Inquietarse Present Tense in Spanish
inquietarse means "to get worried" in English, and the present tense is the form you use when you talk about what happens regularly, what is generally true, and what is happening now. This page gives you the full present-tense table for inquietarse, explains how the tense is formed for this verb, shows when to use it, contrasts it with the closest tense, and finishes with examples, the mistakes learners actually make, a quiz and answers to the most common questions. A natural example is: Cada día, yo me inquieto por su hijo en la escuela. — "Every day, I get worried over his son at school." Once you can say that sentence confidently, try changing the person and the complement using the table below.
The present tense of inquietarse: full table
Every person of inquietarse in the present tense. The gerund is inquietándose and the past participle is inquietado.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | me inquieto |
| tú | te inquietas |
| él/ella/Ud. | se inquieta |
| nosotros/as | nos inquietamos |
| vosotros/as | os inquietáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | se inquietan |
The gerund of inquietarse is inquietándose and the past participle is inquietado. The gerund is used for the progressive (estoy inquietándose), and the participle is used with haber in all perfect tenses (me he inquietado). Because inquietarse is reflexive, every present-tense form carries its pronoun in front of it: me, te, se, nos, os, se.
How the present tense of inquietarse is formed
The present tense of inquietarse is built from the stem inquiet- plus the regular -ar endings: -o, -as, -a, -amos, -áis, -an. Take the infinitive, remove the -ar ending, and add the ending that matches the person: yo me inquieto, tú te inquietas, él se inquieta, nosotros nos inquietamos, vosotros os inquietáis and ellos se inquietan. Once you know the pattern for one regular -ar verb, you can apply it to hundreds of others.
| Person | Ending | Form |
|---|---|---|
| yo | -o | me inquieto |
| tú | -as | te inquietas |
| él/ella/Ud. | -a | se inquieta |
| nosotros/as | -amos | nos inquietamos |
| vosotros/as | -áis | os inquietáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -an | se inquietan |
inquietarse is completely regular in the present tense: the stem never changes and every ending is the standard -ar ending. The only thing to watch is the accent on the vosotros form inquietáis.
inquietarse is a reflexive verb, so every form carries a reflexive pronoun in front of it: me, te, se, nos, os, se. The pronoun always goes before the conjugated verb in the present tense. The gerund is inquietándose, with the pronoun attached to the end, and the past participle is inquietado.
Two more forms belong with this tense. The gerund is inquietándose, used for the progressive with estar: estoy inquietándose. The past participle is inquietado, used with haber in all perfect tenses: me he inquietado. Both forms appear constantly, so they are worth memorising on their own.
When to use the present tense with inquietarse
1. Routines and habits
The present tense describes what happens regularly. For example: Cada día, yo me inquieto por su hijo en la escuela. — "Every day, I get worried over his son at school." The complement in this sentence is about his son at school, which is exactly the kind of situation where you will hear inquietarse in the present tense.
2. Things happening now
The present tense describes what is happening at this moment. For example: Ahora, tú te inquietas por la salud de su madre. — "Now, you get worried over his mother's health." The complement in this sentence is about his mother's health, which is exactly the kind of situation where you will hear inquietarse in the present tense.
3. General truths
The present tense states facts that are generally true, not tied to one moment. For example: Normalmente, él se inquieta por el examen de mañana. — "Normally, he/she gets worried over tomorrow's exam." The complement in this sentence is about tomorrow's exam, which is exactly the kind of situation where you will hear inquietarse in the present tense.
4. Plans and the near future
The present tense is also used for plans that are already fixed, especially with a time expression. Spanish speakers often say the present where English would use a future: the plan is so certain that it feels like a fact. For example: Mañana, nosotros nos inquietamos por el futuro de su familia. — "Tomorrow, we get worried over his family's future." The complement in this sentence is about his family's future, which is exactly the kind of situation where you will hear inquietarse in the present tense.
5. Frequent actions
With words such as siempre, a menudo and todos los días, the present tense shows how often something happens. For example: Siempre, ellos se inquietan por su hijo en la escuela. — "Always, they get worried over his son at school." The complement in this sentence is about his son at school, which is exactly the kind of situation where you will hear inquietarse in the present tense.
