Morir Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of morir — "to die" 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 morir 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. Morir means "to die", and it is a verb learners need even though the topic is serious — it appears in news, in stories, in films and in everyday expressions like morirse de risa (to die laughing) and morirse de hambre (to be starving). It is an -ir stem-changing verb: the o becomes ue in yo, tú, él and ellos (muero, mueres, muere, mueren) but stays o in nosotros and vosotros (morimos, morís). Its past participle is also irregular: muerto, not morido. That participle matters because muerto is used constantly as an adjective (estar muerto de cansancio, to be dead tired). To see it in a real sentence: El héroe muere al final de la película. — "The hero dies at the end of the film.".
Present tense conjugation table: morir
Every person of morir in the present tense. The gerund is muriendo and the past participle is muerto.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | muero |
| tú | mueres |
| él/ella/Ud. | muere |
| nosotros/as | morimos |
| vosotros/as | morís |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | mueren |
How the present indicative of morir is formed
The present indicative of morir is built from the stem mor- 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 | muero |
| tú | -es | mueres |
| él/ella/Ud. | -e | muere |
| nosotros/as | -imos | morimos |
| vosotros/as | -ís | morís |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -en | mueren |
morir is an o → ue stem-changing verb. In the present indicative, the o of the stem becomes ue in four persons — yo, tú, él/ella and ellos/ellas — so you get muero, mueres, muere and mueren. But nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: morimos and morís. That split is the whole pattern — four persons change, two do not. Watch the spelling: the ue is part of the stem, so it appears in every form that takes the change, and it never appears in nosotros or vosotros.
The gerund of morir is muriendo — it keeps the stem change, so it is irregular, not the plain stem plus -iendo. The past participle is muerto. The participle is irregular too — it is muerto, not morido — so memorise it separately.
When to use the present tense of morir
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and morir 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.
Dying in stories and news
The present is used in headlines and narration for events happening now.
"El héroe muere al final de la película." — "The hero dies at the end of the film."
Exaggeration: morirse de…
Morirse de risa, de hambre, de frío, de miedo — the present turns dying into a vivid exaggeration.
"Yo me muero de risa con tus chistes." — "I die laughing at your jokes."
Plants and things dying
Morir covers plants, batteries and ideas dying, not only people and animals.
"La planta muere sin agua." — "The plant dies without water."
General truths about life
The present states a universal fact, with no specific time.
"Nosotros morimos todos algún día." — "We all die one day."
Dying of hunger or cold
Morirse de hambre and morirse de frío are fixed everyday expressions in the present.
"Tú te mueres de hambre si no comes." — "You will be starving if you don't eat."
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 me muero de risa con tus chistes. — "I die laughing at your jokes."
- Preterite — one finished occasion: Yo me morí de risa con tus chistes. — 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 te mueres de frío sin abrigo. — "You freeze to death without a coat."
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: Tú te morías de frío sin abrigo. — 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: El héroe muere al final de la película. — "The hero dies at the end of the film."
- Future — what will happen: El héroe morirá al final de la película. — the same idea, placed in the future.
Examples: morir in the present tense
Seven sentences that show morir in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo me muero de risa con tus chistes. — "I die laughing at your jokes."
- Tú te mueres de frío sin abrigo. — "You freeze to death without a coat."
- El héroe muere al final de la película. — "The hero dies at the end of the film."
- Nosotros morimos todos algún día. — "We all die one day."
- Vosotros os morís de aburrimiento en clase. — "You die of boredom in class."
- Los peces mueren sin oxígeno. — "The fish die without oxygen."
- Mi móvil muere cada noche sin batería. — "My phone dies every night without battery."
Common mistakes with morir in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with morir in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ *Yo moro de risa con tus chistes (no stem change).
✓ Correct: Yo me muero de risa con tus chistes.
Morir is an o → ue stem-changing verb: yo muero, not moro. The change hits yo, tú, él and ellos.
✗ *Nosotros mueremos todos algún día.
✓ Correct: Nosotros morimos todos algún día.
Nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: morimos, morís. The ue change never reaches them.
✗ *Yo he morido de risa hoy (regular participle).
✓ Correct: Yo me he muerto de risa hoy.
The past participle of morir is irregular: muerto, not morido. The present perfect is he muerto, has muerto, ha muerto.
✗ *Yo muero de risa con tus chistes.
✓ Correct: Yo me muero de risa con tus chistes.
In the idiom morirse de risa, the reflexive pronoun is part of the expression: me muero de risa, not muero de risa.
Quiz: morir in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of morir. 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 morir for tú?
- a) muero
- b) muere
- c) mueren
- d) mueres
2. Complete the sentence: Yo me ______ de risa con tus chistes. — "I die laughing at your jokes."
- a) mueres
- b) muero
- c) mueren
- d) morí
3. Complete the sentence: Yo me ______ de risa con tus chistes. — "I die laughing at your jokes."
- a) morí
- b) muere
- c) morimos
- d) muero
4. Which is the correct present tense form of morir for nosotros?
- a) mueres
- b) morimos
- c) muero
- d) mueren
5. Which sentence uses morir correctly in the present tense?
- a) El héroe muere al final de la película.
- b) El héroe murió al final de la película.
- c) El héroe mueres al final de la película.
6. Which is the correct present tense form of morir for él/ella? Watch the stem.
- a) muere
- b) muero
- c) morimos
- d) more
7. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ______ todos algún día. — "We all die one day."
- a) muero
- b) morimos
- c) morimos
- d) mueren
8. What is the gerund of morir?
- a) muero
- b) morimos
- c) muerto
- d) muriendo
Answer key
d) mueres — The tú form is mueres. The -s ending belongs to tú in the present; muero is yo, muere is él/ella and mueren is ellos/ellas.
b) muero — The sentence needs the yo form in the present: muero. The other options are the wrong person or the wrong tense.
d) muero — The subject is yo, so the present form is muero.
b) morimos — Nosotros takes morimos. In the present the nosotros ending for -ir verbs is -imos, attached to the stem mor-.
a) El héroe muere al final de la película. — El héroe muere al final de la película. is correct: the verb agrees with its subject. The other sentences use the wrong person or the wrong tense.
a) muere — morir is a stem-changing verb, so the él/ella form is muere, with the changed stem. The nosotros form keeps the plain stem, and the form without the change is not Spanish.
b) morimos — The subject is nosotros/as, so the present form is morimos.
d) muriendo — The gerund is muriendo. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive (estar + gerund), and it is not the past participle muerto.
Frequently asked questions
Is morir regular in the present tense?
No. morir is a o → ue stem-changing verb, so the stem changes in yo, tú, él/ella and ellos/ellas — muero, mueres, muere, mueren — but stays plain in nosotros and vosotros: morimos and morís.
What is the gerund and the past participle of morir?
The gerund is muriendo and the past participle is muerto. The participle is irregular, so memorise it separately: it is muerto, not morido.
How do you say "I to die" in Spanish?
Say muero. For example: Yo me muero de risa con tus chistes. — "I die laughing at your jokes.".
What is the difference between morir and nacer?
morir means "to die", while nacer means "to be born". They are related words that learners often meet together, but they are not interchangeable — use morir when you mean "to die" and nacer when you mean "to be born". The full conjugation of nacer is on its own page.
Related links
- Full conjugation of morir — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- morir 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.