Irritar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of irritar — “to irritate” 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 irritar 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. Irritar means to irritate, and it covers irritating a person and irritating the skin or the eyes: el humo irrita los ojos. It is fully regular. Its reflexive partner irritarse means to get irritated or annoyed yourself. To see it in a real sentence: Irrito a su hermano con preguntas. — “I irritate his brother with questions.”
Present tense conjugation table: irritar
Every person of irritar in the present tense. The gerund is irritando and the past participle is irritado.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | irrito |
| tú | irritas |
| él/ella/Ud. | irrita |
| nosotros/as | irritamos |
| vosotros/as | irritáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | irritan |
The gerund is irritando, which you use with estar to say what is happening right now: “Estoy irritando” means the action of irritar is in progress at this very moment. The past participle is irritado, which you use with haber in the perfect tenses: “he irritado” is the present perfect, used for a completed action. Keep both forms in mind as you read the examples below, because the present is only one part of how irritar is used.
How the present of irritar is formed
The present of irritar is built from the stem irrit 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 | irrito |
| tú | -as | irritas |
| él/ella/Ud. | -a | irrita |
| nosotros/as | -amos | irritamos |
| vosotros/as | -áis | irritáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -an | irritan |
irritar is a regular -ar verb in the present, so the table above is completely regular. The stem is irrit and the endings are the normal -ar endings, so there are no surprises to memorise in this tense — the challenge is only using the forms naturally.
The gerund of irritar is irritando and the past participle is irritado. Both are the forms you need for the progressive and the perfect tenses with haber.
When to use the present of irritar
The present is not a single-purpose tense. Below are the five situations where you will use irritar in the present most often. Each one comes with a real example, so read the rule, then say the example out loud.
1. A routine or habit
The present tense of irritar is the tense for what happens regularly. When something is part of your routine, your week or your normal life, the present is the right choice, and irritar is no exception. The time words that go with it are todos los días, cada semana, siempre and a menudo.
Example: “Irrito a su hermano con preguntas.” — I irritate his brother with questions.
2. A general fact
The present tense also states facts that are true in general, not just today. When you describe what irritar means in the world — what it does, who it affects, how it works — the present is the tense to use. There is no time limit on the statement, so no past or future form is needed.
Example: “Irrita los ojos con el humo.” — He/she irritates the eyes with smoke.
3. Something happening right now
The present tense describes what is happening at this very moment. You do not need the progressive (estar plus the gerund) to say what is going on now: the simple present does the job in Spanish, and it is the more common choice in everyday speech.
Example: “Irrito a los vecinos con el ruido.” — I irritate the neighbours with the noise.
4. A plan or arrangement
Spanish uses the present tense for plans that are already fixed, especially with a time expression such as mañana or el lunes. When the arrangement is made, the present tense states it as a fact, and irritar follows the same rule as every other verb.
Example: “Mañana, nosotros irritamos la piel con el sol.” — Tomorrow, we irritate the skin with the sun.
5. Asking and answering questions
Questions in the present tense ask about routines, facts and what is happening now. The answer uses the same tense, so a question and its answer stay in the present together. This is the pattern you will hear most often in conversation.
Example: “¿Irritas los ojos con el humo?” — Do you irritate the eyes with smoke?
The present vs the preterite: how to choose
The closest tense to the present is the preterite, and choosing between them is one of the first decisions in Spanish. The rule is simple: the present reports what happens now, what happens regularly, or what is generally true, while the preterite reports one finished action in the past. The three pairs below use the same verb, so the only thing that changes is whether the action is happening now or is already finished. Time words help: ahora and todos los días point to the present, while ayer and anoche point to the preterite.
Present: “Irrito a su hermano con preguntas.” — I irritate his brother with questions.
Preterite: “Irrité a su hermano con preguntas.” — I irritated his brother with questions.
The present sentence describes what happens now or regularly; the preterite sentence reports one finished action in the past. That difference — now versus finished — is the whole decision.
Present: “Irrita los ojos con el humo.” — He/she irritates the eyes with smoke.
Preterite: “Irritó los ojos con el humo.” — He/she irritated the eyes with smoke.
The present sentence describes what happens now or regularly; the preterite sentence reports one finished action in the past. That difference — now versus finished — is the whole decision.
Present: “Irritamos a los vecinos con el ruido.” — We irritate the neighbours with the noise.
Preterite: “Irritamos a los vecinos con el ruido.” — We irritated the neighbours with the noise.
The present sentence describes what happens now or regularly; the preterite sentence reports one finished action in the past. That difference — now versus finished — is the whole decision.
Example sentences: irritar in the present
Read these eight sentences out loud. They cover all six persons, so by the end you will have seen every form in the table used in a real sentence. Pay attention to the words around the verb — the time expressions, the objects, the other verbs — because those are what make each sentence sound natural.