Present vs preterite: inquietarse
The closest tense to the present is the preterite, and learners mix them up constantly. The rule is simple: the present describes habits, routines and general truths, while the preterite describes one action that started and finished in the past. The three pairs below show the difference with inquietarse.
Pair 1
- Present (habit): Cada día, yo me inquieto por su hijo en la escuela. — "Every day, I get worried over his son at school."
- Preterite (one finished action): Ayer, yo me inquieté por su hijo en la escuela. — "Yesterday, I got worried over his son at school."
The first sentence describes something that happens regularly. The second describes something that happened once, yesterday, and is now finished. If you can add cada día, use the present; if you can add ayer, use the preterite.
Pair 2
- Present (habit): Cada día, tú te inquietas por la salud de su madre. — "Every day, you get worried over his mother's health."
- Preterite (one finished action): Ayer, tú te inquietaste por la salud de su madre. — "Yesterday, you got worried over his mother's health."
The first sentence describes something that happens regularly. The second describes something that happened once, yesterday, and is now finished. If you can add cada día, use the present; if you can add ayer, use the preterite.
Pair 3
- Present (habit): Cada día, él se inquieta por el examen de mañana. — "Every day, he/she gets worried over tomorrow's exam."
- Preterite (one finished action): Ayer, él se inquietó por el examen de mañana. — "Yesterday, he/she got worried over tomorrow's exam."
The first sentence describes something that happens regularly. The second describes something that happened once, yesterday, and is now finished. If you can add cada día, use the present; if you can add ayer, use the preterite.
Examples: inquietarse in the present tense
These eight sentences show inquietarse in the present tense with a different person each time. Read them aloud, then try changing the person and the complement to make your own versions.
- Yo me inquieto por su hijo en la escuela. — "I get worried over his son at school."
- Tú te inquietas por la salud de su madre. — "you get worried over his mother's health."
- Él se inquieta por el examen de mañana. — "he/she gets worried over tomorrow's exam."
- Nosotros nos inquietamos por el futuro de su familia. — "we get worried over his family's future."
- Vosotros os inquietáis por su hijo en la escuela. — "you (plural) get worried over his son at school."
- Ellos se inquietan por la salud de su madre. — "they get worried over his mother's health."
- Yo me inquieto por el examen de mañana. — "I get worried over tomorrow's exam."
- Tú te inquietas por el futuro de su familia. — "you get worried over his family's future."
Common mistakes with inquietarse in the present tense
Mistake 1: Forgetting the reflexive pronoun
- Wrong: Yo inquieto por su hijo en la escuela.
- Right: Yo me inquieto por su hijo en la escuela.
- Why: inquietarse is reflexive, so the pronoun is part of the verb: Yo me inquieto por su hijo en la escuela.. Without me the sentence is incomplete.
Mistake 2: Dropping the accent on the vosotros form
- Wrong: Vosotros os inquietais por su hijo en la escuela.
- Right: Vosotros os inquietáis por su hijo en la escuela.
- Why: The vosotros form inquietáis carries a written accent. Without it the word is misspelled.
Mistake 3: Using the present tense for yesterday
- Wrong: Ayer, yo me inquieto por la salud de su madre.
- Right: Ayer, yo me inquieté por la salud de su madre.
- Why: Ayer means yesterday, so the action is finished and needs the preterite: Ayer, yo me inquieté por la salud de su madre. — "Yesterday, I got worried over his mother's health." The present tense is for habits and routines, not for yesterday.
Mistake 4: Using the present tense for a past habit
- Wrong: Antes, yo me inquieto por el examen de mañana.
- Right: Antes, yo me inquietaba por el examen de mañana.
- Why: Antes means before, in the past, so a past habit needs the imperfect: Antes, yo me inquietaba por el examen de mañana. — "In the past, I used to get worried over tomorrow's exam." The present tense describes what happens now, not what used to happen.
Mistake 5: Using the él form for nosotros
- Wrong: Nosotros nos inquieta por su hijo en la escuela.
