Oscurecer Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of oscurecer — "to get dark" 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 oscurecer 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. Oscurecer means to get dark, and it is used for the sky darkening before a storm, a room darkening and the day darkening in winter. It is mostly used in the third person, and it is a -cer spelling-change verb. Anochecer is its close synonym for nightfall. To see it in a real sentence: Él oscurece muy pronto en invierno. — "He/she gets dark very early in winter." Work through the table below, then the formation notes, the usage rules and the contrast with the preterite, and test yourself at the end.

Present tense conjugation table: oscurecer

Every person of oscurecer in the present tense. The gerund is oscureciendo and the past participle is oscurecido.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo oscurezco
tú oscureces
él/ella/Ud. oscurece
nosotros/as oscurecemos
vosotros/as oscurecéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. oscurecen

How the present indicative of oscurecer is formed

The present indicative of oscurecer is built from the stem oscurec- 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 oscurezco
tú -es oscureces
él/ella/Ud. -e oscurece
nosotros/as -emos oscurecemos
vosotros/as -éis oscurecéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -en oscurecen

oscurecer is a spelling-change verb: c becomes zc before o and a. That is why the written form changes in some persons — the sound stays the same, and only the spelling adapts. In this tense, watch the first-person form oscurezco in particular.

The gerund of oscurecer is oscureciendo and the past participle is oscurecido. Both are regular for this verb, and the participle is the form you need for all the perfect tenses with haber.

When to use the present tense of oscurecer

The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and oscurecer 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 tense describes things you do regularly. If you do it every day, every week or every morning, the present is the tense to use. For oscurecer, this use looks like this: "Yo oscurezco muy pronto en invierno." — "I get dark very early in winter." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

General facts

The present tense states facts that are generally true, not tied to one moment. It is the tense for definitions and permanent situations. For oscurecer, this use looks like this: "Él oscurece el cielo antes de la tormenta." — "He/she gets dark the sky before the storm." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

What is happening now

The present tense also covers what is happening at this moment, especially with verbs that describe an action in progress. For oscurecer, this use looks like this: "Nosotros oscurecemos la habitación al cerrar las cortinas." — "We get dark the room on closing the curtains." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

Timetables and schedules

The present tense is used for fixed plans and timetables, such as trains, classes and opening times, even when they refer to the future. For oscurecer, this use looks like this: "Ellos oscurecen sobre el campo al final del día." — "They get dark over the fields at the end of the day." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

Instructions and requests

The present tense appears in instructions and polite requests, where it sounds softer than a direct command. For oscurecer, this use looks like this: "Tú oscureces muy pronto en invierno." — "You get dark very early in winter." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

The present tense vs the preterite

Learners often mix up the present and the preterite with oscurecer. The rule is simple: the present is for habits, facts and what is happening now, while the preterite is for one finished action in the past. The three pairs below show the same idea in both tenses, so you can feel the difference.

Pair 1: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Yo oscurezco muy pronto en invierno." — "I get dark very early in winter."
  • Preterite: "Yo oscurecí muy pronto en invierno." — "I got dark very early in winter." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Pair 2: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Él oscurece el cielo antes de la tormenta." — "He/she gets dark the sky before the storm."
  • Preterite: "Él oscureció el cielo antes de la tormenta." — "He/she got dark the sky before the storm." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Pair 3: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Nosotros oscurecemos la habitación al cerrar las cortinas." — "We get dark the room on closing the curtains."
  • Preterite: "Nosotros oscurecimos la habitación al cerrar las cortinas." — "We got dark the room on closing the curtains." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Example sentences in the present tense

Eight natural sentences with oscurecer in the present tense only. Each one uses a form from the table above.

