Interpretar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of interpretar — "to interpret, to perform" 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 interpretar 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. Interpretar means to interpret or to perform, and it covers playing a role on stage, performing a song, interpreting a dream and interpreting data in a report. It is a fully regular -ar verb, and the context tells you whether it is about art or about meaning. To see it in a real sentence: Él interpreta el papel de Hamlet. — "He/she interprets the role of Hamlet." Work through the table below, then the formation notes, the usage rules and the contrast with the preterite, and test yourself at the end.

Present tense conjugation table: interpretar

Every person of interpretar in the present tense. The gerund is interpretando and the past participle is interpretado.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo interpreto
tú interpretas
él/ella/Ud. interpreta
nosotros/as interpretamos
vosotros/as interpretáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. interpretan

How the present indicative of interpretar is formed

The present indicative of interpretar is built from the stem interpret- plus the present endings for -ar verbs. Take the infinitive, drop the -ar 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 interpreto
tú -as interpretas
él/ella/Ud. -a interpreta
nosotros/as -amos interpretamos
vosotros/as -áis interpretáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -an interpretan

The gerund of interpretar is interpretando and the past participle is interpretado. Both are regular for this verb, and the participle is the form you need for all the perfect tenses with haber.

When to use the present tense of interpretar

The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and interpretar 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 tense describes things you do regularly. If you do it every day, every week or every morning, the present is the tense to use. For interpretar, this use looks like this: "Yo interpreto el papel de Hamlet." — "I interpret the role of Hamlet." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

General facts

The present tense states facts that are generally true, not tied to one moment. It is the tense for definitions and permanent situations. For interpretar, this use looks like this: "Él interpreta la canción en el concierto." — "He/she interprets the song at the concert." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

What is happening now

The present tense also covers what is happening at this moment, especially with verbs that describe an action in progress. For interpretar, this use looks like this: "Nosotros interpretamos el sueño de anoche." — "We interpret last night's dream." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

Timetables and schedules

The present tense is used for fixed plans and timetables, such as trains, classes and opening times, even when they refer to the future. For interpretar, this use looks like this: "Ellos interpretan los datos del estudio." — "They interpret the figures from the study." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

Instructions and requests

The present tense appears in instructions and polite requests, where it sounds softer than a direct command. For interpretar, this use looks like this: "Tú interpretas el papel de Hamlet." — "You interpret the role of Hamlet." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

The present tense vs the preterite

Learners often mix up the present and the preterite with interpretar. The rule is simple: the present is for habits, facts and what is happening now, while the preterite is for one finished action in the past. The three pairs below show the same idea in both tenses, so you can feel the difference.

Pair 1: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Yo interpreto el papel de Hamlet." — "I interpret the role of Hamlet."
  • Preterite: "Yo interpreté el papel de Hamlet." — "I interpreted the role of Hamlet." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Pair 2: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Él interpreta la canción en el concierto." — "He/she interprets the song at the concert."
  • Preterite: "Él interpretó la canción en el concierto." — "He/she interpreted the song at the concert." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Pair 3: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Nosotros interpretamos el sueño de anoche." — "We interpret last night's dream."
  • Preterite: "Nosotros interpretamos el sueño de anoche." — "We interpreted last night's dream." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Example sentences in the present tense

Eight natural sentences with interpretar in the present tense only. Each one uses a form from the table above.

  1. Yo interpreto el papel de Hamlet. — I interpret the role of Hamlet.
  2. Tú interpretas la canción en el concierto. — You interpret the song at the concert.
  3. Él interpreta el sueño de anoche. — He/she interprets last night's dream.
  4. Nosotros interpretamos los datos del estudio. — We interpret the figures from the study.
  5. Vosotros interpretáis el papel de Hamlet. — You all interpret the role of Hamlet.
  6. Ellos interpretan la canción en el concierto. — They interpret the song at the concert.
  7. Yo interpreto el sueño de anoche. — I interpret last night's dream.
  8. Él interpreta los datos del estudio. — He/she interprets the figures from the study.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Vosotros interpretais la canción en el concierto. — Right: Vosotros interpretáis la canción en el concierto. — The vosotros present form carries a written accent: interpretáis, not interpretais.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo interpreto el sueño de anoche. — Right: Ayer, yo interpreté el sueño de anoche. — Ayer means yesterday, so it needs the preterite (interpreté), not the present (interpreto). The present is for now, not for yesterday.
  3. Wrong: Yo interpreta el papel de Hamlet. — Right: Yo interpreto el papel de Hamlet. — The person matters: interpreta is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is interpreto.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy interpretado la canción en el concierto. — Right: Yo he interpretado la canción en el concierto. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he interpretado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.

Quiz: test yourself

Eight questions on the present tense of interpretar. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ el papel de Hamlet. (present tense) A. interpreto B. interpretas C. interpreta D. interpretamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ la canción en el concierto. (present tense) A. interpretas B. interpreto C. interpreta D. interpretamos

  3. Complete the sentence: Él ___ el sueño de anoche. (present tense) A. interpreta B. interpreto C. interpretas D. interpretamos

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ los datos del estudio. (present tense) A. interpretamos B. interpreto C. interpretas D. interpreta

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros ___ el papel de Hamlet. (present tense) A. interpretáis B. interpreto C. interpretas D. interpreta

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ___ la canción en el concierto. (present tense) A. interpretan B. interpreto C. interpretas D. interpreta

  7. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ el sueño de anoche. (present tense) A. interpreto B. interpretas C. interpreta D. interpretamos

  8. Complete the sentence: Él ___ los datos del estudio. (present tense) A. interpreta B. interpreto C. interpretas D. interpretamos

Answer key

  1. interpreto — The yo present form of interpretar is interpreto. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  2. interpretas — The tu present form of interpretar is interpretas. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  3. interpreta — The el present form of interpretar is interpreta. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  4. interpretamos — The nosotros present form of interpretar is interpretamos. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  5. interpretáis — The vosotros present form of interpretar is interpretáis. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  6. interpretan — The ellos present form of interpretar is interpretan. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  7. interpreto — The yo present form of interpretar is interpreto. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  8. interpreta — The el present form of interpretar is interpreta. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the present tense of interpretar?

Use the present tense of interpretar for habits, facts and what is happening now. For example: Yo interpreto el papel de Hamlet. — "I interpret the role of Hamlet." The usage rules above give five situations with examples.

How is the present tense of interpretar formed?

Take the stem interpret- and add the present endings for -ar verbs. The full table is at the top of this page.

What is the difference between the present and the preterite of interpretar?

The present describes a habit or a present fact, while the preterite describes a finished action. Compare Yo interpreto la canción en el concierto. with Yo interpreté la canción en el concierto. — the verb is the same, but the time meaning changes.

How do I practise the present tense of interpretar?

Drill the six forms in the table above until you can say them without looking, then use the interpretar examples and quiz page for more sentences, and test yourself with the Interpretar conjugation page for the full picture across all tenses.

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