Pausar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of pausar — “to pause” 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 pausar 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. Pausar means to pause, and it is used for pausing a video, a song, a game or a task. It is a short, fully regular verb that belongs to everyday technology and work life, and it is the natural opposite of reanudar, to resume. To see it in a real sentence: Pauso el vídeo para contestar el teléfono. — “I pause the video to answer the phone.” Learn the six forms in the table below, and the present tense of pausar will be ready for everyday conversation.
Present tense conjugation table: pausar
Every person of pausar in the present tense. The gerund is pausando and the past participle is pausado.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | pauso |
| tú | pausas |
| él/ella/Ud. | pausa |
| nosotros/as | pausamos |
| vosotros/as | pausáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | pausan |
How the present indicative of pausar is formed
The present indicative of pausar is built from the stem plus the present indicative 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 | pauso |
| tú | -as | pausas |
| él/ella/Ud. | -a | pausa |
| nosotros/as | -amos | pausamos |
| vosotros/as | -áis | pausáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -an | pausan |
Pausar is a regular -ar verb in the present tense, so the table above is completely regular. The stem is paus- and the endings are the normal -ar endings, so once you know the pattern you can produce every form on this page.
The gerund of pausar is pausando and the past participle is pausado. 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 pausar
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and pausar 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.
Routines and habits
Use the present for things you do regularly, every day or every week. The present is the tense of routine, and pausar fits naturally into daily life.
“Yo pauso el vídeo para contestar el teléfono todos los días.” — “I pause the video to answer the phone every day.”
General facts
Use the present for facts that are true in general, not just today. When you state how something is, the present is the tense to use.
“Él pausa la música durante la cena.” — “He/she pauses the music during dinner.”
What is happening right now
Use the present for what is happening at this moment. Spanish often uses the simple present where English uses the progressive, so pauso can mean both “I pause” and “I am pauseing”.
“Ahora mismo, yo pauso el juego cuando llega la visita.” — “Right now, I pause the game when the visitor arrives.”
Fixed plans in the near future
Use the present for a plan that is already fixed, such as something arranged for tomorrow. Spanish uses the present for near-future plans much more freely than English does.
“Mañana, yo pauso el trabajo para tomar un café.” — “Tomorrow, I will pause work to have a coffee.”
Questions and negatives
Use the present to ask about habits and to say what does not happen. The question and the negative use exactly the same forms as the statement.
“¿Tú pausas el vídeo para contestar el teléfono?” — “Do you pause the video to answer the phone?”
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: Pausa la música durante la cena. — “He/she pauses the music during dinner.”
- Preterite — one finished occasion: Pausó la música durante la cena. — the same idea, placed in the preterite.
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: Pausan el juego cuando llega la visita. — “They pause the game when the visitor arrives.”
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: Pausaban el juego cuando llega la visita. — the same idea, placed in the imperfect.
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: Pausas el trabajo para tomar un café. — “You pause work to have a coffee.”
- Future — what will happen: Pausarás el trabajo para tomar un café. — the same idea, placed in the future.
Examples: pausar in the present tense
Seven sentences that show pausar in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo pauso el vídeo para contestar el teléfono. — “I pause the video to answer the phone.”
- Tú pausas la música durante la cena. — “You pause the music during dinner.”
- Él pausa el juego cuando llega la visita. — “He pauses the game when the visitor arrives.”
- Nosotros pausamos el trabajo para tomar un café. — “We pause work to have a coffee.”
- Vosotros pausáis el vídeo para contestar el teléfono. — “You (plural) pause the video to answer the phone.”
- Ellos pausan la música durante la cena. — “They pause the music during dinner.”
- ¿Tú pausas el juego cuando llega la visita? — “Do you pause the game when the visitor arrives?”
Common mistakes with pausar in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with pausar in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ Yo pausar el vídeo para contestar el teléfono. (using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form).
✓ Correct: Yo pauso el vídeo para contestar el teléfono.
The infinitive is not a conjugated form. With yo, the present tense of pausar is pauso, not the infinitive pausar.
