Ladrar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of ladrar — “to bark” 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 ladrar 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. Ladrar means to bark, the sound a dog makes. It is an animal-sound verb used for dogs barking at strangers, at the postman or all night, and it is fully regular. To see it in a real sentence: Ladro toda la noche sin parar. — “I bark all night without stopping.” Learn the six forms in the table below, and the present tense of ladrar will be ready for everyday conversation.
Present tense conjugation table: ladrar
Every person of ladrar in the present tense. The gerund is ladrando and the past participle is ladrado.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | ladro |
| tú | ladras |
| él/ella/Ud. | ladra |
| nosotros/as | ladramos |
| vosotros/as | ladráis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | ladran |
How the present indicative of ladrar is formed
The present indicative of ladrar is built from the stem 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 | ladro |
| tú | -as | ladras |
| él/ella/Ud. | -a | ladra |
| nosotros/as | -amos | ladramos |
| vosotros/as | -áis | ladráis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -an | ladran |
Ladrar is a regular -ar verb in the present tense, so the table above is completely regular. The stem is ladr- and the endings are the normal -ar endings, so once you know the pattern you can produce every form on this page.
The gerund of ladrar is ladrando and the past participle is ladrado. 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 ladrar
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and ladrar 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.
Routines and habits
Use the present for things you do regularly, every day or every week. The present is the tense of routine, and ladrar fits naturally into daily life.
“Yo ladro toda la noche sin parar todos los días.” — “I bark all night without stopping every day.”
General facts
Use the present for facts that are true in general, not just today. When you state how something is, the present is the tense to use.
“Él ladra al cartero cada mañana.” — “He/she barks at the postman every morning.”
What is happening right now
Use the present for what is happening at this moment. Spanish often uses the simple present where English uses the progressive, so ladro can mean both “I bark” and “I am barking”.
“Ahora mismo, yo ladro cuando oye un ruido.” — “Right now, I bark when it hears a noise.”
Fixed plans in the near future
Use the present for a plan that is already fixed, such as something arranged for tomorrow. Spanish uses the present for near-future plans much more freely than English does.
“Mañana, yo ladro en el jardín a los vecinos.” — “Tomorrow, I will bark in the garden at the neighbours.”
Questions and negatives
Use the present to ask about habits and to say what does not happen. The question and the negative use exactly the same forms as the statement.
“¿Tú ladras toda la noche sin parar?” — “Do you bark all night without stopping?”
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: Ladra al cartero cada mañana. — “He/she barks at the postman every morning.”
- Preterite — one finished occasion: Ladró al cartero cada mañana. — 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: Ladran cuando oye un ruido. — “They bark when it hears a noise.”
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: Ladraban cuando oye un ruido. — 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: Ladras en el jardín a los vecinos. — “You bark in the garden at the neighbours.”
- Future — what will happen: Ladrarás en el jardín a los vecinos. — the same idea, placed in the future.
Examples: ladrar in the present tense
Seven sentences that show ladrar in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo ladro toda la noche sin parar. — “I bark all night without stopping.”
- Tú ladras al cartero cada mañana. — “You bark at the postman every morning.”
- Él ladra cuando oye un ruido. — “He barks when it hears a noise.”
- Nosotros ladramos en el jardín a los vecinos. — “We bark in the garden at the neighbours.”
- Vosotros ladráis toda la noche sin parar. — “You (plural) bark all night without stopping.”
- Ellos ladran al cartero cada mañana. — “They bark at the postman every morning.”
- ¿Tú ladras cuando oye un ruido? — “Do you bark when it hears a noise?”
Common mistakes with ladrar in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with ladrar in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ Yo ladrar toda la noche sin parar. (using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form).
✓ Correct: Yo ladro toda la noche sin parar.
The infinitive is not a conjugated form. With yo, the present tense of ladrar is ladro, not the infinitive ladrar.
✗ Vosotros ladrais toda la noche sin parar. (forgetting the accent on the vosotros form).
