Lanzar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of lanzar — "to throw, to launch" 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 lanzar 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. Lanzar means to throw or to launch, and it covers throwing a ball into the air, launching a new product onto the market and launching a campaign on social media. It is stronger than tirar, and it is a spelling-change verb: the z becomes c before e, so the preterite is lancé. To see it in a real sentence: Él lanza la pelota al aire. — "He/she throws the ball into the air." 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: lanzar

Every person of lanzar in the present tense. The gerund is lanzando and the past participle is lanzado.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo lanzo
tú lanzas
él/ella/Ud. lanza
nosotros/as lanzamos
vosotros/as lanzáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. lanzan

How the present indicative of lanzar is formed

The present indicative of lanzar is built from the stem lanz- 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 lanzo
tú -as lanzas
él/ella/Ud. -a lanza
nosotros/as -amos lanzamos
vosotros/as -áis lanzáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -an lanzan

lanzar is a spelling-change verb: z becomes c before e. That is why the written form changes in some persons — the sound stays the same, and only the spelling adapts. In this tense, watch the first-person form lanzo in particular.

The gerund of lanzar is lanzando and the past participle is lanzado. 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 lanzar

The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and lanzar 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 lanzar, this use looks like this: "Yo lanzo la pelota al aire." — "I throw the ball into the air." 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 lanzar, this use looks like this: "Él lanza un nuevo producto al mercado." — "He/she throws a new product onto the market." 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 lanzar, this use looks like this: "Nosotros lanzamos una campaña en las redes." — "We throw a campaign on social media." 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 lanzar, this use looks like this: "Ellos lanzan la moneda al aire." — "They throw the coin into the air." 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 lanzar, this use looks like this: "Tú lanzas la pelota al aire." — "You throw the ball into the air." 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 lanzar. 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 lanzo la pelota al aire." — "I throw the ball into the air."
  • Preterite: "Yo lancé la pelota al aire." — "I threw the ball into the air." 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 lanza un nuevo producto al mercado." — "He/she throws a new product onto the market."
  • Preterite: "Él lanzó un nuevo producto al mercado." — "He/she threw a new product onto the market." 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 lanzamos una campaña en las redes." — "We throw a campaign on social media."
  • Preterite: "Nosotros lanzamos una campaña en las redes." — "We threw a campaign on social media." 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 lanzar in the present tense only. Each one uses a form from the table above.

  1. Yo lanzo la pelota al aire. — I throw the ball into the air.
  2. Tú lanzas un nuevo producto al mercado. — You throw a new product onto the market.
  3. Él lanza una campaña en las redes. — He/she throws a campaign on social media.
  4. Nosotros lanzamos la moneda al aire. — We throw the coin into the air.
  5. Vosotros lanzáis la pelota al aire. — You all throw the ball into the air.
  6. Ellos lanzan un nuevo producto al mercado. — They throw a new product onto the market.
  7. Yo lanzo una campaña en las redes. — I throw a campaign on social media.
  8. Él lanza la moneda al aire. — He/she throws the coin into the air.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Vosotros lanzais un nuevo producto al mercado. — Right: Vosotros lanzáis un nuevo producto al mercado. — The vosotros present form carries a written accent: lanzáis, not lanzais.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo lanzo una campaña en las redes. — Right: Ayer, yo lancé una campaña en las redes. — Ayer means yesterday, so it needs the preterite (lancé), not the present (lanzo). The present is for now, not for yesterday.
  3. Wrong: Yo lanza la pelota al aire. — Right: Yo lanzo la pelota al aire. — The person matters: lanza is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is lanzo.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy lanzado un nuevo producto al mercado. — Right: Yo he lanzado un nuevo producto al mercado. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he lanzado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.

Quiz: test yourself

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

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ la pelota al aire. (present tense) A. lanzo B. lanzas C. lanza D. lanzamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ un nuevo producto al mercado. (present tense) A. lanzas B. lanzo C. lanza D. lanzamos

  3. Complete the sentence: Él ___ una campaña en las redes. (present tense) A. lanza B. lanzo C. lanzas D. lanzamos

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ la moneda al aire. (present tense) A. lanzamos B. lanzo C. lanzas D. lanza

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros ___ la pelota al aire. (present tense) A. lanzáis B. lanzo C. lanzas D. lanza

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ___ un nuevo producto al mercado. (present tense) A. lanzan B. lanzo C. lanzas D. lanza

  7. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ una campaña en las redes. (present tense) A. lanzo B. lanzas C. lanza D. lanzamos

  8. Complete the sentence: Él ___ la moneda al aire. (present tense) A. lanza B. lanzo C. lanzas D. lanzamos

Answer key

  1. lanzo — The yo present form of lanzar is lanzo. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  2. lanzas — The tu present form of lanzar is lanzas. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  3. lanza — The el present form of lanzar is lanza. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  4. lanzamos — The nosotros present form of lanzar is lanzamos. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  5. lanzáis — The vosotros present form of lanzar is lanzáis. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  6. lanzan — The ellos present form of lanzar is lanzan. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  7. lanzo — The yo present form of lanzar is lanzo. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  8. lanza — The el present form of lanzar is lanza. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the present tense of lanzar?

Use the present tense of lanzar for habits, facts and what is happening now. For example: Yo lanzo la pelota al aire. — "I throw the ball into the air." The usage rules above give five situations with examples.

How is the present tense of lanzar formed?

Take the stem lanz- and add the present endings for -ar verbs. The full table is at the top of this page. Remember the spelling change: z becomes c before e.

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

The present describes a habit or a present fact, while the preterite describes a finished action. Compare Yo lanzo un nuevo producto al mercado. with Yo lancé un nuevo producto al mercado. — the verb is the same, but the time meaning changes.

How do I practise the present tense of lanzar?

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

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