Mencionar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of mencionar — "to mention" 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 mencionar 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. Mencionar means to mention, and it is used for mentioning a name in passing, bringing up a topic briefly and referring to something in a letter or a talk. It is shorter and lighter than comentar, and it is a fully regular -ar verb. To see it in a real sentence: Él menciona el nombre del autor en el artículo. — "He/she mentions the author's name in the article." 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: mencionar

Every person of mencionar in the present tense. The gerund is mencionando and the past participle is mencionado.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo menciono
tú mencionas
él/ella/Ud. menciona
nosotros/as mencionamos
vosotros/as mencionáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. mencionan

How the present indicative of mencionar is formed

The present indicative of mencionar is built from the stem mencion- 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 menciono
tú -as mencionas
él/ella/Ud. -a menciona
nosotros/as -amos mencionamos
vosotros/as -áis mencionáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -an mencionan

The gerund of mencionar is mencionando and the past participle is mencionado. 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 mencionar

The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and mencionar 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 mencionar, this use looks like this: "Yo menciono el nombre del autor en el artículo." — "I mention the author's name in the article." 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 mencionar, this use looks like this: "Él menciona el tema al final de la reunión." — "He/she mentions the subject at the end of the meeting." 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 mencionar, this use looks like this: "Nosotros mencionamos el problema en su carta." — "We mention the problem in his letter." 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 mencionar, this use looks like this: "Ellos mencionan a su madre en la conversación." — "They mention his mother in the conversation." 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 mencionar, this use looks like this: "Tú mencionas el nombre del autor en el artículo." — "You mention the author's name in the article." 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 mencionar. 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 menciono el nombre del autor en el artículo." — "I mention the author's name in the article."
  • Preterite: "Yo mencioné el nombre del autor en el artículo." — "I mentioned the author's name in the article." 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 menciona el tema al final de la reunión." — "He/she mentions the subject at the end of the meeting."
  • Preterite: "Él mencionó el tema al final de la reunión." — "He/she mentioned the subject at the end of the meeting." 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 mencionamos el problema en su carta." — "We mention the problem in his letter."
  • Preterite: "Nosotros mencionamos el problema en su carta." — "We mentioned the problem in his letter." 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 mencionar in the present tense only. Each one uses a form from the table above.

  1. Yo menciono el nombre del autor en el artículo. — I mention the author's name in the article.
  2. Tú mencionas el tema al final de la reunión. — You mention the subject at the end of the meeting.
  3. Él menciona el problema en su carta. — He/she mentions the problem in his letter.
  4. Nosotros mencionamos a su madre en la conversación. — We mention his mother in the conversation.
  5. Vosotros mencionáis el nombre del autor en el artículo. — You all mention the author's name in the article.
  6. Ellos mencionan el tema al final de la reunión. — They mention the subject at the end of the meeting.
  7. Yo menciono el problema en su carta. — I mention the problem in his letter.
  8. Él menciona a su madre en la conversación. — He/she mentions his mother in the conversation.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Vosotros mencionais el tema al final de la reunión. — Right: Vosotros mencionáis el tema al final de la reunión. — The vosotros present form carries a written accent: mencionáis, not mencionais.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo menciono el problema en su carta. — Right: Ayer, yo mencioné el problema en su carta. — Ayer means yesterday, so it needs the preterite (mencioné), not the present (menciono). The present is for now, not for yesterday.
  3. Wrong: Yo menciona el nombre del autor en el artículo. — Right: Yo menciono el nombre del autor en el artículo. — The person matters: menciona is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is menciono.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy mencionado el tema al final de la reunión. — Right: Yo he mencionado el tema al final de la reunión. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he mencionado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.

Quiz: test yourself

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

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ el nombre del autor en el artículo. (present tense) A. menciono B. mencionas C. menciona D. mencionamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ el tema al final de la reunión. (present tense) A. mencionas B. menciono C. menciona D. mencionamos

  3. Complete the sentence: Él ___ el problema en su carta. (present tense) A. menciona B. menciono C. mencionas D. mencionamos

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ a su madre en la conversación. (present tense) A. mencionamos B. menciono C. mencionas D. menciona

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros ___ el nombre del autor en el artículo. (present tense) A. mencionáis B. menciono C. mencionas D. menciona

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ___ el tema al final de la reunión. (present tense) A. mencionan B. menciono C. mencionas D. menciona

  7. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ el problema en su carta. (present tense) A. menciono B. mencionas C. menciona D. mencionamos

  8. Complete the sentence: Él ___ a su madre en la conversación. (present tense) A. menciona B. menciono C. mencionas D. mencionamos

Answer key

  1. menciono — The yo present form of mencionar is menciono. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  2. mencionas — The tu present form of mencionar is mencionas. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  3. menciona — The el present form of mencionar is menciona. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  4. mencionamos — The nosotros present form of mencionar is mencionamos. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  5. mencionáis — The vosotros present form of mencionar is mencionáis. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  6. mencionan — The ellos present form of mencionar is mencionan. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  7. menciono — The yo present form of mencionar is menciono. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  8. menciona — The el present form of mencionar is menciona. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the present tense of mencionar?

Use the present tense of mencionar for habits, facts and what is happening now. For example: Yo menciono el nombre del autor en el artículo. — "I mention the author's name in the article." The usage rules above give five situations with examples.

How is the present tense of mencionar formed?

Take the stem mencion- and add the present endings for -ar verbs. The full table is at the top of this page.

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

The present describes a habit or a present fact, while the preterite describes a finished action. Compare Yo menciono el tema al final de la reunión. with Yo mencioné el tema al final de la reunión. — the verb is the same, but the time meaning changes.

How do I practise the present tense of mencionar?

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

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