Invitar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of invitar — "to invite" 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 invitar 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. Invitar means "to invite", and it is one of the warmest social verbs in Spanish — you invite friends to dinner, to a wedding, to a party, to your house. It also has a generous second sense: to treat someone, to pay for them, as in te invito a un café, I'm treating you to a coffee. The present tense of invitar is used constantly for plans and arrangements, and the verb is completely regular, so once you know the -ar endings you know invitar. To see it in a real sentence: Yo invito a mis amigos a cenar los viernes. — "I invite my friends to dinner on Fridays.".
Present tense conjugation table: invitar
Every person of invitar in the present tense. The gerund is invitando and the past participle is invitado.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | invito |
| tú | invitas |
| él/ella/Ud. | invita |
| nosotros/as | invitamos |
| vosotros/as | invitáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | invitan |
How the present indicative of invitar is formed
The present indicative of invitar is built from the stem invit- plus the present indicative 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 | invito |
| tú | -as | invitas |
| él/ella/Ud. | -a | invita |
| nosotros/as | -amos | invitamos |
| vosotros/as | -áis | invitáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -an | invitan |
Because invitar is a regular -ar verb, there are no surprises in the present indicative: the stem invit- never changes, and every person takes its normal ending. The only spelling detail to watch is the written accent on the vosotros form, invitáis, which carries an accent on the vowel of the ending. Learn the six endings once and you can conjugate any regular -ar verb the same way.
The gerund of invitar is invitando and the past participle is invitado. 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 invitar
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and invitar 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.
Inviting people to events
The present is used for invitations being made now and for regular social habits.
"Yo invito a mis amigos a cenar los viernes." — "I invite my friends to dinner on Fridays."
Offering to pay
Te invito is the standard way to say "it's on me" — the present makes the offer immediate.
"Yo te invito a un café." — "I'm treating you to a coffee."
Weddings and celebrations
Formal invitations use invitar with a + person, and the present states who is invited.
"Nosotros invitamos a toda la familia a la boda." — "We invite the whole family to the wedding."
Asking someone to join in
Invitar can mean asking someone to take part in an activity, not only to attend an event.
"¿Tú invitas a tu hermano a jugar al fútbol?" — "Do you invite your brother to play football?"
Habits of hospitality
The present describes a repeated pattern of welcoming people into your home.
"Mi abuela invita a todos a comer los domingos." — "My grandmother invites everyone to eat on Sundays."
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: Yo invito a mis vecinos a la fiesta. — "I invite my neighbours to the party."
- Preterite — one finished occasion: Yo invité a mis vecinos a la fiesta. — the same idea, placed in the preterite.
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 invitas a tu mejor amiga al cine. — "You invite your best friend to the cinema."
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: Tú invitabas a tu mejor amiga al cine. — the same idea, placed in the imperfect.
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: Carlos invita a sus compañeros a su casa. — "Carlos invites his colleagues to his house."
- Future — what will happen: Carlos invitará a sus compañeros a su casa. — the same idea, placed in the future.
Examples: invitar in the present tense
Seven sentences that show invitar in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo invito a mis vecinos a la fiesta. — "I invite my neighbours to the party."
- Tú invitas a tu mejor amiga al cine. — "You invite your best friend to the cinema."
- Carlos invita a sus compañeros a su casa. — "Carlos invites his colleagues to his house."
- Nosotros invitamos a los abuelos a pasar la Navidad. — "We invite the grandparents to spend Christmas."
- Vosotros invitáis a mucha gente a la boda. — "You invite a lot of people to the wedding."
- Ellos invitan a sus amigos a la piscina. — "They invite their friends to the swimming pool."
- Ella invita a su jefe a tomar un café. — "She invites her boss for a coffee."
Common mistakes with invitar in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with invitar in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ *Yo invito a mis amigos cenar (missing the second a).
✓ Correct: Yo invito a mis amigos a cenar.
Invitar needs a before the person and a before the infinitive: invitar a alguien a hacer algo.
✗ *Yo invito te a un café (wrong pronoun order).
✓ Correct: Yo te invito a un café.
The pronoun te goes before the conjugated verb: te invito, not invito te.
✗ *Vosotros invitáis a mucha gente (written without the accent: invitais).
✓ Correct: Vosotros invitáis a mucha gente a la boda.
Invitáis needs the written accent on the í — it is part of the correct spelling.
✗ *Ellos invitan a sus amigos en la piscina (using en instead of a).
✓ Correct: Ellos invitan a sus amigos a la piscina.
Invitar takes a: invitar a alguien a un lugar. En would mean the friends are already in the pool.
Quiz: invitar in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of invitar. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
1. Which is the correct present tense form of invitar for tú?
- a) invitan
- b) invito
- c) invitas
- d) invita
2. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ a mis vecinos a la fiesta. — "I invite my neighbours to the party."
- a) invité
- b) invitas
- c) invitan
- d) invito
3. Complete the sentence: Yo te ______ a un café. — "I'm treating you to a coffee."
- a) invité
- b) invita
- c) invito
- d) invitamos
4. Which is the correct present tense form of invitar for nosotros?
- a) invitan
- b) invitamos
- c) invito
- d) invitas
5. Which sentence uses invitar correctly in the present tense?
- a) Carlos invita a sus compañeros a su casa.
- b) Carlos invitó a sus compañeros a su casa.
- c) Carlos invitas a sus compañeros a su casa.
6. Which is the correct present tense form of invitar for vosotros?
- a) invitáis
- b) invita
- c) invitas
- d) invito
7. Complete the sentence: ¿Tú ______ a tu hermano a jugar al fútbol? — "Do you invite your brother to play football?"
- a) invito
- b) invitaste
- c) invitas
- d) invitan
8. What is the gerund of invitar?
- a) invitando
- b) invito
- c) invitado
- d) invitamos
Answer key
c) invitas — The tú form is invitas. The -s ending belongs to tú in the present; invito is yo, invita is él/ella and invitan is ellos/ellas.
d) invito — The sentence needs the yo form in the present: invito. The other options are the wrong person or the wrong tense.
c) invito — The subject is yo, so the present form is invito.
b) invitamos — Nosotros takes invitamos. In the present the nosotros ending for -ar verbs is -amos, attached to the stem invit-.
a) Carlos invita a sus compañeros a su casa. — Carlos invita a sus compañeros a su casa. is correct: the verb agrees with its subject. The other sentences use the wrong person or the wrong tense.
a) invitáis — Vosotros takes invitáis. Remember the written accent on the ending — it is part of the correct spelling.
c) invitas — The subject is tú, so the present form is invitas.
a) invitando — The gerund is invitando. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive (estar + gerund), and it is not the past participle invitado.
Frequently asked questions
Is invitar regular in the present tense?
Yes. invitar is a regular -ar verb, so its present tense follows the standard endings exactly: invito, invitas, invita, invitamos, invitáis and invitan.
What is the gerund and the past participle of invitar?
The gerund is invitando and the past participle is invitado. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say "I to invite" in Spanish?
Say invito. For example: Yo invito a mis vecinos a la fiesta. — "I invite my neighbours to the party.".
What is the difference between invitar and visitar?
invitar means "to invite", while visitar means "to visit". They are related words that learners often meet together, but they are not interchangeable — use invitar when you mean "to invite" and visitar when you mean "to visit". The full conjugation of visitar is on its own page.
Related links
- Full conjugation of invitar — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- invitar 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.