Ordenar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb ordenar means to tidy, to order, and this page covers it in the present tense — the tense for habits, facts and what is happening now. If you want the whole picture, start with the full ordenar conjugation, which has every tense on one page. Here we go deep on one tense only: the full table, how it is formed, when to use it, how it differs from the closest tense, examples, the mistakes learners actually make, a quiz and answers to the questions people ask most. One example to start: Yo ordeno mi habitación. — "I tidy my room."

No pronunciation is given on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for ordenar, so no pronunciation is shown rather than an invented one. All the forms below come from the verified conjugation tables, so you can trust every form you see here.

The ordenar present tense table

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for ordenar. The gerund is ordenando and the past participle is ordenado.

Person Form
yo ordeno
tú ordenas
él/ella/Ud. ordena
nosotros/as ordenamos
vosotros/as ordenáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. ordenan

The gerund ordenando is used with estar for the progressive (estoy ordenando, I am tidying), and the past participle ordenado is used with haber for the perfect tenses (he ordenado, I have tidied).

How the present tense of ordenar is formed

Start with the infinitive ordenar. Take off the -ar ending and you are left with the stem orden-. Then add the present endings for -ar verbs: -o (yo), -as (tú), -a (él/ella/Ud.), -amos (nosotros/as), -áis (vosotros/as) and -an (ellos/ellas/Uds.). That gives you the six forms in the table above, and for most verbs in this group that is the whole story.

ordenar is regular in the present: every form is exactly the stem plus the ending above, with no stem change and no spelling change. If you know the stem and the six endings, you can build the whole tense without memorising anything extra.

Two details are worth fixing early. First, the vosotros form carries a written accent on the ending: ordenáis. Second, the present tense in Spanish has no auxiliary verb: ordeno on its own means both "I tidy" and "I am tidying" in English, so you do not need a separate word for the progressive unless you want to stress that something is happening right now.

When to use the present tense of ordenar

Habits and routines

The present is the tense of what you do regularly. Talking about tidying a room: your bedroom, the kitchen, your desk.

  • Yo ordeno mi habitación. — "I tidy my room."
  • Tú ordenas la cocina. — "you tidy the kitchen."

Facts and general truths

The present also states facts that are true in general, not just today. Talking about putting things in order: books on a shelf, clothes in a wardrobe.

  • Él ordena los libros en la estantería. — "he/she tidies the books on the shelf."
  • Nosotros ordenamos mi escritorio. — "we tidy my desk."

What is happening now

The present describes what is happening at this moment. Talking about ordering food or asking someone to do something, the other meanings of ordenar.

  • Vosotros ordenáis todos los días. — "you (all) tidy every day."
  • Ellos ordenan antes de estudiar. — "they tidy before studying."

Plans in the near future

Spanish also uses the present for fixed plans in the near future, especially with a time expression. A plan you have already decided on can be stated in the present, and it sounds more certain than the future tense.

  • Él ordena los libros en la estantería. — "he/she tidies the books on the shelf."
  • Nosotros ordenamos mi escritorio. — "we tidy my desk."

Ordenar present vs present progressive

The present tense and the present progressive (estar + gerund) are close neighbours, and learners mix them up. The present describes a habit, a fact or a routine. The progressive describes something in progress right now, at this very moment. Compare the three pairs below: the first sentence in each pair is a habit, the second is happening now.

  • Present (habit): Yo ordeno mi habitación. — "I tidy my room."

  • Progressive (right now): Yo estoy ordenando mi habitación. — "I am tidying my room."

  • Present (habit): Tú ordenas la cocina. — "you tidy the kitchen."

  • Progressive (right now): Tú estás ordenando la cocina. — "you are tidying the kitchen."

  • Present (habit): Él ordena los libros en la estantería. — "he/she tidies the books on the shelf."

  • Progressive (right now): Él está ordenando los libros en la estantería. — "he/she is tidying the books on the shelf."

Use the present when you talk about what you usually do, and the progressive when you want to stress that it is happening as you speak. If you say ordeno every day, that is a routine. If you say Estoy ordenando, you are doing it at this moment.

Examples of ordenar in the present

Eight sentences in the present tense, so you can see the forms in real use. Read the Spanish first, guess the meaning, then check the translation.

  1. Ordeno mi habitación todos los días. — "I tidy my room every day."
  2. Mi hermano ordena los libros en la estantería. — "My brother tidies the books on the shelf."
  3. Ayer ordené la cocina antes de estudiar. — "Yesterday I tidied the kitchen before studying."
  4. De niño, ordenaba mi escritorio cada noche. — "As a child, I used to tidy my desk every night."
  5. Mañana ordenaré mi habitación antes de la visita. — "Tomorrow I will tidy my room before the visit."
  6. Si tuviera más tiempo, ordenaría toda la casa. — "If I had more time, I would tidy the whole house."
  7. Él ordena todos los días. — "he/she tidies every day."
  8. Nosotros ordenamos antes de estudiar. — "we tidy before studying."

