Mover Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of mover — "to move" 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 mover 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. Mover means to move something from one place to another: mover la mesa, mover las cajas. For moving house, Spanish uses mudarse, not mover. To see it in a real sentence: Yo muevo la mesa al rincón — "I move the table to the corner".
Present tense conjugation table: mover
Every person of mover in the present tense. The gerund is moviendo and the past participle is movido.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | muevo |
| tú | mueves |
| él/ella/Ud. | mueve |
| nosotros/as | movemos |
| vosotros/as | movéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | mueven |
How the present of mover is formed
The present of mover is built from the stem mov- 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 | muevo |
| tú | -es | mueves |
| él/ella/Ud. | -e | mueve |
| nosotros/as | -emos | movemos |
| vosotros/as | -éis | movéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -en | mueven |
The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: muevo, mueves, mueve and mueven — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: movemos, movéis.
The gerund of mover is moviendo and the past participle is movido. Both are the forms you need with estar and haber respectively.
When to use the present tense of mover
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and mover 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 muevo la mesa al rincón" — "Every day, I move the table to the corner"
General truths
The present states facts that are always true, not just true today.
"Mi amigo mueve las cajas al garaje" — "My friend moves the boxes to the garage"
What is happening now
The present describes an action in progress right now.
"Ahora, yo muevo el coche del garaje" — "Right now, I move the car out of the garage"
Near-future plans
Spanish often uses the present for a plan that is already fixed.
"Mañana, nosotros movemos la cabeza con duda" — "Tomorrow, we move his head doubtfully"
Timetables and scheduled events
The present is the tense for timetables, programmes and things that happen on a schedule.
"Ellos mueven los muebles de la sala" — "They move the furniture in the living room"
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 muevo la mesa al rincón — "I move the table to the corner"
- Preterite — one finished occasion: {'pre_es': 'Ayer, ', 'pre_en': 'Yesterday, '}yo moví la mesa al rincón — "I moved the table to the corner"
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 mueves las cajas al garaje — "You move the boxes to the garage"
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: {}tú movías las cajas al garaje — "You used to move the boxes to the garage"
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 mueve el coche del garaje — "He moves the car out of the garage"
- Future — what will happen: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él moverá el coche del garaje — "He will move the car out of the garage"
Examples: mover in the present tense
Seven sentences that show mover in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo muevo la mesa al rincón — "I move the table to the corner"
- Tú mueves las cajas al garaje — "You move the boxes to the garage"
- Él mueve el coche del garaje — "He moves the car out of the garage"
- Nosotros movemos la cabeza con duda — "We move his head doubtfully"
- Vosotros movéis los muebles de la sala — "You move the furniture in the living room"
- Ellos mueven la mesa al rincón — "They move the table to the corner"
- Yo muevo las cajas al garaje — "I move the boxes to the garage"
Common mistakes with mover in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with mover in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ *Yo movo la mesa al rincón.
✓ Correct: Yo muevo la mesa al rincón.
mover is a stem-changing verb (o → ue): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is muevo, not movo.
✗ *Tú mueve las cajas al garaje.
✓ Correct: Tú mueves las cajas al garaje.
The tú form and the él form are different: tú takes mueves, él takes mueve.
✗ *Cada día, yo moví el coche del garaje
✓ Correct: Cada día, yo muevo el coche del garaje
Cada día describes a habit, so it needs the present, not the preterite.
✗ *Vosotros moveis la cabeza con duda.
✓ Correct: Vosotros movéis la cabeza con duda.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: movéis, not moveis.
Quiz: mover in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of mover. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
Which is the correct present form of mover for tú? A. muevo B. mueve C. movemos D. mueves
Complete the sentence: Yo ______ la mesa al rincón — "I move the table to the corner" (present) A. muevo B. mueves C. mueve D. movemos
Complete the sentence: Él ______ las cajas al garaje — "He moves the boxes to the garage" (present) A. movemos B. mueve C. muevo D. mueves
Which is the correct present form of mover for nosotros? A. mueve B. mueven C. movemos D. mueves
Which sentence uses mover correctly in the present? A. Mi amigo mueve el coche del garaje B. Mi amigo mueves el coche del garaje C. Mi amigo movía el coche del garaje D. Mi amigo movemos el coche del garaje
Complete the sentence: Vosotros ______ la cabeza con duda — "You move his head doubtfully" (present) A. muevo B. mueves C. mueve D. movéis
Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ los muebles de la sala — "They move the furniture in the living room" (present) A. mueves B. mueve C. mueven D. muevo
What is the gerund of mover? A. moví B. moviendo C. movido D. muevo
Answer key
- mueves — The tú form in the present is mueves.
- muevo — The present form for yo is muevo.
- mueve — The present form for él/ella/Ud. is mueve.
- movemos — The nosotros form in the present is movemos.
- Mi amigo mueve el coche del garaje — Mi amigo mueve el coche del garaje is correct: the verb agrees with its subject and the tense is the present.
- movéis — The present form for vosotros/as is movéis.
- mueven — The present form for ellos/ellas/Uds. is mueven.
- moviendo — The gerund is moviendo. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive, and it is not the past participle movido.
Frequently asked questions
Is mover regular in the present tense?
No — in the present the stem changes: The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: muevo, mueves, mueve and mueven — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: movemos, movéis. The nosotros and vosotros forms keep the plain stem.
What is the gerund and the past participle of mover?
The gerund is moviendo and the past participle is movido. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say "I move" in the present tense?
Say muevo. For example: Yo muevo la mesa al rincón — "I move the table to the corner".
What is the difference between the present and the preterite of mover?
The present describes a habit or what happens now: Yo muevo la mesa al rincón — "I move the table to the corner". The preterite reports one finished occasion: Ayer, yo moví la mesa al rincón — "Yesterday, I moved the table to the corner". 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 mover — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- mover 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.