Permanecer Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of permanecer — "to remain, to stay" 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 permanecer 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. Permanecer means to remain or to stay, and it is used for remaining at home, remaining silent and remaining in a hotel for another week. It is a formal synonym of quedarse, and it is a -cer spelling-change verb. To see it in a real sentence: Él permanece en casa todo el día. — "He/she remains at home all day." 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: permanecer
Every person of permanecer in the present tense. The gerund is permaneciendo and the past participle is permanecido.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | permanezco |
| tú | permaneces |
| él/ella/Ud. | permanece |
| nosotros/as | permanecemos |
| vosotros/as | permanecéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | permanecen |
How the present indicative of permanecer is formed
The present indicative of permanecer is built from the stem permanec- 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 | permanezco |
| tú | -es | permaneces |
| él/ella/Ud. | -e | permanece |
| nosotros/as | -emos | permanecemos |
| vosotros/as | -éis | permanecéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -en | permanecen |
permanecer 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 permanezco in particular.
The gerund of permanecer is permaneciendo and the past participle is permanecido. 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 permanecer
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and permanecer 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 permanecer, this use looks like this: "Yo permanezco en casa todo el día." — "I remain at home all day." 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 permanecer, this use looks like this: "Él permanece en silencio durante la reunión." — "He/she remains silent during the meeting." 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 permanecer, this use looks like this: "Nosotros permanecemos en el hotel una semana más." — "We remain in the hotel one more week." 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 permanecer, this use looks like this: "Ellos permanecen sentado junto a la ventana." — "They remain seated by the window." 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 permanecer, this use looks like this: "Tú permaneces en casa todo el día." — "You remain at home all day." 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 permanecer. 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 permanezco en casa todo el día." — "I remain at home all day."
- Preterite: "Yo permanecí en casa todo el día." — "I remained at home all day." 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 permanece en silencio durante la reunión." — "He/she remains silent during the meeting."
- Preterite: "Él permaneció en silencio durante la reunión." — "He/she remained silent during the meeting." 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 permanecemos en el hotel una semana más." — "We remain in the hotel one more week."
- Preterite: "Nosotros permanecimos en el hotel una semana más." — "We remained in the hotel one more week." 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 permanecer in the present tense only. Each one uses a form from the table above.
- Yo permanezco en casa todo el día. — I remain at home all day.
- Tú permaneces en silencio durante la reunión. — You remain silent during the meeting.
- Él permanece en el hotel una semana más. — He/she remains in the hotel one more week.
- Nosotros permanecemos sentado junto a la ventana. — We remain seated by the window.
- Vosotros permanecéis en casa todo el día. — You all remain at home all day.
- Ellos permanecen en silencio durante la reunión. — They remain silent during the meeting.
- Yo permanezco en el hotel una semana más. — I remain in the hotel one more week.
- Él permanece sentado junto a la ventana. — He/she remains seated by the window.
Common mistakes
- Wrong: Yo permaneco en silencio durante la reunión. — Right: Yo permanezco en silencio durante la reunión. — In the present, the correct first-person form is permanezco, not permaneco. permanecer 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.
- Wrong: Ayer, yo permanezco en el hotel una semana más. — Right: Ayer, yo permanecí en el hotel una semana más. — Ayer means yesterday, so it needs the preterite (permanecí), not the present (permanezco). The present is for now, not for yesterday.
- Wrong: Yo permanece en casa todo el día. — Right: Yo permanezco en casa todo el día. — The person matters: permanece is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is permanezco.
- Wrong: Yo soy permanecido en silencio durante la reunión. — Right: Yo he permanecido en silencio durante la reunión. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he permanecido. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
Quiz: test yourself
Eight questions on the present tense of permanecer. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
Complete the sentence: Yo ___ en casa todo el día. (present tense) A. permanezco B. permaneces C. permanece D. permanecemos
Complete the sentence: Tú ___ en silencio durante la reunión. (present tense) A. permaneces B. permanezco C. permanece D. permanecemos
Complete the sentence: Él ___ en el hotel una semana más. (present tense) A. permanece B. permanezco C. permaneces D. permanecemos
Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ sentado junto a la ventana. (present tense) A. permanecemos B. permanezco C. permaneces D. permanece
Complete the sentence: Vosotros ___ en casa todo el día. (present tense) A. permanecéis B. permanezco C. permaneces D. permanece
Complete the sentence: Ellos ___ en silencio durante la reunión. (present tense) A. permanecen B. permanezco C. permaneces D. permanece
Complete the sentence: Yo ___ en el hotel una semana más. (present tense) A. permanezco B. permaneces C. permanece D. permanecemos
Complete the sentence: Él ___ sentado junto a la ventana. (present tense) A. permanece B. permanezco C. permaneces D. permanecemos
Answer key
- permanezco — The yo present form of permanecer is permanezco. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
- permaneces — The tu present form of permanecer is permaneces. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
- permanece — The el present form of permanecer is permanece. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
- permanecemos — The nosotros present form of permanecer is permanecemos. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
- permanecéis — The vosotros present form of permanecer is permanecéis. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
- permanecen — The ellos present form of permanecer is permanecen. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
- permanezco — The yo present form of permanecer is permanezco. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
- permanece — The el present form of permanecer is permanece. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
Frequently asked questions
When do I use the present tense of permanecer?
Use the present tense of permanecer for habits, facts and what is happening now. For example: Yo permanezco en casa todo el día. — "I remain at home all day." The usage rules above give five situations with examples.
How is the present tense of permanecer formed?
Take the stem permanec- 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 permanecer?
The present describes a habit or a present fact, while the preterite describes a finished action. Compare Yo permanezco en silencio durante la reunión. with Yo permanecí en silencio durante la reunión. — the verb is the same, but the time meaning changes.
How do I practise the present tense of permanecer?
Drill the six forms in the table above until you can say them without looking, then use the permanecer examples and quiz page for more sentences, and test yourself with the Permanecer conjugation page for the full picture across all tenses.
Related links
- Permanecer conjugation — the full conjugation of permanecer in every tense.
- Permanecer examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice for permanecer.
- Spanish Present tense guide — the full guide to the present tense in Spanish.
- Spanish verbs — the Spanish hub, with every verb and tense guide.
- Spanish Verb Conjugator — conjugate any Spanish verb in every tense.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise the present tense on any verb.