Nevar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of nevar — "to snow" 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 nevar 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. Nevar is a weather verb, used almost only in the third person singular: nieva, nevó, nevaba. It means to snow, and it appears in forecasts and descriptions of winter. To see it in a real sentence: Nieva mucho en diciembre — "It snows a lot in December".
Present tense conjugation table: nevar
Every person of nevar in the present tense. The gerund is nevando and the past participle is nevado.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | nievo |
| tú | nievas |
| él/ella/Ud. | nieva |
| nosotros/as | nevamos |
| vosotros/as | neváis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | nievan |
How the present of nevar is formed
The present of nevar is built from the stem nev- 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 | nievo |
| tú | -as | nievas |
| él/ella/Ud. | -a | nieva |
| nosotros/as | -amos | nevamos |
| vosotros/as | -áis | neváis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -an | nievan |
The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: nievo, nievas, nieva and nievan — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: nevamos, neváis. nevar is a weather verb, so in practice you will meet it in the third person singular: nieva. The other persons exist in the table above, but everyday Spanish keeps weather verbs impersonal.
The gerund of nevar is nevando and the past participle is nevado. Both are the forms you need with estar and haber respectively.
When to use the present tense of nevar
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and nevar 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, nieva mucho en diciembre" — "Every day, It snows a lot in December"
General truths
The present states facts that are always true, not just true today.
"Nieva toda la noche en la sierra" — "It snows all night in the mountains"
What is happening now
The present describes an action in progress right now.
"Ahora, nieva sobre los tejados" — "Right now, It snows on the rooftops"
Near-future plans
Spanish often uses the present for a plan that is already fixed.
"Mañana, nieva en el pueblo cada invierno" — "Tomorrow, It snows in the village every winter"
Timetables and scheduled events
The present is the tense for timetables, programmes and things that happen on a schedule.
"Nieva sin parar hasta marzo" — "It snows without stopping until March"
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, '}nieva mucho en diciembre — "It snows a lot in December"
- Preterite — one finished occasion: {'pre_es': 'Ayer, ', 'pre_en': 'Yesterday, '}nevó mucho en diciembre — "It snowed a lot in December"
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: {}nieva toda la noche en la sierra — "It snows all night in the mountains"
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: {}nevaba toda la noche en la sierra — "It used to snow all night in the mountains"
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'}nieva sobre los tejados — "It snows on the rooftops"
- Future — what will happen: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}nevará sobre los tejados — "It will snow on the rooftops"
Examples: nevar in the present tense
Seven sentences that show nevar in the present tense. Weather verbs are used in the third person singular, so each sentence uses that form with a different time or place phrase. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Nieva mucho en diciembre — "It snows a lot in December"
- Nieva toda la noche en la sierra — "It snows all night in the mountains"
- Nieva sobre los tejados — "It snows on the rooftops"
- Nieva en el pueblo cada invierno — "It snows in the village every winter"
- Nieva sin parar hasta marzo — "It snows without stopping until March"
- Nieva mucho en diciembre — "It snows a lot in December"
- Nieva toda la noche en la sierra — "It snows all night in the mountains"
Common mistakes with nevar in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with nevar in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ *Yo nevo mucho en diciembre.
✓ Correct: Yo nievo mucho en diciembre.
nevar is a stem-changing verb (e → ie): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is nievo, not nevo.
✗ *Tú nieva toda la noche en la sierra.
✓ Correct: Tú nievas toda la noche en la sierra.
The tú form and the él form are different: tú takes nievas, él takes nieva.
✗ *Cada día, nevó sobre los tejados
✓ Correct: Cada día, nieva sobre los tejados
Cada día describes a habit, so it needs the present, not the preterite.
✗ *Espero que nieva en el pueblo cada invierno
✓ Correct: Espero que nieve en el pueblo cada invierno
After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: Espero que nieve en el pueblo cada invierno — not the indicative Espero que nieva en el pueblo cada invierno.
Quiz: nevar in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of nevar. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
Which is the correct present form of nevar for tú? A. nievas B. nievo C. nieva D. nevamos
Complete the sentence: ______ mucho en diciembre — "It snows a lot in December" (present) A. nevó B. nevaba C. nevará D. nieva
Complete the sentence: ______ toda la noche en la sierra — "It snows all night in the mountains" (present) A. nevó B. nevaba C. nevará D. nieva
Which is the correct present form of nevar for nosotros? A. nievas B. nieva C. nievan D. nevamos
Which sentence uses nevar correctly in the present? A. Nevará sobre los tejados B. Nieva sobre los tejados C. Nevó sobre los tejados D. Nevaba sobre los tejados
Complete the sentence: ______ en el pueblo cada invierno — "It snows in the village every winter" (present) A. nevaba B. nevará C. nieva D. nevó
Complete the sentence: ______ sin parar hasta marzo — "It snows without stopping until March" (present) A. nevó B. nevaba C. nevará D. nieva
What is the gerund of nevar? A. nievo B. nevé C. nevando D. nevado
Answer key
- nievas — The tú form in the present is nievas.
- nieva — The present form is nieva.
- nieva — The present form is nieva.
- nevamos — The nosotros form in the present is nevamos.
- Nieva sobre los tejados — Nieva sobre los tejados is correct: the verb agrees with its subject and the tense is the present.
- nieva — The present form is nieva.
- nieva — The present form is nieva.
- nevando — The gerund is nevando. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive, and it is not the past participle nevado.
Frequently asked questions
Is nevar regular in the present tense?
No — in the present the stem changes: The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: nievo, nievas, nieva and nievan — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: nevamos, neváis. The nosotros and vosotros forms keep the plain stem.
What is the gerund and the past participle of nevar?
The gerund is nevando and the past participle is nevado. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say "I snow" in the present tense?
Say nievo. For example: Nieva mucho en diciembre — "It snows a lot in December".
What is the difference between the present and the preterite of nevar?
The present describes a habit or what happens now: Nieva mucho en diciembre — "It snows a lot in December". The preterite reports one finished occasion: Ayer, nevó mucho en diciembre — "Yesterday, It snowed a lot in December". 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 nevar — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- nevar 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.