Peinarse Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb peinarse means to comb (one's hair), 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 peinarse 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 me peino antes de salir. — "I comb my hair before going out."

No pronunciation is given on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for peinarse, 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.

peinarse is reflexive, so every form below is shown with its reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se). The pronoun is part of the verb, not an optional extra.

The peinarse present tense table

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for peinarse. The gerund is peinando and the past participle is peinado.

Person Pronoun Form
yo me peino
tú te peinas
él/ella/Ud. se peina
nosotros/as nos peinamos
vosotros/as os peináis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se peinan

The gerund peinando is used with estar for the progressive (estoy peinando, I am combing my hair), and the past participle peinado is used with haber for the perfect tenses (he peinado, I have combed my hair).

How the present tense of peinarse is formed

Start with the infinitive peinar. Take off the -ar ending and you are left with the stem pein-. 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.

peinarse 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.

peinarse is reflexive, so every form needs its reflexive pronoun in front of it: me, te, se, nos, os, se, matching the person. In the table above the pronoun is shown in its own column, and in a sentence it goes before the conjugated verb: Me peino antes de salir.. Do not drop the pronoun: without it, you are talking about a different verb. In the infinitive the pronoun is attached to the end (peinarse), and in the gerund it can go before the auxiliary or attached to the gerund: estoy peinando or peinándome.

Two details are worth fixing early. First, the vosotros form carries a written accent on the ending: peináis. Second, the present tense in Spanish has no auxiliary verb: me peino on its own means both "I comb my hair" and "I am combing my hair" 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 peinarse

Habits and routines

The present is the tense of what you do regularly. Talking about combing your hair in the morning, before leaving the house.

  • Yo me peino antes de salir. — "I comb my hair before going out."
  • Tú te peinas por la mañana. — "you comb my hair in the morning."

Facts and general truths

The present also states facts that are true in general, not just today. Talking about the tools: a brush or a comb, and whether the hair is long or short.

  • Él se peina con un cepillo nuevo. — "he/she combs her hair with a new brush."
  • Nosotros nos peinamos delante del espejo. — "we comb my hair in front of the mirror."

What is happening now

The present describes what is happening at this moment. Talking about children: parents telling them to peinarse before school.

  • Vosotros os peináis todos los días. — "you (all) comb my hair every day."
  • Ellos se peinan con cuidado. — "they comb my hair carefully."

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 se peina con un cepillo nuevo. — "he/she combs her hair with a new brush."
  • Nosotros nos peinamos delante del espejo. — "we comb my hair in front of the mirror."

Peinarse 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 me peino antes de salir. — "I comb my hair before going out."

  • Progressive (right now): Yo estoy peinando antes de salir. — "I am combing my hair before going out."

  • Present (habit): Tú te peinas por la mañana. — "you comb my hair in the morning."

  • Progressive (right now): Tú estás peinando por la mañana. — "you are combing my hair in the morning."

  • Present (habit): Él se peina con un cepillo nuevo. — "he/she combs her hair with a new brush."

  • Progressive (right now): Él está peinando con un cepillo nuevo. — "he/she is combing my hair with a new brush."

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 me peino every day, that is a routine. If you say Estoy peinando, you are doing it at this moment.

Examples of peinarse 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. Me peino antes de salir de casa. — "I comb my hair before leaving the house."
  2. Mi hija se peina delante del espejo por la mañana. — "My daughter combs her hair in front of the mirror in the morning."
  3. Ayer me peiné con un cepillo nuevo. — "Yesterday I combed my hair with a new brush."
  4. De niña, me peinaba con una coleta todos los días. — "As a girl, I used to comb my hair into a ponytail every day."
  5. Mañana me peinaré antes de la foto de familia. — "Tomorrow I will comb my hair before the family photo."
  6. Si tuviera el pelo más largo, me peinaría de otra manera. — "If I had longer hair, I would comb my hair differently."
  7. Él se peina todos los días. — "he/she combs her hair every day."
  8. Nosotros nos peinamos con cuidado. — "we comb my hair carefully."

