Maquillarse Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb maquillarse means to put on makeup, and this page covers it in the present tense — the tense for habits, facts and what is happening now. If you want the whole picture, start with the full maquillarse conjugation, which has every tense on one page. Here we go deep on one tense only: the full table, how it is formed, when to use it, how it differs from the closest tense, examples, the mistakes learners actually make, a quiz and answers to the questions people ask most. One example to start: Yo me maquillo antes de salir. — "I put on make-up before going out."

No pronunciation is given on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for maquillarse, so no pronunciation is shown rather than an invented one. All the forms below come from the verified conjugation tables, so you can trust every form you see here.

maquillarse is reflexive, so every form below is shown with its reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se). The pronoun is part of the verb, not an optional extra.

The maquillarse present tense table

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for maquillarse. The gerund is maquillando and the past participle is maquillado.

Person Pronoun Form
yo me maquillo
tú te maquillas
él/ella/Ud. se maquilla
nosotros/as nos maquillamos
vosotros/as os maquilláis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se maquillan

The gerund maquillando is used with estar for the progressive (estoy maquillando, I am putting on make-up), and the past participle maquillado is used with haber for the perfect tenses (he maquillado, I have put on make-up).

How the present tense of maquillarse is formed

Start with the infinitive maquillar. Take off the -ar ending and you are left with the stem maquill-. Then add the present endings for -ar verbs: -o (yo), -as (tú), -a (él/ella/Ud.), -amos (nosotros/as), -áis (vosotros/as) and -an (ellos/ellas/Uds.). That gives you the six forms in the table above, and for most verbs in this group that is the whole story.

maquillarse is regular in the present: every form is exactly the stem plus the ending above, with no stem change and no spelling change. If you know the stem and the six endings, you can build the whole tense without memorising anything extra.

maquillarse is reflexive, so every form needs its reflexive pronoun in front of it: me, te, se, nos, os, se, matching the person. In the table above the pronoun is shown in its own column, and in a sentence it goes before the conjugated verb: Me maquillo antes de salir.. Do not drop the pronoun: without it, you are talking about a different verb. In the infinitive the pronoun is attached to the end (maquillarse), and in the gerund it can go before the auxiliary or attached to the gerund: estoy maquillando or maquillándome.

Two details are worth fixing early. First, the vosotros form carries a written accent on the ending: maquilláis. Second, the present tense in Spanish has no auxiliary verb: me maquillo on its own means both "I put on make-up" and "I am putting on make-up" in English, so you do not need a separate word for the progressive unless you want to stress that something is happening right now.

When to use the present tense of maquillarse

Habits and routines

The present is the tense of what you do regularly. Talking about putting on make-up before going out, for work or for a party.

  • Yo me maquillo antes de salir. — "I put on make-up before going out."
  • Tú te maquillas para una fiesta. — "you put on make-up for a party."

Facts and general truths

The present also states facts that are true in general, not just today. Talking about the products: lipstick, mascara, foundation, and the order you apply them.

  • Él se maquilla en el baño. — "he/she puts on make-up in the bathroom."
  • Nosotros nos maquillamos con un espejo pequeño. — "we put on make-up with a small mirror."

What is happening now

The present describes what is happening at this moment. Talking about time: maquillarse quickly on a weekday or slowly for a special occasion.

  • Vosotros os maquilláis todos los días. — "you (all) put on make-up every day."
  • Ellos se maquillan rápidamente. — "they put on make-up quickly."

Plans in the near future

Spanish also uses the present for fixed plans in the near future, especially with a time expression. A plan you have already decided on can be stated in the present, and it sounds more certain than the future tense.

  • Él se maquilla en el baño. — "he/she puts on make-up in the bathroom."
  • Nosotros nos maquillamos con un espejo pequeño. — "we put on make-up with a small mirror."

Maquillarse present vs present progressive

The present tense and the present progressive (estar + gerund) are close neighbours, and learners mix them up. The present describes a habit, a fact or a routine. The progressive describes something in progress right now, at this very moment. Compare the three pairs below: the first sentence in each pair is a habit, the second is happening now.

  • Present (habit): Yo me maquillo antes de salir. — "I put on make-up before going out."

  • Progressive (right now): Yo estoy maquillando antes de salir. — "I am putting on make-up before going out."

  • Present (habit): Tú te maquillas para una fiesta. — "you put on make-up for a party."

  • Progressive (right now): Tú estás maquillando para una fiesta. — "you are putting on make-up for a party."

  • Present (habit): Él se maquilla en el baño. — "he/she puts on make-up in the bathroom."

  • Progressive (right now): Él está maquillando en el baño. — "he/she is putting on make-up in the bathroom."

Use the present when you talk about what you usually do, and the progressive when you want to stress that it is happening as you speak. If you say me maquillo every day, that is a routine. If you say Estoy maquillando, you are doing it at this moment.

Examples of maquillarse in the present

Eight sentences in the present tense, so you can see the forms in real use. Read the Spanish first, guess the meaning, then check the translation.

  1. Me maquillo antes de salir de casa. — "I put on make-up before leaving the house."
  2. Mi hermana se maquilla para una fiesta. — "My sister puts on make-up for a party."
  3. Ayer me maquillé rápidamente en el baño. — "Yesterday I put on make-up quickly in the bathroom."
  4. De joven, me maquillaba todos los días para ir al instituto. — "When I was young, I used to put on make-up every day to go to school."
  5. Mañana me maquillaré para la boda de mi prima. — "Tomorrow I will put on make-up for my cousin's wedding."
  6. Si tuviera más tiempo, me maquillaría con más calma. — "If I had more time, I would put on make-up more calmly."
  7. Él se maquilla todos los días. — "he/she puts on make-up every day."
  8. Nosotros nos maquillamos rápidamente. — "we put on make-up quickly."