✗ Vosotros pausais el vídeo para contestar el teléfono. (forgetting the accent on the vosotros form).
✓ Correct: Vosotros pausáis el vídeo para contestar el teléfono.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: pausáis, not pausais. The accent marks the stressed vowel, and leaving it out is a spelling mistake.
✗ Ayer, yo pauso la música durante la cena. (using the present for a finished past action).
✓ Correct: Ayer, yo pausé la música durante la cena.
The present and the preterite are different tenses: pauso is happening now, while pausé is a finished action in the past. Use the preterite with ayer.
✗ Treating pausar and parar as identical in every context. (confusing pausar with parar).
✓ Correct: Pausar means to pause, while parar means to stop completely.
They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: pausar fits sentences such as Pauso el vídeo para contestar el teléfono, while parar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
Quiz: pausar in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of pausar. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
1. Which is the correct present tense form of pausar for tú?
- a) pausas
- b) pauso
- c) pausa
- d) pausan
2. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ el vídeo para contestar el teléfono. — “I pause the video to answer the phone.”
- a) pausa
- b) pausamos
- c) pausas
- d) pauso
3. Complete the sentence: Él ______ la música durante la cena. — “He/she pauses the music during dinner.” (present tense)
- a) pausaba
- b) pausará
- c) pausa
- d) pausó
4. Which is the correct present tense form of pausar for nosotros?
- a) pausan
- b) pausamos
- c) pauso
- d) pausa
5. Which sentence uses pausar correctly in the present tense?
- a) Él pausó la música durante la cena.
- b) Él pausa la música durante la cena.
- c) Él pausará la música durante la cena.
- d) Ellos pausa la música durante la cena.
6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ el juego cuando llega la visita. — “They pause the game when the visitor arrives.”
- a) pauso
- b) pausa
- c) pausamos
- d) pausan
7. Complete the question: ¿Tú ______ el trabajo para tomar un café? — “Do you pause work to have a coffee?”
- a) pausa
- b) pausarás
- c) pausas
- d) pauso
8. What is the gerund of pausar?
- a) pausé
- b) pausando
- c) pausado
- d) pauso
Answer key
a) pausas — The tú form is pausas. The -s ending belongs to tú in the present; pauso is yo, pausa is él/ella and pausan is ellos/ellas.
d) pauso — The sentence needs the yo form in the present: pauso. The other options are the wrong person.
c) pausa — The sentence needs the él/ella/Ud. form in the present: pausa. The other options are the preterite, the imperfect and the future.
b) pausamos — Nosotros takes pausamos. In the present the nosotros ending for -ar verbs is -amos, attached to the stem.
b) Él pausa la música durante la cena. — Él pausa la música durante la cena. is correct: the verb agrees with its subject. The other sentences use the wrong person or the wrong tense.
d) pausan — The subject is ellos/ellas/Uds., so the present form is pausan.
c) pausas — The question needs the tú form in the present: pausas.
b) pausando — The gerund is pausando. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive (estar + gerund), and it is not the past participle pausado.
Frequently asked questions
Is pausar regular in the present tense?
Yes. Pausar is a regular -ar verb in the present tense, so the forms follow the standard endings: pauso, pausas, pausa, pausamos, pausáis and pausan.
What is the gerund and the past participle of pausar?
The gerund is pausando and the past participle is pausado. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say “I pause” in Spanish?
Say pauso. For example: Pauso el vídeo para contestar el teléfono. — “I pause the video to answer the phone.”
What is the difference between pausar and parar?
Pausar means “to pause”, while parar means “to stop completely”. They are related words that learners often meet together, but they are not interchangeable — use pausar when you mean “to pause” and parar when you mean “to stop completely”. The full conjugation of pausar is on its own page.
Related links
- Full conjugation of pausar — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- pausar 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.
- Escanear conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with pausar.
- Legislar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with pausar.
- Reiniciar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with pausar.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise this verb in the interactive tool.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — test yourself on Spanish verbs.