Partir Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of partir — "to leave, to depart" 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 partir 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. Partir means to leave or to depart, and it is used for leaving on a journey, a train departing and, with de, leaving a place. It also means to split or divide something, as in partir el pan, so the context tells you which sense is meant. It is a regular -ir verb. To see it in a real sentence: Él parte de Madrid a las ocho. — "He/she leaves from Madrid at eight." 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: partir

Every person of partir in the present tense. The gerund is partiendo and the past participle is partido.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo parto
tú partes
él/ella/Ud. parte
nosotros/as partimos
vosotros/as partís
ellos/ellas/Uds. parten

How the present indicative of partir is formed

The present indicative of partir is built from the stem part- plus the present endings for -ir verbs. Take the infinitive, drop the -ir 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 parto
tú -es partes
él/ella/Ud. -e parte
nosotros/as -imos partimos
vosotros/as -ís partís
ellos/ellas/Uds. -en parten

The gerund of partir is partiendo and the past participle is partido. 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 partir

The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and partir 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 partir, this use looks like this: "Yo parto de Madrid a las ocho." — "I leave from Madrid at eight." 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 partir, this use looks like this: "Él parte mañana por la mañana." — "He/she leaves tomorrow morning." 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 partir, this use looks like this: "Nosotros partimos el pan en dos mitades." — "We leave the bread in two halves." 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 partir, this use looks like this: "Ellos parten hacia el aeropuerto temprano." — "They leave for the airport early." 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 partir, this use looks like this: "Tú partes de Madrid a las ocho." — "You leave from Madrid at eight." 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 partir. 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 parto de Madrid a las ocho." — "I leave from Madrid at eight."
  • Preterite: "Yo partí de Madrid a las ocho." — "I left from Madrid at eight." 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 parte mañana por la mañana." — "He/she leaves tomorrow morning."
  • Preterite: "Él partió mañana por la mañana." — "He/she left tomorrow morning." 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 partimos el pan en dos mitades." — "We leave the bread in two halves."
  • Preterite: "Nosotros partimos el pan en dos mitades." — "We left the bread in two halves." 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 partir in the present tense only. Each one uses a form from the table above.

  1. Yo parto de Madrid a las ocho. — I leave from Madrid at eight.
  2. Tú partes mañana por la mañana. — You leave tomorrow morning.
  3. Él parte el pan en dos mitades. — He/she leaves the bread in two halves.
  4. Nosotros partimos hacia el aeropuerto temprano. — We leave for the airport early.
  5. Vosotros partís de Madrid a las ocho. — You all leave from Madrid at eight.
  6. Ellos parten mañana por la mañana. — They leave tomorrow morning.
  7. Yo parto el pan en dos mitades. — I leave the bread in two halves.
  8. Él parte hacia el aeropuerto temprano. — He/she leaves for the airport early.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Vosotros partis mañana por la mañana. — Right: Vosotros partís mañana por la mañana. — The vosotros present form carries a written accent: partís, not partis.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo parto el pan en dos mitades. — Right: Ayer, yo partí el pan en dos mitades. — Ayer means yesterday, so it needs the preterite (partí), not the present (parto). The present is for now, not for yesterday.
  3. Wrong: Yo parte de Madrid a las ocho. — Right: Yo parto de Madrid a las ocho. — The person matters: parte is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is parto.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy partido mañana por la mañana. — Right: Yo he partido mañana por la mañana. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he partido. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.

Quiz: test yourself

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

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ de Madrid a las ocho. (present tense) A. parto B. partes C. parte D. partimos

  2. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ mañana por la mañana. (present tense) A. partes B. parto C. parte D. partimos

  3. Complete the sentence: Él ___ el pan en dos mitades. (present tense) A. parte B. parto C. partes D. partimos

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ hacia el aeropuerto temprano. (present tense) A. partimos B. parto C. partes D. parte

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros ___ de Madrid a las ocho. (present tense) A. partís B. parto C. partes D. parte

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ___ mañana por la mañana. (present tense) A. parten B. parto C. partes D. parte

  7. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ el pan en dos mitades. (present tense) A. parto B. partes C. parte D. partimos

  8. Complete the sentence: Él ___ hacia el aeropuerto temprano. (present tense) A. parte B. parto C. partes D. partimos

Answer key

  1. parto — The yo present form of partir is parto. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  2. partes — The tu present form of partir is partes. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  3. parte — The el present form of partir is parte. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  4. partimos — The nosotros present form of partir is partimos. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  5. partís — The vosotros present form of partir is partís. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  6. parten — The ellos present form of partir is parten. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  7. parto — The yo present form of partir is parto. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  8. parte — The el present form of partir is parte. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the present tense of partir?

Use the present tense of partir for habits, facts and what is happening now. For example: Yo parto de Madrid a las ocho. — "I leave from Madrid at eight." The usage rules above give five situations with examples.

How is the present tense of partir formed?

Take the stem part- and add the present endings for -ir verbs. The full table is at the top of this page.

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

The present describes a habit or a present fact, while the preterite describes a finished action. Compare Yo parto mañana por la mañana. with Yo partí mañana por la mañana. — the verb is the same, but the time meaning changes.

How do I practise the present tense of partir?

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

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