Inquirir Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of inquirir — "to inquire" 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 inquirir 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. Inquirir is a formal verb meaning to inquire about something: inquirir sobre el horario, inquirir por la salud de alguien. It conjugates like adquirir, with i becoming ie in the present. To see it in a real sentence: Yo inquiero sobre el horario del tren — "I inquire about the train timetable".
Present tense conjugation table: inquirir
Every person of inquirir in the present tense. The gerund is inquiriendo and the past participle is inquirido.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | inquiero |
| tú | inquieres |
| él/ella/Ud. | inquiere |
| nosotros/as | inquirimos |
| vosotros/as | inquirís |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | inquieren |
How the present of inquirir is formed
The present of inquirir is built from the stem inquir- 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 | inquiero |
| tú | -es | inquieres |
| él/ella/Ud. | -e | inquiere |
| nosotros/as | -imos | inquirimos |
| vosotros/as | -ís | inquirís |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -en | inquieren |
The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: inquiero, inquieres, inquiere and inquieren — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: inquirimos, inquirís. In the preterite the third-person forms change too: inquirió, inquirieron, and the gerund is inquiriendo.
The gerund of inquirir is inquiriendo and the past participle is inquirido. Both are the forms you need with estar and haber respectively.
When to use the present tense of inquirir
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and inquirir 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 inquiero sobre el horario del tren" — "Every day, I inquire about the train timetable"
General truths
The present states facts that are always true, not just true today.
"Mi amigo inquiere por el estado del paciente" — "My friend inquires about the patient's condition"
What is happening now
The present describes an action in progress right now.
"Ahora, yo inquiero acerca de los precios" — "Right now, I inquire about the prices"
Near-future plans
Spanish often uses the present for a plan that is already fixed.
"Mañana, nosotros inquirimos sobre la causa del retraso" — "Tomorrow, we inquire about the cause of the delay"
Timetables and scheduled events
The present is the tense for timetables, programmes and things that happen on a schedule.
"Ellos inquieren por la salud de su madre" — "They inquire about his mother's health"
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 inquiero sobre el horario del tren — "I inquire about the train timetable"
- Preterite — one finished occasion: {'pre_es': 'Ayer, ', 'pre_en': 'Yesterday, '}yo inquirí sobre el horario del tren — "I inquired about the train timetable"
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 inquieres por el estado del paciente — "You inquire about the patient's condition"
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: {}tú inquirías por el estado del paciente — "You used to inquire about the patient's condition"
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 inquiere acerca de los precios — "He inquires about the prices"
- Future — what will happen: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él inquirirá acerca de los precios — "He will inquire about the prices"
Examples: inquirir in the present tense
Seven sentences that show inquirir in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo inquiero sobre el horario del tren — "I inquire about the train timetable"
- Tú inquieres por el estado del paciente — "You inquire about the patient's condition"
- Él inquiere acerca de los precios — "He inquires about the prices"
- Nosotros inquirimos sobre la causa del retraso — "We inquire about the cause of the delay"
- Vosotros inquirís por la salud de su madre — "You inquire about his mother's health"
- Ellos inquieren sobre el horario del tren — "They inquire about the train timetable"
- Yo inquiero por el estado del paciente — "I inquire about the patient's condition"
Common mistakes with inquirir in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with inquirir in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ *Yo inquiro sobre el horario del tren.
✓ Correct: Yo inquiero sobre el horario del tren.
inquirir is a stem-changing verb (i → ie): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is inquiero, not inquiro.
✗ *Tú inquiere por el estado del paciente.
✓ Correct: Tú inquieres por el estado del paciente.
The tú form and the él form are different: tú takes inquieres, él takes inquiere.
✗ *Cada día, yo inquirí acerca de los precios
✓ Correct: Cada día, yo inquiero acerca de los precios
Cada día describes a habit, so it needs the present, not the preterite.
✗ *Vosotros inquiris sobre la causa del retraso.
✓ Correct: Vosotros inquirís sobre la causa del retraso.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: inquirís, not inquiris.
Quiz: inquirir in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of inquirir. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
Which is the correct present form of inquirir for tú? A. inquirimos B. inquieres C. inquiero D. inquiere
Complete the sentence: Yo ______ sobre el horario del tren — "I inquire about the train timetable" (present) A. inquiere B. inquirimos C. inquiero D. inquieres
Complete the sentence: Él ______ por el estado del paciente — "He inquires about the patient's condition" (present) A. inquiero B. inquieres C. inquirimos D. inquiere
Which is the correct present form of inquirir for nosotros? A. inquirimos B. inquieres C. inquiere D. inquieren
Which sentence uses inquirir correctly in the present? A. Mi amigo inquiría acerca de los precios B. Mi amigo inquirimos acerca de los precios C. Mi amigo inquiere acerca de los precios D. Mi amigo inquieres acerca de los precios
Complete the sentence: Vosotros ______ sobre la causa del retraso — "You inquire about the cause of the delay" (present) A. inquieres B. inquiere C. inquirís D. inquiero
Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ por la salud de su madre — "They inquire about his mother's health" (present) A. inquieres B. inquiere C. inquieren D. inquiero
What is the gerund of inquirir? A. inquirido B. inquiero C. inquirí D. inquiriendo
Answer key
- inquieres — The tú form in the present is inquieres.
- inquiero — The present form for yo is inquiero.
- inquiere — The present form for él/ella/Ud. is inquiere.
- inquirimos — The nosotros form in the present is inquirimos.
- Mi amigo inquiere acerca de los precios — Mi amigo inquiere acerca de los precios is correct: the verb agrees with its subject and the tense is the present.
- inquirís — The present form for vosotros/as is inquirís.
- inquieren — The present form for ellos/ellas/Uds. is inquieren.
- inquiriendo — The gerund is inquiriendo. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive, and it is not the past participle inquirido.
Frequently asked questions
Is inquirir regular in the present tense?
No — in the present the stem changes: The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: inquiero, inquieres, inquiere and inquieren — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: inquirimos, inquirís. In the preterite the third-person forms change too: inquirió, inquirieron, and the gerund is inquiriendo. The nosotros and vosotros forms keep the plain stem.
What is the gerund and the past participle of inquirir?
The gerund is inquiriendo and the past participle is inquirido. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say "I inquire" in the present tense?
Say inquiero. For example: Yo inquiero sobre el horario del tren — "I inquire about the train timetable".
What is the difference between the present and the preterite of inquirir?
The present describes a habit or what happens now: Yo inquiero sobre el horario del tren — "I inquire about the train timetable". The preterite reports one finished occasion: Ayer, yo inquirí sobre el horario del tren — "Yesterday, I inquired about the train timetable". 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 inquirir — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- inquirir 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.