Mentir Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of mentir — "to lie" 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 mentir 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. Mentir means "to lie", and it is the verb for saying something you know is not true — a small white lie, a big lie, a lie to your parents, a lie on a form. It is an -ir stem-changing verb: the e becomes ie in yo, tú, él and ellos (miento, mientes, miente, mienten) but stays e in nosotros and vosotros (mentimos, mentís). Its gerund is also irregular — mintiendo, not mentiendo — because the stem change carries into the gerund. The contrast with decir la verdad (to tell the truth) is the natural pair for this verb, and learners should know both. To see it in a real sentence: Tú mientes a tus padres. — "You lie to your parents.".
Present tense conjugation table: mentir
Every person of mentir in the present tense. The gerund is mintiendo and the past participle is mentido.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | miento |
| tú | mientes |
| él/ella/Ud. | miente |
| nosotros/as | mentimos |
| vosotros/as | mentís |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | mienten |
How the present indicative of mentir is formed
The present indicative of mentir is built from the stem ment- plus the present indicative 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 | miento |
| tú | -es | mientes |
| él/ella/Ud. | -e | miente |
| nosotros/as | -imos | mentimos |
| vosotros/as | -ís | mentís |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -en | mienten |
mentir is an e → ie stem-changing verb. In the present indicative, the e of the stem becomes ie in four persons — yo, tú, él/ella and ellos/ellas — so you get miento, mientes, miente and mienten. But nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: mentimos and mentís. That split is the whole pattern — four persons change, two do not — and it is the same pattern in every e → ie verb, so learning it here pays off across the whole group. The gerund keeps the change too: mintiendo.
The gerund of mentir is mintiendo — it keeps the stem change, so it is irregular, not the plain stem plus -iendo. The past participle is mentido. The participle itself is regular, and it is the form you need for all the perfect tenses with haber.
When to use the present tense of mentir
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and mentir 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.
Lying to someone
Mentir a alguien names the person lied to.
"Tú mientes a tus padres." — "You lie to your parents."
Lying about something
The present describes a lie being told now or as a habit.
"Mi hermano miente sobre su edad." — "My brother lies about his age."
Not lying
The negative is the common moral statement: no miento, I don't lie.
"Yo nunca miento." — "I never lie."
Lying out of fear
Mentir por miedo explains the motive for the lie.
"Ellos mienten por miedo al castigo." — "They lie out of fear of punishment."
General truths about lying
The present states a general fact about liars.
"Nosotros no mentimos a nuestros hijos." — "We don't lie to our children."
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 no miento jamás. — "I never lie."
- Preterite — one finished occasion: Yo no mentí jamás. — 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 mientes cuando dices eso. — "You lie when you say that."
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: Tú mentías cuando dices eso. — 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: Ella miente para protegerse. — "She lies to protect herself."
- Future — what will happen: Ella mentirá para protegerse. — the same idea, placed in the future.
Examples: mentir in the present tense
Seven sentences that show mentir in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo no miento jamás. — "I never lie."
- Tú mientes cuando dices eso. — "You lie when you say that."
- Ella miente para protegerse. — "She lies to protect herself."
- Nosotros mentimos poco, preferimos la verdad. — "We lie little, we prefer the truth."
- Vosotros mentís a vuestros profesores. — "You lie to your teachers."
- Los niños mienten a veces. — "The children lie sometimes."
- El político miente en cada discurso. — "The politician lies in every speech."
Common mistakes with mentir in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with mentir in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ *Yo mento jamás (no stem change).
✓ Correct: Yo no miento jamás.
Mentir is an e → ie stem-changing verb: yo miento, not mento. The change hits yo, tú, él and ellos.
✗ *Nosotros mientimos poco.
✓ Correct: Nosotros mentimos poco, preferimos la verdad.
Nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: mentimos, mentís. The ie change never reaches them.
✗ *Yo he miento.
✓ Correct: Yo nunca he mentido a nadie.
The present perfect needs the participle mentido, not the present form: he mentido, not he miento.
✗ *Tú mientes de tus padres.
✓ Correct: Tú mientes a tus padres.
The person lied to takes a: mentir a tus padres, never mentir de tus padres.
Quiz: mentir in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of mentir. 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 mentir for tú?
- a) miento
- b) miente
- c) mientes
- d) mienten
2. Complete the sentence: Yo no ______ jamás. — "I never lie."
- a) mientes
- b) mentí
- c) mienten
- d) miento
3. Complete the sentence: Mi hermano ______ sobre su edad. — "My brother lies about his age."
- a) mintió
- b) miente
- c) mentimos
- d) mientes
4. Which is the correct present tense form of mentir for nosotros?
- a) mientes
- b) miento
- c) mienten
- d) mentimos
5. Which sentence uses mentir correctly in the present tense?
- a) Ella mintió para protegerse.
- b) Ella miente para protegerse.
- c) Ella mientes para protegerse.
6. Which is the correct present tense form of mentir for él/ella? Watch the stem.
- a) miento
- b) mente
- c) mentimos
- d) miente
7. Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ por miedo al castigo. — "They lie out of fear of punishment."
- a) mintieron
- b) miento
- c) mientes
- d) mienten
8. What is the gerund of mentir?
- a) mintiendo
- b) mentimos
- c) miento
- d) mentido
Answer key
c) mientes — The tú form is mientes. The -s ending belongs to tú in the present; miento is yo, miente is él/ella and mienten is ellos/ellas.
d) miento — The sentence needs the yo form in the present: miento. The other options are the wrong person or the wrong tense.
b) miente — The subject is él/ella/Ud., so the present form is miente.
d) mentimos — Nosotros takes mentimos. In the present the nosotros ending for -ir verbs is -imos, attached to the stem ment-.
b) Ella miente para protegerse. — Ella miente para protegerse. is correct: the verb agrees with its subject. The other sentences use the wrong person or the wrong tense.
d) miente — mentir is a stem-changing verb, so the él/ella form is miente, with the changed stem. The nosotros form keeps the plain stem, and the form without the change is not Spanish.
d) mienten — The subject is ellos/ellas/Uds., so the present form is mienten.
a) mintiendo — The gerund is mintiendo. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive (estar + gerund), and it is not the past participle mentido.
Frequently asked questions
Is mentir regular in the present tense?
No. mentir is a e → ie stem-changing verb, so the stem changes in yo, tú, él/ella and ellos/ellas — miento, mientes, miente, mienten — but stays plain in nosotros and vosotros: mentimos and mentís.
What is the gerund and the past participle of mentir?
The gerund is mintiendo and the past participle is mentido. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say "I to lie" in Spanish?
Say miento. For example: Yo no miento jamás. — "I never lie.".
What is the difference between mentir and decir la verdad?
mentir means "to lie", while decir la verdad means "to tell the truth". They are related words that learners often meet together, but they are not interchangeable — use mentir when you mean "to lie" and decir la verdad when you mean "to tell the truth". The full conjugation of decir la verdad is on its own page.
Related links
- Full conjugation of mentir — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- mentir 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.