Malvivir Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of malvivir — “to live badly” 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 malvivir 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. Malvivir means to live badly or to scrape by, and it describes living in poor conditions or on very little money: malvivir con un sueldo bajo. It is a regular -ir verb, built from mal plus vivir. To see it in a real sentence: Malvivo con un sueldo muy bajo. — “I live badly on a very low salary.”
Present tense conjugation table: malvivir
Every person of malvivir in the present tense. The gerund is malviviendo and the past participle is malvivido.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | malvivo |
| tú | malvives |
| él/ella/Ud. | malvive |
| nosotros/as | malvivimos |
| vosotros/as | malvivís |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | malviven |
The gerund is malviviendo, which you use with estar to say what is happening right now: “Estoy malviviendo” means the action of malvivir is in progress at this very moment. The past participle is malvivido, which you use with haber in the perfect tenses: “he malvivido” 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 malvivir is used.
How the present of malvivir is formed
The present of malvivir is built from the stem malviv plus the present endings for -ir verbs. Take the infinitive, drop the -ir 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 | malvivo |
| tú | -es | malvives |
| él/ella/Ud. | -e | malvive |
| nosotros/as | -imos | malvivimos |
| vosotros/as | -ís | malvivís |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -en | malviven |
malvivir is a regular -ir verb in the present, so the table above is completely regular. The stem is malviv and the endings are the normal -ir endings, so there are no surprises to memorise in this tense — the challenge is only using the forms naturally.
The gerund of malvivir is malviviendo and the past participle is malvivido. Both are the forms you need for the progressive and the perfect tenses with haber.
When to use the present of malvivir
The present is not a single-purpose tense. Below are the five situations where you will use malvivir 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 malvivir 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 malvivir is no exception. The time words that go with it are todos los días, cada semana, siempre and a menudo.
Example: “Malvivo con un sueldo muy bajo.” — I live badly on a very low salary.
2. A general fact
The present tense also states facts that are true in general, not just today. When you describe what malvivir 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: “Malvive en un piso sin calefacción.” — He/she lives badly in a flat without heating.
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: “Malvivo de prestado cada mes.” — I live badly on borrowed money every month.
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 malvivir follows the same rule as every other verb.
Example: “Mañana, nosotros malvivimos sin trabajo fijo.” — Tomorrow, we live badly without steady work.
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: “¿Malvives en un piso sin calefacción?” — Do you live badly in a flat without heating?
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: “Malvivo con un sueldo muy bajo.” — I live badly on a very low salary.
Preterite: “Malviví con un sueldo muy bajo.” — I lived badly on a very low salary.
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: “Malvive en un piso sin calefacción.” — He/she lives badly in a flat without heating.
Preterite: “Malvivió en un piso sin calefacción.” — He/she lived badly in a flat without heating.
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: “Malvivimos de prestado cada mes.” — We live badly on borrowed money every month.
Preterite: “Malvivimos de prestado cada mes.” — We lived badly on borrowed money every month.
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: malvivir 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.
“Malvivo con un sueldo muy bajo.” — I live badly on a very low salary.
“Malvives en un piso sin calefacción.” — You live badly in a flat without heating.
“Malvive de prestado cada mes.” — He/she lives badly on borrowed money every month.
“Malvivimos sin trabajo fijo.” — We live badly without steady work.
“Malvivís con un sueldo muy bajo.” — You live badly on a very low salary.
“Malviven en un piso sin calefacción.” — They live badly in a flat without heating.
“Malvivo de prestado cada mes.” — I live badly on borrowed money every month.
“Malvive sin trabajo fijo.” — He/she lives badly without steady work.
Common mistakes with malvivir 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 malvive con un sueldo muy bajo.” Right: “Yo malvivo con un sueldo muy bajo.” Why: Yo needs the yo form malvivo. The form malvive belongs with él, ella or Ud.
Wrong: “Yo malvivir en un piso sin calefacción.” Right: “Yo malvivo en un piso sin calefacción.” Why: The infinitive malvivir cannot be the main verb of a sentence: it must be conjugated to agree with yo, giving malvivo.
Wrong: “Ayer yo malvivo en un piso sin calefacción.” Right: “Ayer yo malviví en un piso sin calefacción.” Why: The present tense cannot describe a finished action yesterday. Ayer forces the preterite, so the form must change to malviví.
Wrong: “Ellos malvive en un piso sin calefacción.” Right: “Ellos malviven en un piso sin calefacción.” Why: Ellos needs the ellos form malviven. The singular malvive belongs with él, ella or a singular noun.
Quiz: malvivir 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 ___ con un sueldo muy bajo.”
- (a) malvivo
- (b) malvives
- (c) malvive
Answer: malvivo — The yo form of malvivir in the present is malvivo.
2. Complete the sentence: “Tú ___ en un piso sin calefacción.”
- (a) malvivo
- (b) malvive
- (c) malvives
Answer: malvives — The tú form of malvivir in the present is malvives.
3. Complete the sentence: “Él/ella ___ de prestado cada mes.”
- (a) malvives
- (b) malvive
- (c) malvivo
Answer: malvive — The él/ella form of malvivir in the present is malvive.
4. Complete the sentence: “Nosotros/as ___ sin trabajo fijo.”
- (a) malvivimos
- (b) malvivo
- (c) malvives
Answer: malvivimos — The nosotros/as form of malvivir in the present is malvivimos.
5. Complete the sentence: “Vosotros/as ___ con un sueldo muy bajo.”
- (a) malvivo
- (b) malvives
- (c) malvivís
Answer: malvivís — The vosotros/as form of malvivir in the present is malvivís.
6. Complete the sentence: “Ellos/ellas ___ en un piso sin calefacción.”
- (a) malvives
- (b) malviven
- (c) malvivo
Answer: malviven — The ellos/ellas form of malvivir in the present is malviven.
7. What does malvivir mean in English?
- (a) to live badly
- (b) to live
- (c) to be about
Answer: to live badly — Malvivir means to live badly.
8. Which sentence is in the present?
- (a) Malviví con un sueldo muy bajo.
- (b) Malviviré con un sueldo muy bajo.
- (c) Malvivo con un sueldo muy bajo.
Answer: Malvivo con un sueldo muy bajo. — “Malvivo con un sueldo muy bajo.” is in the present. The other two use different tenses.
Frequently asked questions
Is malvivir regular in the present?
Yes. Malvivir is regular in the present: malvivo, malvives, malvive, malvivimos, malvivís and malviven. 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 malvivir?
The gerund is malviviendo, used with estar for the progressive: estoy malviviendo. The past participle is malvivido, used with haber in the perfect tenses: he malvivido.
What should I watch out for with malvivir?
Malvivir is regular: malviví, malvivía, malviviré. It is mal plus vivir, living badly. In the present, the form to fix in your memory first is malvivo, because the yo form shows the stem pattern for the whole tense.
How do I practise malvivir in the present?
Say the six forms in the table out loud with the examples above, then use the malvivir examples and quiz page for more sentences, and the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of malvivir — every tense of malvivir in one place.
- Malvivir examples and quiz — more sentences with malvivir 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 malvivir and other verbs.