impresionáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. impresion -an impresionan

The present is the only tense where the yo form ends in -o for all three verb classes, which makes it a useful anchor: if you know impresiono, you can build the rest of the table from the stem and the endings above.

When to use the present tense of impresionar

1. Daily routines and habits

The most common use: things you do regularly. Time words like todos los días, siempre and a veces are the giveaway.

Yo impresiono todos los días. — I impress every day.

2. General truths and facts

Use the present for things that are true in general, not just today. No time expression is needed — the statement stands on its own.

Él impresiona con mi familia. — He impresses with my family.

3. What is happening right now

For an action in progress, the present works on its own in Spanish, and you can also use estar + the gerund impresionando for emphasis. Both are correct; the gerund version stresses that it is happening this very moment.

Nosotros impresionamos por la mañana. — We impress in the morning.

4. Scheduled near-future plans

Spanish often uses the present for a fixed plan in the near future, where English would say «going to». A time expression such as mañana or la semana que viene makes the future meaning clear.

Tú impresionas en el trabajo. — You impress at work.

5. Narrating and commenting

The present is the tense of live commentary and of stories told as if they were happening now. It keeps the listener in the moment, and it is the tense of instructions and explanations.

Ellos impresionan a veces. — They impress sometimes.

Present Tense vs Preterite: how to choose

The present and the preterite answer different questions. The present says what happens in general or what is happening now; the preterite says what happened once and is over. Compare the pairs below — same verb, different time frame:

  • Present: Yo impresiono todos los días. — I impress every day.

  • Preterite: Ayer yo impresioné por la tarde. — Yesterday I impressed in the afternoon.

  • A routine against a single finished event. The present describes the habit; the preterite reports the one time it happened.

  • Present: Él impresiona por la mañana. — He impresses in the morning.

  • Preterite: Ayer él impresionó por la tarde. — Yesterday He impressed in the afternoon.

  • What happens in the morning in general, against what happened yesterday afternoon. The time expression decides the tense.

  • Present: Nosotros impresionamos con mi familia. — We impress with my family.

  • Preterite: La semana pasada nosotros impresionamos dos veces. — Last week We impressed twice.

  • A shared habit against a shared finished event. If the action repeats, use the present; if it happened once and ended, use the preterite.

Example sentences: impresionar in the present

  1. Yo impresiono todos los días. — I impress every day.
  2. Tú impresionas en el trabajo. — You impress at work.
  3. Él impresiona con mi familia. — He impresses with my family.
  4. Nosotros impresionamos por la mañana. — We impress in the morning.
  5. Vosotros impresionáis cuando hay tiempo. — You impress when there is time.
  6. Ellos impresionan a veces. — They impress sometimes.
  7. Yo impresiono en el trabajo. — I impress at work.
  8. Él impresiona todos los días. — He impresses every day.

Common mistakes with impresionar in the present

1. Forgetting the accent on the vosotros form

Wrong: Vosotros impresionais.

Right: Vosotros impresionáis.

The vosotros form impresionáis carries a written accent on the ending. Without it the word is misspelled, and in speech the stress falls in the wrong place.

2. Using the present for a finished event

Wrong: Ayer yo impresiono.

Right: Ayer yo impresioné.

Ayer belongs with the preterite. The present impresiono talks about now or about a habit; a finished yesterday needs impresioné.

3. Using the yo form for every person

Wrong: Ellos impresiono.

Right: Ellos impresionan.

Each person has its own form: ellos take impresionan, not the yo form impresiono. The -n ending on impresionan is what marks the third-person plural.

4. Using the present instead of the progressive

Wrong: Estoy impresiono.

Right: Estoy impresionando.

After estar, Spanish needs the gerund: estoy impresionando. The conjugated present impresiono never follows estar.

Quiz: impresionar in the present

Test yourself on the present tense of impresionar. Choose the correct answer, then check the key below.

1. What is the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of impresionar in the present indicative?

- (a) impresionan
- (b) impresiono
- (c) impresionas
- (d) impresiona

2. What is the yo form of impresionar in the present indicative?

- (a) impresiono
- (b) impresionamos
- (c) impresionas
- (d) impresiona

3. What is the tú form of impresionar in the present indicative?

- (a) impresiona
- (b) impresionamos
- (c) impresiono
- (d) impresionas

4. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of impresionar in the present indicative?

- (a) impresiono
- (b) impresionas
- (c) impresiona
- (d) impresionamos

5. What is the nosotros/as form of impresionar in the present indicative?

- (a) impresiono
- (b) impresionas
- (c) impresionamos
- (d) impresiona

6. What is the vosotros/as form of impresionar in the present indicative?

- (a) impresionáis
- (b) impresionas
- (c) impresiono
- (d) impresiona

7. What is the gerund of impresionar?

- (a) impresionar
- (b) impresiono
- (c) impresionando
- (d) impresionado

8. What is the past participle of impresionar?

- (a) impresionando
- (b) impresioné
- (c) impresionado
- (d) impresionar

Answer key

1. (a) — In the present indicative, the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of impresionar is impresionan. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 2. (a) — In the present indicative, the yo form of impresionar is impresiono. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 3. (d) — In the present indicative, the tú form of impresionar is impresionas. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 4. (c) — In the present indicative, the él/ella/Ud. form of impresionar is impresiona. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 5. (c) — In the present indicative, the nosotros/as form of impresionar is impresionamos. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 6. (a) — In the present indicative, the vosotros/as form of impresionar is impresionáis. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 7. (c) — The gerund of impresionar is impresionando. It is used with estar for the progressive: «Estoy impresionando». 8. (c) — The past participle of impresionar is impresionado. It follows haber in all the perfect tenses: «he impresionado».

Frequently asked questions

Is impresionar regular in the present?

Yes — impresionar is regular in the present. The stem impresion never changes and the endings are -o, -as, -a, -amos, -áis, -an for -ar verbs (with the matching sets for -er and -ir verbs).

What is the yo form of impresionar in the present?

It is impresiono. Use it for talking about yourself right now.

How is the present different from the preterite for impresionar?

The present (impresiono) describes habits and what is happening now; the preterite (impresioné) reports a single finished event. «Yo impresiono todos los días» is a habit, while «Ayer yo impresioné» is one event that ended yesterday.

Can I use the present of impresionar with estar and the gerund?

Yes — «Estoy impresionando» means «I am impressing right now», with the emphasis on the action in progress. The plain present «Yo impresiono» is also correct for what is happening now; the gerund version simply stresses the moment.

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