Moler Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of moler — "to grind" 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 moler 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. Moler means to grind: moler el café, moler el trigo. The stem changes o to ue in the present, so it is muelo, mueles, muele — never molo. To see it in a real sentence: Yo muelo el café cada mañana — "I grind the coffee every morning".
Present tense conjugation table: moler
Every person of moler in the present tense. The gerund is moliendo and the past participle is molido.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | muelo |
| tú | mueles |
| él/ella/Ud. | muele |
| nosotros/as | molemos |
| vosotros/as | moléis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | muelen |
How the present of moler is formed
The present of moler is built from the stem mol- plus the present endings for -er verbs. Take the infinitive, drop the -er 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 | muelo |
| tú | -es | mueles |
| él/ella/Ud. | -e | muele |
| nosotros/as | -emos | molemos |
| vosotros/as | -éis | moléis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -en | muelen |
The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: muelo, mueles, muele and muelen — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: molemos, moléis.
The gerund of moler is moliendo and the past participle is molido. Both are the forms you need with estar and haber respectively.
When to use the present tense of moler
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and moler 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 describes things that happen regularly, as a habit or routine.
"Cada día, yo muelo el café cada mañana" — "Every day, I grind the coffee every morning"
General truths
The present states facts that are always true, not just true today.
"Mi amigo muele el trigo en el molino" — "My friend grinds the wheat in the mill"
What is happening now
The present describes an action in progress right now.
"Ahora, yo muelo las especias para la cena" — "Right now, I grind the spices for dinner"
Near-future plans
Spanish often uses the present for a plan that is already fixed.
"Mañana, nosotros molemos el maíz para la harina" — "Tomorrow, we grind the maize for flour"
Timetables and scheduled events
The present is the tense for timetables, programmes and things that happen on a schedule.
"Ellos muelen los granos con el molinillo" — "They grind the beans with the grinder"
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: {'pre_es': 'Cada día, ', 'pre_en': 'Every day, '}yo muelo el café cada mañana — "I grind the coffee every morning"
- Preterite — one finished occasion: {'pre_es': 'Ayer, ', 'pre_en': 'Yesterday, '}yo molí el café cada mañana — "I ground the coffee every morning"
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 mueles el trigo en el molino — "You grind the wheat in the mill"
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: {}tú molías el trigo en el molino — "You used to grind the wheat in the mill"
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: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él muele las especias para la cena — "He grinds the spices for dinner"
- Future — what will happen: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él molerá las especias para la cena — "He will grind the spices for dinner"
Examples: moler in the present tense
Seven sentences that show moler in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo muelo el café cada mañana — "I grind the coffee every morning"
- Tú mueles el trigo en el molino — "You grind the wheat in the mill"
- Él muele las especias para la cena — "He grinds the spices for dinner"
- Nosotros molemos el maíz para la harina — "We grind the maize for flour"
- Vosotros moléis los granos con el molinillo — "You grind the beans with the grinder"
- Ellos muelen el café cada mañana — "They grind the coffee every morning"
- Yo muelo el trigo en el molino — "I grind the wheat in the mill"
Common mistakes with moler in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with moler in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ *Yo molo el café cada mañana.
✓ Correct: Yo muelo el café cada mañana.
moler is a stem-changing verb (o → ue): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is muelo, not molo.
✗ *Tú muele el trigo en el molino.
✓ Correct: Tú mueles el trigo en el molino.
The tú form and the él form are different: tú takes mueles, él takes muele.
✗ *Cada día, yo molí las especias para la cena
✓ Correct: Cada día, yo muelo las especias para la cena
Cada día describes a habit, so it needs the present, not the preterite.
✗ *Vosotros moleis el maíz para la harina.
✓ Correct: Vosotros moléis el maíz para la harina.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: moléis, not moleis.
Quiz: moler in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of moler. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
Which is the correct present form of moler for tú? A. molemos B. mueles C. muelo D. muele
Complete the sentence: Yo ______ el café cada mañana — "I grind the coffee every morning" (present) A. muelo B. mueles C. muele D. molemos
Complete the sentence: Él ______ el trigo en el molino — "He grinds the wheat in the mill" (present) A. mueles B. molemos C. muele D. muelo
Which is the correct present form of moler for nosotros? A. molemos B. mueles C. muele D. muelen
Which sentence uses moler correctly in the present? A. Mi amigo molía las especias para la cena B. Mi amigo molemos las especias para la cena C. Mi amigo muele las especias para la cena D. Mi amigo mueles las especias para la cena
Complete the sentence: Vosotros ______ el maíz para la harina — "You grind the maize for flour" (present) A. muelo B. mueles C. muele D. moléis
Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ los granos con el molinillo — "They grind the beans with the grinder" (present) A. muelen B. muelo C. mueles D. muele
What is the gerund of moler? A. molido B. muelo C. molí D. moliendo
Answer key
- mueles — The tú form in the present is mueles.
- muelo — The present form for yo is muelo.
- muele — The present form for él/ella/Ud. is muele.
- molemos — The nosotros form in the present is molemos.
- Mi amigo muele las especias para la cena — Mi amigo muele las especias para la cena is correct: the verb agrees with its subject and the tense is the present.
- moléis — The present form for vosotros/as is moléis.
- muelen — The present form for ellos/ellas/Uds. is muelen.
- moliendo — The gerund is moliendo. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive, and it is not the past participle molido.
Frequently asked questions
Is moler regular in the present tense?
No — in the present the stem changes: The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: muelo, mueles, muele and muelen — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: molemos, moléis. The nosotros and vosotros forms keep the plain stem.
What is the gerund and the past participle of moler?
The gerund is moliendo and the past participle is molido. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say "I grind" in the present tense?
Say muelo. For example: Yo muelo el café cada mañana — "I grind the coffee every morning".
What is the difference between the present and the preterite of moler?
The present describes a habit or what happens now: Yo muelo el café cada mañana — "I grind the coffee every morning". The preterite reports one finished occasion: Ayer, yo molí el café cada mañana — "Yesterday, I ground the coffee every morning". Use the present when the action repeats or is still true, and the preterite when you are telling what happened once.
Related links
- Full conjugation of moler — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- moler 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.