  1. Yo oscurezco muy pronto en invierno. — I get dark very early in winter.
  2. Tú oscureces el cielo antes de la tormenta. — You get dark the sky before the storm.
  3. Él oscurece la habitación al cerrar las cortinas. — He/she gets dark the room on closing the curtains.
  4. Nosotros oscurecemos sobre el campo al final del día. — We get dark over the fields at the end of the day.
  5. Vosotros oscurecéis muy pronto en invierno. — You all get dark very early in winter.
  6. Ellos oscurecen el cielo antes de la tormenta. — They get dark the sky before the storm.
  7. Yo oscurezco la habitación al cerrar las cortinas. — I get dark the room on closing the curtains.
  8. Él oscurece sobre el campo al final del día. — He/she gets dark over the fields at the end of the day.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo oscureco el cielo antes de la tormenta. — Right: Yo oscurezco el cielo antes de la tormenta. — In the present, the correct first-person form is oscurezco, not oscureco. oscurecer is a spelling-change verb: c becomes zc before o and a, so the written form changes to keep the same sound. The regular-looking form is wrong.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo oscurezco la habitación al cerrar las cortinas. — Right: Ayer, yo oscurecí la habitación al cerrar las cortinas. — Ayer means yesterday, so it needs the preterite (oscurecí), not the present (oscurezco). The present is for now, not for yesterday.
  3. Wrong: Yo oscurece muy pronto en invierno. — Right: Yo oscurezco muy pronto en invierno. — The person matters: oscurece is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is oscurezco.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy oscurecido el cielo antes de la tormenta. — Right: Yo he oscurecido el cielo antes de la tormenta. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he oscurecido. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.

Quiz: test yourself

Eight questions on the present tense of oscurecer. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ muy pronto en invierno. (present tense) A. oscurezco B. oscureces C. oscurece D. oscurecemos

  2. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ el cielo antes de la tormenta. (present tense) A. oscureces B. oscurezco C. oscurece D. oscurecemos

  3. Complete the sentence: Él ___ la habitación al cerrar las cortinas. (present tense) A. oscurece B. oscurezco C. oscureces D. oscurecemos

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ sobre el campo al final del día. (present tense) A. oscurecemos B. oscurezco C. oscureces D. oscurece

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros ___ muy pronto en invierno. (present tense) A. oscurecéis B. oscurezco C. oscureces D. oscurece

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ___ el cielo antes de la tormenta. (present tense) A. oscurecen B. oscurezco C. oscureces D. oscurece

  7. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ la habitación al cerrar las cortinas. (present tense) A. oscurezco B. oscureces C. oscurece D. oscurecemos

  8. Complete the sentence: Él ___ sobre el campo al final del día. (present tense) A. oscurece B. oscurezco C. oscureces D. oscurecemos

Answer key

  1. oscurezco — The yo present form of oscurecer is oscurezco. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  2. oscureces — The tu present form of oscurecer is oscureces. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  3. oscurece — The el present form of oscurecer is oscurece. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  4. oscurecemos — The nosotros present form of oscurecer is oscurecemos. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  5. oscurecéis — The vosotros present form of oscurecer is oscurecéis. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  6. oscurecen — The ellos present form of oscurecer is oscurecen. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  7. oscurezco — The yo present form of oscurecer is oscurezco. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  8. oscurece — The el present form of oscurecer is oscurece. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the present tense of oscurecer?

Use the present tense of oscurecer for habits, facts and what is happening now. For example: Yo oscurezco muy pronto en invierno. — "I get dark very early in winter." The usage rules above give five situations with examples.

How is the present tense of oscurecer formed?

Take the stem oscurec- and add the present endings for -er verbs. The full table is at the top of this page. Remember the spelling change: c becomes zc before o and a.

What is the difference between the present and the preterite of oscurecer?

The present describes a habit or a present fact, while the preterite describes a finished action. Compare Yo oscurezco el cielo antes de la tormenta. with Yo oscurecí el cielo antes de la tormenta. — the verb is the same, but the time meaning changes.

How do I practise the present tense of oscurecer?

Drill the six forms in the table above until you can say them without looking, then use the oscurecer examples and quiz page for more sentences, and test yourself with the Oscurecer conjugation page for the full picture across all tenses.

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