Ofender Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of ofender — "to offend" 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 ofender 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. Ofender means to offend someone: ofender a su amiga con sus palabras. With se it means to take offence: ofenderse por un comentario. To see it in a real sentence: Yo ofiendo a su amiga con sus palabras — "I offend his friend with his words".
Present tense conjugation table: ofender
Every person of ofender in the present tense. The gerund is ofendiendo and the past participle is ofendido.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | ofiendo |
| tú | ofiendes |
| él/ella/Ud. | ofiende |
| nosotros/as | ofendemos |
| vosotros/as | ofendéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | ofienden |
How the present of ofender is formed
The present of ofender is built from the stem ofend- 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 | ofiendo |
| tú | -es | ofiendes |
| él/ella/Ud. | -e | ofiende |
| nosotros/as | -emos | ofendemos |
| vosotros/as | -éis | ofendéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -en | ofienden |
The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: ofiendo, ofiendes, ofiende and ofienden — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: ofendemos, ofendéis.
The gerund of ofender is ofendiendo and the past participle is ofendido. Both are the forms you need with estar and haber respectively.
When to use the present tense of ofender
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and ofender 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 ofiendo a su amiga con sus palabras" — "Every day, I offend his friend with his words"
General truths
The present states facts that are always true, not just true today.
"Mi amigo ofiende a su familia con el comentario" — "My friend offends his family with the remark"
What is happening now
The present describes an action in progress right now.
"Ahora, yo ofiendo los sentimientos de su novia" — "Right now, I offend his girlfriend's feelings"
Near-future plans
Spanish often uses the present for a plan that is already fixed.
"Mañana, nosotros ofendemos a su jefe con la broma" — "Tomorrow, we offend his boss with the joke"
Timetables and scheduled events
The present is the tense for timetables, programmes and things that happen on a schedule.
"Ellos ofienden a los invitados con su actitud" — "They offend the guests with his attitude"
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 ofiendo a su amiga con sus palabras — "I offend his friend with his words"
- Preterite — one finished occasion: {'pre_es': 'Ayer, ', 'pre_en': 'Yesterday, '}yo ofendí a su amiga con sus palabras — "I offended his friend with his words"
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 ofiendes a su familia con el comentario — "You offend his family with the remark"
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: {}tú ofendías a su familia con el comentario — "You used to offend his family with the remark"
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 ofiende los sentimientos de su novia — "He offends his girlfriend's feelings"
- Future — what will happen: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él ofenderá los sentimientos de su novia — "He will offend his girlfriend's feelings"
Examples: ofender in the present tense
Seven sentences that show ofender in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo ofiendo a su amiga con sus palabras — "I offend his friend with his words"
- Tú ofiendes a su familia con el comentario — "You offend his family with the remark"
- Él ofiende los sentimientos de su novia — "He offends his girlfriend's feelings"
- Nosotros ofendemos a su jefe con la broma — "We offend his boss with the joke"
- Vosotros ofendéis a los invitados con su actitud — "You offend the guests with his attitude"
- Ellos ofienden a su amiga con sus palabras — "They offend his friend with his words"
- Yo ofiendo a su familia con el comentario — "I offend his family with the remark"
Common mistakes with ofender in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with ofender in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ *Yo ofendo a su amiga con sus palabras.
✓ Correct: Yo ofiendo a su amiga con sus palabras.
ofender is a stem-changing verb (e → ie): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is ofiendo, not ofendo.
✗ *Tú ofiende a su familia con el comentario.
✓ Correct: Tú ofiendes a su familia con el comentario.
The tú form and the él form are different: tú takes ofiendes, él takes ofiende.
✗ *Cada día, yo ofendí los sentimientos de su novia
✓ Correct: Cada día, yo ofiendo los sentimientos de su novia
Cada día describes a habit, so it needs the present, not the preterite.
✗ *Vosotros ofendeis a su jefe con la broma.
✓ Correct: Vosotros ofendéis a su jefe con la broma.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: ofendéis, not ofendeis.
Quiz: ofender in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of ofender. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
Which is the correct present form of ofender for tú? A. ofendemos B. ofiendes C. ofiendo D. ofiende
Complete the sentence: Yo ______ a su amiga con sus palabras — "I offend his friend with his words" (present) A. ofiendo B. ofiendes C. ofiende D. ofendemos
Complete the sentence: Él ______ a su familia con el comentario — "He offends his family with the remark" (present) A. ofendemos B. ofiende C. ofiendo D. ofiendes
Which is the correct present form of ofender for nosotros? A. ofendemos B. ofiendes C. ofiende D. ofienden
Which sentence uses ofender correctly in the present? A. Mi amigo ofendía los sentimientos de su novia B. Mi amigo ofendemos los sentimientos de su novia C. Mi amigo ofiende los sentimientos de su novia D. Mi amigo ofiendes los sentimientos de su novia
Complete the sentence: Vosotros ______ a su jefe con la broma — "You offend his boss with the joke" (present) A. ofiendo B. ofiendes C. ofiende D. ofendéis
Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ a los invitados con su actitud — "They offend the guests with his attitude" (present) A. ofiendes B. ofiende C. ofienden D. ofiendo
What is the gerund of ofender? A. ofendido B. ofiendo C. ofendí D. ofendiendo
Answer key
- ofiendes — The tú form in the present is ofiendes.
- ofiendo — The present form for yo is ofiendo.
- ofiende — The present form for él/ella/Ud. is ofiende.
- ofendemos — The nosotros form in the present is ofendemos.
- Mi amigo ofiende los sentimientos de su novia — Mi amigo ofiende los sentimientos de su novia is correct: the verb agrees with its subject and the tense is the present.
- ofendéis — The present form for vosotros/as is ofendéis.
- ofienden — The present form for ellos/ellas/Uds. is ofienden.
- ofendiendo — The gerund is ofendiendo. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive, and it is not the past participle ofendido.
Frequently asked questions
Is ofender regular in the present tense?
No — in the present the stem changes: The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: ofiendo, ofiendes, ofiende and ofienden — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: ofendemos, ofendéis. The nosotros and vosotros forms keep the plain stem.
What is the gerund and the past participle of ofender?
The gerund is ofendiendo and the past participle is ofendido. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say "I offend" in the present tense?
Say ofiendo. For example: Yo ofiendo a su amiga con sus palabras — "I offend his friend with his words".
What is the difference between the present and the preterite of ofender?
The present describes a habit or what happens now: Yo ofiendo a su amiga con sus palabras — "I offend his friend with his words". The preterite reports one finished occasion: Ayer, yo ofendí a su amiga con sus palabras — "Yesterday, I offended his friend with his words". 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 ofender — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- ofender 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.