- Right: Nosotros nos inquietamos por su hijo en la escuela.
- Why: The person and the ending must match: nosotros takes inquietamos, while inquieta belongs to él and ella. Check the person first, then choose the form.
Quiz: the present tense of inquietarse
Test yourself with eight questions on the present tense of inquietarse. The answers are explained, so read them even when you get a question right.
1. What is the yo form of inquietarse in the present tense?
- (a) inquietamos
- (b) inquieto
- (c) inquietas
- (d) inquieta
Answer: (b) inquieto. The yo form is inquieto. The other options are other persons, so check the person before you answer.
2. What is the tú form of inquietarse in the present tense?
- (a) inquietas
- (b) inquieto
- (c) inquieta
- (d) inquietamos
Answer: (a) inquietas. The tú form is inquietas. The other options are other persons, so check the person before you answer.
3. What is the él/ella form of inquietarse in the present tense?
- (a) inquieto
- (b) inquietas
- (c) inquietamos
- (d) inquieta
Answer: (d) inquieta. The él/ella form is inquieta. The other options are other persons, so check the person before you answer.
4. What is the nosotros form of inquietarse in the present tense?
- (a) inquietas
- (b) inquieta
- (c) inquietamos
- (d) inquieto
Answer: (c) inquietamos. The nosotros form is inquietamos. The other options are other persons, so check the person before you answer.
5. What is the ellos/ellas form of inquietarse in the present tense?
- (a) inquieta
- (b) inquietan
- (c) inquieto
- (d) inquietas
Answer: (b) inquietan. The ellos/ellas form is inquietan. The other options are other persons, so check the person before you answer.
6. Complete the sentence: Cada día, yo ___ por su hijo en la escuela.
- (a) inquieto
- (b) inquietas
- (c) inquieta
- (d) inquietamos
Answer: (a) inquieto. The sentence needs the yo form inquieto (Every day, I get worried over his son at school.)
7. What is the gerund of inquietarse?
- (a) inquietando
- (b) inquietado
- (c) inquieto
- (d) inquietarse
Answer: (a) inquietando. The gerund is inquietando, used for the progressive: me estoy inquietando.
8. Which sentence describes a habit, something you do regularly?
- (a) Antes, yo me inquietaba por la salud de su madre.
- (b) Ayer, yo me inquieté por la salud de su madre.
- (c) Mañana, yo me inquietaré por la salud de su madre.
- (d) Cada día, yo me inquieto por la salud de su madre.
Answer: (d) Cada día, yo me inquieto por la salud de su madre.. Cada día, yo me inquieto por la salud de su madre. (Every day, I get worried over his mother's health.) describes a habit, so it uses the present tense. Ayer, yo me inquieté por la salud de su madre. is a single completed action, and Mañana, yo me inquietaré por la salud de su madre. is in the future.
Frequently asked questions about the present tense of inquietarse
Is inquietarse regular in the present tense?
Yes. inquietarse is a regular -ar verb: inquieto, inquietas, inquieta, inquietamos. There are no spelling changes and no stem changes in the present tense, so the endings do all the work.
How do you say 'get worried' in a sentence?
Use the present tense with a complement: Cada día, yo me inquieto por su hijo en la escuela. — "Every day, I get worried over his son at school." Change the person using the table above, and change the complement to talk about your own life.
When do I use the present tense instead of the preterite with inquietarse?
Use the present for habits and routines: Cada día, yo me inquieto por la salud de su madre. — "Every day, I get worried over his mother's health." Use the preterite for one finished action: Ayer, yo me inquieté por la salud de su madre. — "Yesterday, I got worried over his mother's health." If the action happens regularly, choose the present; if it happened once and is finished, choose the preterite.
Can I use the present tense for the future with inquietarse?
Yes, when the plan is already fixed. Mañana, nosotros nos inquietamos por el futuro de su familia. — "Tomorrow, we get worried over his family's future." Spanish often uses the present for a plan that feels certain, where English would use the future. Add a time word such as mañana so the listener knows you mean the future.