Common mistakes with ordenar in the present

These are the errors learners actually make with this verb. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why it is wrong.

1. Yo ordena mi habitación.

Wrong: Yo ordena mi habitación.

Right: Yo ordeno mi habitación.

The yo form ends in -o: ordeno. Ordena is the él/ella form.

2. Ordeno mi habitación ayer.

Wrong: Ordeno mi habitación ayer.

Right: Ayer ordené mi habitación.

Ayer signals a finished past action, so you need the preterite: ordené. Ordeno with ayer mixes the tenses.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

Wrong: Ayer yo ordeno mi habitación.

Right: Ayer yo ordené mi habitación.

Ayer (yesterday) signals a finished action, so it needs the preterite: ordené. The present ordeno describes what you do now or usually, not what you did yesterday.

4. Forgetting the accent on the vosotros form

Wrong: Vosotros ordenais mi habitación.

Right: Vosotros ordenáis mi habitación.

The vosotros ending carries a written accent: ordenáis. Without it, the spelling is wrong, even though the pronunciation is close.

Quiz: test yourself on ordenar in the present

Choose the right form for each sentence. The answers are at the end of this section, with an explanation for every question.

  1. Yo ___ mi habitación
    • a) ordeno
    • b) ordenas
    • c) ordena
    • d) ordenamos
  2. Tú ___ la cocina
    • a) ordeno
    • b) ordena
    • c) ordenamos
    • d) ordenas
  3. Él ___ los libros en la estantería
    • a) ordenas
    • b) ordenamos
    • c) ordena
    • d) ordeno
  4. Nosotros ___ mi escritorio
    • a) ordena
    • b) ordenamos
    • c) ordeno
    • d) ordenas
  5. Vosotros ___ todos los días
    • a) ordenáis
    • b) ordeno
    • c) ordenas
    • d) ordena
  6. Ellos ___ antes de estudiar
    • a) ordeno
    • b) ordenas
    • c) ordena
    • d) ordenan
  7. Yo ___ mi habitación
    • a) ordena
    • b) ordenamos
    • c) ordeno
    • d) ordenas
  8. Tú ___ la cocina
    • a) ordenamos
    • b) ordenas
    • c) ordeno
    • d) ordena

Answers

  1. a) ordeno — The sentence needs the yo form, because the subject is yo.
  2. d) ordenas — The sentence needs the tú form, because the subject is tú.
  3. c) ordena — The sentence needs the él/ella/Ud. form, because the subject is él/ella/Ud..
  4. b) ordenamos — The sentence needs the nosotros/as form, because the subject is nosotros/as.
  5. a) ordenáis — The sentence needs the vosotros/as form, because the subject is vosotros/as.
  6. d) ordenan — The sentence needs the ellos/ellas/Uds. form, because the subject is ellos/ellas/Uds..
  7. c) ordeno — The sentence needs the yo form, because the subject is yo.
  8. b) ordenas — The sentence needs the tú form, because the subject is tú.

Frequently asked questions about ordenar in the present

Does ordenar mean to tidy or to order?

Both. Ordenar means to tidy or put in order (ordeno mi habitación) and also to order, as in ordering food or giving an order (el médico ordena reposo). The object tells you which meaning is meant.

Is ordenar regular?

Yes, ordenar is a regular -ar verb: ordeno, ordenas, ordena, ordenamos, ordenáis, ordenan.

Is ordenar regular in the present?

Yes. ordenar is regular in the present: the six forms are the stem orden- plus the regular endings, with no stem change. The only thing to watch is the written accent on the stressed endings, for example ordeno.

What are the gerund and the past participle of ordenar?

The gerund is ordenando, used with estar for the progressive (estoy ordenando), and the past participle is ordenado, used with haber for the perfect tenses (he ordenado).

How to remember ordenar

Four small habits will fix ordenar in your memory. First, say the present tense out loud, in order, three times: ordeno, ordenas, ordena, ordenamos, ordenáis, ordenan. Saying the forms is far more effective than reading them silently, because you hear the endings and the stem at the same time. Second, write three sentences about your own life: one about today with the present (ordeno), one about yesterday with the preterite (ordené), and one about tomorrow with the future (ordenaré). Personal sentences stick because they are about you, not about a textbook. Third, remember the difference from arreglar: Ordenar is putting things in their place; arreglar is fixing something broken or arranging something. You ordenas la habitación and arreglas el coche. Finally, learn the two key forms by heart: the gerund ordenando and the past participle ordenado. With those two and the present tense, you can already build the progressive (estoy ordenando) and the present perfect (he ordenado), which covers most everyday conversation.

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