Common mistakes with maquillarse in the present

These are the errors learners actually make with this verb. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why it is wrong.

1. Yo maquillo antes de salir.

Wrong: Yo maquillo antes de salir.

Right: Yo me maquillo antes de salir.

Maquillarse is reflexive. Maquillo without me suggests you are putting make-up on someone else, like a make-up artist.

2. Me maquilla para una fiesta.

Wrong: Me maquilla para una fiesta.

Right: Me maquillo para una fiesta.

Me needs the yo form maquillo. Maquilla is the él/ella form, so the pronoun and the verb disagree.

3. Dropping the reflexive pronoun

Wrong: Yo maquillo antes de salir.

Right: Me maquillo antes de salir.

Without the pronoun you are using the non-reflexive verb, which means something else. The pronoun is part of maquillarse: me maquillo.

4. Using the present for a finished past action

Wrong: Ayer yo me maquillo antes de salir.

Right: Ayer yo me maquillé antes de salir.

Ayer (yesterday) signals a finished action, so it needs the preterite: me maquillé. The present me maquillo describes what you do now or usually, not what you did yesterday.

5. Forgetting the accent on the vosotros form

Wrong: Vosotros maquillais antes de salir.

Right: Vosotros maquilláis antes de salir.

The vosotros ending carries a written accent: maquilláis. Without it, the spelling is wrong, even though the pronunciation is close.

Quiz: test yourself on maquillarse in the present

Choose the right form for each sentence. The answers are at the end of this section, with an explanation for every question.

  1. Yo ___ antes de salir
    • a) me maquillo
    • b) te maquillas
    • c) se maquilla
    • d) nos maquillamos
  2. Tú ___ para una fiesta
    • a) me maquillo
    • b) se maquilla
    • c) nos maquillamos
    • d) te maquillas
  3. Él ___ en el baño
    • a) te maquillas
    • b) nos maquillamos
    • c) se maquilla
    • d) me maquillo
  4. Nosotros ___ con un espejo pequeño
    • a) se maquilla
    • b) nos maquillamos
    • c) me maquillo
    • d) te maquillas
  5. Vosotros ___ todos los días
    • a) os maquilláis
    • b) me maquillo
    • c) te maquillas
    • d) se maquilla
  6. Ellos ___ rápidamente
    • a) me maquillo
    • b) te maquillas
    • c) se maquilla
    • d) se maquillan
  7. Yo ___ antes de salir
    • a) se maquilla
    • b) nos maquillamos
    • c) me maquillo
    • d) te maquillas
  8. Tú ___ para una fiesta
    • a) nos maquillamos
    • b) te maquillas
    • c) me maquillo
    • d) se maquilla

Answers

  1. a) me maquillo — The sentence needs the yo form, because the subject is yo.
  2. d) te maquillas — The sentence needs the tú form, because the subject is tú.
  3. c) se maquilla — The sentence needs the él/ella/Ud. form, because the subject is él/ella/Ud..
  4. b) nos maquillamos — The sentence needs the nosotros/as form, because the subject is nosotros/as.
  5. a) os maquilláis — The sentence needs the vosotros/as form, because the subject is vosotros/as.
  6. d) se maquillan — The sentence needs the ellos/ellas/Uds. form, because the subject is ellos/ellas/Uds..
  7. c) me maquillo — The sentence needs the yo form, because the subject is yo.
  8. b) te maquillas — The sentence needs the tú form, because the subject is tú.

Frequently asked questions about maquillarse in the present

What is the difference between maquillar and maquillarse?

Maquillar is putting make-up on someone else; maquillarse is putting it on yourself. In everyday speech about your own routine, maquillarse is the form you need.

Is maquillarse regular?

Yes, it is a regular -ar reflexive verb: me maquillo, te maquillas, se maquilla, nos maquillamos, os maquilláis, se maquillan.

Is maquillarse regular in the present?

Yes. maquillarse is regular in the present: the six forms are the stem maquill- plus the regular endings, with no stem change. The only thing to watch is the written accent on the stressed endings, for example maquillo.

What are the gerund and the past participle of maquillarse?

The gerund is maquillando, used with estar for the progressive (estoy maquillando), and the past participle is maquillado, used with haber for the perfect tenses (he maquillado).

How to remember maquillarse

Four small habits will fix maquillarse in your memory. First, say the present tense out loud, in order, three times: me maquillo, te maquillas, se maquilla, nos maquillamos, os maquilláis, se maquillan. Saying the forms is far more effective than reading them silently, because you hear the endings and the stem at the same time. Second, write three sentences about your own life: one about today with the present (me maquillo), one about yesterday with the preterite (me maquillé), and one about tomorrow with the future (me maquillaré). Personal sentences stick because they are about you, not about a textbook. Third, remember the difference from peinarse: Maquillarse is putting on make-up; peinarse is combing the hair. Both are morning-routine verbs, but maquillarse acts on the face with cosmetics and peinarse acts on the hair. Finally, learn the two key forms by heart: the gerund maquillando and the past participle maquillado. With those two and the present tense, you can already build the progressive (estoy maquillando) and the present perfect (he maquillado), which covers most everyday conversation.

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