“Irrito a su hermano con preguntas.” — I irritate his brother with questions.
“Irritas los ojos con el humo.” — You irritate the eyes with smoke.
“Irrita a los vecinos con el ruido.” — He/she irritates the neighbours with the noise.
“Irritamos la piel con el sol.” — We irritate the skin with the sun.
“Irritáis a su hermano con preguntas.” — You irritate his brother with questions.
“Irritan los ojos con el humo.” — They irritate the eyes with smoke.
“Irrito a los vecinos con el ruido.” — I irritate the neighbours with the noise.
“Irrita la piel con el sol.” — He/she irritates the skin with the sun.
Common mistakes with irritar in the present
These are the errors learners actually make with this verb in this tense. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.
Wrong: “Yo irrita a su hermano con preguntas.” Right: “Yo irrito a su hermano con preguntas.” Why: Yo needs the yo form irrito. The form irrita belongs with él, ella or Ud.
Wrong: “Yo irritar los ojos con el humo.” Right: “Yo irrito los ojos con el humo.” Why: The infinitive irritar cannot be the main verb of a sentence: it must be conjugated to agree with yo, giving irrito.
Wrong: “Ayer yo irrito los ojos con el humo.” Right: “Ayer yo irrité los ojos con el humo.” Why: The present tense cannot describe a finished action yesterday. Ayer forces the preterite, so the form must change to irrité.
Wrong: “Ellos irrita los ojos con el humo.” Right: “Ellos irritan los ojos con el humo.” Why: Ellos needs the ellos form irritan. The singular irrita belongs with él, ella or a singular noun.
Quiz: irritar in the present
Choose the correct answer for each question, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained, so a wrong answer still teaches you something.
1. Complete the sentence: “Yo ___ a su hermano con preguntas.”
- (a) irrito
- (b) irritas
- (c) irrita
Answer: irrito — The yo form of irritar in the present is irrito.
2. Complete the sentence: “Tú ___ los ojos con el humo.”
- (a) irrito
- (b) irrita
- (c) irritas
Answer: irritas — The tú form of irritar in the present is irritas.
3. Complete the sentence: “Él/ella ___ a los vecinos con el ruido.”
- (a) irritas
- (b) irrita
- (c) irrito
Answer: irrita — The él/ella form of irritar in the present is irrita.
4. Complete the sentence: “Nosotros/as ___ la piel con el sol.”
- (a) irritamos
- (b) irrito
- (c) irritas
Answer: irritamos — The nosotros/as form of irritar in the present is irritamos.
5. Complete the sentence: “Vosotros/as ___ a su hermano con preguntas.”
- (a) irrito
- (b) irritas
- (c) irritáis
Answer: irritáis — The vosotros/as form of irritar in the present is irritáis.
6. Complete the sentence: “Ellos/ellas ___ los ojos con el humo.”
- (a) irritas
- (b) irritan
- (c) irrito
Answer: irritan — The ellos/ellas form of irritar in the present is irritan.
7. What does irritar mean in English?
- (a) to irritate
- (b) to get irritated yourself
- (c) to be about
Answer: to irritate — Irritar means to irritate.
8. Which sentence is in the present?
- (a) Irrité a su hermano con preguntas.
- (b) Irritaré a su hermano con preguntas.
- (c) Irrito a su hermano con preguntas.
Answer: Irrito a su hermano con preguntas. — “Irrito a su hermano con preguntas.” is in the present. The other two use different tenses.
Frequently asked questions
Is irritar regular in the present?
Yes. Irritar is regular in the present: irrito, irritas, irrita, irritamos, irritáis and irritan. Watch the accents on the forms that carry them, and remember that the nosotros form is the one that keeps the stem unchanged.
What is the gerund and the past participle of irritar?
The gerund is irritando, used with estar for the progressive: estoy irritando. The past participle is irritado, used with haber in the perfect tenses: he irritado.
What should I watch out for with irritar?
Irritar is fully regular: irrité, irritaba, irritaré. In the present, the form to fix in your memory first is irrito, because the yo form shows the stem pattern for the whole tense.
How do I practise irritar in the present?
Say the six forms in the table out loud with the examples above, then use the irritar examples and quiz page for more sentences, and the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of irritar — every tense of irritar in one place.
- Irritar examples and quiz — more sentences with irritar and a ten-question quiz.
- Spanish present guide — how the present works for all Spanish verbs.
- Spanish verbs — the hub for every Spanish verb on VerbFlow.
- Present tense conjugator — conjugate any verb in the present instantly.
- Verb quiz — test yourself on irritar and other verbs.