Morder Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of morder — "to bite" 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 morder 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. Morder means to bite: morder una manzana, morder el bocadillo. It takes a direct object for the thing bitten and a person with a for the person bitten: morder a su hermano. To see it in a real sentence: Yo muerdo una manzana verde — "I bite a green apple".
Present tense conjugation table: morder
Every person of morder in the present tense. The gerund is mordiendo and the past participle is mordido.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | muerdo |
| tú | muerdes |
| él/ella/Ud. | muerde |
| nosotros/as | mordemos |
| vosotros/as | mordéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | muerden |
How the present of morder is formed
The present of morder is built from the stem mord- 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 | muerdo |
| tú | -es | muerdes |
| él/ella/Ud. | -e | muerde |
| nosotros/as | -emos | mordemos |
| vosotros/as | -éis | mordéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -en | muerden |
The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: muerdo, muerdes, muerde and muerden — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: mordemos, mordéis.
The gerund of morder is mordiendo and the past participle is mordido. Both are the forms you need with estar and haber respectively.
When to use the present tense of morder
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and morder 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 muerdo una manzana verde" — "Every day, I bite a green apple"
General truths
The present states facts that are always true, not just true today.
"Mi amigo muerde el bocadillo con hambre" — "My friend bites the sandwich hungrily"
What is happening now
The present describes an action in progress right now.
"Ahora, yo muerdo la cuerda con los dientes" — "Right now, I bite the rope with his teeth"
Near-future plans
Spanish often uses the present for a plan that is already fixed.
"Mañana, nosotros mordemos a su hermano en el brazo" — "Tomorrow, we bite his brother on the arm"
Timetables and scheduled events
The present is the tense for timetables, programmes and things that happen on a schedule.
"Ellos muerden el lápiz mientras piensa" — "They bite the pencil while thinking"
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 muerdo una manzana verde — "I bite a green apple"
- Preterite — one finished occasion: {'pre_es': 'Ayer, ', 'pre_en': 'Yesterday, '}yo mordí una manzana verde — "I bit a green apple"
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 muerdes el bocadillo con hambre — "You bite the sandwich hungrily"
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: {}tú mordías el bocadillo con hambre — "You used to bite the sandwich hungrily"
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 muerde la cuerda con los dientes — "He bites the rope with his teeth"
- Future — what will happen: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él morderá la cuerda con los dientes — "He will bite the rope with his teeth"
Examples: morder in the present tense
Seven sentences that show morder in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo muerdo una manzana verde — "I bite a green apple"
- Tú muerdes el bocadillo con hambre — "You bite the sandwich hungrily"
- Él muerde la cuerda con los dientes — "He bites the rope with his teeth"
- Nosotros mordemos a su hermano en el brazo — "We bite his brother on the arm"
- Vosotros mordéis el lápiz mientras piensa — "You bite the pencil while thinking"
- Ellos muerden una manzana verde — "They bite a green apple"
- Yo muerdo el bocadillo con hambre — "I bite the sandwich hungrily"
Common mistakes with morder in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with morder in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ *Yo mordo una manzana verde.
✓ Correct: Yo muerdo una manzana verde.
morder is a stem-changing verb (o → ue): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is muerdo, not mordo.
✗ *Tú muerde el bocadillo con hambre.
✓ Correct: Tú muerdes el bocadillo con hambre.
The tú form and the él form are different: tú takes muerdes, él takes muerde.
✗ *Cada día, yo mordí la cuerda con los dientes
✓ Correct: Cada día, yo muerdo la cuerda con los dientes
Cada día describes a habit, so it needs the present, not the preterite.
✗ *Vosotros mordeis a su hermano en el brazo.
✓ Correct: Vosotros mordéis a su hermano en el brazo.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: mordéis, not mordeis.
Quiz: morder in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of morder. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
Which is the correct present form of morder for tú? A. muerdo B. muerde C. mordemos D. muerdes
Complete the sentence: Yo ______ una manzana verde — "I bite a green apple" (present) A. muerde B. mordemos C. muerdo D. muerdes
Complete the sentence: Él ______ el bocadillo con hambre — "He bites the sandwich hungrily" (present) A. mordemos B. muerde C. muerdo D. muerdes
Which is the correct present form of morder for nosotros? A. muerde B. muerden C. mordemos D. muerdes
Which sentence uses morder correctly in the present? A. Mi amigo muerde la cuerda con los dientes B. Mi amigo muerdes la cuerda con los dientes C. Mi amigo mordía la cuerda con los dientes D. Mi amigo mordemos la cuerda con los dientes
Complete the sentence: Vosotros ______ a su hermano en el brazo — "You bite his brother on the arm" (present) A. muerdes B. muerde C. mordéis D. muerdo
Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ el lápiz mientras piensa — "They bite the pencil while thinking" (present) A. muerde B. muerden C. muerdo D. muerdes
What is the gerund of morder? A. mordí B. mordiendo C. mordido D. muerdo
Answer key
- muerdes — The tú form in the present is muerdes.
- muerdo — The present form for yo is muerdo.
- muerde — The present form for él/ella/Ud. is muerde.
- mordemos — The nosotros form in the present is mordemos.
- Mi amigo muerde la cuerda con los dientes — Mi amigo muerde la cuerda con los dientes is correct: the verb agrees with its subject and the tense is the present.
- mordéis — The present form for vosotros/as is mordéis.
- muerden — The present form for ellos/ellas/Uds. is muerden.
- mordiendo — The gerund is mordiendo. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive, and it is not the past participle mordido.
Frequently asked questions
Is morder regular in the present tense?
No — in the present the stem changes: The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: muerdo, muerdes, muerde and muerden — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: mordemos, mordéis. The nosotros and vosotros forms keep the plain stem.
What is the gerund and the past participle of morder?
The gerund is mordiendo and the past participle is mordido. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say "I bite" in the present tense?
Say muerdo. For example: Yo muerdo una manzana verde — "I bite a green apple".
What is the difference between the present and the preterite of morder?
The present describes a habit or what happens now: Yo muerdo una manzana verde — "I bite a green apple". The preterite reports one finished occasion: Ayer, yo mordí una manzana verde — "Yesterday, I bit a green apple". 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 morder — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- morder 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.