Perseguir Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of perseguir — "to pursue" 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 perseguir 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. Perseguir means to pursue or chase someone, or to pursue a goal: perseguir a un ladrón, perseguir sus sueños. The stem changes e to i in the present and the preterite third person. To see it in a real sentence: Yo persigo a un ladrón por la calle — "I pursue a thief down the street".
Present tense conjugation table: perseguir
Every person of perseguir in the present tense. The gerund is persiguiendo and the past participle is perseguido.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | persigo |
| tú | persigues |
| él/ella/Ud. | persigue |
| nosotros/as | perseguimos |
| vosotros/as | perseguís |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | persiguen |
How the present of perseguir is formed
The present of perseguir is built from the stem persegu- 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 | persigo |
| tú | -es | persigues |
| él/ella/Ud. | -e | persigue |
| nosotros/as | -imos | perseguimos |
| vosotros/as | -ís | perseguís |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -en | persiguen |
The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: persigo, persigues, persigue and persiguen — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: perseguimos, perseguís. In the preterite the third-person forms change too: persiguió, persiguieron, and the gerund is persiguiendo.
The gerund of perseguir is persiguiendo and the past participle is perseguido. Both are the forms you need with estar and haber respectively.
When to use the present tense of perseguir
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and perseguir 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 describes things that happen regularly, as a habit or routine.
"Cada día, yo persigo a un ladrón por la calle" — "Every day, I pursue a thief down the street"
General truths
The present states facts that are always true, not just true today.
"Mi amigo persigue sus sueños desde niño" — "My friend pursues his dreams since childhood"
What is happening now
The present describes an action in progress right now.
"Ahora, yo persigo al gato por el jardín" — "Right now, I pursue the cat around the garden"
Near-future plans
Spanish often uses the present for a plan that is already fixed.
"Mañana, nosotros perseguimos una meta difícil" — "Tomorrow, we pursue a difficult goal"
Timetables and scheduled events
The present is the tense for timetables, programmes and things that happen on a schedule.
"Ellos persiguen al sospechoso hasta el parque" — "They pursue the suspect as far as the park"
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: {'pre_es': 'Cada día, ', 'pre_en': 'Every day, '}yo persigo a un ladrón por la calle — "I pursue a thief down the street"
- Preterite — one finished occasion: {'pre_es': 'Ayer, ', 'pre_en': 'Yesterday, '}yo perseguí a un ladrón por la calle — "I pursued a thief down the street"
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: {}tú persigues sus sueños desde niño — "You pursue his dreams since childhood"
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: {}tú perseguías sus sueños desde niño — "You used to pursue his dreams since childhood"
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: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él persigue al gato por el jardín — "He pursues the cat around the garden"
- Future — what will happen: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él perseguirá al gato por el jardín — "He will pursue the cat around the garden"
Examples: perseguir in the present tense
Seven sentences that show perseguir in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo persigo a un ladrón por la calle — "I pursue a thief down the street"
- Tú persigues sus sueños desde niño — "You pursue his dreams since childhood"
- Él persigue al gato por el jardín — "He pursues the cat around the garden"
- Nosotros perseguimos una meta difícil — "We pursue a difficult goal"
- Vosotros perseguís al sospechoso hasta el parque — "You pursue the suspect as far as the park"
- Ellos persiguen a un ladrón por la calle — "They pursue a thief down the street"
- Yo persigo sus sueños desde niño — "I pursue his dreams since childhood"
Common mistakes with perseguir in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with perseguir in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ *Yo perseguo a un ladrón por la calle.
✓ Correct: Yo persigo a un ladrón por la calle.
perseguir is a stem-changing verb (e → i): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is persigo, not perseguo.
✗ *Tú persigue sus sueños desde niño.
✓ Correct: Tú persigues sus sueños desde niño.
The tú form and the él form are different: tú takes persigues, él takes persigue.
✗ *Cada día, yo perseguí al gato por el jardín
✓ Correct: Cada día, yo persigo al gato por el jardín
Cada día describes a habit, so it needs the present, not the preterite.
✗ *Vosotros perseguis una meta difícil.
✓ Correct: Vosotros perseguís una meta difícil.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: perseguís, not perseguis.
Quiz: perseguir in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of perseguir. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
Which is the correct present form of perseguir for tú? A. persigue B. perseguimos C. persigues D. persigo
Complete the sentence: Yo ______ a un ladrón por la calle — "I pursue a thief down the street" (present) A. persigue B. perseguimos C. persigo D. persigues
Complete the sentence: Él ______ sus sueños desde niño — "He pursues his dreams since childhood" (present) A. persigo B. persigues C. perseguimos D. persigue
Which is the correct present form of perseguir for nosotros? A. persiguen B. perseguimos C. persigues D. persigue
Which sentence uses perseguir correctly in the present? A. Mi amigo persigues al gato por el jardín B. Mi amigo perseguía al gato por el jardín C. Mi amigo perseguimos al gato por el jardín D. Mi amigo persigue al gato por el jardín
Complete the sentence: Vosotros ______ una meta difícil — "You pursue a difficult goal" (present) A. persigues B. persigue C. perseguís D. persigo
Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ al sospechoso hasta el parque — "They pursue the suspect as far as the park" (present) A. persigo B. persigues C. persigue D. persiguen
What is the gerund of perseguir? A. persiguiendo B. perseguido C. persigo D. perseguí
Answer key
- persigues — The tú form in the present is persigues.
- persigo — The present form for yo is persigo.
- persigue — The present form for él/ella/Ud. is persigue.
- perseguimos — The nosotros form in the present is perseguimos.
- Mi amigo persigue al gato por el jardín — Mi amigo persigue al gato por el jardín is correct: the verb agrees with its subject and the tense is the present.
- perseguís — The present form for vosotros/as is perseguís.
- persiguen — The present form for ellos/ellas/Uds. is persiguen.
- persiguiendo — The gerund is persiguiendo. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive, and it is not the past participle perseguido.
Frequently asked questions
Is perseguir regular in the present tense?
No — in the present the stem changes: The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: persigo, persigues, persigue and persiguen — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: perseguimos, perseguís. In the preterite the third-person forms change too: persiguió, persiguieron, and the gerund is persiguiendo. The nosotros and vosotros forms keep the plain stem.
What is the gerund and the past participle of perseguir?
The gerund is persiguiendo and the past participle is perseguido. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say "I pursue" in the present tense?
Say persigo. For example: Yo persigo a un ladrón por la calle — "I pursue a thief down the street".
What is the difference between the present and the preterite of perseguir?
The present describes a habit or what happens now: Yo persigo a un ladrón por la calle — "I pursue a thief down the street". The preterite reports one finished occasion: Ayer, yo perseguí a un ladrón por la calle — "Yesterday, I pursued a thief down the street". Use the present when the action repeats or is still true, and the preterite when you are telling what happened once.
Related links
- Full conjugation of perseguir — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- perseguir 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.