Common mistakes with peinarse 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 peino antes de salir.

Wrong: Yo peino antes de salir.

Right: Yo me peino antes de salir.

Peinarse is reflexive. Peino on its own means you comb someone else's hair.

2. Me peina por la mañana.

Wrong: Me peina por la mañana.

Right: Me peino por la mañana.

Me pairs with the yo form peino. Peina is the él/ella form.

3. Dropping the reflexive pronoun

Wrong: Yo peino antes de salir.

Right: Me peino antes de salir.

Without the pronoun you are using the non-reflexive verb, which means something else. The pronoun is part of peinarse: me peino.

4. Using the present for a finished past action

Wrong: Ayer yo me peino antes de salir.

Right: Ayer yo me peiné antes de salir.

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

5. Forgetting the accent on the vosotros form

Wrong: Vosotros peinais antes de salir.

Right: Vosotros peináis antes de salir.

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

Quiz: test yourself on peinarse 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 ___ antes de salir
    • a) me peino
    • b) te peinas
    • c) se peina
    • d) nos peinamos
  2. Tú ___ por la mañana
    • a) me peino
    • b) se peina
    • c) nos peinamos
    • d) te peinas
  3. Él ___ con un cepillo nuevo
    • a) te peinas
    • b) nos peinamos
    • c) se peina
    • d) me peino
  4. Nosotros ___ delante del espejo
    • a) se peina
    • b) nos peinamos
    • c) me peino
    • d) te peinas
  5. Vosotros ___ todos los días
    • a) os peináis
    • b) me peino
    • c) te peinas
    • d) se peina
  6. Ellos ___ con cuidado
    • a) me peino
    • b) te peinas
    • c) se peina
    • d) se peinan
  7. Yo ___ antes de salir
    • a) se peina
    • b) nos peinamos
    • c) me peino
    • d) te peinas
  8. Tú ___ por la mañana
    • a) nos peinamos
    • b) te peinas
    • c) me peino
    • d) se peina

Answers

  1. a) me peino — The sentence needs the yo form, because the subject is yo.
  2. d) te peinas — The sentence needs the tú form, because the subject is tú.
  3. c) se peina — The sentence needs the él/ella/Ud. form, because the subject is él/ella/Ud..
  4. b) nos peinamos — The sentence needs the nosotros/as form, because the subject is nosotros/as.
  5. a) os peináis — The sentence needs the vosotros/as form, because the subject is vosotros/as.
  6. d) se peinan — The sentence needs the ellos/ellas/Uds. form, because the subject is ellos/ellas/Uds..
  7. c) me peino — The sentence needs the yo form, because the subject is yo.
  8. b) te peinas — The sentence needs the tú form, because the subject is tú.

Frequently asked questions about peinarse in the present

What is the difference between peinar and peinarse?

Peinar is combing someone else's hair; peinarse is combing your own. For your own morning routine, peinarse is the verb you need.

Is peinarse regular?

Yes, it is a regular -ar reflexive verb: me peino, te peinas, se peina, nos peinamos, os peináis, se peinan.

Is peinarse regular in the present?

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

What are the gerund and the past participle of peinarse?

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

How to remember peinarse

Four small habits will fix peinarse in your memory. First, say the present tense out loud, in order, three times: me peino, te peinas, se peina, nos peinamos, os peináis, se peinan. 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 (me peino), one about yesterday with the preterite (me peiné), and one about tomorrow with the future (me peinaré). Personal sentences stick because they are about you, not about a textbook. Third, remember the difference from cepillarse: Peinarse is combing the hair; cepillarse is usually brushing the teeth (or also the hair, with a brush). With el pelo, peinarse is the standard verb. Finally, learn the two key forms by heart: the gerund peinando and the past participle peinado. With those two and the present tense, you can already build the progressive (estoy peinando) and the present perfect (he peinado), which covers most everyday conversation.

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