Pelar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of pelar — "to peel" 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 pelar 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. Pelar means to peel, and it is used for peeling potatoes, fruit and vegetables, and also for peeling off skin after sunburn. It is a fully regular -ar verb, and it is a kitchen staple next to cortar and picar. To see it in a real sentence: Él pela las patatas para la tortilla. — "He/she peels the potatoes for the omelette." 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: pelar

Every person of pelar in the present tense. The gerund is pelando and the past participle is pelado.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo pelo
tú pelas
él/ella/Ud. pela
nosotros/as pelamos
vosotros/as peláis
ellos/ellas/Uds. pelan

How the present indicative of pelar is formed

The present indicative of pelar is built from the stem pel- plus the present 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 pelo
tú -as pelas
él/ella/Ud. -a pela
nosotros/as -amos pelamos
vosotros/as -áis peláis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -an pelan

The gerund of pelar is pelando and the past participle is pelado. 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 pelar

The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and pelar 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 pelar, this use looks like this: "Yo pelo las patatas para la tortilla." — "I peel the potatoes for the omelette." 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 pelar, this use looks like this: "Él pela una naranja para el niño." — "He/she peels an orange for the child." 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 pelar, this use looks like this: "Nosotros pelamos la manzana con el cuchillo." — "We peel the apple with the knife." 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 pelar, this use looks like this: "Ellos pelan las zanahorias antes de cocinar." — "They peel the carrots before cooking." 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 pelar, this use looks like this: "Tú pelas las patatas para la tortilla." — "You peel the potatoes for the omelette." 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 pelar. 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 pelo las patatas para la tortilla." — "I peel the potatoes for the omelette."
  • Preterite: "Yo pelé las patatas para la tortilla." — "I peeled the potatoes for the omelette." 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 pela una naranja para el niño." — "He/she peels an orange for the child."
  • Preterite: "Él peló una naranja para el niño." — "He/she peeled an orange for the child." 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 pelamos la manzana con el cuchillo." — "We peel the apple with the knife."
  • Preterite: "Nosotros pelamos la manzana con el cuchillo." — "We peeled the apple with the knife." 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 pelar in the present tense only. Each one uses a form from the table above.

  1. Yo pelo las patatas para la tortilla. — I peel the potatoes for the omelette.
  2. Tú pelas una naranja para el niño. — You peel an orange for the child.
  3. Él pela la manzana con el cuchillo. — He/she peels the apple with the knife.
  4. Nosotros pelamos las zanahorias antes de cocinar. — We peel the carrots before cooking.
  5. Vosotros peláis las patatas para la tortilla. — You all peel the potatoes for the omelette.
  6. Ellos pelan una naranja para el niño. — They peel an orange for the child.
  7. Yo pelo la manzana con el cuchillo. — I peel the apple with the knife.
  8. Él pela las zanahorias antes de cocinar. — He/she peels the carrots before cooking.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Vosotros pelais una naranja para el niño. — Right: Vosotros peláis una naranja para el niño. — The vosotros present form carries a written accent: peláis, not pelais.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo pelo la manzana con el cuchillo. — Right: Ayer, yo pelé la manzana con el cuchillo. — Ayer means yesterday, so it needs the preterite (pelé), not the present (pelo). The present is for now, not for yesterday.
  3. Wrong: Yo pela las patatas para la tortilla. — Right: Yo pelo las patatas para la tortilla. — The person matters: pela is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is pelo.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy pelado una naranja para el niño. — Right: Yo he pelado una naranja para el niño. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he pelado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.

Quiz: test yourself

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

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ las patatas para la tortilla. (present tense) A. pelo B. pelas C. pela D. pelamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ una naranja para el niño. (present tense) A. pelas B. pelo C. pela D. pelamos

  3. Complete the sentence: Él ___ la manzana con el cuchillo. (present tense) A. pela B. pelo C. pelas D. pelamos

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ las zanahorias antes de cocinar. (present tense) A. pelamos B. pelo C. pelas D. pela

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros ___ las patatas para la tortilla. (present tense) A. peláis B. pelo C. pelas D. pela

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ___ una naranja para el niño. (present tense) A. pelan B. pelo C. pelas D. pela

  7. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ la manzana con el cuchillo. (present tense) A. pelo B. pelas C. pela D. pelamos

  8. Complete the sentence: Él ___ las zanahorias antes de cocinar. (present tense) A. pela B. pelo C. pelas D. pelamos

Answer key

  1. pelo — The yo present form of pelar is pelo. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  2. pelas — The tu present form of pelar is pelas. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  3. pela — The el present form of pelar is pela. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  4. pelamos — The nosotros present form of pelar is pelamos. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  5. peláis — The vosotros present form of pelar is peláis. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  6. pelan — The ellos present form of pelar is pelan. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  7. pelo — The yo present form of pelar is pelo. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  8. pela — The el present form of pelar is pela. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the present tense of pelar?

Use the present tense of pelar for habits, facts and what is happening now. For example: Yo pelo las patatas para la tortilla. — "I peel the potatoes for the omelette." The usage rules above give five situations with examples.

How is the present tense of pelar formed?

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

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

The present describes a habit or a present fact, while the preterite describes a finished action. Compare Yo pelo una naranja para el niño. with Yo pelé una naranja para el niño. — the verb is the same, but the time meaning changes.

How do I practise the present tense of pelar?

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

Related links