Merendar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of merendar — "to have a snack" 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 merendar 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. Merendar means to have a snack or an afternoon snack, and it names the light meal between lunch and dinner, usually in the late afternoon. It is a stem-changing verb, e to ie, and it takes a direct object for the food: merendar un bocadillo. To see it in a real sentence: Él merienda un bocadillo a las seis. — "He/she has a snack a sandwich at six." 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: merendar

Every person of merendar in the present tense. The gerund is merendando and the past participle is merendado.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo meriendo
tú meriendas
él/ella/Ud. merienda
nosotros/as merendamos
vosotros/as merendáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. meriendan

How the present indicative of merendar is formed

The present indicative of merendar is built from the stem merend- 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 meriendo
tú -as meriendas
él/ella/Ud. -a merienda
nosotros/as -amos merendamos
vosotros/as -áis merendáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -an meriendan

merendar is a stem-changing verb (e → ie), so the stem changes in the singular and third-person plural forms of the present, while nosotros and vosotros keep the original stem. In this tense the first-person form is meriendo, and the nosotros form is merendamos.

The gerund of merendar is merendando and the past participle is merendado. Both are regular for this verb, and the participle is the form you need for all the perfect tenses with haber.

This tense is irregular for merendar, so the forms in the table above are the ones to learn — do not try to derive them from the regular endings. merendar is a stem-changing verb (e → ie), so the stem changes in the present singular and third-person plural forms, while nosotros and vosotros keep the original stem.

When to use the present tense of merendar

The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and merendar 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 merendar, this use looks like this: "Yo meriendo un bocadillo a las seis." — "I have a snack a sandwich at six." 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 merendar, this use looks like this: "Él merienda con los niños después del colegio." — "He/she has a snack with the children after school." 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 merendar, this use looks like this: "Nosotros merendamos fruta y un yogur." — "We have a snack fruit and a yoghurt." 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 merendar, this use looks like this: "Ellos meriendan en el parque con amigos." — "They have a snack in the park with friends." 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 merendar, this use looks like this: "Tú meriendas un bocadillo a las seis." — "You have a snack a sandwich at six." 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 merendar. 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 meriendo un bocadillo a las seis." — "I have a snack a sandwich at six."
  • Preterite: "Yo merendé un bocadillo a las seis." — "I had a snack a sandwich at six." 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 merienda con los niños después del colegio." — "He/she has a snack with the children after school."
  • Preterite: "Él merendó con los niños después del colegio." — "He/she had a snack with the children after school." 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 merendamos fruta y un yogur." — "We have a snack fruit and a yoghurt."
  • Preterite: "Nosotros merendamos fruta y un yogur." — "We had a snack fruit and a yoghurt." 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 merendar in the present tense only. Each one uses a form from the table above.

  1. Yo meriendo un bocadillo a las seis. — I have a snack a sandwich at six.
  2. Tú meriendas con los niños después del colegio. — You have a snack with the children after school.
  3. Él merienda fruta y un yogur. — He/she has a snack fruit and a yoghurt.
  4. Nosotros merendamos en el parque con amigos. — We have a snack in the park with friends.
  5. Vosotros merendáis un bocadillo a las seis. — You all have a snack a sandwich at six.
  6. Ellos meriendan con los niños después del colegio. — They have a snack with the children after school.
  7. Yo meriendo fruta y un yogur. — I have a snack fruit and a yoghurt.
  8. Él merienda en el parque con amigos. — He/she has a snack in the park with friends.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo merendo con los niños después del colegio. — Right: Yo meriendo con los niños después del colegio. — In the present, the correct first-person form is meriendo, not merendo. merendar is a stem-changing verb (e → ie), so the stem changes in the present singular and third-person plural forms, while nosotros and vosotros keep the original stem.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo meriendo fruta y un yogur. — Right: Ayer, yo merendé fruta y un yogur. — Ayer means yesterday, so it needs the preterite (merendé), not the present (meriendo). The present is for now, not for yesterday.
  3. Wrong: Yo merienda un bocadillo a las seis. — Right: Yo meriendo un bocadillo a las seis. — The person matters: merienda is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is meriendo.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy merendado con los niños después del colegio. — Right: Yo he merendado con los niños después del colegio. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he merendado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.

Quiz: test yourself

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

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ un bocadillo a las seis. (present tense) A. meriendo B. meriendas C. merienda D. merendamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ con los niños después del colegio. (present tense) A. meriendas B. meriendo C. merienda D. merendamos

  3. Complete the sentence: Él ___ fruta y un yogur. (present tense) A. merienda B. meriendo C. meriendas D. merendamos

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ en el parque con amigos. (present tense) A. merendamos B. meriendo C. meriendas D. merienda

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros ___ un bocadillo a las seis. (present tense) A. merendáis B. meriendo C. meriendas D. merienda

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ___ con los niños después del colegio. (present tense) A. meriendan B. meriendo C. meriendas D. merienda

  7. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ fruta y un yogur. (present tense) A. meriendo B. meriendas C. merienda D. merendamos

  8. Complete the sentence: Él ___ en el parque con amigos. (present tense) A. merienda B. meriendo C. meriendas D. merendamos

Answer key

  1. meriendo — The yo present form of merendar is meriendo. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  2. meriendas — The tu present form of merendar is meriendas. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  3. merienda — The el present form of merendar is merienda. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  4. merendamos — The nosotros present form of merendar is merendamos. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  5. merendáis — The vosotros present form of merendar is merendáis. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  6. meriendan — The ellos present form of merendar is meriendan. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  7. meriendo — The yo present form of merendar is meriendo. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  8. merienda — The el present form of merendar is merienda. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the present tense of merendar?

Use the present tense of merendar for habits, facts and what is happening now. For example: Yo meriendo un bocadillo a las seis. — "I have a snack a sandwich at six." The usage rules above give five situations with examples.

How is the present tense of merendar formed?

Take the stem merend- and add the present endings for -ar verbs. The full table is at the top of this page. Remember the stem change: the singular and third-person plural forms change the stem vowel.

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

The present describes a habit or a present fact, while the preterite describes a finished action. Compare Yo meriendo con los niños después del colegio. with Yo merendé con los niños después del colegio. — the verb is the same, but the time meaning changes.

How do I practise the present tense of merendar?

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

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