✓ Correct: Vosotros ladráis toda la noche sin parar.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: ladráis, not ladrais. The accent marks the stressed vowel, and leaving it out is a spelling mistake.
✗ Ayer, yo ladro al cartero cada mañana. (using the present for a finished past action).
✓ Correct: Ayer, yo ladré al cartero cada mañana.
The present and the preterite are different tenses: ladro is happening now, while ladré is a finished action in the past. Use the preterite with ayer.
✗ Treating ladrar and aullar as identical in every context. (confusing ladrar with aullar).
✓ Correct: Ladrar means to bark, while aullar means to howl.
They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: ladrar fits sentences such as Ladro toda la noche sin parar, while aullar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
Quiz: ladrar in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of ladrar. 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 ladrar for tú?
- a) ladras
- b) ladro
- c) ladra
- d) ladran
2. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ toda la noche sin parar. — “I bark all night without stopping.”
- a) ladra
- b) ladramos
- c) ladras
- d) ladro
3. Complete the sentence: Él ______ al cartero cada mañana. — “He/she barks at the postman every morning.” (present tense)
- a) ladraba
- b) ladrará
- c) ladra
- d) ladró
4. Which is the correct present tense form of ladrar for nosotros?
- a) ladran
- b) ladramos
- c) ladro
- d) ladra
5. Which sentence uses ladrar correctly in the present tense?
- a) Él ladró al cartero cada mañana.
- b) Él ladra al cartero cada mañana.
- c) Él ladrará al cartero cada mañana.
- d) Ellos ladra al cartero cada mañana.
6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ cuando oye un ruido. — “They bark when it hears a noise.”
- a) ladro
- b) ladra
- c) ladramos
- d) ladran
7. Complete the question: ¿Tú ______ en el jardín a los vecinos? — “Do you bark in the garden at the neighbours?”
- a) ladra
- b) ladrarás
- c) ladras
- d) ladro
8. What is the gerund of ladrar?
- a) ladré
- b) ladrando
- c) ladrado
- d) ladro
Answer key
a) ladras — The tú form is ladras. The -s ending belongs to tú in the present; ladro is yo, ladra is él/ella and ladran is ellos/ellas.
d) ladro — The sentence needs the yo form in the present: ladro. The other options are the wrong person.
c) ladra — The sentence needs the él/ella/Ud. form in the present: ladra. The other options are the preterite, the imperfect and the future.
b) ladramos — Nosotros takes ladramos. In the present the nosotros ending for -ar verbs is -amos, attached to the stem.
b) Él ladra al cartero cada mañana. — Él ladra al cartero cada mañana. is correct: the verb agrees with its subject. The other sentences use the wrong person or the wrong tense.
d) ladran — The subject is ellos/ellas/Uds., so the present form is ladran.
c) ladras — The question needs the tú form in the present: ladras.
b) ladrando — The gerund is ladrando. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive (estar + gerund), and it is not the past participle ladrado.
Frequently asked questions
Is ladrar regular in the present tense?
Yes. Ladrar is a regular -ar verb in the present tense, so the forms follow the standard endings: ladro, ladras, ladra, ladramos, ladráis and ladran.
What is the gerund and the past participle of ladrar?
The gerund is ladrando and the past participle is ladrado. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say “I bark” in Spanish?
Say ladro. For example: Ladro toda la noche sin parar. — “I bark all night without stopping.”
What is the difference between ladrar and aullar?
Ladrar means “to bark”, while aullar means “to howl”. They are related words that learners often meet together, but they are not interchangeable — use ladrar when you mean “to bark” and aullar when you mean “to howl”. The full conjugation of ladrar is on its own page.
Related links
- Full conjugation of ladrar — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- ladrar 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.
- Airear conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with ladrar.
- Maullar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with ladrar.
- Ventilar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with ladrar.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise this verb in the interactive tool.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — test yourself on Spanish verbs.