Llorar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of llorar — "to cry" 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 llorar 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. Llorar means "to cry" or "to weep" — from sadness, from pain, from joy, from laughter. It is also used for onions making your eyes water (la cebolla me hace llorar) and for complaining (llorar por todo, to cry over everything). It is a fully regular -ar verb, and its present tense is emotional, everyday language: babies cry, children cry when they fall, adults cry at films and at weddings. The fixed expression llorar de risa (to cry with laughter) is the happy side of the verb. To see it in a real sentence: El niño llora porque se cayó. — "The child cries because he fell over.".
Present tense conjugation table: llorar
Every person of llorar in the present tense. The gerund is llorando and the past participle is llorado.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | lloro |
| tú | lloras |
| él/ella/Ud. | llora |
| nosotros/as | lloramos |
| vosotros/as | lloráis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | lloran |
How the present indicative of llorar is formed
The present indicative of llorar is built from the stem llor- 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 | lloro |
| tú | -as | lloras |
| él/ella/Ud. | -a | llora |
| nosotros/as | -amos | lloramos |
| vosotros/as | -áis | lloráis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -an | lloran |
Because llorar is a regular -ar verb, there are no surprises in the present indicative: the stem llor- never changes, and every person takes its normal ending. The only spelling detail to watch is the written accent on the vosotros form, lloráis, 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 llorar is llorando and the past participle is llorado. 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 llorar
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and llorar 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.
Crying from sadness
The present describes crying that happens now or as a reaction.
"El niño llora porque se cayó." — "The child cries because he fell over."
Crying with laughter
Llorar de risa is the fixed expression for laughing until you cry.
"Yo lloro de risa con tus chistes." — "I cry with laughter at your jokes."
Crying at films
The present describes a habit — always crying at sad films.
"Tú lloras con las películas tristes." — "You cry at sad films."
Babies crying
The present states the general fact that babies cry a lot.
"Los bebés lloran mucho por la noche." — "Babies cry a lot at night."
Crying with joy
Llorar de alegría covers tears of happiness.
"Nosotros lloramos de alegría en la boda." — "We cry with joy at the wedding."
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 lloro con las películas tristes. — "I cry at sad films."
- Preterite — one finished occasion: Yo lloré con las películas tristes. — 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 lloras por todo. — "You cry over everything."
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: Tú llorabas por todo. — 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: Mi hermana llora de emoción. — "My sister cries with emotion."
- Future — what will happen: Mi hermana llorará de emoción. — the same idea, placed in the future.
Examples: llorar in the present tense
Seven sentences that show llorar in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo lloro con las películas tristes. — "I cry at sad films."
- Tú lloras por todo. — "You cry over everything."
- Mi hermana llora de emoción. — "My sister cries with emotion."
- Nosotros lloramos de risa en clase. — "We cry with laughter in class."
- Vosotros lloráis en los funerales. — "You cry at funerals."
- Ellos lloran por la derrota. — "They cry over the defeat."
- El bebé llora de hambre. — "The baby cries from hunger."
Common mistakes with llorar in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with llorar in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ *Tú llora por todo (using the él form for tú).
✓ Correct: Tú lloras por todo.
Tú takes lloras, with the -s ending. Llora is the él/ella form.
✗ *Yo lloro a risa.
✓ Correct: Yo lloro de risa con tus chistes.
The fixed expression is llorar de risa, with de: to cry with laughter. Never use a here.
✗ *Vosotros lloráis en los funerales (written without the accent: llorais).
✓ Correct: Vosotros lloráis en los funerales.
Lloráis needs the written accent on the á.
✗ *Ellos lloran a la derrota.
✓ Correct: Ellos lloran por la derrota.
The cause takes por: llorar por la derrota, llorar por amor. Never use a for the cause.
Quiz: llorar in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of llorar. 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 llorar for tú?
- a) lloran
- b) lloro
- c) llora
- d) lloras
2. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ con las películas tristes. — "I cry at sad films."
- a) lloro
- b) lloras
- c) lloran
- d) lloré
3. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ de risa con tus chistes. — "I cry with laughter at your jokes."
- a) lloramos
- b) lloro
- c) llora
- d) lloré
4. Which is the correct present tense form of llorar for nosotros?
- a) lloras
- b) lloro
- c) lloran
- d) lloramos
5. Which sentence uses llorar correctly in the present tense?
- a) Mi hermana lloró de emoción.
- b) Mi hermana lloras de emoción.
- c) Mi hermana llora de emoción.
6. Which is the correct present tense form of llorar for vosotros?
- a) lloráis
- b) llora
- c) lloro
- d) lloras
7. Complete the sentence: Los bebés ______ mucho por la noche. — "Babies cry a lot at night."
- a) lloras
- b) lloran
- c) lloro
- d) lloraron
8. What is the gerund of llorar?
- a) llorando
- b) lloro
- c) llorado
- d) lloramos
Answer key
d) lloras — The tú form is lloras. The -s ending belongs to tú in the present; lloro is yo, llora is él/ella and lloran is ellos/ellas.
a) lloro — The sentence needs the yo form in the present: lloro. The other options are the wrong person or the wrong tense.
b) lloro — The subject is yo, so the present form is lloro.
d) lloramos — Nosotros takes lloramos. In the present the nosotros ending for -ar verbs is -amos, attached to the stem llor-.
c) Mi hermana llora de emoción. — Mi hermana llora de emoción. is correct: the verb agrees with its subject. The other sentences use the wrong person or the wrong tense.
a) lloráis — Vosotros takes lloráis. Remember the written accent on the ending — it is part of the correct spelling.
b) lloran — The subject is ellos/ellas/Uds., so the present form is lloran.
a) llorando — The gerund is llorando. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive (estar + gerund), and it is not the past participle llorado.
Frequently asked questions
Is llorar regular in the present tense?
Yes. llorar is a regular -ar verb, so its present tense follows the standard endings exactly: lloro, lloras, llora, lloramos, lloráis and lloran.
What is the gerund and the past participle of llorar?
The gerund is llorando and the past participle is llorado. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say "I to cry" in Spanish?
Say lloro. For example: Yo lloro con las películas tristes. — "I cry at sad films.".
What is the difference between llorar and reír?
llorar means "to cry", while reír means "to laugh". They are related words that learners often meet together, but they are not interchangeable — use llorar when you mean "to cry" and reír when you mean "to laugh". The full conjugation of reír is on its own page.
Related links
- Full conjugation of llorar — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- llorar 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.